Ups battery back up?

[Tajjo]

How long will a 900 ups power 30 watt pump for? Or what one should I be looking for?

[Tajjo]

Anybody?

[Logzor]

I am not sure how long it would power that pump but you should looks into deep cycle batteries. Those UPS systems are made to keep a computer running just long enough to save your work (around 15 minutes).

[Tajjo]

Will do thanks. I thought those ups were kinda short on the stored energy

[Tajjo]

Well actually I will be running 2 tunze 6105's

[IslandCrow]

I can't give you an exact answer, but I can say that I was rather disappointed about how long a standard UPS could run even my low amp equipment (like a powerhead). The battery just dissipates its energy too quickly. I wouldn't expect more than an hour.

Logzor has the answer you may be looking for, though. An inverter hooked up to a deep cycle marine battery (or even a regular car battery) will get you much more life. I can run my skimmer, return pump, fan and a powerhead for at least 12 hours (probably much longer) using this set-up. The inverter I have also works just like an UPS (technically, it is an UPS). If the power goes off, it kicks on. Otherwise, you're using the home's A/C power. TrippLite makes a very nice line of inverters/UPS. I'm afraid they're not cheap, though.

[Flipper62]

The run time on the UPS systen will depend on how big of UPS backup that you buy & what you will have plugged into it.

I use 1 UPS for my BioCube. I have the pumps, powerheads & heater running on the battery backup side & everything else plugged into the surge only side. The last outage that we had, everything ran for about 5 hours.

I have 3 UPS units for my bigger tank. Everything is split up depending on what needs to keep running. some lights & 1 pump on 1 UPS.....heaters & pump on 2nd UPS....ect..ect... Everything kept running for about the same amount of time

The only thing that you really need to have plugged into the battery backup section of the UPS is the things that you need to keep running. If you look at the watts of everything, add them up, then get 1 or 2 of the UPS units.

[Flipper62]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14905430#post14905430 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by IslandCrow
I can't give you an exact answer, but I can say that I was rather disappointed about how long a standard UPS could run even my low amp equipment (like a powerhead). The battery just dissipates its energy too quickly. I wouldn't expect more than an hour.



IslandCrow,

I'm not sure how big of UPS unit that you used, But as I said in my first reply ^^^ My backups kept things going for about 5 hours. I will say that I didn't buy the $ 75.00 or $125 units. That may be the problem. The cheep ones are really only made to back up your computer & shut it down.

I believe the smaller one for the bioCube was around $375.00. The other ones were about the same, maybe a little more. But the way I was looking at it was...I have way too much more money invested in the tanks then that, to loose them

[rwrvetn]

Living in Florida we have many power interruptions. I use a marine bilge pump (large and totally plastic encased)"Teed" below a back flow arrester valve on my main overhead flow. I built a circuit switch which monitors A/C power. When power is off, it swithes to a deep cell marine battery to power the pump and can maintain good flow between the tank and sump for many hours until I can get to start an electrical generator. A self monitoring trickle charger keep the battery. Its worth the insurance!

[Tajjo]

Wow guys thanks for all the info. I think I'll try the marine battery.

[Tajjo]

Or I'll just look into the simplicity between the 2.

[Tajjo]

Islandcrow

What setup are you using what size of battery and well I guess the inverter goes based off how many plugins I'll need.

[IslandCrow]

Very good point, Flipper. I can't recall exactly what I had, but probably a 500-600 watt UPS that I got from Best Buy for under $100, so certainly nothing fancy. I think inverters are still a better way to go, but that depends on your needs and budget, so I'm glad you pointed that out.

Tajjo, I'll have to get back to you once I get home. The inverters are rated by wattage, just like a computer UPS, so you'll just need to figure out what size load you'll be putting on it. I can't recall the details of the inverter or the battery I have at the moment.

Another nice thing about inverters is you can hook up multiple batteries if you need them to last longer. Hell, in a pinch you could pull the battery from your car and use that (you may need a ride to work in the morning, though).

[jayk198030]

buy a generator!! back feed ur house when power is going to b off for long periods of time. did that for my mother in Fl. they where always losing their food do to storms and power outages.

[ReneX]

I have a UPS (XPower Powerpack 300) available for my tank in case of an outage and I just tested it this weekend as the hurricane season is coming up. It ran my Koralia nano for 44.5 hours. Not too bad. It's worth figuring out what exactly you'll need in an outage and how long you may need to run it for. A pump alone will keep a tank going for a few days unless the temperatures are extreme.

[IslandCrow]

Islandcrow

What setup are you using what size of battery and well I guess the inverter goes based off how many plugins I'll need.

I'm using a TrippLite APS-750 inverter connected to an Interstate SRM-29 Deep Cycle marine battery. Make sure you take into account the price of the battery. You're probably going to spend over $100 for a good one. There are certainly other options out there, but I've been extremely happy with this setup.

I'll say one word on generators. I have one, and they're great, especially if you're someplace like Florida and could potentially be without power for days. There are a couple gotchas, though. Except for the really nice (and expensive) generators, they generally won't start up automatically if you're not at home. So, if you're like me and go out of town a lot, this can definitely be an issue. Next, many generators do not produce a true sine wave. I'm not electrician, so I can't give you the detailed explanation on this, but what it means to you is it may not run all of your equipment. For example, my generator will run my skimmer and close loop pumps, but it won't run my Eheim return pump. There are also a few other things that don't operate correctly (or at all) that I can't recall at the moment. Overall, I can keep my system up and running pretty much indefinitely with it, so it's an important part of my backup plan, but it's not perfect.

[Tajjo]

Thanks Mike I realy appretiate the help. I don't go out of town often but I live in Denver and sometimes snow storms or rain storms can kill the power and I just don't want to be left with no options when it's too late. Aspecially since therse no telling when you will need a backup power supply. For no I think I'll stick with the marine battery.

[MileHighFish]

LOL this makes me realize how cheap I am, I just use one of those battery back up air pumps.. Im not sure how long it will run, luckily I have not had to use it.

[ReneX]

You may want to see how long it will run before you have to use it. That way you'll know how many batteries you'll need on hand. Nothing wrong with a battery operated airpump!

[MileHighFish]

Your right Rene, I will do that for piece of mind.