what camera do you use to monitor your reef tank

How many times has the ability gone out and you immediately brainstorm to worry about your aquarium? Have you lot been the victim to a ability outage while away on vacation and yous have come up abode to a stinky, dead aquarium?

I accept been lucky where I live equally we very rarely get power outages, notwithstanding, a recent house fire in our street forced the utility company to isolate the street and for vi hours I had no power. This fabricated me very, very nervous and after that, I got a fill-in organisation and this is the article about my enquiry and findings.

Aquarium battery backup systems slow the onset of decreasing oxygen, rising ammonia, and h2o temperature changes when an aquarium loses electrical power. Bombardment fill-in systems work by providing power to life back up systems during a ability loss to keep your aquarium livestock rubber.

Aquarium Battery Backup Systems are available in several different formats:

Uninterruptible Ability Supplies (UPS)
Aquarium Specific Bombardment Backups
Battery Powered Air Pumps
DIY Battery Backup Systems

If you lot want more information, the system I accept fix is a ii-part system:

Bombardment Backup = IceCap Battery Backup – Amazon.com
Generator Backup = Honda EU1000i thousand-Watt Inverter Generator – Amazon.com

This way the Battery takes over for the periods when I'one thousand not domicile, then the generator is easily set upward for longer periods of no ability. It works awesome!

Read on to find out what may be the best Battery Backup system for y'all and why…

What Happens In Aquariums When The Power Fails?

When the power fails at that place are three things that are going to happen to our aquariums in the starting time couple of hours.

Oxygen Consumption
Ammonia Rise
Temperature Driblet or Rise

Oxygen Consumption

This has to be your first business organization because it is usually the one that will crusade the first deaths in an aquarium, especially if you are heavily stocked (High Bio-Load).

As all living cells demand oxygen to live, the cells in your aquarium'southward inhabitants volition continue to require oxygen even when the ability goes out. The water in the aquarium tin only agree so much dissolved oxygen and if it is not resupplied the animals within it can apace consume all the oxygen from the h2o.

Some other problem you lot may have is a current algae bloom. Algae is a establish that when information technology dies it can disuse rapidly. This decay will cause the bacteria in your aquarium to multiply because there is an affluence of food. More bacteria = more oxygen beingness consumed. Yep, even leaner need oxygen to survive.

Oxygen replenishment should be your Number One concern when the power goes out as it will kill your fish way before the temperature drops, Unless its -40°C exterior!

Ammonia Rise

The adjacent task you need to sort out volition be the rising of ammonia. Every bit your fish are still living, so is their metabolism, which means they nevertheless become to the bathroom.

Under normal circumstances, the Nitrosomonas Bacteria living in your sand, rocks etc will be responsible for consuming this ammonia and converting it into the less toxic Nitrite. Equally these bacteria begin to dice because of the lack of oxygen, the ability of your aquarium to manage ammonia decreases. This then causes the ammonia to rise.

Saltwater fish and coral are very sensitive creatures and in one case the ammonia level begins to achieve 0.2 ppm (Parts Per One thousand thousand) information technology becomes toxic. At 0.5ppm it is fatal. How fast information technology gets there is predicated on your bioload and how apace your Nitrifying Leaner brainstorm to die.

At this indicate, you are on your way to a tank crash.

Means to foreclose Ammonia Rising:

Use an ammonia exam kit to monitor your ammonia level
Take an Ammonia Alert Bluecoat (Amazon.com Link) on stand-by to put in your tank during ability outages.
Small h2o changes every 6 hours. Be certain to friction match the temperature to the aquarium's current temp! Apply the water change to slightly bring the temperature closer dorsum to normal! Small Steps!!

Temperature Drib Or Rise

For most aquarium owners the water temperature is probable to drop due to the ambient air in your part of the world being libation than 78-lxxx°F. For those of you that live in the hotter climates and are relying on dwelling ac &/or aquarium chillers, you face a slightly different challenge of keeping your h2o cool.

Unfortunately, heaters and chiller are serious power hogs and running them on virtually bombardment fill-in systems will run them flat very quickly. Other methods must be used.

Once yous have some manner of keeping the water oxygenated the next part to survival is keeping the temperature stable.

