Power outages in NJ.....

[Ariel 90g Reef]

So I’m thinking of getting a battery backup system, in case of a power loss, I have moved from Brooklyn to Lakewood NJ, in Brooklyn I only had one power outage, hurricane sandy and it was only for about an hour and a half, I’m about 8 years in the hobby, how often does it power outages happen in NJ in my area? Winter time is often?
If you use one what do you have?

 

[art13]

I don't know the area personally but my generator has saved my tank probably 3-4 times now, i've been here in south jersey for 3 years. Honestly, any backup system would be worth it in my opinion.

 

[kschweer]

Im not sure exactly on the frequency of power outages in Lakewood. I would agree with art to look into a generator over battery backups. Battery backups are ok, but for an extended power outage a generator is the best bet.

 

[art13]

a high wattage ups would be able to run a few pumps for a while to take care of short term outages, but anything longer than a day or if you temp fluctuates too much in that time frame, you could have some issues. a small backup generator to only run the tank would not be much more than that type of setup, and you could just run an extension cord to the tank when needed. I opted for a larger one, it runs most of my house minus the hot water and ac system.

 

[Trio91]

we get "brown outs" all the time where im at (not sure why though) and i know it's only a matter of time before we get a big one that cuts off everything for a long period . i am going to be investing in an Ice Cap battery back-up for the gyre very soon so i can atleast keep the flow going . for now i have an inverter that connect to a 12v dc battery in case of any emergency

 

[mrehfeld]

my area sucks (northern monmouth) I came home recently to a power outage and half empty tank(stupid reason) lost some, saved most with my Gennie. Its worth having.

 

[njtiger24 aquariums]

I live in Tuckerton (about 30mins or so south of you) in an apartment. The longest I have gone without power is 24 hours and that was due to Sandy (they killed the power to the grid I am on). Now I am an IT guy so I have a computer UPS. I hooked it to my system but only to my two Jabeo wave makers. I can run both of those at full power for 90 or so mins.

Cause I live in an apartment I am unable to run a gen.

My suggestion is to have a UPS that will run some equipment (like wave makers) and a gen. The reason I say this is the UPS will auto kick in so if your not home (or say asleep) when the power goes out you have a some time to get the gen up and running (now if your budget allows for a gen that will auto kick on then thats different). Also the UPS will 'clean' your power which will help extend the life of the equipment connected to it.

 

[art13]

I don't know what size system you run, but to get an idea of how expensive an electric backup can be, if i wanted to run my full system for 24 hours after losing power, i would need about 4 200ah batteries. They run i believe about 300-400 a piece for decent ones, along with a 12a charger to keep up with my system draw and a 2000 watt inverter. About $1500 all together on the cheap side, probably more along the lines of $2000, and you have a system that can run your tank for 24 hours. This is assuming a constant 5 amp or 600 watt draw. For that same $1500-$2000, i can get a generator that can run my entire house on a tank of gas for 24 hours or more. Now for $300 you can get a genset with 2500 running watts, more than enough to handle your tank and even some odds and ends while the power is out, like say a tv and your internet and cable. Sorry for the longer rant sounding post here but just trying to give you an idea. I prefer the batteries honestly but it's just not cost effective. Have a battery backup for one of the pumps in the tank to keep water moving, have a genset for power outages that are going to last longer than a few hours. If you are weighing on if it is worth it, how much do you have wrapped up in the tank? If it's over $300, then yes, the genset will pay for itself after your first power issue, and you have piece of mind knowing it's there.

 

[Trio91]

I live in Tuckerton (about 30mins or so south of you) in an apartment. The longest I have gone without power is 24 hours and that was due to Sandy (they killed the power to the grid I am on). Now I am an IT guy so I have a computer UPS. I hooked it to my system but only to my two Jabeo wave makers. I can run both of those at full power for 90 or so mins.

Cause I live in an apartment I am unable to run a gen.

My suggestion is to have a UPS that will run some equipment (like wave makers) and a gen. The reason I say this is the UPS will auto kick in so if your not home (or say asleep) when the power goes out you have a some time to get the gen up and running (now if your budget allows for a gen that will auto kick on then thats different). Also the UPS will 'clean' your power which will help extend the life of the equipment connected to it.

whats an UPS?

 

[art13]

Uninterrupted power supply.

