power back up in case of power outage

surfn · Dec 7, 2006

now that i am putting forth a good deal of sweat, $$...and sometimes blood into my reefing addiction...i was wondering what everyone does to keep their vital elements of their reef going in case of a short, or long power outage (short of a gas powered generator of course).

does anyone use those battery backup things that people use on computers? all i want to be able to run is a power head or two, and a small heater.

Stixbaraca · Dec 7, 2006

The old fingers crossed method!

I am going to get and try something like the Verizon thing hooked to my FIOS...it is plugged in, and when the power goes out it gived you 8 hours of power.

gflat65 · Dec 7, 2006

I know someone who has used the UPS backups for their tanks, but I haven't yet. I keep a marine battery with a power inverter around to plug in a few PH's and a heater if it goes down for an extended period. This only works if I am here to hook it up, though... Power inverter serves as a mobile power station for road trips to frag swaps or other local clubs' meetings.

MarvinsReef · Dec 7, 2006

def a great topic.. I was considering pickin' up couple of those back up batteries for CPU's but yet to decide which one... I'm sure it'll only give you couple of hours of power.. I only plan to run a powerhead if a power outage go out.. and I hope I'm home when it happens..

surfn · Dec 7, 2006

MarvinsReef said:
def a great topic.. I was considering pickin' up couple of those back up batteries for CPU's but yet to decide which one... I'm sure it'll only give you couple of hours of power.. I only plan to run a powerhead if a power outage go out.. and I hope I'm home when it happens..

see, thats what i've heard also. but those people were also trying to drive big pumps, like mag pumps or pumps for their skimmers which draw alot of power. all i want to try and run are those new nano-streams, which only draw like 7w. so i'd think i'd be able to run one for at least a day.

MarvinsReef · Dec 7, 2006

surfn said:
see, thats what i've heard also. but those people were also trying to drive big pumps, like mag pumps or pumps for their skimmers which draw alot of power. all i want to try and run are those new nano-streams, which only draw like 7w. so i'd think i'd be able to run one for at least a day.

I'll go look around and see if I can be the guinea pig..

I'd be running the same powerheads..

cardgenius · Dec 7, 2006

Ive got two. I picked them up at a pawn shop for really cheap. I think I paid $15 for both. I havent tested it on any power heads yet, but I did hook it up to a small TV up to for about 2 hours when I first bought it to test it out and it worked great. So Im pretty confident that they will do the job. I also have a battery powered air pump for those longer than normal outages.

Raptor · Dec 7, 2006

Generator for me, I need a couple battery back ups so i dont have to runn it all night long, But i do have power. It will power my whole tank, and fridge and a tv. Good enough for what i need it for. My nezt house will habe a 8Kw Kohler diesel (Or maybe natural gas generator. Havnt decided yet.

MarvinsReef · Dec 7, 2006

creetin said:
Generator for me, I need a couple battery back ups so i dont have to runn it all night long, But i do have power. It will power my whole tank, and fridge and a tv. Good enough for what i need it for. My nezt house will habe a 8Kw Kohler diesel (Or maybe natural gas generator. Havnt decided yet.

sounds like you've got this planned out Alex..

twon8 · Dec 7, 2006

ive got two, hooked up to streams, not sure how long they will last in event of a n outage, but hopefully through the night or until i can get back here. I think that i will put the mjmods on them, as they use less power