Lets Carve up these up:

Aquarium Is First To Cool – There are several ways you can assistance to continue the temperature warm in your aquarium:

Small Aquariums volition lose rut faster than big aquariums
Wrap warm blankets around and over the aquarium – But get out a gap in the top for gas substitution
Keep the canopy closed equally much every bit you can
Continue the door to the room with the aquarium airtight
Prevent any draughts effectually the aquarium
Warm water on a propane stove or BBQ and place into clean pop bottles to float in the aquarium
Run an Inverter off your car battery (Automobile Running) to ability a pump and a heater
Remove aquarium water and gently warm it on a propane stove – This is a very last resort. Exist conscientious to cheque your salinity for evaporation and rapidly adding warm water to an aquarium tin can kill coral instantly!

Aquarium Is Starting time To Warm – There are several means yous can help to keep the temperature absurd in your aquarium:

Open the aquarium canopy if installed
Open up windows to attempt and create a breeze – Exist enlightened of outdoor dust
Evaporation is a great way to cool water. Fanning the water my work
Float double-bagged ziplock bags of ice in the water – do not add cold water! Y'all will drop your salinity!

Based on the information above you tin see that oxygen depletion is the starting time killer in your aquarium. To assist minimize this we need to get oxygen back into the water and there are two ways to do this:

An Air Pump creating bubbles to assist saturate the water with oxygen.
With wavemakers and powerheads to agitate the h2o surface to enable oxygen to be captivated and nitrogen and carbon dioxide to be expelled.

Now nosotros just need to find ways to get these devices to work…

What Types Of Aquarium Battery Fill-in Are Available?

Beneath are the main types of battery backup systems that are available and popular amid the aquarium community, but there are a few things y'all demand to be enlightened of before deciding on the type of backup system you lot wish to implement:

DC (Directly Current) that is converted to AC (Alternating Electric current) is terribly inefficient. The units that convert this are called Inverters.
Your pumps, lights and all equipment that plugs into the wall are Ac.
A battery of any kind only supplies DC then when the system converts DC to Air-conditioning, a lot of the stored power is lost to the conversion process. This is electric fundamentals and zero we can practice about information technology so y'all accept to be aware.
Anytime DC is converted to Air conditioning the unit of measurement doing the conversion (UPS, Inverter) has to manually create the 'Sine Wave'. This is the way the electric current flows from the unit.

The Black Line is how a true Ac sine moving ridge looks when it comes into your home. Overnice and smoothen and uniform. This allows motors especially to run properly.

The Bluish Line is very foursquare. Almost similar an On & Off waveform. this is how the almost bones power inverters work and it is very hard on motors and sensitive electronics. You may find your pumps squeal and your equipment does not work correctly when plugged into a cheaper inverter.

The Red Line is chosen a Pure Sinewave and this is created by using multiple steps to form the waveform. The more than steps, the closer the waveform is to being smooth. You will see inverters at present called 'Pure SineWave Inverters' as these units are designed to run motors and electronics, but they cost more than!

Many of the pump manufacturers are becoming aware of this and you tin can at present come across DC powerheads, wavemakers and return pumps bachelor from most of the top aquarium brands. This helps running them in power outages far more efficiently and easy!

Hither are the principal types of fill-in arrangement beingness implemented inside our hobby:

UPS – Uninterruptable Ability Supplies

A UPS is a battery system that is mainly used in the world of computers and IT. The unit plugs into the wall and you lot then plug in the equipment you want it to run when the power is out.

The UPS will trickle charge while power is available and once the power goes out, the onboard batteries volition run for a set period of time to allow you to safely shut down your figurer. Having a computer suddenly close off can create actually annoying problems when y'all go to turn it back on!

Many people may have a UPS sitting around which they wish to apply to run their aquarium pumps and that is fine, simply be certain to test its 'Run-Fourth dimension' every year. UPS systems are notorious for the batteries suddenly losing their capacity over the years and if yous are not conscientious information technology could but run for 10 minutes when you side by side need it!

Some of the reputable UPS manufacturers you may want to expect at are:

APC
Cyber Power
Tripp Light
Liebert/Emerson
Eaton

Here is a great calculator from APC, one of the world's well-nigh recognized UPS manufacturers to assistance yous decide on what size UPS to buy.
Just add in the total watts of the equipment you wish to run and for how long.

