Battery back up Air Supply

[woody]

Hi

I am in the early stages of putting together my aquaponics system and want to make sure the pieces that i have to buy are worth it.

Has anyone every used one of these?
Is it worth the investment?

I want to try and cover as many bases as possible for when the power cuts off.

I found this on an aquarium website.

It is suitable for up to 400ltr fish tank, i will be using a 1000ltr IBC, so i am a bit concerned it is going to be under powered.

Resun ACD6604 ( AC/DC )
4 Outlets Power(W):15W Battery: 6V Air Output: 10L/Min Aquarium volume: 100 - 400L Dimensions (approx): 290x157x73mm Automatically change between AC and DC during power blackout.

Any thoughts/suggestions?

Woody

[jpcw]

Don't know how good or needed it is but if you want to use it and are concerned about it being under powered then just get 2 and run them both

[Tsaphah]

Hi Woody,

If you look at the pumps Murray sells, they are 9lpm and he (and many others) use those in 1200 Litre tanks, so that one will do, and airation is very important for fish. Having a built in change over is very usefull.

Who is the supplier?

Andrew

[Murray]

Hi Woody, There are a few of that type of AC / Dc air pumps around. I have tried a few of them and not had much luck.
Others may have had a better run.

I use a fail over switch that switches to a regular car battery running a 12 volt 500 gph pump. Serves two purposes, 1, excellent aeration and 2, keeps the water moving.
The battery is connected to one of those small "smart" battery chargers to keep the battery topped up when the 240 volt is back on.

With just a low cost car battery from Repco (a 70.00 battery) or similar you will get approx 6 hours of operation, and that will cover most power outages.
The bigger the battery the longer the power outage that can be covered.

Beyond that, I have seen at the B store small petrol gen sets that will easily provide power for a domestic Aquaponics system, for around $125.00

Back up is like insurance, you hate paying it until it is needed, then you are glad you did.

Fish 9 months old....ready for frying pan....power goes out....fish die....man needs grief counseling....:o

[hellbent]

i just got this in the mail, bought it on ebay. <link> (http://www.amazon.com/Silent-Air-B11-Aquarium-Pump/dp/B000256502/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1243460606&sr=8-10)
2D battery powered pump with built in relay. too bad its so small, but itll last 8 hours. also its only $20 USD.

[woody]

Thanks everyone for the replies.

I do happen to have a spare car battery, so that does seem like a great idea.
I knew it would come in handy at some point.

When i'm closer to set up i'll look into the "fail over switch"

Woody

[Tony]

I use a fail over switch that switches to a regular car battery running a 12 volt 500 gph pump. Serves two purposes, 1, excellent aeration and 2, keeps the water moving.

Back up is like insurance, you hate paying it until it is needed, then you are glad you did.

Fish 9 months old....ready for frying pan....power goes out....fish die....man needs grief counseling....:o

Hi Murray. Couldn't agree more with the insurance and counselling. :D

Out of curiosity, how is your 500gph pump set up i.e. just pumps water straight from the pipe opening and relies on water hitting the surface to oxygenate, or have you got it pumping through a pipe with a stack of holes drilled into it, so there are multiple water streams? I was wondering which would provide better oxygenation for rainbow trout and I am about to set mine up.?

Also, how many litres is your tank the pump is connected too? My tank is 3500 litres and will hold about 100 trout at any one time and I'm wondering if 500GPH is enough for a backup?

Cheers
Tony