Cheap but effective battery backup for your aquarium: Do you have one?

[DrLazyReef]

Namaste from India . I've got a 450 Ah home ups with two lead acid tubular batteries for power cuts, two more batteries in the pipeline for a 4 feet reef pumps and LEDs

New item by Sammy S

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Battery acids nasty though :')
But cooling is a bigger issue than flow in the tropics, so a diesel generator should work the chiller for emergencies

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Although back in the day I just cranked the ol' rusties

New item by Sammy S

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[tomboys]

If you want to be prepared for something like what happened in Texas

What happened in Texas?

 

[Steelheader09]

Generator on standby

 

[PhreeByrd]

Here's my plan:

My car and my car's battery running outside (so there's no exhaust fumes ;Dead)

PLUS

Jumper cables running from car to power a Power Inverter

PLUS

A heavy duty Power Inverter. Mines a 2500WATT. Inexpensive at Harbor Freight

PLUS

Extension cords running from Power Inverter to my tank and plug in only essential items, heater, pumps for water movement

The beauty of this setup is a car holds a LOT of gas and can sit and idle for days as you power the Inverter to keep your tank running

My setup costs roughly $150 -vs- generators usually costing a minimum of $500+

********VERSUS********

a gas powered generator you haven't started in 18mos. have fun with blisters on your right palm

Except that your car is not designed to be a power generator. Most automotive alternators are capable of producing about 2000 watts, but only at higher engine speeds. It may not even be capable of powering its own systems sitting in the driveway idling.

I'm not dismissing this idea out of hand, but there is much more to it than stated here.

 

[Malcontent]

What happened in Texas?

Skyfall.

Except that your car is not designed to be a power generator. Most automotive alternators are capable of producing about 2000 watts, but only at higher engine speeds. It may not even be capable of powering its own systems sitting in the driveway idling.

I'm not dismissing this idea out of hand, but there is much more to it than stated here.

People have powered their homes for several days with a 1000W inverter attached to a Prius 12V battery.

 

[Dwarrior1000]

Yes, I have a ups set up for a pump in the display tank. It will last me about 3-4 hours. After that runs out I swap the battery with an extra car battery which will give me another 10 hours or so. On the other reef tanks I have several battery bubblers that I hook up. I plan to get a full home generator soon. The last time the power went out was this spring for about 2 days. After the batteries were drained for the ups I moved an extra bubbler to the display.

Where I live, there is usually at least one decent power outage a year that last more than an hour or two. I just moved into a new home so I really need to get that generator

 

[TankCandy]

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/cyberpower-1500va-battery-back-up-system-black/3938817.p?id=1219609308198&skuId=3938817

I have one on each tank. Only thing i have connected is the return pump for flow. Lasts around 2 hours.

 

[RichReef]

Generator. Can have it up and running in less than 15 mins.

Standby is in our plans.

 

[Birthisel]

Short term no big issues with frag tanks that stay oxygenated longer. Long term I can use my Prius or Tesla to power the tanks via inverters

 

[Terr-c]

I don't have any power back up, but I do have battery powered air pumps. Looking into getting a generator soon I hope. I've already had to use the battery air pumps. Was soo happy I at least had those.

 

[Maximitsurugi]

It's gonna happen. You will lose power at some point. MOST of us will never experience a catastrophic power outage where we lose our whole reef tank but preparing and mitigating can sure give you peace of mind and offer assurance IF it did happen. But do we have to have a super expensive home generator in place or can we protect our tank inhabitants with simple battery backups? Let's talk about it today!

YES a generator is best but let's talk batteries!

1. What is a cheap but effective battery backup solution for your aquarium?

2. Do you have a battery backup plan in place and if so tell us what?

image via @dactylo

How about givi g us a guidw to make that one. Sweet looking plug amd play.

 

[Fish Think Pink]

What happened in Texas?

Feb 2021 Ice Storm

TX temperatures got cold, wind turbines owned by power company/ies did not have heaters, wind turbines wouldn't turn to generate needed electricity and state of TX endured rolling power outages for week.

Our home insurance just renewed and no longer covers freeze damage, but we had almost no damage and no claims. Know many were not so lucky.

 

[Sebastiancrab]

Cost me $100 all in and it will outrun a ecotech vortech back up anyday of the week

Where did you purchase the items?

 

[Yazannreef]

Amazon!!!

 

[claudio wagner]

It's gonna happen. You will lose power at some point. MOST of us will never experience a catastrophic power outage where we lose our whole reef tank but preparing and mitigating can sure give you peace of mind and offer assurance IF it did happen. But do we have to have a super expensive home generator in place or can we protect our tank inhabitants with simple battery backups? Let's talk about it today!

YES a generator is best but let's talk batteries!

1. What is a cheap but effective battery backup solution for your aquarium?

2. Do you have a battery backup plan in place and if so tell us what?

image via @dactylo

 

[claudio wagner]

It's gonna happen. You will lose power at some point. MOST of us will never experience a catastrophic power outage where we lose our whole reef tank but preparing and mitigating can sure give you peace of mind and offer assurance IF it did happen. But do we have to have a super expensive home generator in place or can we protect our tank inhabitants with simple battery backups? Let's talk about it today!

YES a generator is best but let's talk batteries!

1. What is a cheap but effective battery backup solution for your aquarium?

2. Do you have a battery backup plan in place and if so tell us what?

image via @dactylo

I have a No Break used to run circulation pump for 4 hrs... no protection for the return pump and no protection for the heater, and this just became an issue this winter. It is an apartment here, so no generator is really possible.

 

[Tabbers920]

I have a battery powered air pump that comes on in a power failure. Also have a generator setup for use in the event of a longer outage.

Where did you get your battery air pump?? Thank you!

 

[-XENOMORPH-]

I have a car inverter and a gas generator. Here's some ideas. https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/power-outage

 

[Rudefish]

All plugged into a whole house generator.

 

[a.ndre_s_r]

On my 120 gallon SPS tank I have a 18ah battery in a Vortech Mp40.

On my 12 gallon softie nano, I have a battery air pump hooked to a relay that turns the pump on in case of a power outage.
This one I only install in the tank when away for long periods.