You want to select only the 'Smart-UPS' models as these are the ones creating the smoothest Pure SineWave.

For Case:

2x TunzeTurbelle Stream 1700GPH powerheads – (Amazon.com Link)
Input Voltage of each Pump = 115V
Each powerhead draws 12 Watts = 22 watts
I want to run for 12 hours

Merely enter these values into the calculator beneath to get the recommended sized UPC:

APC UPS SELECTION CALCULATOR – CLICK HERE

Many UPS systems are being used successfully by a lot of aquarium owners and you tin instantly see why. You tin can find some of the about pop UPS systems used by swain aquarists Here at Amazon.com

Aquarium Specific Battery Backup Systems

A few of the most well-known brands in the aquarium industry have designed and manufactured their own bombardment fill-in systems to either be used solely with their ain products or every bit a generic backup system to exist used with other manufacturers' equipment.

The two main players in the game are EcoTech and Icecap.

EcoTech Marine Battery Backup Organization

This system was the battery backup that started off the trend of other manufacturers following suit.
The EcoTech Battery is designed for use exclusively with EcoTech'south range of Vortech Wavemakers and Vectra Render Pumps.

EcoTech Marine Vortech Battery Backup — EcoTech Marine Battery Backup

This unit of measurement plugs into the wall and your Pump Controller and so plugs into the bombardment pack. Information technology is a self-monitoring, self-charging system that is totally automated, allowing you to Set-&-Forget! Great for when yous are abroad from your home or sleeping!

With up to a possible 72 hour run time for a single Vortech Wavemaker or thirty hours for running two, this arrangement is an absolute must for anyone running or looking to purchase an Ecotech Pump.

Boosted batteries can also be added to create even longer run times, only by plugging in another battery.
Many people are now buying these to run ane for the wavemakers and ane for the return pump.

IceCap Battery Backup System

The IceCap Battery Backup system is the most versatile organization on the market. Pretty much every 12-24VDC controlled pump on the market can be plugged into this system to allow your aquarium water to stay in movement during a power outage.

The kit comes with all the cables and electric connectors you will need to ensure that your pump/southward will be able to connect to the battery arrangement.

The IceCap Battery arrangement is rated to run for 35 hours based on a 50 Watt pump running at 30% power. If you are only running 2x 12 Watt Tunze pumps similar in the instance above, your bombardment will terminal much, much longer!

Just similar the EcoTech battery, this can also have boosted batteries connected to dramatically increase the run time. It will automatically charge and switch on when the ability goes out.
These features make this a peachy arrangement no matter what pumps you lot accept.

This battery organisation will only work with pumps that take a controller that they plug into. Any pump that plugs direct into the wall is an Ac powered pump and will not work with this organization.

And so long as your pump is a 12-24VDC pump then yous will be able to use it with this, just call back: The Bigger The Pump, The Lower The Run Time.

For those of yous that do not own EcoTech products, like me, then this easy to implement battery backup is a fantastic option and one I really recommend.

To encounter why I and and then many others like it please feel free to check information technology out here:

IceCap Universal Battery Back-Upwardly Organisation

The Best $140 Yous Will Ever Spend!

Bombardment-Powered Aquarium Air Pumps

Battery-powered air pumps are great for keeping oxygen levels high in your water during the power outage. If you place the airstone at the sandbed they will as well create a small ascent current via the bubbles moving to the surface.

If yous do non accept one of the battery backup systems mentioned above, a battery-powered air pump is a skillful second place.

There are two types of battery-powered air pump:

Manually Activated
Automatically Activated

Manually Activated Air Pump

This type of air pump is exactly equally information technology sounds – you take to turn it on for it to begin working. These air pumps are great for not just power outages but someday you are moving livestock away from the main aquarium.

Oxygen can begin to reduce in a torso of water in as little as 20 minutes and then a small bombardment-powered air pump is a adept investment.

This unit of measurement is powered by two D-Cell batteries and with good batteries like Duracell, the run time is anywhere from 24-36 hours of continuous use.

