energy-efficient salt tank

[Adam54]

Hi I am new to the saltwater and i am
Building a 200 gallon tank and I would
Like to keep it as energy efficient as passable
Any one have any suggestions.

[Sugar Magnolia]

[Moved]

[raybyrne67]

If you are planning a fish only tank that in itself will save you some cash in initial startup and monthly energy cost. If you are planning a reef system you will spend more on initial setup and monthly energy cost. Research all your purchases for wattage usage. My 75g reef tank cost approximately 20 per month in energy and water usage.

[rromans88]

I don't think there is such a thing as an energy efficient reef tank. Although I have heard of people using sunlight to light their tanks rather than buying lights.

[James77]

Hi I am new to the saltwater and i am
Building a 200 gallon tank and I would
Like to keep it as energy efficient as passable
Any one have any suggestions.

Are you looking to keep it energy efficient for the environment or to save cash?
If the latter...what is your electric rate?

[Usernam Invalid]

I keep all the lights off in the house and let the tanks light up the rooms. That's how I save electric

[m0nkie]

I'm switching to solar power soon.. Screw you Southern California Edison Electric Company!

[0coool]

There are two main ways to reduce electric usage on a tank.
First off is lighting install solar tubes and supplement with a couple t5's to get some better blues.

The second is water movement. Prop pumps are incredibly good at moving water return pumps not so much. The less head pressure you have the better (less fittings, less height to pump water).

[Stolireef]

LED Lighting and DC pumps are probably your two best friends for energy efficiency. They use very little electricity and add very little heat to the water thus eliminating the need for supplemental cooling (either a fan or a chiller). From a water perspective, make sure that your RO/DI unit is set up with the right flow controller so you don't make more waste water than necessary. Also, you can collect the waste water from the RO/DI and use it to water plants/lawns, etc.

Finally, a couple of gerbils in one of those hamster wheels can provide some additional juice for your tank.

[Ahanix]

LED Lighting and DC pumps are probably your two best friends for energy efficiency. They use very little electricity and add very little heat to the water thus eliminating the need for supplemental cooling (either a fan or a chiller). From a water perspective, make sure that your RO/DI unit is set up with the right flow controller so you don't make more waste water than necessary. Also, you can collect the waste water from the RO/DI and use it to water plants/lawns, etc.

Finally, a couple of gerbils in one of those hamster wheels can provide some additional juice for your tank.

I definitely agree with this, the gerbils will help cut down on electricity costs. The LED's and DC pumps might help a little bit too.

[jackpeppin]

1. Run your halides at night mostly. In winter is when it is coldest, so it adds needed heat to the tank and the house. In summer it is when it is coolest also, so it reduces the load to your chiller.
2. Increase the sump size to as big as you can have. The larger sump size with a fan blowing may eliminate your chiller altogether.
3. Run your halides only for 5 hr/day and the VHO for 8-10 hr/day. Can't tell you I see a difference from 10 hr/day MH and 14 hr of VHO.
4. Get the largest most efficient skimmer your money can buy. It will save you on many other costly things like PO4 removers, carbon, and even water changes frequency and volume.
5. Get 10K bulbs instead of the 20K or 14K halides. You get more bang for your buck and in general are much more efficient and cheaper to begin with.
6. Tunzes are nice and run very little electrical expense. However the initial expense will be great since I found them not to put out as much flow as some well done close loops and you will need to get many of them.
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[Reef Frog]

Depending on your environment & set up, there's a good chance that heating will be the single largest electricity user. I guess a 200g could need around 500w hearing capacity. It all depends on the ambient room temperature, your climate and how you set things up. 500w would cost me about 5-6 cents per hour on in my area for example.

A hood could help you conserve heat as well as a lower ON temp setting on the heater. Acrylic is said to be a much better insulator than glass.

[jrp1588]

1. Run your halides at night mostly. In winter is when it is coldest, so it adds needed heat to the tank and the house. In summer it is when it is coolest also, so it reduces the load to your chiller.
2. Increase the sump size to as big as you can have. The larger sump size with a fan blowing may eliminate your chiller altogether.
3. Run your halides only for 5 hr/day and the VHO for 8-10 hr/day. Can't tell you I see a difference from 10 hr/day MH and 14 hr of VHO.
4. Get the largest most efficient skimmer your money can buy. It will save you on many other costly things like PO4 removers, carbon, and even water changes frequency and volume.
5. Get 10K bulbs instead of the 20K or 14K halides. You get more bang for your buck and in general are much more efficient and cheaper to begin with.
6. Tunzes are nice and run very little electrical expense. However the initial expense will be great since I found them not to put out as much flow as some well done close loops and you will need to get many of them.
||http://www.webdesigningtraininginchennai.in/
Or alternatively, don't get halides. LEDs are definitely the way to go if you're trying to conserve energy, but even then, don't expect miracles. Your tank will still be the biggest energy sucker that runs all day, except for the HVAC of course.