battery backup

reachjohnnyliu · 05/14/2019, 10:40 PM

Is there any reason to not use a UPC that's designed for a computer as the battery backup for an aquarium?

gargoylenest · 05/15/2019, 12:53 AM

that is what I been using for 2 years, give me a few hours on the pumps until I start the generator.

alton · 05/15/2019, 11:21 AM

UPS are used for backup of items for a very short time. Unless you connect a deep cycle battery normally you may only connect a small power head. 12 amp hour battery x 12 volts + 144 watts per hour so 120v motor x 10 watts = 120 watts for an hour. There are other factors but hopefully you get the idea?

ROlympia · 05/15/2019, 07:44 PM

Depends on what you're putting on it. Ecotech pumps/powerheads for instance will slow to conserve battery life when power fails and connected to an Ecotech battery backup; won't on a UPS.

Wiskey · 05/15/2019, 10:13 PM

It depends. There are "true" sine wave battery backups, and regular ones. I have a regular one and if I connect that to my computer it works great, but my Iwaki pump makes a crazy noise.

My backup is only connected to my tunze pump. It will last about 24 hours in it's current config, but if I was buying new I'd buy the Tunze solution that's DC to DC for extra efficiency.

It did save my tank. We had fires that wiped out the community next to ours, but never jumped the 15 freeway. This was about 2 years ago. We were evacuated for a week, and the logs show that power was out in my system for about a day and a half. I have no idea what temp did, but that one Tunze 6105 kept flow going and the corals and fish all survived.

My advice? Keep flow going and that's it. The most important thing is flow to bring O2 to corals, and propeller pumps are very low power so they can run a long time.

Whiskey

05/14/2019, 10:40 PM	#1
reachjohnnyliu Registered Member Join Date: May 2019 Posts: 56	battery backup Is there any reason to not use a UPC that's designed for a computer as the battery backup for an aquarium?

05/15/2019, 10:13 PM	#5
Wiskey Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Fallbrook, CA Posts: 3,049	It depends. There are "true" sine wave battery backups, and regular ones. I have a regular one and if I connect that to my computer it works great, but my Iwaki pump makes a crazy noise. My backup is only connected to my tunze pump. It will last about 24 hours in it's current config, but if I was buying new I'd buy the Tunze solution that's DC to DC for extra efficiency. It did save my tank. We had fires that wiped out the community next to ours, but never jumped the 15 freeway. This was about 2 years ago. We were evacuated for a week, and the logs show that power was out in my system for about a day and a half. I have no idea what temp did, but that one Tunze 6105 kept flow going and the corals and fish all survived. My advice? Keep flow going and that's it. The most important thing is flow to bring O2 to corals, and propeller pumps are very low power so they can run a long time. Whiskey __________________ This video shows 15 months of coral growth in my tank in a 30 second timelapse: https://youtu.be/bF6C57aTDEo

05/15/2019, 12:53 AM	#2
gargoylenest Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: montreal,canada Posts: 135	that is what I been using for 2 years, give me a few hours on the pumps until I start the generator.

05/15/2019, 11:21 AM	#3
alton Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Zuehl, Texas Posts: 4,460	UPS are used for backup of items for a very short time. Unless you connect a deep cycle battery normally you may only connect a small power head. 12 amp hour battery x 12 volts + 144 watts per hour so 120v motor x 10 watts = 120 watts for an hour. There are other factors but hopefully you get the idea?

05/15/2019, 07:44 PM	#4
ROlympia Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2017 Posts: 138	Depends on what you're putting on it. Ecotech pumps/powerheads for instance will slow to conserve battery life when power fails and connected to an Ecotech battery backup; won't on a UPS.