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Inexpensive Aquaponics Battery Backup System

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  • Inexpensive Aquaponics Battery Backup System

    I picked this up on one of the other forums, originally posted by Kellerw on a pond oriented site.

    It turns out I had a UPS unit laying around the house and the only thing wrong with it was a bad battery. (This is one of those things we use to back up our computers in case of a power outage). I wanted more battery than what came with the UPS anyway hence the deep cycle trolling motor.
    Inexpensive Battery Backup for Aquaponics Systems

    I added male spade connectors to one end to connect to the wiring in the UPS where the small bad battery was, and then female battery post leads to the other end to connect it to a deep cycle trolling motor battery.
    Simple cable extensions to connect a UPS to a larger batter for use as an Aquaponic Backup System

    Here's the set up on a shelf I built connected to a the battery underneath it. (There is more clearance around the unit than it appears for air cooling). The recirculating aquaculture system is on the other side of the wall, which is nice as all the power and plug ins are separated by a wall.

    The AC pump that runs the rotating biofilter by dropping water on the paddles and moves water out of the clarifier is plugged into the UPS. I purposely cut the power to that outlet at the breaker box, and the UPS did it's job and automatically cut over to the battery.
    Sample Aquaponics Backup

    I have a UPS connected to my air pump, with a little more work, I can extend the backup time several hours. I've used these UPS's for years and had never thought to hook it to a bigger battery.
    Neal Westwood
    www.utahaquaponics.com

  • #2
    Good idea Neal. I know I have an old UPS laying around here somewhere. As I recall, the battery wouldn't hold a charge anymore and they no longer manufactured one that work. So, I had to get a new UPS. Now I know what to do with the old one.

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    • #3
      GoneFish'n -

      Very important thing to add. Make sure the UPS uses a 12 volt battery if you hook it up to a marine or car battery. Also, run a burn in test prior to going live. In other words, unplug the ups from the wall (to simulate a power failure) and run your system on it for a couple of hours or until the battery dies. Sometimes it's not the battery that went dead on the UPS but rather something else. If all goes well, you'll have an excellent backup for your system. Good luck!
      White Brook Tilapia Farm
      Kansas City, MO USA
      www.tilapiasource.com

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      • #4
        Thanks Kellen

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