Winters coming--Back Up Batteries?

[babyreef]

BLANK

[Seamazter]

Just check with staples.ca id say heater and backup airpump.
You can get away with a small APC.
When the power fails your backup heater comes on and so does the airpump.
Other then that, everything is safe in your tank, till the power comes on, you dont need it for your lights or anything else.

http://www.staples.ca/ENG/Catalog/ca...affixedcode=WW

[mike31154]

Tons of options really. Also depends on the size of your system & components keeping it going. Since you have a VorTech MP10, the EcoTech battery backup would keep that baby going for quite a while, flow being one of the more vital issues to keep your critters alive. Generator properly sized can keep all of your equipment going. You can go manual with that, or install a whole house generator (Generac) that comes on automatically if there's a power outage. Big bucks though. If you're at home when it happens, your car battery or any charged 12 volt battery (deep cycle is best) hooked up to an inverter can provide power for the basic stuff. I have two PennPlax battery powered air pumps in my tank that will automatically come on when power is lost. That's probably the most basic life support system, but it should keep the critters alive for a day or so until you can get something more robust on line. I'd actually advise against any computer type power backup unit, they're generally designed only to provide a few minutes of power to allow the computer to shut down before losing any data. Not really designed to run pumps, lights, heaters etc.

[daniella3d]

I used a Noma 400 watt home back up and it worked well for many years. Now the battery is dead and I will try to replace it or I will buy a new one. This think takes over as soon as the power goes out and it last for a few hours depending on your load. I put my pumps on it and my skimmer and with 30 watt of load I can last for about 10 hours.

Next time I think I will buy the stronger model, althouth more expensive.

[Black Phantom]

Did the Noma thing as well but the batteries died after one year and found out I couldn't replace them. Not very happy.
Now I just have a generator if things go down.

[globaldesigns]

Too bad you are not in Calgary. I have 1000VA APC units with brand new batteries for $100 each.

[mike31154]

The number you want to put some importance on when looking at any battery backup unit is the Ah rating (ampere/hours), not just the wattage. This is because that number will tell you more about how long you'll be able to run a given number of life support appliances more so than simply watts. You really need both numbers to make the best call, but too many units out there have the wattage stamped on them and no Ah data, which is vital. Many of the APC units have smaller sealed cell batteries in them that are not serviceable, hence the difficulty in getting them replaced when the time comes. A marine or deep cycle battery on the other hand, has clearly marked Ah rating and is servicable/replaceable fairly easily. The drawback is bulk and the requirement for adequate ventilation. This is why you won't see one of these bad boys inside the APC backup units. All you need to do is look at the relatively small size of most APC backup power supplies to figure out that it's not going to run a sizeable pump, heater or lights for very long. It's physically impossible with current battery technology to get high power for a reasonably long time in a small package. Best backup if you can afford it is a whole house backup generator (Generac) that will start up automatically when power fails. I don't have one, so my backup as mentioned in my previous post, is at the other end of the spectrum, two PennPlax D cell powered air pumps. They're cheap but for the price also have a sensing relay that allows them to fire up when power loss happens. I count on them to keep stuff alive until I get home if away and then pull one of the batteries out of my car & hook up an inverter to keep the vitals going. So far I've only needed to do this once, thanks to the foresight of politicians in the past who blessed BC with a crapload of big dams & reservoirs so that we can still enjoy relatively cheap, uninterrupted hydro power.

Edit: Winters eh? In Chilliwack? Surely you jest.

[babyreef]

BLANK

[mike31154]

All good. The crack about winters in Chilliwack is all in fun. I heard the coast got hit with some high winds recently, definitely a power line downing issue. You guys in Chilli make out ok?? By the time it gets to us in the interior, much of the oomph is out of that kind of weather, but it was still breezy here today.

[babyreef]

BLANK