APC back up power

I found this website today aquariumopinion.com/problems_powerfailure.html and would like to know if anyone might know where you can buy them in Ireland or if anyone has any info on them.

Hi Orca

Looks like it is an uninterruptal power supply UPS (excuse the spelling). If there is a power failure the UPS kicks in by an internal switch and can feed a load ie. filter heater etc. for a predetermined time.

The UPS basically moniters the ESB supply and trickle charges an internal batteries but does not power any load until the UPS notices that the main supply is down.

Any electrical wholesaler will be able to order one for you or get specifications on particular brands etc.

UPS will be probably be rated in A/h amps per hour so the bigger load it has to supply when the mains fail the least amount of time it will be able to sustain the supply.

Hope this helps

GB

Might you know how many hours you could get out of a unit like this.I know it all depends on how many items you are running of it.

Hi Orca

These units are designed for computers when there is a power failure they give you a chance to save your data before the computer shuts down
They would have a limited amount of power but would probably run your heater and filters for a few hours
Here is the link to APC Ireland www.apc.com/products/category.cfm?id=13&segmentID=1

LB

Guessing a bit Orca but if you are willing to spend the cash you could probably get one that could run an average fish tank setup in emergency mode for a day or so

I only installed one of these in an office before to keep a server ticking over incase of a power failure, i think it had a run time of approx 5 hrs.

If you are going to a wholesalers just add up what wattage you applicances take, this sholud be written on the pump etc. The wholesalers should be able to give you the operational time of the UPS.

GB

Thats a great help GB thanks for the help.I will start the search and see if i can get one if they dont cost too much.

Dont forget a few things... A upc is designed to allow you to switch off servers safely when the power goes, rather than just crashing with possible loss of data. So usually it gives you maybe 20 minutes or so to shut down your server. It is not designed to run for a day or two! It would be huge if it did and cost a fortune.

The power you need for your aquarium, should include the rating of your filter, in my Juwel 70 its a 4 watt motor. Also your heater, mine is a 100 watt heater. Of course the heater is only on when the water temperature in the tank falls. So in summer time or when your room is heated, the heater will not use much power. So if your power cuts are usually in winter time, and your central heating is also effected, you will need to find out how much power the heater uses. You could use a plug in power meter www.energyliberators.com/Products/BrennenstuhlMeters.php over the weekend or at night when your heating is off, to see how much power it takes, say over a couple of hours. You may also need to add in the power rating of your lights, though it would be better not to use them, as in my case its a 15watt.

The 400VA unit on the site is about 70 euro, its rated at 400VA or about 230Watts. Looking at the runtime charts it will power 50 watts for 1 hour or 25 watts for 2 hours or 12 watts for 4 hours etc. So assuming you have a 4 watt filter motor, a 300 watt heater, the heater will not be on all the time, and a 15 watt light, you'd be lucky to get 2 hours out of this unit in winter time.

So your best bet would be to use the upc just to run your filter and wrap your tank in blankets and keep the lights out! That way you may get 8 to 10 hours for a 4 watt filter. Buying a 1500va unit would get you possibly 1 1/2 to 2 days. But its going to cost you maybe 400 euro.

I've been looking into this option too as I keep marines and have had 4 power outages of 18 hours. Generators are the option I am taking to run a pump and heater.

When i found the website it got me thinking.I work shift so could be out of the house for 12 to 15 hours or could be away for the weekend it would be good to find something that would kick in if the power went out.The only thing would be the cost and how many days power you would get.
This kind of thing must happen so what do people do if you cant cover your tank or you are away.