Best Cheap Battery Backup

[AmaleeC]

Hello friends! After the many lovely curveballs 2020 has thrown at us, hurricane season is still coming upon us. With that in mind, I would like to prepare for the worst and hope for the best. :)

We already have a generator but I’d still like to buy a battery backup just in case. Although, I honestly hope I never really have to use it. Any suggestions for a good one?

Items attached to tank using electricity:
75g w/ 20g sump
- 13W UV
- Jebao OW 25
- Rio 2100 Pump
- 300W Heater
- (2) VIPARSPECTRA 165W

 

[Blakethereefguy]

Great question! Looking forward to seeing what everyone says.

 

[AmaleeC]

Great question! Looking forward to seeing what everyone says.

Haha guess they don’t have much to say ;Hilarious
bump!

 

[VJC]

I did this and it works great:
https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/diy-universal-battery-backup-for-your-reef.416/

 

[AmaleeC]

I did this and it works great:
https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/diy-universal-battery-backup-for-your-reef.416/

Cool! Thanks!

 

[jda]

Get a computer UPS. You gotta keep them dry, but they will run anything. anywhere with a 110v plug. You can pick the size and duration.

Lights and heaters are going to run them down fast. You can go a little bit without heaters and the lights are not necessary for several days. Return pump, skimmer pump and tank power heads are a good idea.

 

[AbjectMaelstroM]

The link above is a good one. If your intent is to run your heaters and lights, you're going to be blowing through your battery bank with a quickness.

For example, 300w heater running for 6 hours (constant) off of an inverter (let's say 85% efficiency) from a 12v power bank, would need about 127 amp-hours of juice.... That's a big battery.

Basically, if your intent is to run all of your electrical equipment on your tank for any serious duration (several hours+) you're better off with buying a portable generator.