Battery Back-up?

[gregbot9000]

How many of you guys use them?

I wanted to get one just for my 1 return pump in case of power outage. What are some good ones and what size voltage would i need.

[miwoodar]

Off the shelf battery backups - even the larger ones - are not capable of running a tank for more than a few minutes. I had an APC 1500 and it was good for only 8 amp hours. This thread shows how to make a 205 amp hour unit for ~150 bucks....I use this one for my DIY MJ Mods. In colder months, especially if I were going out of town, I might add a SMALL heater and drop it into the main tank.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=64918

[jeffbrig]

Greg, my tank has an APC UPS that's rated for 1400 VA. Running a single Tunze 6100, it provides plenty of water movement, and I've used it for up to 4 hours and it was still going strong (no low-battery alarms). Post-Wilma it allowed me to turn off the generator for a few hours here and there to save gas. I also think it's nice to have in case of a random (short) power outage when I'm not at home.

Unfortunately, I don't see it as a long term solution unless you want to use it to run a 3-4 watt airpump. If you do that right with some PVC airlifts, you can still create a ton of flow. I also have a couple of those battery powered airpumps, but I wasn't terribly impressed with their output. They're my 3rd string backup plan. :D

BTW, I'm about to swap out an APC 1100VA that's on my computer because it's old and alarms frequently. The light indicates it needs a new battery, but I picked up a new one for a good price. If you're interested in the old one, let me know.