Your Resident Electrician for all your electrical questions!

[VintageReefer]

This all gets complex and involves diy setups which will end up being cheaper but will be uglier and less convenient. You’ll have batteries and wires connecting things together but it will work great.

Your issue from what I can see is your load is extremely high. Sacrifices would have to be made.

First is lighting. You do not need your lights to be run at full power for 3 days. People do 3 day blackouts all the time for algae control, corals are fine. I will say in emergency reduce lights to blues only, at 10-15%. This will bring the watt load down significantly

Same with return pump. If it’s dc you can dial it back a little to save power. The goal is not to have a fully functioning reef as if a hurricane didn’t rip through your town. The goal is life support and keep everything alive. Bare minimum when using battery as it will prolong runtime

 

[VintageReefer]

I like all in one convenience. I want ups with autocutover. If power goes out for a few hours because someone takes out a pole, or if a storm happens at night and I’m asleep, or I’m not home, I want to know my essentials are switching to battery automatically. And sometimes while workers are fixing things power will come back, then stop, then come back. I want my stuff taking advantage of every moment power comes back and recharging automatically

I like lithium power stations.

Heres two: medium and a high budget option

Medium - 400-500$ range
1) cellpowa 1000 - $419
This is 1075 watt hours, with ups, fast recharging, inverter, multiple outlets, LFS screen with real-time runtime prediction and current watt load

Amazon.com

2) same as above but with a 100w solar panel for 500$
Not the fastest charging panel but it will fully recharge in 8-10 hours of daylight. Even without that much daylight you can still get a lot of recharging done. You can upgrade to a 200w panel for 2x charging speed down the line
https://a.co/d/gmBFEID

High budget
1) Cell powa 2000 - $950
This is 1843 watt hour version of the above. Other brands are about 1500$ For this capacity

Amazon.com

2) same as above but with a very high end 400w panel. 4x the charge speed. $1400
This will fully recharge in less than 5 hours. Keep in mind this battery is roughly 2x the size as the mid budget option.

Amazon.com

 

[VintageReefer]

personally I do have a gas generator. Which can recharge my battery stations in day time, and then I can run off battery at night. I also have solar recharging with 200w panels

If I expect my power outage to be less than 48 hours, I don’t even worry about lighting. I have an efficient 1000gph dc return pump I rub around 50% normally and I can dial it back to 30% and consume only 14 watts

A 600 wh power station (medium budget choice ) will run that return pump at 14w, providing my tank with circulation, oxygen, and filtration through my sump, for…
600 / 14 = 42 hours. Plenty of time for me to assess if I need to get a generator ready, and plenty of time for minor non emergency outages.

My return pump is plugged in the left side with a regular outlet

 

[VintageReefer]

This is actually a smaller unit than any of the ones I posted because your gear is higher watts so I didn’t bother with this.

But for me, this was 250 on sale (normally 300) and gives me 42 hours and that’s with absolutly no recharging from sun or generator during the day time

So…that return pump…is it the best option for you? What size is your tank and what gph do you need
When setting up a tank most people aren’t thinking in terms of watts and efficiency, so there could be a product with less watts and same power - think like this - if your current return pump is 60 watts and an alternate is 30 watts - that DOUBLES the runtime from battery backup

 

[Premium]

This is actually a smaller unit than any of the ones I posted because your gear is higher watts so I didn’t bother with this.

But for me, this was 250 on sale (normally 300) and gives me 42 hours and that’s with absolutly no recharging from sun or generator during the day time

So…that return pump…is it the best option for you? What size is your tank and what gph do you need

It's actually just the one that came with the tank. I have the Innovative Marine 100g set up. I could look at sizing down however the 85 watts that the manufacturer posted I believe is the max power it pulls. I could be wrong on that but that's what makes sense to me. It is a dc pump that could be ran much lower it's got 7 different setting. So not sure what the watt consumption would be at the lower settings

 

[VintageReefer]

It's actually just the one that came with the tank. I have the Innovative Marine 100g set up. I could look at sizing down however the 85 watts that the manufacturer posted I believe is the max power it pulls. I could be wrong on that but that's what makes sense to me. It is a dc pump that could be ran much lower it's got 7 different setting. So not sure what the watt consumption would be at the lower settings

What level out of 7 do you use ?

