To Buy Battery Air Pump For My Tank Or Not??

[discus_maniac]

Hi guys,

I am thinking of getting an battery air pump incase there is a black out.
I am still not sure whether i should get the item or not, because when all the power are off, the battery air pump only provide the tank with air BUT not the temperture in the tank.
So should i get it or its just a waste of money???


Cheers :)

[Proteus]

A battery air pump is not that expensive, and if the need arises, can be a life saver. Plus, you can use it to transport large fish in buckets for extended periods.

[goldenpigeon]

Battery operated air pumps are a good little investment. you can use them when you have a black out, or when transporting fish. they pump out a good amount of air for a batter run pump.

as far a temp goes well your tank will stay warm and only fluctuate in temp between 1-4 degrees over several hours. especially if it is a large tank. large tanks can take 24 hours to get to room temp if it is cool.


to help kep the heat in your tank make sure you have good lids that fit the tank properly. also have some room heating handy if the power goes out for around 10 hours (gas heater etc.).

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i would definetly recoment that you buy one of these pumps because when the power goes out the fish can survive in lower temperature but they cant survive without oxygen. if you have a sponge filter one of these will keep you biosponge alive! besides for the $10 you are not really forgoing much money and you are prepared when the power goes out.

[FishLover]

I would go for an UPS used for computers. It will cost you about $50 but you can hook up with your filter, which is very important to have in case of a power outage.

The UPS used for computer is mostly rated around 400W for about 30 minutes. You can have your filter filters hooked up and it will last you about 10 hours or more. After 4 hours without power, your filter media is busted and your fish is going to be in trouble when the power is back.

[discus_maniac]

Ok should i invest in a UPS or battery air pump????
With UPS how easy to set up???

I am thinking of getting some heaters for my 4 foot tanks, now there are diff Watts...what is most suitable 300Watts or 250 Watts with external temp control???

Cheers :)

[FishLover]

Just plug in the UPS and turn it on. That's all you need to set it up. You should be able to get an OK one for around $40-$60 depening on the watts and where you shopping.

As for heaters, I think 5 watts per g is the rule and you will be better off with two heaters instead of one. You want the ones that can go completely in the water. Don't try to plug in the heaters into your UPS. That will drain your UPS in few minutes.

[chrissyoscar]

A UPS will be great but I do think they are a little more expensive than $50-60.
Maybe second hand they are but we purchased one for our home office computer and they range from $300 on-wards.

[Proteus]

I think Fishlover means US$50-60

The cheapest decent system that I have seen down here is almost AU$200

[chrissyoscar]

What US$50-60 for a decent UPS. We are getting ripped of down here in Australia.
The one I got was worth $599 but as my brother in-law is the manager of the store I got it for $280 I think. That's 1/2 price and i think that's the biggest problem in Australia, everything is marked up to much. Oh and taxed to much as well.

[Proteus]

You must remember that a UPS over there only has to cope with 100v where we have 240v, although ampage/wattage can negate this rule of thumb.

I guess supply and demand doesnt help us either.

personally I would like a nice big generator, but that wont help if I am not here to switch things over.

[FishLover]

Hey, a big generator will run into at least $3000 USD. I don't have that kind of money for the fish.

You may want to try the web sites. Some of them are re-furbished and kind of cheap. Make sure you read the ratings. How many watts and how long it will last. Check your own filters watts and you can figure out how long it will run your filters after power outage.

One thing, make sure your kids don't turn it off for you. Most of the UPS has a button you can push to shut it down. It also has a LED light to tell you the system is on. If your kids are like mine, anything with a LED light and a button is a fair game ;-)! Luckly, my fish tank stand has doors to hide the LED and button from my kid.