Battery Backup

[FishyReef]

So the nice thing about having my tank at work is that I get notifications before the power is going out. Bad thing is that the power is going to be shut off for about 13 hours next Saturday (8/11) while they do work on the building. We do have a generator and I am looking to try to find one of the outlets connected to the generator, but in case that doesn't end up working out (e.g., extension cords aren't long enough to stretch to my office or someone inadvertanly unplugs it) I would also like to have a battery backup system in place. Can someone tell me how this works? Am I able to plug in certain pumps and heaters into the backup system? I've looked online but don't think I am seeing the right things because they appear to just be airline backups.

Also, should I just plan to shut down my sump or at least shut down the flow between my DT and sump to avoid a potential flood when they turn the electricity back on (not sure if the siphon in my overflow box will start again or not)?

Thanks!

 

[little_fish]

The battery backups wont last that long. So i would get some battery powered air pumps for moving water and trying to keep thing oxygenated. Then shut the sump down before the power goes out. I would also consider wrapping the tank with a blanket to slow down the heat loss if your office is cold.

 

[FishyReef]

Its shutting off at 6am and supposed to turn back on at 7pm. I guess I'll need to shut everything down the night before. Should I just remove the live rock from my sump and keep it in a separate bucket with an airline? I don't want my tank to cycle because the water and live rock in my sump didn't get any oxygen or got cold while the electricity was off. If the live rock is out of the sump can I then use the water that's been sitting in the sump for 13 hours w/o heat and oxygen once power comes back on, or do I need to drain it and use new water? How many battery operated air pumps should I get for a 90g? I don't think getting too cold will be an issue - my office tends to stay warm w/o air conditioning on, and since power will be out there won't be any air conditioning.

 

[little_fish]

the rocks will be fine in the sump without anything additional, its more the fish and corals that need the water movement and oxygen. I would get 3 or 4 of the pumps and check out how long the batter is suppose to last.

 

[FishyReef]

So I thought I'd give an update - I bought a battery back up system for a computer (1000v) and powered a 6v powerhead for several hours. I also plugged my remaining powerheads into the generator for the building - there was some concern the generator wouldn't actually work, but it did! The power outtage was planned until 7pm, but I got there sometime around 5:20 and power was back on. Everything went very well - both the generator and battery back up worked smoothly. HOB overflow filled my sump but didn't overflow it, and when power turned back on, the siphon started up again and everything was running perfectly. I'm going to try to figure out when the power was restored to find out how long the battery back up actually powered the powerhead - I might decide to return it and get an even bigger one that would last 24hrs in preparation for storms this winter. Overall, I am very pleased :D

 

[little_fish]

That is great news!