DIY battery back up?

[myjohnson]

So hurricane season is coming soon again. I was thinking of making a battery back up pack for my powerhead to keep the water moving if the lights go out.

I don't know to much about this find of stuff, so I'm looking for any information on how to make one.

thanks guys.

[armthehomeless]

I saw that fshfrk had created one using a car battery and an old cell phone charger last year... he just spliced the wires from the powerhead to the cell phone charger and plugger it in to the battery

[MeuserReef]

If your powerhead is one that operates on 110V AC power (the kind that plug right into the wall socket), then you will not be able to run them off of a battery without the help of a Power Inverter.

The only pumps that I know of that can be directly wired to a battery are the DC Tunze streams (which are $$$$)

You can build a power backup using a 12V "Deep Cycle" Marine battery, a small power inverter pretty cheap (<$75 probably). The tricky part is creating the "Automatic Transfer Switch" that will detect when the power is out and switch the powerhead over to the backup power.

How big of a pump and how long you want it to run will determine the "AH" (amp-hour) capacity of the battery that will be required.

Sorry to sound so technical but I am a real geek when it comes to this type of stuff

(plus... I too am looking into building a backup for my reef tank)

[jeebus]

Wow, awesome first post! Welcome to the box.

[ddaquaria]

Why not just purchase a UPS?

We spend $$$$ on our colonies, and now you want to go DIY (assuming to save money) on a piece of equipment that could possibly save your colony.

I've been check out the UPS' from APC. I figured this could keep my wet/dry pump or a powerhead running in case of an emergency.

[Zulaab]

I hope to install a NG driven 16000w generator within the next two-three years so I will never have this issue happen, and the best part is it increases the resale value of your house.

[MeuserReef]

Glad to be on board this here forum. I tend to spend most of my energies on the salty-side of my aquarium addiction, um,... i mean hobby . With the upcoming upgrade to our 55g Daffodil tank (to a 90), I finally decided that (almost three years after registering) I would join in on the fun! I will likely spend my time here in the DIY section.

Zulaab, Im sure a NG generator on an ATS will work too...

A DIY battery backup (using a Deep Cycle battery) will smoke the doors off of most (affordable) UPS units out there. Im not saying that a UPS isnt a good "out of the box" solution, only that if one is looking to "build vs. buy"... a better unit can be built.

[jeebus]

Why not just purchase a UPS?

We spend $$$$ on our colonies, and now you want to go DIY (assuming to save money) on a piece of equipment that could possibly save your colony.

I've been check out the UPS' from APC. I figured this could keep my wet/dry pump or a powerhead running in case of an emergency.

Because they will give you about 5 minutes - tops. I have one hooked to my 135. It powers a Mag Drive 950, 300 watt heater, Eheim 2217, and a Odyssea 550 powerhead for about 3 to 5 minutes.

I don't understand the science behind it, but it has to do with the fact that UPS are designed for computer power supplies that are a different voltage/wattage/amperage/whatever than fish equipment.

Perhaps if you toyed with different equipment on one you could maximize the UPS's potential. Ultimately however you still won't get more than a few hours - and during a hurricane that's just not enough.

I have a 6500 watt generator. I used it during Ike and lost zero fish. :emt_thumbs:

[ddaquaria]

Jeebus, I get using the generator but my understanding was he is creating a battery backup. I don't consider a generator to really "fit" that idea which is why my opinion was directed towards a battery backup system.

I did not realize that you would only get about 5 minutes with those devices. But I have a lot of questions concerning to the short time frame. 1) Why plug in a heater? I lived in Houston during hurricane weather - it never got cold and I cant remember a single power outage that occurred in the winter. 2) What was the rating of the UPS? I was only looking at supporting my wet/dry (mag 12) for as long as possible.

For a hurricane, I don't think a UPS is a really good solution since it is so limited. I would like to see more battery backup options that would be more reliable.

[myjohnson]

Why not just purchase a UPS?

They don't work as long as you think. Already had a friend that tried. Do you have a UPS on any of your stuff? Maybe it was just my friend that screwed up.

We spend $$$$ on our colonies, and now you want to go DIY (assuming to save money) on a piece of equipment that could possibly save your colony.

If you seen my tanks you would know that I got rocks that cost more than my colonies. This DIY is not cheap. Planing to have the battery back up last at over a week on a tunze modded.

I've been check out the UPS' from APC. I figured this could keep my wet/dry pump or a powerhead running in case of an emergency.

DD, Try it and report back on how long it last. Glen was going to try the same thing but never did it, I don't think. I would love to get a second person to try a UPS and see how it works. Again, as stated above it did not last long for my friend.

[myjohnson]

A DIY battery backup (using a Deep Cycle battery) will smoke the doors off of most (affordable) UPS units out there. Im not saying that a UPS isnt a good "out of the box" solution, only that if one is looking to "build vs. buy"... a better unit can be built.

+1, this was the report I got from EK.

[myjohnson]

Because they will give you about 5 minutes - tops. I have one hooked to my 135. It powers a Mag Drive 950, 300 watt heater, Eheim 2217, and a Odyssea 550 powerhead for about 3 to 5 minutes.

I don't understand the science behind it, but it has to do with the fact that UPS are designed for computer power supplies that are a different voltage/wattage/amperage/whatever than fish equipment.

Perhaps if you toyed with different equipment on one you could maximize the UPS's potential. Ultimately however you still won't get more than a few hours - and during a hurricane that's just not enough.

I have a 6500 watt generator. I used it during Ike and lost zero fish. :emt_thumbs:

Thanks for the report Glen. This is the second conformed person that used the UPS and didn't work as long as we would like.

[MeuserReef]

Science,?...! I like Science! (Physics is cool too!)

The UPS batteries that come in most of the smaller UPS backups for personal computers are only in the 5 - 8.5 Ah range. The "Amp Hour" rating will determin the MAX wattage of the equipment you wish to power and how long the battery will power that equipment during power outages.

EXAMPLE: You have a Modded Maxijet pump that will act as your "Emergency" pump. A Maxi-Jet 1200 pump will consume 20 watts of power. Heaters are not a good idea because 1.) they consume A LOT of power (high wattage) and 2.) they usually are needed for a "hurricane" backup... because hurricanes occur during the warm season.

Ok.. so on a small $23, 200W 12V to 120V power inverter, connected to the 8.5 Ah "UPS" battery...(which By the way is $198!!!!) you end up getting a whopping 111 minutes of runtime on your battery. Not really ideal for a Hurricane contingency plan.

Now... lets say you pick up a 90 Ah 12V Deep Cycle Marine battery (for $80), connected to the same 200W power inverter, you would be able to run your emergency pump for 22.5 HOURS (1350 minutes). Not to mention that during long outages, the battery can be recharged by connecting it to your car.

Sorry for the long post, but this is one area that I have done some serious study on lately.

-Josh

EDIT: Here is the Battery Calculator that I used for the info above BATTERY CALCULATOR

[myjohnson]

Josh,

Nothing to be sorry about bro. This was the information I was looking for. I will post pictures of the stuff I already got.....

Maybe you can give me some advice on what else I need.

thanks.

-mj

[MeuserReef]

MJ, Let me know what you are working with and we can go from there.

-Josh