Can someone help me pick out a battery backup solution for my tank? According to my apex power bars I’m pulling about 480 watts of which 327 is from my lights. I can likely reduce this a bit more if I’m selective with what I power. I live in Florida and we have a storm approaching. I have a gas generator and hook up to my electric panel but can’t use it until the storm passes. I was hoping to find something that can get me through the first 24 hours until I can go outside and turn on the generator. Ideally I’d like to just run my tank without turning off equipment, but I’m not opposed to reducing the load if needed. I do have backup battery on my 2 MP40s as well. Any suggestions for an affordable solution? I’m fine with needing to change the plugs once the power is off
Best back up battery solution for first 24 hours of Hurricane?
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marcsupial
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Hey neighbor, I’m in central Florida preparing as well.
Without my kessil connected to the powerbar my apex shows ~60 watts draw. I already had an APC UPS 1350 in my home office that my pc was hooked up to. Decided today to move it over to my tank instead since the computer will just be shut off well before the storm anyways. So I plugged in just the Apex to the battery backup as I’m not concerned if the kessil is off for a couple of days and would prefer to conserve battery. A short test run today with the ups unplugged from the wall showed ~300 mins of runtime reported on its screen.
Real world usage probably won’t be that much as the load is a bit below the recommended minimum for this ups and so the efficiency will suffer. But my goal is pretty much the same as yours, just run it long enough for me to switch over to my generator. And it should be plenty for that. Although if you really need a full 24 hours then your goal might be slightly different.
This is the particular one mentioned but I have a few APC backups that all work great: APC UPS 1350
Without my kessil connected to the powerbar my apex shows ~60 watts draw. I already had an APC UPS 1350 in my home office that my pc was hooked up to. Decided today to move it over to my tank instead since the computer will just be shut off well before the storm anyways. So I plugged in just the Apex to the battery backup as I’m not concerned if the kessil is off for a couple of days and would prefer to conserve battery. A short test run today with the ups unplugged from the wall showed ~300 mins of runtime reported on its screen.
Real world usage probably won’t be that much as the load is a bit below the recommended minimum for this ups and so the efficiency will suffer. But my goal is pretty much the same as yours, just run it long enough for me to switch over to my generator. And it should be plenty for that. Although if you really need a full 24 hours then your goal might be slightly different.
This is the particular one mentioned but I have a few APC backups that all work great: APC UPS 1350
You turn off the lights. Your coral will be fine without lights for a day
That’s a lot of power for a battery to run for 24 hours.
That’s a lot of power for a battery to run for 24 hours.
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Those are for computers
This would work better
It’s 300. I got on sale for 250
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I can run the return pump on my 75g tank for 40 hours with this one
They also have this one with double the runtime for $420
marcsupial
Community Member
My apex is a computer. I can leave this plugged in all the time and just need to go to the garage and hit the generator transfer switches when the power goes out. Compared to having to unplug from the wall to plug into a portable battery.
But you will definitely get more runtime from a larger battery like that.
But you will definitely get more runtime from a larger battery like that.
Ok so your running the apex brain alone. That’s ok. I assumed you were attempting to also run pumps controlled by the apex
fishface NJ
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Portable Power Station, 1008Wh LiFePO4 Battey, 800W 1.5 Hours Fast Charging, 2000W Peak Output
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marcsupial
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OP mentioned they have a generator and are looking for short term solutions to bridge the gap until he can switch over his power.
also a good one
Thrillik
Community Member
Any recommendations on what to do for longer term if I plan to evacuate? I have 2 vortech backups for my MP40s (daisy chained and connected to one that I've moved to the top of my tank to provide surface agitation). I ordered an Anker battery backup a few days ago, but doesn't look like its going to get here in time. I am planning to evacuate, so a generator isn't an option for me (won't be there to fuel it, start it, etc).
If you run one mp40 with 2 batteries daisy chained together, I would expect maybe a few days of flow. If it were my tank, I would have the mp40’s going along with a bait bubbler and hope for the best. Good luck to you.
fishface NJ
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Good luck! Stay safe
Ironwill723
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The electrons don't care, but the load do care about the waveform. Most cheap UPS systems put out a stepped wave and as such don't work well (at all) for AC motors.
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