You tin can merely connect one airline to this air pump, but you could run that line to a Tee or a splitter to run multiple air stones.

Only be aware the more than airstones you lot run, the more back pressure it volition create on the pump and thus reduce its run time.

Having spare batteries fix to go before long cures that trouble. Multiple air pumps can be run on the aforementioned aquarium if the tank is large.

These pumps are super cheap, but the batteries will cost you a flake more. The major downside to them is that if y'all are not home when the power goes out these air pumps are useless sitting in the aquarium stand! You have to manually turn them on, even if you have the airstones permanently sat at the back of the aquarium ready to go.

These are some great pumps for a corking price to help get you out of a sudden ability loss.

You can find the pop Marina Airpump Hither at Amazon.com

Automatically Activated Air Pump

This pump takes the Standard D-Cell air pump you run into in a higher place and gives information technology automation! The Automatic pump plugs into the wall to monitor the power. Once it senses the loss of power information technology automatically turns on and starts creating bubbling.

Powered by 2 D-Prison cell batteries this unit tin be permanently plumbed into the dorsum/corners of your aquarium, sitting waiting to run.

Having only one outlet, simply like the Marina model y'all volition have to add together a Tee or Splitter to run multiple air stones.

Yous have to make sure that the red switch is in the ON position for information technology to automatically startup.

With a merits from the manufacturer to run for 48 hours on one set of batteries, most aquarists have never had to run information technology last that long to substantiate the claim!

This is my preferred pick for a battery-powered air pump equally information technology does non need you to exist there to actuate it!

You can notice out more data and see why it has such proficient reviews Here at Amazon.com

AIR PUMP CAUTIONS

If you have an automatic battery-powered air pump/southward permanently installed on your aquarium be certain to examination it/them every week by disconnecting the plug from the wall. This ensures the unit of measurement will work when required. Information technology just needs to run for seconds to test it.
Ensure your air pump is placed higher than the aquarium to forbid back siphoning of the h2o when it is off.
Install a drip loop in the electrical cord to forbid electrocution and burn down hazards.
If the pump has not been used later on 6 months, I recommend y'all pull the plug and run it fully until the batteries go flat to test its run fourth dimension and ensure no parts are sticking.
When doing your test run, pull your airstones out of the h2o. Bubbling being pushed effectually past the wavemakers are not skilful for fish or coral.
Continue multiple spare sets of batteries close-past for easy change out.
If your pump has run during a ability outage Always supervene upon the batteries with fresh. Next time you could be away for the weekend and need the full chapters of new batteries to keep your fish alive!
Alter your airstones every 6 months when testing your pump. They tin can break downwardly over time and atomize.

The Limewood Air Diffusers tend to concluding longer and resist disintegration a lot better than the ceramic air stones.
You lot can find the Limewood Air Diffusers Here at Amazon.com

Aree There Whatever DIY Aquarium Battery Backup Systems?

Tunze Prophylactic Connector

This is an odd proper name for what information technology does. The Rubber Connector from Tunze is an adapter that allows you lot to connect a 12-24VDC battery to it and power whatever Tunze Turbelle Stream Controllable Powerhead or Tunze Wavebox during a power outage.

Most aquarists who ready this up use 12VDC AGM Deep Cycle batteries with a battery maintainer to keep the battery/s in peak condition. Many double upward the batteries to give even longer run times. Here is the typical wiring diagram:

The more than AH the battery, the longer the run fourth dimension for your pumps. You lot can easily add in a 2d battery in parallel to do this every bit shown in the diagram.

This system is a uncomplicated Plug-&-Play for Controllable Tunze Turbelle Stream and Wavebox pumps, but the Safety Connector can too be used to run other manufacturers' pumps and controllers, Yous just have to hack the wiring to suit your controller/pump.

