I got one! Question. . .

[rick s]

Hello everyone.

I bought my first saltwater tank this weekend! It’s a 1 year old, 90 gallon set-up that was already torn down (the guy is moving). All-Glass Cherry stand, canopy, and drilled tank. Coralife Metal Halide lighting with 1 month old 10,000K German lamps, Sump with Wet/Dry, pumps, etc., Turboflotor 1000 skimmer, CustomSeaLife UV Sterilizer, and a WaveMaster Pro wavemaker w/3 power heads.

My wife’s part of the deal is that she didn’t/doesn’t want the dark cherry stand in her living room. I considered painting the stand & canopy lighter colors, but decided to order the All-Glass Oak cabinetry (the cherry will be for sale soon). I’m hoping to be up and running as soon as Saturday. I will be setting up a reef with a few fish.

My first question is:
We lose power often enough to be a problem. In fact, maybe it’s an omen, but we lost power for 2 hours on the day I bought it. I will be buying a generator very, very soon. I cannot afford an automatically switching generator. So, my question is: What can I use as a battery back-up to automatically keep the main pump (60 watt) running for 4-8 hours until I get home from work, etc. and can fire up the generator? Can I use a UPS like those you use on computers? Any better, not too expensive options?

Thanks,
Rick

 

[liquid]

Welcome to Reefs.org!

Here's a pretty good article for you: http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/ ... eature.htm

hth

Shane

 

[JennM]

We've put a UPS on a customer's tank, it was a used UPS, we had to replace the internal battery on it, and the cost was around $500 - the cost of a 5500 watt generator at BJ's... however it will kick on when the power goes off...

In a pinch you can get some of those air pumps that come on when the power goes off.... I believe Penn Plax makes them, called Silent Air or something like that. You plug them in, but they don't come on unless the outlet goes dead - when the power goes off. I think there's a switch to turn them on manually too, but they are meant to use as back-ups, and the box says, "Life insurance for your fish".

HTH

Jenn

 

[Mouse]

If your using LR id get rid of your wet'n'dry, could be a good place for a fuge.

 

[Jamesurq]

that's funny - my wife would only let me get the tank if I had the cherry stand... and yours is making you get rid of it....