Battery Backup

Reefering1

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Cracking Up Lol GIF by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
 

VintageReefer

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haha well I am sus of any company I have no heard of... people can make something seem good and awesome but then it turns into a red sea tank... .. ba da bum!

I tend to like 'ol reliable companies.

The name "Oupes" screams aliexpress or random amazon chinese brand to me

Apparently they have been in the solar business for over 10 years and are us based in Cali

We haven’t heard of them…because we probably haven’t been looking into who makes the panels
 

Orion9

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Good luck with your backup project. I recently installed EcoFlow equipment to backup an aquarium, well pump, hot water heater, and a few lighting circuits. It uses a smart transfer switch and can change from grid to battery backup in 20ms. I run it in time of use mode, charging batteries at night when power is cheaper, then discharge during the day, while keeping 20% for backup reserve in case of an outage. I also attached a dozen 400w solar panels to help power the aquarium and recharge batteries during the day.


IMG_1217.JPEG
 
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Beruka

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Are you thinking AGM or lead acid? I don't want to deal with checking electrolyte and topping off water. I lived off grid with 1500ah AGM Lifelines and two 3000w inverters. For my tank I want a simple power solution to keep everything humming for the 10 sec power blips to 4 hr outages. Beyond that, it's time for the generator.
You are fine. I have battery for 24hr plus as work and thing go bad at worst time possible. I do same thing. I used AGM and now lithium polymer as they aged out over 6 years.

I use 2 12v batteries configured to 24V and charged with NOCO 24v tender. 24V is more commercial and prices are outrageous.

I have 4 MP40s and will take 12 24 or 36v backup with little wiring. I recall Ecotech had non standard wiring on dc barrels but not sure.
 

ajmckay

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This has been on my mind a lot lately. I have a small generator but for shorter power outages in winter where we could pretty easily go 1 day with no power (we have a fireplace), I'm usually obligated to hook it up to keep my tanks running. Plus I'd like a little wiggle room if the power goes out while I'm out of town before a friend has to come over and hook up my generator for me.

So a few days ago I plugged a Kill-a-watt meter into one of my aquariums to get an idea of how much power it draws over a day. For my 25g lagoon tank I'm showing about 2.4Kwh in 24 hours. Seems high - but I'm thinking I lose a lot of heat due to the large surface area of the tank (24x24"). My equipment list is rather simple:

150w jaeger heater
Radion XR15 Pro G5 @60%
Mighty Jet 266gph return pump
ATO

Incidentally I think I need a new return pump because the meter is showing it to draw 18w continuously at 60% power which is 5w more than it's rated at full power!

I also have a 5g softie tank and a 10g FW planted on my desk that I need to get a power estimate for. I'm thinking if I reduce the surface area and replace the pump I can get the main tank down to maybe 1.5-2kwh for 24hrs and double that for the other 2 tanks looks like I'm at about 3 to 3.5kwh realistically for a 24hr battery backup.
 

VintageReefer

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This has been on my mind a lot lately. I have a small generator but for shorter power outages in winter where we could pretty easily go 1 day with no power (we have a fireplace), I'm usually obligated to hook it up to keep my tanks running. Plus I'd like a little wiggle room if the power goes out while I'm out of town before a friend has to come over and hook up my generator for me.

So a few days ago I plugged a Kill-a-watt meter into one of my aquariums to get an idea of how much power it draws over a day. For my 25g lagoon tank I'm showing about 2.4Kwh in 24 hours. Seems high - but I'm thinking I lose a lot of heat due to the large surface area of the tank (24x24"). My equipment list is rather simple:

150w jaeger heater
Radion XR15 Pro G5 @60%
Mighty Jet 266gph return pump
ATO

Incidentally I think I need a new return pump because the meter is showing it to draw 18w continuously at 60% power which is 5w more than it's rated at full power!

I also have a 5g softie tank and a 10g FW planted on my desk that I need to get a power estimate for. I'm thinking if I reduce the surface area and replace the pump I can get the main tank down to maybe 1.5-2kwh for 24hrs and double that for the other 2 tanks looks like I'm at about 3 to 3.5kwh realistically for a 24hr battery backup.
Your pump maybe dirty causing it to be inefficient.

I have a 1000 gph dc return pump, running at 40% and it draws 15w. Your pump definitely is inefficient for some reason.

I just got a 2.1kw backup station, I tested it last night and it’s completely legit for capacity and runtime. $600

I threw on a 870w load as a test and it predicted 2 hours and ran for 2 hours

According to the standard runtime estimate formula

(2132 x .85) / 870 = 2.08 hours

Perfect! And this was running off the ac inverter outlets. If any gear can be connected to dc barrel, usb, or cigarette lighter adapted, then the unit becomes even more efficient.
 

VintageReefer

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My backup just arrived. This thing is about as heavy as my outdoor generator. I can't help but think I over spent on something too big? It cost more than my outdoor gas generator.
Does your generator constantly monitor for outages and power your gear in a split second, and refuel itself the moment power is restored? Without any interaction needed?

How long does power need to be out, for you to decide it’s worth it to fire up the generator and start redoing power cords

how frustrating would it be if the power went out and you spent the time setting it up and redoing the wires, and then the power came back.
 
