Amtra Air System UPS is an aerator working even on battery and it’s extremely useful in case of blackout.
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This is one of that kind of objects that we really missed. In fact, a part of its normal use as aerator, peculiarity of the Amtra Air System UPS is to have an inner battery, usable in many ways.
As you all know that a blackout is very dangerous for our aquarium, because it totally depends on the electric energy. Even more so if the aquarium is very populated or, if it’s a marine aquarium, with many corals. Until today you could use a UPS to maintain in activity the return pump. It’s not the better solution, though. It would be a lot better to have a battery aerator available that powers up when there’s the necessity.
Until today, doing this signified having to do with an external battery, making a relè circuit in order to make the UPS working in case of blackout. Then you’d need an inverter circuit to recharge the battery. As you can understand it’s a problem of costs and conspicuity. And still not knowing if the aerator would work as needed.
Well, from today it exists a battery aerator, practical to use and very well built: the Amtra Air System UPS.
Amtra Air System UPS
In the images of this article we’re referring to an Amtra Air System 360 UPS. But Amtra‘s aerator are 3, the 60 version, the 120 and the 360:
- Air System UPS 60: 20 hours of autonomy, 33,50 euro;
- Air System UPS 120: 11 hours of autonomy, 39,50 euro;
- Air System UPS 360: 14 hours of autonomy, 59 euro.
The aerator can work in classic mode, that is staying on, or in standby mode. In this modality the aerator will be always turned off and it will turn on just in lack of energy, working until the return of the current or the end of the batteries.
The package contains:
- Charger of 5V 1000 ma;
- Non-return valve;
- Pipe of 300 cm;
- 2 flux regulators;
- 2 tiny porous stones;
- Deviator to Y.
Technical characteristics of the Air System UPS 360
The unit is pretty compact, and it’s lifted from the support plane through 4 little rubbers. The aerator measures 11,5 cm of length, 8,5 cm of depth and 4,5 cm of height. It consumes 0,8 watt and it has a rate of 6 liters per minute. The battery it uses is a lithium battery.
And let me say that 14 hours of continuous use are a lot, in case of blackout. My suggestion is to use one each 60-80 cm of length in aquarium.
In the small control panel it’s possible to see the ignition button, the + and – buttons to increase or decrease the outgoing air, and the level of the battery. The PULSE button instead activates the pulsation mode in which the aerator works for 10 seconds, stops another 10 seconds, and so on endlessly.
Conclusions
We really love this tool, and we objectively can’t do without it. It’s cheap, 59 euro, if you consider that’s a device that can literally save our aquarium. Sure, if we should use it just like an ordinal aerator it would have a little high price, but it’s a very noticeable and efficient backup device. In my aquarium of 400 liters maybe just one of them is not enough, but they surely I have my money’s worth.
PROS
Device that can save the life of our aquarium at low price
Extremely quiet
Well built
Lithium battery
CONS
Expensive only if used as a standard aerator
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Disclaimer: Many thanks to Amtra for providing us the Amtra Air System 360 UPS for this review.
