Power is out and it may be out for a while

[jaylach]

Seems to me that a $45.00 battery backup is a lot safer and easier. While all suggestions are valid what happens if the power goes out and you are not home or it is the middle of the night and you are asleep?

 

[Deleted member 149562]

Seems to me that a $45.00 battery backup is a lot safer and easier. While all suggestions are valid what happens if the power goes out and you are not home or it is the middle of the night and you are asleep?

It might be inexpensive to you but @Rocky998 is a juvenile who has to go through the 500 page questionaire "why, what, when, how etc" of Bank of Mum & Dad to get anything for his fish

So although a good idea in principle, it is not always feasible to actually do.

 

[GaryE]

The big issue now is if it is really warm out. But if not, wait for winter to worry about outages. It will affect your cycle a tiny bit after, but remember that the hobby was invented 60 years before air pumps became affordable. You don't overstock, you're good.

 

[jaylach]

It might be inexpensive to you but @Rocky998 is a juvenile who has to go through the 500 page questionaire "why, what, when, how etc" of Bank of Mum & Dad to get anything for his fish

So although a good idea in principle, it is not always feasible to actually do.

Valid point on the expense. Mayhaps a birthday or Christmas present...

 

[Rocky998]

Valid point on the expense. Mayhaps a birthday or Christmas present...

Lol I don't celebrate either.


Thank you all for your help... It gives me a lot to think about...
My parents are talking to me and my brother about getting the Xbox series x in a few months if we stay on top of chores and if my brother doesn't try to annoy me a ton... Which means I can sell off my 360 with all the controllers, equipment, and games... I estimated the amount and I should definitely be able to get a bunch of stuff for the aquarium and still have a nice amount of change left. I counted this in with the money I have on hand now and with another thing I'm attempting to sell off cause I don't use it anymore.
I love calculators, they help when trying to get quick results on stuff...
I was looking into battery backup systems and battery powered pumps. While the pumps are cheaper I'm thinking of just biting the bullet and getting the battery backup system...
Probably a smart decision with all the storms we get here

 

[jaylach]

Lol I don't celebrate either.


Thank you all for your help... It gives me a lot to think about...
My parents are talking to me and my brother about getting the Xbox series x in a few months if we stay on top of chores and if my brother doesn't try to annoy me a ton... Which means I can sell off my 360 with all the controllers, equipment, and games... I estimated the amount and I should definitely be able to get a bunch of stuff for the aquarium and still have a nice amount of change left. I counted this in with the money I have on hand now and with another thing I'm attempting to sell off cause I don't use it anymore.
I love calculators, they help when trying to get quick results on stuff...
I was looking into battery backup systems and battery powered pumps. While the pumps are cheaper I'm thinking of just biting the bullet and getting the battery backup system...
Probably a smart decision with all the storms we get here

If you do go with a battery backup there are a few things to consider.
1) The max. wattage. The one I linked will handle 250 watts which is probably more than enough for most tanks but you still need to figure out the wattage your tank requires minus the lights as you would not be using the lights during a power outage.

2) The VA (volt amps) determine how long the backup can drive the tank. The higher the VA the better but you would have to find a balance between cost and how long it will power the tank.

3) Most batteries have both outlets connected to the battery and others driven directly by the wall outlet. You would plug the heater and filtration to battery outlets and the lights to the other. Another minor advantage is that your tank now only needs one wall outlet.

If you do decide to go in this direction in the future get with me and I'll help you find the best deal. I know this stuff and how to shop it. As an example I have a Yamaha SRT 1000 sound system that retails at ~$500.00 for which I paid less than $200.00.

 

[Rocky998]

If you do go with a battery backup there are a few things to consider.
1) The max. wattage. The one I linked will handle 250 watts which is probably more than enough for most tanks but you still need to figure out the wattage your tank requires minus the lights as you would not be using the lights during a power outage.

2) The VA (volt amps) determine how long the backup can drive the tank. The higher the VA the better but you would have to find a balance between cost and how long it will power the tank.