And yes the watts listed is max watts

Better question. What’s the min level you can set it for, to still have flow and not have issues with water too high in the sump

 

[Premium]

What level out of 7 do you use ?

I just run it at the mid point for approximately 1000 gph turnover rate which is 10x my tank vol

 

[VintageReefer]

7 is not a lot of settings but might work out. My pump has 100 levels so I can set for 30%, 31%, 35% etc so I can really fine tune. My normal daily is 45% but I can safely go down to 30% for emergency, and I also use this when acclimating certain lps corals

 

[Premium]

7 is not a lot of settings but might work out. My pump has 100 levels so I can set for 30%, 31%, 35% etc so I can really fine tune. My normal daily is 45% but I can safely go down to 30% for emergency, and I also use this when acclimating certain lps corals

Yeah I've been thinking about changing the pump to either the vectra or a sicce. However I haven't had any issues with the IM and have been just rolling with it. What pump are you using

 

[VintageReefer]

Yeah I've been thinking about changing the pump to either the vectra or a sicce. However I haven't had any issues with the IM and have been just rolling with it. What pump are you using

I have had issues with name brand pumps, I don’t buy them anymore. Plus I think they are all overpriced. I believe these are all made in the same china factories and just have colors changed and logos thrown on.

I paid 70$ for my 1000gph dc return pump 7 years ago and I’ve cleaned it once and it runs like a champ

Jebao makes great return pumps

https://a.co/d/3iOIuSP

This one you could run at 60% and still get over 1000gph and consume only 30 watts. You would get almost 40 hours of runtime from the battery station I posted that’s $420

The 950$ one would last 60 hours

Keep in mind. Assuming no sun or generator recharging. If you throw in panels you can extend runtime considerably by throwing a weatherproof solar panel in the yard or driveway and running a cable to the battery station…any moment of sunlight will be recharging in some way

 

[thatmanMIKEson]

Well Milton was pretty bad however I'm not in a flood zone and only lost power for a day. That being said my LFS was without power for 3 days and she is not that far from me. So was thinking 48-72 hrs. My preference would be to use Lithium as opposed to a gas generator due to the fact that they are loud require maintenance when not being used and have to be filled up with gas which can be problematic if you don't get enough before hand. We literally just got gas back here in town yesterday. And lastly if worse comes to worse my company will provide a generator. But it takes a few days to hand them out. So if the outage is going to last longer than 48-72 hrs I can pick up a generator from my company but the lithium will allow me time to make that happen if need be. Appreciate your time!

don't feel bad I'm in St.petersburg still without power and I watched my tanks die two days ago.

UPS devices work pretty good if you change the batteries then you don't need inverters for AC power and they stay "in use" at all times

 

[ryanjohn1]

Struggling to find 2x80 ballasts for ati 60 inch t5. Able to get them through ati but was hoping to source something maybe cheaper. Any suggestions.

 

[lbacha]

personally I do have a gas generator. Which can recharge my battery stations in day time, and then I can run off battery at night. I also have solar recharging with 200w panels

If I expect my power outage to be less than 48 hours, I don’t even worry about lighting. I have an efficient 1000gph dc return pump I rub around 50% normally and I can dial it back to 30% and consume only 14 watts

A 600 wh power station (medium budget choice ) will run that return pump at 14w, providing my tank with circulation, oxygen, and filtration through my sump, for…
600 / 14 = 42 hours. Plenty of time for me to assess if I need to get a generator ready, and plenty of time for minor non emergency outages.

My return pump is plugged in the left side with a regular outlet

How long have you had the cellpowa? My concern with many of these units is how long they will last. I'm considering one to keep my router and GHL running but building a battery system for my Vectra closed loops using higher end parts (victron charger or possibly a charger/inverter combo with UPC capabilities) that have wifi monitoring integrated to monitor the battery and send me warnings if it needs replaced.

 

[VintageReefer]

How long have you had the cellpowa? My concern with many of these units is how long they will last. I'm considering one to keep my router and GHL running but building a battery system for my Vectra closed loops using higher end parts (victron charger or possibly a charger/inverter combo with UPC capabilities) that have wifi monitoring integrated to monitor the battery and send me warnings if it needs replaced.

