Battery backup needs

[stickx911]

I am going to buy a battery backup in the next few days for temporary power outages (which are rare here, but can happen). What all should I choose to backup. What life support systems are necessary if power were to go out for an hour or so?

Should I just buy a small generator?

 

[roland jacques]

1. Power head (pointed at the surface for air/gas exchange) Hydor/maxi mod... low watage type should last for hours with a battery backup.
2. Power head (pointed at the surface for air/gas exchange)
3. Power head (pointed at the surface for air/gas exchange)
4. A heater in winter time ( but they draw a lot of power and a battery back up would not run a large one for very long at all.

 

[ralph atl]

I have 3 things in place for power outages:

1. cheap battery powered air stone that comes on only when power is out
2. APC 750 smart battery backup just for my return pump to "buy me time" until I get home or whatever. This also takes care of short power outages.
3. inexpensive 3000 watt generator for longer than an hour outages. I can also put my frig & living room on it.

 

[roland jacques]

Mysterybox, How long does your APC 750 run your return pump and what kind of pump/watt-user is it?

I also like a back up battery powered air pump on a tank for power outage. you can get these that run on D batteries. They last a good amont of time also.

I just bought a APC 350 on sale at office Depot for $29 (last week) i wonder how long a 5-7 watts 1400gph maxi 400 sureflow mod will run on that battery. I wonder if 350 is the watt/hours.

 

[ralph atl]

first, it must be a "smart" APC so you have a true sine wave. Its easy to find out how long it will last by leaving it hooked up and just unplu it. Depending on your pump & battery backup, It should last from 15 minutes to 2 or maybe 3 hours.

 

[jonathan]

I recently purchased a Honda 2000 watt inverter after taking a look at some of the cheaper units erratic power power output graphs. Let me just say that not all generators are suitable for sensitive electronics. I'm not sure how picky pumps can be but I wouldn't want to shorten the life of anything by giving it dirty power. JMHO

Jonathan

 

[mojo]

mysterybox;167013 wrote: first, it must be a "smart" APC so you have a true sine wave. Its easy to find out how long it will last by leaving it hooked up and just unplu it. Depending on your pump & battery backup, It should last from 15 minutes to 2 or maybe 3 hours.

The batteries used in UPS's are not deep cycle batteries, and cannot withstand more than a couple full discharges. If you discharge it using a "test", you'll seriously shorten the life of your UPS batteries. You're better off to calculate it using an online calculator.