Generator help

[Blb472]

I'm looking to invest in a generator for the 180 gallon tank I'm setting up. I'm not sure what size I would need. Equipment listed below

2x 300w eheim Jager heaters with inkbird temp controllers
3 viparspectra 165w lights
Jaebo 80w return pump
1 mp40
2 nero 5s
Aquamaxx cones q2 skimmer
Kessel h80 refugium light

 

[DC Reefer]

Looks like you are less than 2000 watts in total. Anything else you want to run off of it? Refrigerator, sump pump, space heater, etc..? One thing to note, most generators do not producer "clean" power. Anything sensitive you want to run through something to clean the power. Some use a UPS to clean the power. Also I would look into dual and Tri fuel generators so you can run off of gas plus propane and/or natural gas.

Personally I would get some extra head-room on the generator so I could run a bit more than I plan for

 

[lapin]

How much do you need to keep running?
Will you really need the skimmer and fuge light?
For how long?
In a power outage will your house have Heat / AC ?
If you have heat or ac in the house then the heaters become less important.


My 600g tank pulls about 20amps with heaters on

I would guess its about 2400 watts

 

[Blb472]

Looks like you are less than 2000 watts in total. Anything else you want to run off of it? Refrigerator, sump pump, space heater, etc..? One thing to note, most generators do not producer "clean" power. Anything sensitive you want to run through something to clean the power. Some use a UPS to clean the power. Also I would look into dual and Tri fuel generators so you can run off of gas plus propane and/or natural gas.

Personally I would get some extra head-room on the generator so I could run a bit more than I plan for

Sounds good thanks! I wouldn't be against having one large enough to run other stuff outside of it but my main concern is the tank. I'm sure most of us are in the same boat where if we can't keep it running and it crashes that would be thousands gone

 

[Blb472]

How much do you need to keep running?
Will you really need the skimmer and fuge light?
For how long?
In a power outage will your house have Heat / AC ?
If you have heat or ac in the house then the heaters become less important.


My 600g tank pulls about 20amps with heaters on

I would guess its about 2400 watts

I don't necessarily need to run all of it but if I can why not. House would not have heat if the power goes out and I live in the northeast so the heaters are one of the top priorities

 

[lapin]

I don't necessarily need to run all of it but if I can why not. House would not have heat if the power goes out and I live in the northeast so the heaters are one of the top priorities

I would look into a whole house generator that runs off your natural gas.
If money is not as big a concern as piece of mind.

 

[DC Reefer]

With mine, my main concerns were life support for tank (flow and heat), sump pumps to eliminate potential flooding in basement and fridges/freezer and some portable heaters. I will have to rotate through the fridges/freezers and portable heaters as mine isn't big enough to do all. I have had since 2013 and have never had to use it. had a power outage that was going past the 120 minute mark and I was getting it all set-up and the power came back on - haha

 

[Blb472]

I would look into a whole house generator that runs off your natural gas.
If money is not as big a concern as piece of mind.

Thats in the works for the future but unfortunately I have some other priorities to take care of before I can make that investment

 

[Blb472]

With mine, my main concerns were life support for tank (flow and heat), sump pumps to eliminate potential flooding in basement and fridges/freezer and some portable heaters. I will have to rotate through the fridges/freezers and portable heaters as mine isn't big enough to do all. I have had since 2013 and have never had to use it. had a power outage that was going past the 120 minute mark and I was getting it all set-up and the power came back on - haha

Makes sense lol one of those things you buy in the hopes that you never have to use it. I wasn't as worried about the fridges winter time is generally when power outages are a concern. Worst comes to worst I can stick the food on the deck it'll stay frozen lol

 

[drtechno]

I just went this route myself.

I think a better question you first need to answer is if you want an automatic transfer switch or manual. Is this a generator you will start up manually or do you want it to fire up even if you aren’t home. I needed the latter route since I don’t want to have to worry if I go on vacation. Or it happens at night. Or in a blizzard where I would be trying to fire up a portable generator outside.
If you go the automatic route, then it adds no significant money to put a couple extra things from your house into the system. If you have gas, then the electronics to run you heating system are almost an inconsequential load so you should definitely add those to your system.

if you are going the manual route, then just realize you aren’t really providing a full power backup as you will need to be there to start it all up and hit the manual transfer switch.

 

[CanuckReefer]

I would look at something to run more than your 2500 W personally. If you're gonna do it then get something slightly larger. It'll often have a larger fuel tank as well and if you are loading it a bit lighter your runtime increases. As @drtechno mentioned manual or automatic is a large consideration. Mine is a roll up unit, 30 amp 120/250 volt to control my critical house circuits ( 90 gallon reef being one of them) and a few extra loads. I don't need the auto transfer ,as when away I have 2 good neighbours with access to the house able to plug in the Gen and flip the switch. Lucky that way... my roll up is a 7900 watt, and my pony panel does 8 circuits expansion available to 16. Gen ( a Firmen gas only) set me back 750 bucks, and my wiring, breakers, inlet receptacle, cordset and pony panel another 350. Installed myself (electrician) , would think you'd add about a half to 3/4 day labour on top of these figures for installation? 5- 600 bucks maybe? Rough figures on my end. If not the coin currently, then of course any small gen with a UPS, is a smart investment to protect your prized possession...
Also have a UPS in line with my tank circuits as others have mentioned to clean the power.
Best of luck, imo a worthwhile investment long term, and for piece of mind...