Battery backup/UPS

[Kolby’s Reef]

Hello, I was wondering what people are using as a UPS or battery backup for a reef tank if the power goes out. I know there are some DIY builds if you have built one I would like to know more about it, what the specs are, devices you are using, how long it will run without power, and cost. I had a tank crash while I was on vacation and lost several coral and fish. I need to prevent this from happening. I would need to run my return pump which is 60W and a heater which is 250W I realize that is a lot of draw, I have a 90 gallon tank and would have my backup heater on the UPS or battery backup. I believe I could get by with a 250W heater. I just desperately need some suggestions/ideas/ your own personal builds (if you don’t mind sharing) and what you have plugged in for a power outage. I am really unfamiliar with the whole battery backup systems and UPS in general. Any advice would help. Thank you guys so much!

 

[Saltyreef]

Hello, I was wondering what people are using as a UPS or battery backup for a reef tank if the power goes out. I know there are some DIY builds if you have built one I would like to know more about it, what the specs are, devices you are using, how long it will run without power, and cost. I had a tank crash while I was on vacation and lost several coral and fish. I need to prevent this from happening. I would need to run my return pump which is 60W and a heater which is 250W I realize that is a lot of draw, I have a 90 gallon tank and would have my backup heater on the UPS or battery backup. I believe I could get by with a 250W heater. I just desperately need some suggestions/ideas/ your own personal builds (if you don’t mind sharing) and what you have plugged in for a power outage. I am really unfamiliar with the whole battery backup systems and UPS in general. Any advice would help. Thank you guys so much!

How long are you looking to prevent an outage for?

Lots of options and lots of different price points

 

[reefiniteasy]

This is what I use. On just a return pump I get about 3 hours. For longer I have a generator. The UPS really comes in handy for short outages or blips.

APC UPS 1500VA UPS Battery Backup...

 

[Saltyreef]

This is what I use. On just a return pump I get about 3 hours. For longer I have a generator. The UPS really comes in handy for short outages or blips.

APC UPS 1500VA UPS Battery Backup...

I also use an apc1500 smart UPS for my smaller system and a generator for longer outages but some larger systems could benefit from a diy battery backup system.

I had one designed with a large battery and inverter for the whole system or just a small battery directly connected to the ecotech powerheads

 

[MartinM]

Regular UPS’s, etc won’t provide very much runtime at all. What you’re likely preparing for is a ‘black swan’ event, a hurricane, storm, earthquake, etc which may cause a power outage between 12 hours and one week. It’s happened to me before in various parts of the world (thankfully the grid virtually never fails here, but it did frequently when I lived in other parts of the world).

If you have a standalone home, I highly recommend a full off grid or grid failover solar/battery system (I have this on a standalone house) and/or generator.

Also don’t forget you can get powerful air pumps that can move a lot of water and consume much lower wattage. A ~27 watt air pump could keep thousands of liters of saltwater in motion across several systems, for example.

 

[DanTheReefer]

Ha I just replied to a similar thread a minute ago. I have a deep cycle marine battery powering a small USB pump for circulation. There’s a relay in there that kicks on the pump when the power turns off.

DIY 7 Day Life Support Backup System

It’s hurricane season again, and this year I’m not going to take any risks with losing the reef to a power outage. Fortunately, I don’t have to worry about freezing temps in FL, so I don’t need to run a heater. I just need a few days of water movement. Most folks try to figure out a way to keep...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Kolby’s Reef]

Would like to stay around $500 or below so however long I could get out the more the better, before i have to plug in a generator and I need to figure out how to plug it in and have it connected to power my tank.

How long are you looking to prevent an outage for?

Lots of options and lots of different price points

 

[Kolby’s Reef]

This is what I use. On just a return pump I get about 3 hours. For longer I have a generator. The UPS really comes in handy for short outages or blips.

APC UPS 1500VA UPS Battery Backup...

What about for a heater? Wouldn’t you need to keep the heater on as well?

 

[Kolby’s Reef]

Regular UPS’s, etc won’t provide very much runtime at all. What you’re likely preparing for is a ‘black swan’ event, a hurricane, storm, earthquake, etc which may cause a power outage between 12 hours and one week. It’s happened to me before in various parts of the world (thankfully the grid virtually never fails here, but it did frequently when I lived in other parts of the world).

If you have a standalone home, I highly recommend a full off grid or grid failover solar/battery system (I have this on a standalone house). If you aren’t in a house and aren’t DIY inclined, check out Ecoflow’s Delto Pro ecosystem - a 21.6kW LiFePO4 battery setup + generator + solar panels (I’m in the process of installing this in my mansion, what you Americans call a condo!). I do also use UPS’s as they provide additional protection from surges, etc. Also make sure that your router and ‘modem’ are on battery backup so you can control things remotely if you’re away when the power goes out (and if the internet connection is still working).

Btw, Ecoflow also has a DC powered air conditioner in their ecosystem, something worth considering If you use AC to maintain room temperatures as opposed to an aquarium chiller.

Also don’t forget you can get powerful air pumps that can move a lot of water and consume much lower wattage. A ~27 watt air pump could keep thousands of liters of saltwater in motion across several systems, for example.

I’m looking for something $500 or below

 

[Saltyreef]

What about for a heater? Wouldn’t you need to keep the heater on as well?

No absolute need for heat if the outage is only a couple hours.
After that then yes.

 

[Saltyreef]

My whole 20g system is backed up on a 1500w UPS but it gives me enough time to get home and fire up the gen.
Sometimes people just need powerhead movement in some warmer states.

 

[Kolby’s Reef]

No absolute need for heat if the outage is only a couple hours.
After that then yes.

A couple hours as in… how long? I have a 90 gallon tank I would think it would drop from 78 degrees down a degree a hour?

 

[Kolby’s Reef]

Anyways I guess my better question is how will I hook up a generator to power my tank. We have a generator just don’t know if that would have to feed into the breaker box somehow or some electrical stuff? I’m unfamiliar with

 

[Kolby’s Reef]

My whole 20g system is backed up on a 1500w UPS but it gives me enough time to get home and fire up the gen.
Sometimes people just need powerhead movement in some warmer states.

^^

 

[Saltyreef]

A couple hours as in… how long? I have a 90 gallon tank I would think it would drop from 78 degrees down a degree a hour?

Depends on your ambient temp

 

[Saltyreef]

Anyways I guess my better question is how will I hook up a generator to power my tank. We have a generator just don’t know if that would have to feed into the breaker box somehow or some electrical stuff? I’m unfamiliar with

Portable?
Whole house?

 

[ShepherdReefer]

I have one similar to what others are posting. Works great.

 

[Kolby’s Reef]

Portable?
Whole house?

portable gas generator

 

[Kolby’s Reef]

Depends on your ambient temp

usually keep the house around 72 degrees

 

[n2585722]

I use a EcoTech battery backup on my MP10's. I have a battery backup for my controller but the only thing that runs is the MP10's. All pumps and heaters are off. I also have battery backup for my router and modem. We went through rolling blackouts in February over a year ago. They lasted almost a week and the outside temp was below 32 degrees the whole time. Some times it was an hour on and a hour off and one day they were over 4 hours on and over 4 hours off. It was alway on and off the same amount of time. The tank did get just below 70 degrees before the blackouts stopped. It took a couple of days to get back up to 76 degrees. I did not loose a coral or a fish from this. Afterwards I found out one of my two heater was not working but in this case it may have worked in my favor since it took longer to heat back up once the power was back on. The main thing is flow. Everything else can probably wait till you can intervene.