For a great backup organisation for nether $200 here are the main parts you volition demand:

Tunze Safety Connector
12VDC AGM Battery
12VDC Battery Maintainer
(All Links to Amazon.com)

To work out what size AH (Amp Hour) battery yous volition need you lot tin use this super helpful computer HERE from Batterystuff.com, only kickoff, you will demand the details below:

The calculator needs the pumps Amperage, but most pumps are given in Watts:-

eg.
Tunze Turbelle NanoStream 6055 Controllable Pump
Wattage = 4 – 18W (I used 18W for worst-instance scenario)

Dissever Watts by Volts to gets Amps:
18Watts ÷ 12Volts = 1.5Amps

ane.5Amps – This goes into the calculator
Next Select Hours to Run – eg 24 hours
Adjacent Select AGM Bombardment
Hit Summate

For this pump to run for 24 hours I need at to the lowest degree a 72AH 12V AGM Battery

CLICK HERE for the Calculator

Inverter Backup Systems

The above system works great if yous accept 12V DC controllable pumps, but what do you do if all your pumps plug straight into the wall? The respond is very like to the in a higher place system, except you swap out the Tunze Safety Connector for an Inverter.

An Inverter is a device that converts 12VDC from batteries into 110VAC for your pumps to exist able to run. For this type of system to piece of work properly you need to pick an inverter with the following characteristics:

Pure SineWave to ensure motors run safely & smoothly
Automatic switching when information technology senses a power loss
Sufficient wattage to run all your pumps

For a great fill-in system for around $350 hither are the main parts you volition demand:

1200W Pure Sine Moving ridge Inverter
12VDC AGM Bombardment
12VDC Battery Maintainer
(All Links to Amazon.com)

Here is a typical Inverter Connection Diagram:

Hither is a great little calculator for calculating Run Time of a Battery & Inverter system CLICK HERE

WARNING
This type of installation requires y'all to have some electrical wiring knowledge. E'er seek professional person advice or installation when attempting to install a system like this.
TheBeginnersReef.com accepts no liability for your deportment!
This stuff hurts if you lot get information technology wrong!

What Tin can Yous Run Off An Aquarium Battery Fill-in System?

When yous lose power you may feel like you need to run everything to maintain the health of your aquarium, and while in a perfect earth this would exist very helpful, just most of united states tin't beget the +$20K investment in an automatic whole business firm generator!

Nigh of the power outages we face are ordinarily in the region of a few hours to half a day. Any longer than that and y'all are going to need at to the lowest degree i of the solutions to a higher place to go on your tank live.

We now know that air pumps and water motility give us the all-time opportunity for survival but what about plugging in other equipment.

Return Pumps

Piece of cake if they are DC-powered and are not large +100W pumps. The more than wattage a device pulls, the sooner your battery power will run out. The Controllable DC pumps from Ecotech and Reef Octopus are your best selection if you wish to easily add them to your battery backup arrangement.

Lights

These are not required to be ran unless you kickoff getting into days without power. By the time you lot demand to run lights for your corals, y'all will probably accept been on a generator-powered organization for a while! Another way y'all could become light to your aquarium is by reflecting light from a window with a large mirror towards your tank. Fifty-fifty this small corporeality volition aid your coral. Fish do non require light to survive.

Natural Sunlight on Aquarium — Natural Sunlight Will Feed Your Corals

Protein Skimmer

Running a protein skimmer is just useful if y'all take your return pump circulating water to your skimmer. Again, if you take a DC-powered skimmer you could hook upward both your return pump and your protein skimmer to i backup organisation and so they piece of work together.

Heaters

Heaters and Chillers are the biggest power-hungry items on your aquarium! Running at several hundred watts they can really drain a battery quick. Nigh of the time they click on and off and merely run for a ready amount of time per 60 minutes, simply if your abode is common cold for example, because the furnace has stopped, then your heater will exist constantly on.

Aquarium Controller

Having an aquarium controller like the Neptune Apex hooked up to a battery backup system tin be really handy to automatically drop the flow rate and thus the ability consumption of the pumps it controls when it senses a power outage.

The controllers themselves employ only a few watts of power and then are no major bleed on a backup system, in fact many aquarists will put their aquarium controller, internet router and wifi modem on their ain UPS or battery fill-in system and so the controller can send you a text or an email to permit you know the power is out!

This is super helpful if yous want to and then get home and fire up the generator so your whole tank (and Furnace 😉 will run. If yous desire more information on what Aquarium controllers can exercise to brand your life easier please bank check out my article about them: What Is An Aquarium Controller?

