UPS?

[fishstix]

Do you run a UPS on your tank?

I bought two of the UPS's one for each of my EB832.
Here the UPS I bought and can still return, my thoughts were for them to come on long enough until the whole house generator comes on.

Will this work, or am I better off not using them?

CP1500PFCLCD
PFC Sinewave UPS Series
https://www.cyberpowersystems.com/product/ups/cp1500pfclcd/
900W each.


EB832 -1
Radion XR15w - 3
500 Watt Heater
Abyzz a200 pump
IceCap Fan

EB832-1
Radion Xr15w - 2
500 Watt Heater
80 Watt UV
ReefLink
IceCap Fan
EB832-1

 

[Goodair]

What UPS do you have? that is ALOT of power to be draining off the ups during a power outage. Some of the equipment you can have doesn't need to be running during a short outage.

 

[ccombs]

What UPS do you have? that is ALOT of power to be draining off the ups during a power outage

Agreed. Since it seems like you have the APEX, I would use the power monitor feature so it only runs the essentials in a power outage.

I have mine set to only run 1 return pump and my main heater. I have it set to monitor the temp and only turn that heater on if the temp gets dangerously low.

 

[fishstix]

What UPS do you have? that is ALOT of power to be draining off the ups during a power outage. Some of the equipment you can have doesn't need to be running during a short outage.

Sorry forgot to put that in.
CP1500PFCLCD
PFC Sinewave UPS Series
https://www.cyberpowersystems.com/product/ups/cp1500pfclcd/
900W each.

 

[fishstix]

Yes I have the Apex as well. Are you just saying not to use them at all then?

My main goal is so Apex does not shutdown. I have had problems in the past with that. Less than 5 minutes the whole house generator will come on and everything on tank will run as normal even if the power out

 

[Reefltx]

I have that UPS, it can run my whole system for about 14-18mins.

 

[fishstix]

I have that UPS, it can run my whole system for about 14-18mins.

Would two run the stuff I have listed?

 

[Goodair]

How many watts do they use total

 

[Goodair]

These are the numbers from their site. In real life it will be lower but not far off.

 

[Reefltx]

Would two run the stuff I have listed?

I think you would have no problem as long as those heaters dont kick in. :D

 

[Tastee]

Would two run the stuff I have listed?

It will run it, the question is simply for how long?

I run a CyberPower 1500 for my 65g tank, powers my EB6. For the first 30 mins of an outage I just run the Apex, return, wavemaker and skimmer. After that I switch to a 5/10 min OSC cycle - runs 5 mins out of every 15. This extends my UPS life. I estimate a max of 4-5 hours. Have only tested in real life for 50 mins and the UPS data was in line with my estimate.

I don’t run heaters, lights etc during an outage. In my case outages are rare and long outages even more rare. If they were more prevalent and longer I would invest in a generator as a backup as a UPS life is short no matter how many tricks you apply.

 

[fishstix]

It will run it, the question is simply for how long?

I run a CyberPower 1500 for my 65g tank, powers my EB6. For the first 30 mins of an outage I just run the Apex, return, wavemaker and skimmer. After that I switch to a 5/10 min OSC cycle - runs 5 mins out of every 15. This extends my UPS life. I estimate a max of 4-5 hours. Have only tested in real life for 50 mins and the UPS data was in line with my estimate.

I don’t run heaters, lights etc during an outage. In my case outages are rare and long outages even more rare. If they were more prevalent and longer I would invest in a generator as a backup as a UPS life is short no matter how many tricks you apply.

Thanks for the info. So I have two other tanks on apex as well and the 1500 as well UPS, all that is connected to the UPS and backup power for the apex head unit and the return pump. I am thinking that would be my best bet at this point and let the other stuff just go offline until the whole house generator kicks in? I think that my best option for this tank as well?

I assume I am not missing something and have to have the equipment I want to run plugged direct to the UPS?

Thanks again

 

[Tastee]

Thanks for the info. So I have two other tanks on apex as well and the 1500 as well UPS, all that is connected to the UPS and backup power for the apex head unit and the return pump. I am thinking that would be my best bet at this point and let the other stuff just go offline until the whole house generator kicks in? I think that my best option for this tank as well?

I personally run the return, wavemaker and skimmer. The return and skimmer give me good oxygenation, the wavemaker gives me good flow. Both things are important, flow especially important for corals, particularly SPS, at least from everything I’ve read so far (I am only 18 months into the hobby so still fairly wet behind the ears). I would be more comfortable shutting the skimmer down than I would the wavemaker as the return is probably enough for oxygenation, but not enough for flow by itself.

I assume I am not missing something and have to have the equipment I want to run plugged direct to the UPS?

Thanks again

That’s what I do. The only thing I have plugged into my UPS is the EB6. All the equipment I want to control via the Apex and/or run during an outage is then powered from that. Everything else is powered from mains.

By doing this I can control what comes on and for how long etc during an outage by Apex programming. For example I connect my main heater to the EB6 as I want to control it from the Apex but in a power outage I turn it off via the Apex programming.

Regards, Brad.

 

[ccombs]

I would recommend getting the DC power supply for the APEX and running the power monitor.

You will run everything to the UPS except the DC power brick. The APEX base senses when it loses power from the DC input, most likely meaning a power outage and that the system in on the UPS.

At this point the APEX programming kicks in and shuts off the non essential outlets until power is restored. With a power outage, the Energy Bar connected to the UPS still has power, meaning you have Aquabus going to all of your devices so it stays online. The APEX then runs whatever you have programmed and shuts stuff on the energy bar off that you do not need. If the whole home generator kicks on in about 5 minutes, I would have it turn the heaters off until you get on generator or power is restored. While you are in that in between time, just run your return pumps and powerheads. You can also set up the program to kick the heaters on if the temp drops like crazy.

In theory, if the generator fails to kick on, you can set the heaters to run off the UPS when the temp drops to like 72 degrees or something. However, with any volume of water this will take quite some time.

 

[Tastee]

I would recommend getting the DC power supply for the APEX and running the power monitor.

Thanks for mentioning this. That is what I do so that I can then control what comes on or off during an outage from the Apex. If you don’t run this then the Apex can’t detect an outage - it will stay on due to the UPS but not detect it is in an outage situation.

You need the power monitor to do what I have described.

 

[ccombs]

Thanks for mentioning this. That is what I do so that I can then control what comes on or off during an outage from the Apex. If you don’t run this then the Apex can’t detect an outage - it will stay on due to the UPS but not detect it is in an outage situation.

You need the power monitor to do what I have described.

It frustrates me that it is a $15 power supply they sell extra... but can't include the dang thing when you buy the $800 controller.

 

[Tastee]

It frustrates me that it is a $15 power supply they sell extra... but can't include the dang thing when you buy the $800 controller.

+1 with this. Particularly when the power supply in question probably costs them closer to 15c than $15.

I didn’t buy theirs however, I used an existing spare supply I had with the required specs. Fortunately this is not an uncommon adapter.