Ideas of how to save money with energy efficient SPS systems..

[Ed Hahn]

When I purchased Susies Old tank my idea was to be conservative on power. My previous tank had a Hammerhead pump and a medium sized dolphin pump with 3 metal halides.

I have to admit my larger tank is more efficient. Switching to energy efficient powerheads with timers made a big difference. The drawback was having to remove them and clean them periodically. I am still using Tunze powerheads on controllers. Everynow and then I will let them all run at same time. I am also still using my Polario. The only drawback I had with Polario was the controller does squeal. The polario is easier to operate when you run it more than 8 plus minutes a side. I should say its a lot more tolerable on the ears if you have a pretty silent tank.

So here is my thought. How about getting the most efficient reflector using the minimal amount of light to grow SPS, Clams, LPS, etc. The less wattage power of light, the less likely need of a chiller. Use one powerhead with enough flow to cover all areas of tank. Centrally locate it so it hits most areas on a timer or controller. I am thinking a polario if you can handle the noise of controller. Run a heater set to go off when temperatures get below 75 degrees. Aquascape for efficiency. I mean centrally locate your live rock so all areas are hit with minimum flow. Years past I always saw Reef Tanks in California using smaller Halide lightiing systems. If you are maintaining good clear water. You have more penetration. I am not sure how much energy Ozone uses. But this may be another plus. What are your ideas of a energy efficient Reef Aquarium growing Clams and SPS corals?

 

[roscoe]

Great thread here ED!! MY big tank focus was/is designed and built to be energy efficient as much as possible. I avoided having to use a chiller by having a open top tank with the canopy suspended about 16'' over it so it doesn't trap and focus the hot air into the tank. I use all energy efficient PH such as 3 Tunze and 3 MP40. Also in hind sight I think I could've gotten away with 2 large Lumenbright or LumenArc reflectors rather than 3 on a 6'x3'x2' tank. I might change this up in the future. I guess the only energy hogs I have is my lights and my hammerhead return pump. If my filtration and DT wasn't in seperate areas I could've avoided having to use the hammerhead. The upfront cost is more but you save in energy cost in the long haul. I'm still trying to figure out what more I can do to save on energy cost.

 

[Ed Hahn]

Canopy- closed canopy holds in heat, maybe pendents? The other side of that is trying to keep tank warm. Pendants with glass shielding may also prevent temps and extend the life of reflector. Any way you can increase air contact with warmer object. Proper spacing of bulbs so air temps do not shorten life of bulbs in canopies. Thanks Mister Fatheree. Flourescent bulbs are designed to run at certain temps. Overheating those bulbs shortens life of bulb.

Ballast- Magnetic ballast create heat. In a small area that heat can be a big issue. I want to progress to Digital ballast like Lumatek. Cooler to the touch. Any thing that is hot is usually a energy hog.
Digital Ballast is rumored to extend the life of MH bulb also.

 

[windwaterwaves]

Newby here... Is there any validity in using just fluorescent light and/or having greatly reduced MH usage? I noticed Garf claims they have been successful with it. The digital ballasts are much more efficient, I have another tank with the magnetic that sucks juice like crazy.

As for water movement on my tank I use a large return pump with one of those mechanical wave makers, limits power usage to one efficient high volume pump.

 

[Ed Hahn]

Waves,
The reason I went to MH years ago was because of bulb life from VHO or Flourescent bulbs. A factor in that was that bulbs were in a area confined where heat could not escape easily. Flourescent bulbs designed to run at certain temps. When pushed over those temps it shortens the life of bulb. Now with a little bit more experience. Knowing that bulb spectrum can be affected by temps. I have not used Flourescent.
My bulb life with VHO averaged 4-6 months. That was using VHO as my primary lighting without fans and overheating them. So very good question.

A good MH bulb usually last a year. Now with more efficient and easier starting digital ballast. I expect a longer than year mh bulb life reports coming in.

 

[roscoe]

Is the digital ballast different from electronic ballast?

 

[Ed Hahn]

Is the digital ballast different from electronic ballast?

yes.

Electronic ballasts are not the same as Digital Ballasts. Both ballasts share similar components but the electronic ballast does not have a brain. The electronic ballasts, Future Brite, Lumatek (the list goes on) regulate output voltage and current based upon fixed parameters, where the digital ballasts such as the Life Light Technologies Solar E-Ballast has a microprocessor that controls the output to the bulb. The Digital ballasts also communicate with the bulbs and report their health, a feature the electronic ballasts wish they had.

So what difference does a microprocessor make? It makes a fair amount of difference. Digital ballasts won't attempt to light a bulb if it senses a failure. Digital ballasts are continually monitoring and checking the input and output voltage and current to maximize bulb life, color and illumination (brightness).