I bought one cellpowa 600 in January and they sent me a second one in February at no charge. Both have been running daily since arrival. One is connected to my 75g return pump. The other is connected to power my homes wifi router, a house phone, and a lamp with led bulb in event of power outage.

The lifespan of these units is 10+ years

They have built in UPC functionality + sine wave inverter + 300w fast charging + BMS system

These models do not have wifi, which I prefer, as that would be more electronics for it to run internally which would impact runtime in an outage. It would be convenient to get alerts and emails sent out, so there is a pro/con either way.

They do make higher model with this feature, it has an app that works through Bluetooth and wifi, it’s also 3x the runtime capacity, and is the cellpowa 2500

 

[lbacha]

I bought one cellpowa 600 in January and they sent me a second one in February at no charge. Both have been running daily since arrival. One is connected to my 75g return pump. The other is connected to power my homes wifi router, a house phone, and a lamp with led bulb in event of power outage.

The lifespan of these units is 10+ years

They have built in UPC functionality + sine wave inverter + 300w fast charging + BMS system

These models do not have wifi, which I prefer, as that would be more electronics for it to run internally which would impact runtime in an outage. It would be convenient to get alerts and emails sent out, so there is a pro/con either way.

They do make higher model with this feature, it has an app that works through Bluetooth and wifi, it’s also 3x the runtime capacity, and is the cellpowa 2500

Thank you, I may try one for my router and GHL both of which are not system critical in a short outage. My main concern is a 3-4 hr outage that I'm not home for. I am planning a huge fish load and I know how fast the oxygen levels can drop in that scenario. I have bought a Victron charger and a 12v 100ah lifepo4 battery to run my 2 Vectra L2's that run my closed loop. As long as those keep running the fish will be fine for short outages. The cost of this setup was way less than 2 ecotech backups and way more run time.

I want to start planning a solar setup to offset electricity costs and provide long term backup of the whole system so getting to know how the Victron monitoring and apps work will be good and the vectra backup will probably stay in place even with this future system.

 

[VintageReefer]

have bought a Victron charger and a 12v 100ah lifepo4

Quick search on Amazon shows batteries of that capacity in the 150-200$ range.

I’m not sure which charger you got, but quick search of that brand with capabilities for 100ah I see them for $125-150 ish

And a 100ah 12v battery is 1200 watt hours

The comparable big blue power station would be the cellpowa 1000 - which is 1075 watt hour, ups, + sine wave inverter for $420. A little more money but an all in one solution with a lcd screen that gives on demand info about the battery, watt load, charge status / level, and remaining runtime countdown while on battery power. It also has pass through charging and will both power the gear and recharge itself automatically when power is restored

DIY is almost always cheaper and I applaud you for actually picking a great battery and charger. You don’t have ups though (from what it sounds like)

The cellpowa 1000 is certainly compatible and comes in a nice package. The cellpowa 600 also comes with a 600w charger vs the 300w charger in the cellpowa 600. Both also come with a retractable handle!

 

[lbacha]

Quick search on Amazon shows batteries of that capacity in the 150-200$ range.

I’m not sure which charger you got, but quick search of that brand with capabilities for 100ah I see them for $125-150 ish

And a 100ah 12v battery is 1200 watt hours

The comparable big blue power station would be the cellpowa 1000 - which is 1075 watt hour, ups, + sine wave inverter for $420. A little more money but an all in one solution with a lcd screen that gives on demand info about the battery, watt load, charge status / level, and remaining runtime countdown while on battery power. It also has pass through charging and will both power the gear and recharge itself automatically when power is restored

DIY is almost always cheaper and I applaud you for actually picking a great battery and charger. You don’t have ups though (from what it sounds like)

The cellpowa 1000 is certainly compatible and comes in a nice package. The cellpowa 600 also comes with a 600w charger vs the 300w charger in the cellpowa 600. Both also come with a retractable handle!

