First crisis

[Tynan Rasmus]

and I dont even have my fish yet!! lol

Ok, so at 4am this morning my power decides to go out. By 7am its freezing in here, it was -25c out side. My tank temp had dropped 5 degrees by that time and I had to go out, so I had no clue when the hydro came back on. So when I made it back home, I counted ..... I guess I was lucky, I have one dead blue hermit, and 2 missing. The rest are alive and well.

So tell me .... as I have been looking at APC .... what can I get that would run my tank for at least 4 hours during a power outage??

Thanks

[mdcorcoran]

how big is your tank?
You could get a UPS at best buy or any computer store. I think when the power goes out, you don't really need to worry about alot of things. Where you are, your main concern would be heat. What is the wattage of your heater? Most of the UPSes I've seen advertise that they'll run a computer for 90 minutes or so. I'd imagine that your heater uses less energy than a computer, but I could be very wrong. If I'm not, then you would probably be fine with a normal one. You don't need to worry about skimming, and since it's an emergency, just a little flow should suffice for a short period of time.

[Tynan Rasmus]

its a 14 gallon with a 50w heater, 50 watts worth of lights, which I dont need, and 50 watts worth of motor.

[Loverotties]

I'm not shure what APC is but a Gel cell battery and a 200 watt inverter is all you need for a the 4 hours your looking for.

[Tynan Rasmus]

APC is the largest manufacturer of UPS devices. The battery and inverter is fine, but what would I use to charge it?

Thanks

[Hardhead Cat]

The UPS units we have on our computers are charged automatically when the power is on. When the electricity goes off, the battery runs whatever you need.

HHC

[Tynan Rasmus]

Yep .... Thanks, I knew that already. My post was in response to the one above who mentioned just a gel cell battery and an inverter, but no UPS. My problem is that I cannot find a UPS that runs that long.

[UseSkaForEvil]

well, my ups used to run my 500watt psu on my computer for about an hour, but for whatever reason it won't hold a charge anymore

[WibblyPig]

Here's a link to make your own.

http://mistressreef.homestead.com/fi...y/diy.html#UPS

[Tynan Rasmus]

Originally Posted by UseSkaForEvil

well, my ups used to run my 500watt psu on my computer for about an hour, but for whatever reason it won't hold a charge anymore

your battery is dead, just replace it and all should be well.

and thanks WibblyPig, I will check that out.

[Tynan Rasmus]

Does anyone know if an APC UPS 1500 would do the job?

THanks

[Tynan Rasmus]

I just picked up a NOMA backup power supply at canadian tire that will run my tank for 8 hours!! woooo .... on sale for $99!

[Jflip2002]

Looks like youre set. And a lot less of a PITA than a Gel cell and an inverter. With Virtually no extra equipment. Just a bigger box to plug stuff into. Id test it if I were you though, just to kinda see how long it really can last....

[Tynan Rasmus]

I am not to worried, it is capable of running a PC and monitor for 8 hours, My tank uses less power than that, and I would not ever need 8 hours, at most 4 or 5, so I think I am set .... this thing has 2 batteries, and a readout telling how much time you have left, and how much power your using. Much better than the APC i was about to pay $250 for!

[Jflip2002]

I guess youve never heard of defective items. Some things arent good from the get go. And also, why was it on sale? It may have been sitting around for a while and the cell is bad. But it may be perfectly good... better safe than sorry is all Im saying.