"RichToyBox" wrote in message news:4VFJc.85974$a24.56439@attbi_s03...
I have a large air pump that is piped to both ponds and it is hooked to an
inverter at all times. The inverter is connected to the largest capacity
automotive battery that I could find which is connected to a battery charger
set on trickle charge.

Piping up from my experience with batteries in my 73 GMC Motorhome. If
you are using an ordinary battery trickle charger you may not achieve
the result you want. In order to keep batteries on charge constantly
you need to investigate a 'smart charger' which will cycle the
batteries. Otherwise you may run them dry. We [the GMC group] have
good success with the Progressive Dynamics charger with the Charge
Wizard upgrade. Here is the story from them:
http://www.progressivedyn.com/servic...ry_basics.html
or
http://snipurl.com/7vgb
Automotive batteries are cheap and readily available. They are
designed to sustain a high current draw for a short time. For maximum
capacity and long life you may be better off with 'mobility cart'
batteries. Your application is actually more like a solar storage
system, anyway. A solar charger may suit your needs better, anyway,
and there are small units which plug into an accesory plug in a car to
keep the battery fresh. See eBay.
Being, I hope, helpful,
--
Crashj