3) Most batteries have both outlets connected to the battery and others driven directly by the wall outlet. You would plug the heater and filtration to battery outlets and the lights to the other. Another minor advantage is that your tank now only needs one wall outlet.

If you do decide to go in this direction in the future get with me and I'll help you find the best deal. I know this stuff and how to shop it. As an example I have a Yamaha SRT 1000 sound system that retails at ~$500.00 for which I paid less than $200.00.

Thank you!
The one you linked I believe has four plug ins that are battery backup and two that are just surge protectors. Which would be perfect. I have 2 filtration devices, two heaters, and one lighting system. So I can just plug in the lighting system to the surge protector and the rest into the battery backup sections.
I will try to look at how much wattage each device takes up...

I'm a self taught deal finder
My friends and family have told me that I'm really good at finding deals.

One time a friend said to me in jokingly way: "I swear man one day I'll walk up to you and you'll be like "I GOT A WHOLE PC GAMING SET UP FOR UNDER $100!!!" You're way to good at finding deals"

But I thank you very much for your offer to help and I may just need it sometime lol

 

[realgwyneth]

This thread is really helpful! I didn't even know there was such a thing as a USB air pump.

 

[Colin_T]

This thread is really helpful! I didn't even know there was such a thing as a USB air pump.

USB air pumps are only good if you have a fully charged laptop

 

[jaylach]

USB air pumps are only good if you have a fully charged laptop

Would it be possible to run such a USB pump from one of those portable chargers? I don't know a lot about phones and chargers as I don't even carry a cell phone.

Even if you can it MIGHT be cheaper to get a battery backup...

 

[connorlindeman]

Would it be possible to run such a USB pump from one of those portable chargers? I don't know a lot about phones and chargers as I don't even carry a cell phone.

Even if you can it MIGHT be cheaper to get a battery backup...

Yes that is definitely possible.

 

[Colin_T]

If the pump is a USB pump that can run off a laptop, it should be able to run off a portable phone battery charger.

I prefer to use a big old deep cycle car battery. They will run an air pump for days.

 

[Oblio]

The VA (volt amps) determine how long the backup can drive the tank.

VA is the same as Watts (assuming a PF (Power Factor) of 1, which is true for DC or a purely resistive AC load), capacity is measured in Ah or mAh (Amp or Milliamp hours).

If you have a 10 watt load at 5 VDC, and a 10 Ah battery, it will supply:

10W/5V = 2 A

10Ah/2A = 5 Hrs


Note that different batteries have different discharge curves (Voltage vs time) so the voltage may either drop off suddenly or gradually as the battery is used. Capacity will also vary depending on the current draw. It is best to size for excess capacity to mitigate these factors.

 

[jaylach]

VA is the same as Watts (assuming a PF (Power Factor) of 1, which is true for DC or a purely resistive AC load), capacity is measured in Ah or mAh (Amp or Milliamp hours).

If you have a 10 watt load at 5 VDC, and a 10 Ah battery, it will supply:

10W/5V = 2 A

10Ah/2A = 5 Hrs


Note that different batteries have different discharge curves (Voltage vs time) so the voltage may either drop off suddenly or gradually as the battery is used. Capacity will also vary depending on the current draw. It is best to size for excess capacity to mitigate these factors.

Thanks for the explanation! I know computers and have a very basic knowledge of electricity. That in no way means that I, in any way, fully understand what you said but I'll buy it.

 

[Oblio]

Thanks for the explanation! I know computers and have a very basic knowledge of electricity. That in no way means that I, in any way, fully understand what you said but I'll buy it.

There are many decent sites out there, one of my favorites is allaboutcircuits.com - Covers basic electrical theory to the more advanced (at BSEE level)

I should have done a better job regurgitating my knowledge, but as an example of the above site.

Battery Ratings | Batteries And Power Systems | Electronics Textbook

Read about Battery Ratings (Batteries And Power Systems) in our free Electronics Textbook

www.allaboutcircuits.com