 

[Trio91]

aaahhh thank you for that clarification

 

[njtiger24 aquariums]

I don't know what size system you run, but to get an idea of how expensive an electric backup can be, if i wanted to run my full system for 24 hours after losing power, i would need about 4 200ah batteries. They run i believe about 300-400 a piece for decent ones, along with a 12a charger to keep up with my system draw and a 2000 watt inverter. About $1500 all together on the cheap side, probably more along the lines of $2000, and you have a system that can run your tank for 24 hours. This is assuming a constant 5 amp or 600 watt draw. For that same $1500-$2000, i can get a generator that can run my entire house on a tank of gas for 24 hours or more. Now for $300 you can get a genset with 2500 running watts, more than enough to handle your tank and even some odds and ends while the power is out, like say a tv and your internet and cable. Sorry for the longer rant sounding post here but just trying to give you an idea. I prefer the batteries honestly but it's just not cost effective. Have a battery backup for one of the pumps in the tank to keep water moving, have a genset for power outages that are going to last longer than a few hours. If you are weighing on if it is worth it, how much do you have wrapped up in the tank? If it's over $300, then yes, the genset will pay for itself after your first power issue, and you have piece of mind knowing it's there.

Yes agree with @art13 and hope it was clear in my post. Don't run your whole system on a UPS cause you will drop your uptime big time. Also the cost of a UPS to support a full system would be costly. As I said I only run two wave makers on mine so for ~90mins my water will still be moving. That 90min will cover most of the power outage I see in my apartment.

 

[njtiger24 aquariums]

whats an UPS?

Like @art13 said its

Uninterrupted power supply.

They are mainly designed to run computers to give you x amount of time to correctly save your work and shutdown your computer. Also it 'cleans' the electricity that is coming in so it protects power supplies and what not.

By clean I mean it outputs the same level of electricity so there no 'flux' like you have coming from straight from the wall outlet.

 

[art13]

Yes agree with @art13 and hope it was clear in my post. Don't run your whole system on a UPS cause you will drop your uptime big time. Also the cost of a UPS to support a full system would be costly. As I said I only run two wave makers on mine so for ~90mins my water will still be moving. That 90min will cover most of the power outage I see in my apartment.

I was agreeing with you on this, though i might have came off as a rant, lol. A ups is great for keeping the tank a float that extra hour or so to give you time if your out or just a small outage, i gave the long response as i've looked into this hoping a battery backup would work, it's less work, but its not cost effective at all for long power outages. My current generator is 5500 running watts. It runs everything but the ac and hot water heater as stated. Thats a fridge, two freezers, the microwave when needed, lights, computers, tank, tv's, well pump, and other odds and ends for roughly $800. wired right to my breaker box (don't do it unless you know what you are doing, ask for help, lol).

 

[njtiger24 aquariums]

@art13 your rant was good and well detailed.

 

[redfishbluefish]

I don't care if I lived in an apartment.....and they had a rule against generators. If I own a reef tank, I'm having a generator....even if it's a small one from Harbor Freight.

I'll put it out on my patio/deck and run this thing until the power comes back on. Either that, of have the apartment complex put in a whole apartment back up generator!!!! The investment is too great!

 

[njtiger24 aquariums]

@redfishbluefish I understand what you are saying but in my 7+ years living in this complex I lost power about a handful of times (like 5 or so) ranging about 1 to 2 hours. Only Sandy did I lose it for for 24 hours and that was cause of all the flooding. Now since having my tank I only lost power once maybe twice. I hope to be out of this place soon and not have to worry about that (I be able to get a gen and hook it up correctly)

 

[redfishbluefish]

Here's my story.....I've lived in this house for 36 years. When we have a power outage, before I can get up off my butt to find a flashlight, the power has come back on. I don't know if they re-route, or what they do, but we just don't get power outages......until. A couple months before Sandy the power went out. I looked at my wife and said, "wait a minute." After 30 minutes, I became concerned, and we got in the car to go buy a generator. As we were driving back down our street, with the new generator in the back of the car, the lights on our street came back ON. Doh!!!

I put that generator in the garage, still in the box, thinking that I'll never use that again. I later found out that a car hit a pole one street over and knocked out the power. Anyway, Sandy came around a couple months later, and if it wasn't for that earlier power outage, I'd never have this generator. The savings in food in the refrigerator and freezer alone easily paid for this generator. We were out for over seven days, and that little generator ran my entire tank, my boiler, refrigerator, television and a couple lights.....24/7. We entertained the elderly during the day in our neighborhood since we were one of the few houses with heat and tv. In retrospect, seeing what I had invested in my tank, I don't know why I didn't have a generator from day one. I now consider it a mandatory piece of equipment if you have a reef with considerable cash invested. My generator cost $300 and has easily paid for itself.

I'll step off the soapbox now....I'm done with my rant.

Buy a generator!!!!

 

[Trio91]

So you know, I love Harbor Freight.

 

[kschweer]