I agree the setup I'm going with doesn't have UPS, the ecotech controller is designed to use a 12 volt DC power source (the vectra's have a special booster since they are 36v) and will automatically switch to it if the AC power source is interrupted. This means all I need to control them is a battery and charger setup. The controller actually can decrease the power setting of the pumps if it uses the battery to extend life. This initial DIY build is to dip my feet into the battery power world and test out Victron's app and power monitoring as I would like to get their integrated controller that is a MPPT solar controller, Charger and inverter all in one https://www.victronenergy.com/inverter-charger-mppt/easysolar-ii-gx. All you need to provide is the batteries and solar panels which I want to be able to upgrade as I go. The nice thing with the victron unit is it has a dual circuit so it is able to run the whole aquarium when it is on grid and can switch to critical components when it is off grid (power outage). I do like the idea of the all in one unit for running my router and mesh network since it has a faster transfer rate 10ms vs the 20ms victron transfer rate.

 

[VintageReefer]

I agree the setup I'm going with doesn't have UPS, the ecotech controller is designed to use a 12 volt DC power source (the vectra's have a special booster since they are 36v) and will automatically switch to it if the AC power source is interrupted. This means all I need to control them is a battery and charger setup. The controller actually can decrease the power setting of the pumps if it uses the battery to extend life. This initial DIY build is to dip my feet into the battery power world and test out Victron's app and power monitoring as I would like to get their integrated controller that is a MPPT solar controller, Charger and inverter all in one https://www.victronenergy.com/inverter-charger-mppt/easysolar-ii-gx. All you need to provide is the batteries and solar panels which I want to be able to upgrade as I go. The nice thing with the victron unit is it has a dual circuit so it is able to run the whole aquarium when it is on grid and can switch to critical components when it is off grid (power outage). I do like the idea of the all in one unit for running my router and mesh network since it has a faster transfer rate 10ms vs the 20ms victron transfer rate.

Yes the ecotech trick to make their branded expensive battery backup last longer is to reduce pumps power.

I can not tell you if the transfer rate of 10ms vs 20Ms is a factor. Obviously lower is better, but 20 might be fine. I can say that 10ms is completely seamless and undetectable in my testing

The cellpowa is ready out of the box to connect to solar, and includes the connectors

Again I think you have a really nice setup, but for others reading I just want people to understand that the cellpowa does come with a lot out of the box and has lots of high end features and accessories included, in a form factor product that is easy for most end users. That is why it is a little more money than a diy setup. Convenience.

 

[lbacha]

Yes the ecotech trick to make their branded expensive battery backup last longer is to reduce pumps power.

I can not tell you if the transfer rate of 10ms vs 20Ms is a factor. Obviously lower is better, but 20 might be fine. I can say that 10ms is completely seamless and undetectable in my testing

The cellpowa is ready out of the box to connect to solar, and includes the connectors

Again I think you have a really nice setup, but for others reading I just want people to understand that the cellpowa does come with a lot out of the box and has lots of high end features and accessories included, in a form factor product that is easy for most end users. That is why it is a little more money than a diy setup. Convenience.

Yeah I agree it has good features and seems to be at a great pricepoint. I have it in my cart on Amazon to see if they do a special for black Friday lol. Everything in one package makes it super easy to use.

Thanks for the feedback on my DIY, I feel it is a good start and I'm excited to try out the Victron as it seems like a great brand. Since my tank is a 300g SPS tank I wanted a bit more robust system (and I would like to offset power costs with solar at some point) for it but I do have some smaller tanks that the cellpowa look perfect for.

 

[VintageReefer]

Yeah I agree it has good features and seems to be at a great pricepoint. I have it in my cart on Amazon to see if they do a special for black Friday lol. Everything in one package makes it super easy to use.

Thanks for the feedback on my DIY, I feel it is a good start and I'm excited to try out the Victron as it seems like a great brand. Since my tank is a 300g SPS tank I wanted a bit more robust system (and I would like to offset power costs with solar at some point) for it but I do have some smaller tanks that the cellpowa look perfect for.

They frequently go on sale for holidays

And they make sale bundles including the solar panels

The cellpowa 600 everyday price is 299, and for a sale they marked it up to 349 and then provided a 100$ coupon (in Amazon) so I got it for $250

They artificially inflate the price to make the deal look better than it is, but it does end up being a true sale in the end and I saved $50