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KQuillan

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Does your generator constantly monitor for outages and power your gear in a split second, and refuel itself the moment power is restored? Without any interaction needed?

How long does power need to be out, for you to decide it’s worth it to fire up the generator and start redoing power cords

how frustrating would it be if the power went out and you spent the time setting it up and redoing the wires, and then the power came back.
I know, I know, I know. lol. It's a good feeling to know everything is protected. Guess I'm just in a little sticker shock, even though it was one heck of a good deal. :)

I still appreciate everything you have done to guide me on this.
 

ukgeoff

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A heads up to anyone using an Ecoflow powerstation—be aware that these units continue to draw battery power even after mains electricity is restored. To prevent the powerstation from running out of battery, you need to manually switch it back to mains electric input when your power comes back on. Unfortunately, it doesn’t switch over automatically.

I learned this the hard way when I wasn’t home to switch it back manually, resulting in the power bank depleting completely, which caused me quite a bit of trouble.

Because of this, I wouldn’t recommend Ecoflow powerbanks for battery backup purposes if you're relying on it to switch automatically back to mains power once it's restored.
 

VintageReefer

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A heads up to anyone using an Ecoflow powerstation—be aware that these units continue to draw battery power even after mains electricity is restored. To prevent the powerstation from running out of battery, you need to manually switch it back to mains electric input when your power comes back on. Unfortunately, it doesn’t switch over automatically.

I learned this the hard way when I wasn’t home to switch it back manually, resulting in the power bank depleting completely, which caused me quite a bit of trouble.

Because of this, I wouldn’t recommend Ecoflow powerbanks for battery backup purposes if you're relying on it to switch automatically back to mains power once it's restored.
Which one are you using? Any one with pass through charging will switch back automatically but not all models have this.
 

KStatefan

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A heads up to anyone using an Ecoflow powerstation—be aware that these units continue to draw battery power even after mains electricity is restored. To prevent the powerstation from running out of battery, you need to manually switch it back to mains electric input when your power comes back on. Unfortunately, it doesn’t switch over automatically.

I learned this the hard way when I wasn’t home to switch it back manually, resulting in the power bank depleting completely, which caused me quite a bit of trouble.

Because of this, I wouldn’t recommend Ecoflow powerbanks for battery backup purposes if you're relying on it to switch automatically back to mains power once it's restored.

I only have a River 2 but you can set the AC to be always on
 

ajmckay

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These are all fire/explosion hazzards by the very nature of their lithium batteries. Especially around salt water. Submerging one almost guarantees a fire that water can't put out. See it a few times every year around here. People buy these things to be prepared for hurricane season, then we get hit and flood waters come in and it's a deadly situation. Not just these battery backups, but golf carts/ electric cars etc. Sla batteries don't have this problem, doesn't even have to be a "fancy" agm. But agm batteries are the best.
15w for 30 hours? These things are toys. My system consisting of a apc smart ups1500 connected to 4 (100ah/20hr each) agm batteries runs my entire tank(about 750w) for 18 hours. I can add as many as i want. The ups charges/ conditions them. But a seperate charger will be faster.They have been in use for about 5 years now and performed flawlessly this last season. I normally plug my TV and a lamp into it with the tanks until the storm passes. The unit itself looks nice and the batteries have a 20' cord. Currently setting up a cabinet in the garage for them. You can connect a computer to it and set up which outlets turn off when on battery(if any).
Hey do you have an estimate of how many kwh your tank uses in a day? Just curious how to translate this. Currently have a tripp lite ups with dead batteries. I've thought about getting some SLA or AGM deep cycle batteries but still need to figure out if that will run my tank for any appreciable amount of time.
 

VintageReefer

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Hey do you have an estimate of how many kwh your tank uses in a day? Just curious how to translate this. Currently have a tripp lite ups with dead batteries. I've thought about getting some SLA or AGM deep cycle batteries but still need to figure out if that will run my tank for any appreciable amount of time.
You would need to figure out the watt load of the equipment you want on battery backup. Then figure out how many hours you wish to have battery power provided during an outage. You don’t need all your gear on battery. Corals can go several days without lighting, so that wouldn’t need to be included if your goal was to get through 12 or 24 or whatever number of hours of outage.

All you really need for most outages is flow and oxygenation. A return pump is usually sufficient for this, or powerhead aimed at the surface.
 

Reefering1

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Hey do you have an estimate of how many kwh your tank uses in a day? Just curious how to translate this. Currently have a tripp lite ups with dead batteries. I've thought about getting some SLA or AGM deep cycle batteries but still need to figure out if that will run my tank for any appreciable amount of time.
No, I haven't done the math. End of the day, get the most capacity you have the budget and space for. If you're looking to add batteries to a ups, I would only use a high quality unit with active cooling(built in fans). Such as this unit, which I use. I found mine used for $100 with bad batteries. The smaller cheap ones will not last very long being ran hours on end like that. I only need mine to last until a hurricane passes then I get out the generator. So I run the entire tank and tv/ lights. If I reduced to just a return pump it would last days. But I don't need that, some may..
 

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