- Hey, it's Thomas here and today we're gonna be checking
out IceCap's Battery Backup V3.
While it's not gonna win an endurance award,
this little battery backup is super compact,
it's lighter than the competition,
and it fits a variety of different DC flow pumps
to give you up to 10 hours of life saving circulation
in the event you have a power outage.
Which is a good thing
because power outages for reefs are bad.
Power outages are going to happen
and depending on where you are,
they can be pretty rare and relatively short
or happen multiple times a year
and sometimes last for hours on end.
For reefers like us,
any power outage can be a disastrous event capable
of crashing our tanks.
Which gives me anxiety just thinking about it.
The good news is there are lots of tools out there
for us reefers to take advantage of
to help mitigate the danger of a power outage
by providing a backup energy source
to run critical life support on the tank.
For example,
I have a big gas generator
I can use when the power goes out,
like it often does during the winter in my area.
Which works extremely well,
except for when I'm not home to wheel it out of the garage,
then fill it with gas, and then turn it on,
and then drag an extension cord
through the window all the way to the tank.
Then it's not as helpful.
Which is exactly why I have this here
IceCap Battery Backup V3.
Instead of having to be home
to get that critical water circulation
and oxygenation in my reef tank,
I can rest assured that the moment the power goes out,
this battery backup is already providing power
to one or two circulation pumps in my tank
and can keep them running for up to 10 hours.
It's physically more compact
and lighter than other options,
making it easier to mount using the screw holes
in the side of the case.
And it's one of the more affordable,
ready to use battery backup options out there at 130 bucks.
Plus, it's compatible with a variety
of DC circulation pumps,
which makes it a more flexible option
for reefers using various brands of pumps on their tank.
In the box you'll find the Battery Backup V3,
the battery charger, a link cable, a Y cable,
and the user instruction manual.
The IceCap V3 uses a compact 2.5 amp hour battery
with a max output of 12 volts by 2.5 amps that can provide
up to roughly 10 hours of runtime
for a single circulation pump running in low output mode.
It comes in at only 5 3/4 inches wide, 5 inches tall,
and just over 3 inches deep
and weighs just at 3.5 pounds,
making it smaller and much lighter than other readily
available battery backup options.
Which means it's a lot more convenient
to find a spot for and mount,
especially for those smaller reefs
and nanosystems that don't have a lot of space in the stand.
All four of the ports on the bottom
of the battery backup are clearly labeled
so you can't get them mixed up.
Fuse, input charger,
input pump power supply, and output pump.
The V3 is actually compatible with a range of DC pumps.
However, it pairs perfectly with IceCap
and Maxspect Gyre pumps along with the Octo Pulse pumps,
all of which be able to detect when they're
on battery backup power and reduce their pump speed
to extend battery life during a power outage.
You can also hook up the V3
to your Hydros WaveEngine controller
to add battery backup to any pumps plugged
into it while gaining some extra customization options
for how pumps will respond while
on battery backup during an outage.
A quick note, the V3 here is designed
to be run with DC circulation pumps
and is not compatible with return or utility pumps,
so just keep that in mind.
There are a few different configurations
you can set up the V3 in depending on your needs.
Most of us will likely use it
to run a single circulation pump
to keep water in our display circulating
so our inhabitants don't run out of oxygen.
However, you can also run two pumps if you so choose,
which can help if you have a larger
or longer tank so that you have some water movement
throughout the entire display.
You can also daisy chain a pair of V3 batteries
to a single pump effectively doubling the runtime up
to a potential 20 hours, which can be super helpful
if you tend to travel for work
or work critical jobs that don't allow room
for you to leave at a moment's notice
or work fairly far from home,
giving you plenty of time to get back
to your tank and start up a long-term power solution
like a gas generator.
All of these configurations are clearly laid out
for you right in the manual that comes with it.
Plus that Y splitter cable that you need
if you're gonna run a pair of pumps is also included,
so you don't have to pick that up either.
It's all right there for you.
While the V3 isn't the longest
runtime emergency power solution,
it is one of the most convenient
and one of the least expensive ready to use options
and is a quick and simple way to add life saving redundancy
to your reef for those shorter to mid-length power outages,
as well as enough time to get back to your tank
to prepare for long haul power outages.
Like the ones I sometimes face out here
during rural winter snow storms.
So if being prepared for the worst
matches your reefing mantra,
you can pick up a V3 Battery Backup
by clicking right here.
(serene bass music)