RDWC ups power supply as pump backup?

Anyone using a ups power supply for the dwc/rwdc setups as a backup in case the mains goes off.?

Is it needed?

How long will a plant last before it is killed or damaged from heat or lack of DO?

I keep thinking if i hook my water pump up to a ups the if the power goes then i will still be circulating nutes and flooming for oxygenation of the water. I know my lights will be off but this should be enough IMO to stop any damage to roots or plants.?

Im away from my girls for upto 8 hours so a bit of a safety net would be nice.

love to hear people experiences with power outs and how they protect their girls from such extremes?

I never had a problem with a pump/power going out, but if I were concerned I would add my air pump to the UPS. Since I have airstones in each bucket, the nutrient filled water would stay oxygenated so plants could theoretically be ok for days (excluding all other issues by losing power).

neckpod said:

Is it needed?

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why not? peace of mind for not too much money is a worthwhile investment IMO. you could even put a small led bulb on it too so they aren't completely in the dark and the pump runs.

I have a these flexible airstones in each bucket myself but thought the flooming of my circulation pump in res would keep temps and oxygen levels more stable throughout the system?

Like the idea of a led back up light as well not that we get lots of power outs here but me not being with them upto 8 hours a day! It Would be a great backup system as things seem to move fast in this type of system.

Be nice to here if anyone does anything similar?

neckpod said:

I have a these flexible airstones in each bucket myself but thought the flooming of my circulation pump in res would keep temps and oxygen levels more stable throughout the system?

Like the idea of a led back up light as well not that we get lots of power outs here but me not being with them upto 8 hours a day! It Would be a great backup system as things seem to move fast in this type of system.

Be nice to here if anyone does anything similar?

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i used a ups for a light backup. during the summers here, we get brief outages but the bad thing was how long it took my bulb to refire. at the time, i was using a mag ballast and the bulbs would have to cool down for about 15 mins before they would re-strike.

My back up is just that my 2 of my radiator fans and air pump are powered off 12V car battery 24/7.
Car battery has a trickle charger on it.
Not that most efficient way but that battery has a 2nd use as my jumper pack battery for if 1 of my 3 cars battery's go flat form sitting to long with out being driven.

Fan and air pump would run 2 days with out battery getting charged.

rkymtnman said:

i used a ups for a light backup. during the summers here, we get brief outages but the bad thing was how long it took my bulb to refire. at the time, i was using a mag ballast and the bulbs would have to cool down for about 15 mins before they would re-strike.

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My ballast is the same won't light the bulb until it's cooled down probably 10mins. Thinking of putting an led light as someone suggested in this thread, Just as a backup light.

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majins said:

My back up is just that my 2 of my radiator fans and air pump are powered off 12V car battery 24/7.
Car battery has a trickle charger on it.
Not that most efficient way but that battery has a 2nd use as my jumper pack battery for if 1 of my 3 cars battery's go flat form sitting to long with out being driven.

Fan and air pump would run 2 days with out battery getting charged.

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2 days is a great amount of time I'd only need 8 hours tops of backup.
Nice idea though using a battery.
I have read somewhere about using a solar panel for your battery charging? Charges off your grow lights? No charger?

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neckpod said:

2 days is a great amount of time I'd only need 8 hours tops of backup.
Nice idea though using a battery.
I have read somewhere about using a solar panel for you battery charging? Charges off your grow lights? No charger?

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I did a experiment like that and deemed the conversion much to low from LED COB to Solar to Battery.
Solar panel had to be 3 inch from 60W cree 3070 to produce 1.3W

Yeah 2 days is massive over kill. But its just using parts I had laying in my garage.
Power only goes out 1-2 hours at my place but its quite often since I live next to substation which shuts off my power if any of the sounding areas has to go down.

majins said:

I did a experiment like that and deemed the conversion much to low from LED COB to Solar to Battery.
Solar panel had to be 3 inch from 60W cree 3070 to produce 1.3W

Yeah 2 days is massive over kill. But its just using parts I had laying in my garage.
Power only goes out 1-2 hours at my place but its quite often since I live next to substation which shuts off my power if any of the sounding areas has to go down.

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Alright pal, I was thinking that a 600w mh/hps would provide the solar charge and the led light would only come on if the power failed, The led light would be a much lower power drain on the ups? i dont really get power outages very often maybe once or twice a year but knowing my luck it would kill everything before i get home from work.

I also think you can plug some ups to the internet for power out alarms although you would also need to power your router on the ups for this feature to work.
Backup and an alarm would be cool right?