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Investing in a UPS

bertolli

bertolli

Members
Hey all,
Since we lost power and I lost some fish due to no heat I think it would be neglectful to not take action should this happen again, especially since we are expecting the possibility of more power losses this week. I was told the best option would probably be an Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) and wondered if anyone knew what would be sufficient to power my 150W heater for the duration of at least a 24 hour outage. My fish can do fine at ~65 degrees normally the tank is about 78. I'm not too savy when it comes to electrical calculations/terminology so I was hoping someone could help out. If anyone has a better solution to saving fish during outages I am open to any suggestions. I just did a quick google search and found this website: www.upsforless.com If anyone knows what my best option would be or if theres a local store in the NOVA area that sells these things (I'm looking to spend $100 at the most) or knows of any alternatives I'd appreciate the input.
Happy ice day! :cool:
 
Tony

Tony

Alligator Snapping Turtle/Past Pres
Hey Mark,

I believe that desktop computers use anywhere between 150-250 watts, depending on the box setup and the type of monitor. This being said, go with any of the units that will support a monitor being on and you should be fine.

Remember that you also want to allow for an air pump or filter to be running. Cichlids can survive longer in colder water than they can in non-oxygenated water.
 
A

AndyNarwhal

Members
A UPS will not last long enough to be of any use for heating the aquarium. A 1500VA unit will only last about 2.5 hours at a minimum power of 100 watts. UPS systems are meant to allow you time to safely shut down your computer not run it for hours.

If you are dealing with a power outage longer than 3 hours then you want to have a generator. Under 3 hours you probably don't need anything although a battery powered air pump is not a bad idea.

Andy
 
gliebig

gliebig

Members
I sold one of my vortechs, but was planning on keeping the other setup just for this case. I think the battery backup will last around 12hrs. At least I'd still have water flow in there. I don't need the flow, so I'll probably just keep it on it's lowest setting.
 
davidhusker

davidhusker

Members
This thread is sort of ironic to me for this reason.

When i moved into my house, the previous owners left all the chemicals and electrical "stuff" Mostly extension cords, light bulbs, etc. because they moved to Germany. I was treated to a brand new unopened UPS in the garage which retails for upwards of $299 online.

I though about hooking it up for my fishroom, but looked up the specs. These things pull major power. To run these your looking at 600-800 watts of power. So it wasnt worth it for me to hook it up. You;d be better off buying a small generator and running cords to the tanks for power loss IMO.
 
hollyfish2000

hollyfish2000

Members
I have two Xantrex PowerPac 400s. I've used one for a short power outage recently. I was able to connect two Fluval 305s from two different tanks. It worked great! They can be recharged with a car cigarette lighter. I don't plan to use them for heaters, though. I think heaters generally will pull too much juice. When I had my outage, I wrapped all tanks in blankets. Now, this was only for a few hours, but it worked. As I recall, they were abourt $200 each online. ..
 
C

Cartel

Members
The battery air pumps are not a bad idea to have I just don't see what you could do with the heat packs or how efficient they would be. I would just wrap the tanks with a blanket.
 
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