How Long Do Aquarium Battery Fill-in Systems Last?

Running pumps/wavemakers off a bombardment backup can easily give yous hours if not days of use looking at the options available. But if you lot wanted to run more items, how long would they last?

Example #1:
DC Return Pump & DC Poly peptide Skimmer

Ecotech Vectra S1 Return Pump – 55W
AquaMaxx ConeS DCQ-2 Controllable In-Sump Protein Skimmer – 25W
Ecotech Marine Bombardment = 18Ah

Running off 1 Ecotech Marine Backup Bombardment with wiring rigged to connect the Aquamaxx ConeS Skimmer:

80W Full Load ÷ 12Volts = half-dozen.66Amps

18Ah (Amps Per Hour) Battery ÷ half-dozen.66Amps = 2.70Hours

Running the Vectra Return Pump & the Aquamaxx Skimmer together volition flatten the Ecotech Battery in just under three hours!

Run the same pump and skimmer off a Tunze Safety Connector and a 100Ah battery:

100Ah Battery ÷ 6.66Amps = fifteen Hours

Add another 100Ah Bombardment (200AhTotal) = 30 Hours

If y'all want to run anything only powerheads, you need to have a dedicated Battery Fill-in system with very large AH Batteries!

Example #2:
AC Return Pump & Air-conditioning Protein Skimmer

Ehiem 1250 Render Pump – 28W @ 110V Air-conditioning
Bubble Magnus Curve 7 In-Sump Poly peptide Skimmer – 16W @ 110V Ac
Pure Sine Moving ridge Inverter with Battery = 18Ah

Using the adding from the Inverter Run Time Calculator:

Backup Fourth dimension = Bombardment AH x 12V x Due north x Efficiency of Battery / Load in Watts

Where,
Battery AH = Ampere Hr Chapters of Bombardment
N = Number of 12 V Batteries needed
Efficiency of Battery = Mostly it is 0.viii, which is the max. power gene of home standard

18Ah x 12V ten one x 0.viii = 172/(28+16) = 3.9 Hours Run Fourth dimension

This is a very similar run time to the DC Ecotech powered system.
If you change out the battery to 100Ah:

100Ah x 12V ten one x 0.8 = 960/(28+16) = 21.viii Hours Run Time!

Example #3:
Ac Return Pump & AC Protein Skimmer & 250W Heater

Ehiem 1250 Return Pump – 28W @ 110V AC
Bubble Magnus Bend 7 In-Sump Protein Skimmer – 16W @ 110V Air conditioning
Ehiem Jager Heater – 250W
Pure Sine Wave Inverter with Bombardment = 100Ah

Using the calculation from the Inverter Run Time Computer:

Backup Time = Battery AH x 12V 10 N x Efficiency of Bombardment / Load in Watts

Where,
Bombardment AH = Ampere Hr Capacity of Battery
N = Number of 12 Five Batteries needed
Efficiency of Bombardment = Generally it is 0.viii, which is the max. power cistron of home standard

100Ah x 12V 10 1 x 0.8 = 172/(28+16+250) = 3.2 Hours Run Time!

To run your Render Pump, Protein Skimmer and the Heater (Volition say the heater is on 24/seven considering the house is cold – worst-case scenario) for 24 hours you will need a Bombardment Banking concern of at to the lowest degree 800Ah!

This will toll you $1000 for only the batteries and inverter!

Are At that place Whatever Aquarium Power Alternatives To Batteries?

You are amend off just installing a battery fill-in system to run a couple of powerheads for a few hundred dollars and then invest in a good gasoline or propane generator you lot tin can hook up and and so run EVERYTHING off.

Exist sure to buy one that is large enough to also run your furnace to help keep the house warm in the winter! Happy Married woman, Happy Life remember! If your partner is common cold but your fish are alive and so I can run across some arguments starting 🙂

To size one correctly add up all the wattage of the devices you plan to run using the calculations above and ensure the 'Continuous Use Wattage' on the generator is higher than your number.

For even more than ideas on preparing for a power outage and what to do during and afterwards, I take a slap-up commodity dedicated to it:

'How To Gear up Your Aquarium For A Ability Outage'

what camera do you use to monitor your reef tank