I hope this clears up the difference between Digital Ballasts and Electronic ballasts. Digital Ballasts are electronic ballasts on steroids. And the difference can be seen!

 

[roscoe]

OH OK IC now! thanks Ed

 

[Aristarchus]

I know this is controversial but- what about running without a heater? From what I have read, in nature the temperature swings can vary by 10 or 12 degrees constantly. I have heard of a lot of people running without a heater and having a perfectly stable system. There are a lot of variables involved though, such as what temperature you keep your house, what lights you use, different seasons, placement in the house, etc. I personally run a heater because I'm not so sure about the theory I just mentioned. Just wondering if anyone else would have some input because that could be a pretty big energy saver. Thanks, Kyle

 

[JasonD]

I reduced my photoperiod and supplement with natural light. I am running two 250watt 12k reeflux halides over a 120 gallon tank. The 12k reelfux have plenty of blue, so I don't have to run any supplemental lighting. My tank in placed in front of the window. I get morning sun. I use just sunlight all day on my tank. The halides come on about 4pm (right now). I run them until 11pm. The halide lights also light my living room . I make adjustments during the summer to control temperature and lighting periods.

I don't run a chiller, but I do run a personal fan under my canopy. The fan is hooked up to a controller. When the tank hits 80 degrees the fan comes on. The fan stays on until the tank hits 77 degrees. I have heater that will come on if the tank hits 75 degrees.

Great thread!

 

[krisfal]

Ed,
I am suprised you did not mention the use of a gyre to maximize your flow. Getting all the water in your tank moving in the same direction is another way to save energy using less pump to move more water. The chaotic/random flow patterns many of us thought were ideal actually hamper the water movement by having the flow from different pumps crash into each other.

As I am re-plumbing my big tank I am doing it with the idea of only having one of the two closed loop pumps running at a given time. The plan is each pump will create a circular flow in the tank (in opposite directions) which will switch about every 6 hours. I will probably have an overlapping hour at a point durint the day in order to really stir things up.

 

[Ed Hahn]

Good Point Kris! Gyre is a system on stilts or platform that does not always need live rock. You run one pump one direction. Water flow accelerates after initial push. Recommended to have pump at least 8 minutes per side. Then alternate with a controller to another pump or power head on other side. Hopefully very little turbulance.
Gyre is a very cost effective method of growing corals.

 

[jezzeaepi]

For cheap cooling, nothing beats an open top tank with a large fan pointed at the surface. I think I managed to keep my elos tank 10 degrees cooler then the room it was in during the heat wave.

 

[krisfal]

Good Point Kris! Gyre is a system on stilts or platform that does not always need live rock. You run one pump one direction. Water flow accelerates after initial push. Recommended to have pump at least 8 minutes per side. Then alternate with a controller to another pump or power head on other side. Hopefully very little turbulance.
Gyre is a very cost effective method of growing corals.

A gyre of sorts can also be created in a display tank by aquascaping in a manner to create central wall of rock and using your pumps to push the water in a circular pattern around the tank. Jake Adams showed a video of a large display tank set up in this manner using only 4 vortechs at a time, on each side of the tank, to create a remarkable amount of flow. the return flow on the opposite side of the tank from the pumps was amazing especially since it was over 8 ft from the source.

 

[gas4544]

With respect to lighting, energy usage is only one of the factors to be considered. For many reefers, it is secondary to other lighting-related factors including light intensity, light spectrum, growth rate of corals, coloring of corals, appearance of the tank, heat generated by the lighting, life of bulbs and replacement cost of bulbs. I realize that I am just stating something that most of us already know.

Sanjay Joshi has performed many metal halide lighting studies over the years in which he compared different bulb and ballast combinations. One ballast may appear to be more "green" than another ballast because it used less power to fire a particular bulb, but the output of the bulb may be considerably lower when using the "green" ballast.

Some people are having success with shorter overall photoperiods. Others have switched from halides to T5 lighting. Some people use halides only for a shorter length of time in the middle of the photoperiod with T5's or some other light source burning at the beginning and the end of the photoperiod.

Some reefkeepers are willing to sacrifice a bit on coral growth rate and coloring in order to save on energy costs. But others are willing to pay more on energy costs for a thriving, beautiful tank - especially those who are growing out coral for the purpose of selling frags and colonies. It comes down to what the individual reefer wants from his lighting system, how much he is willing to pay to set it up and also to run it.

At our house, we save energy by keeping our house thermostat low. During the day while we are at home, we have the thermostat set at 61 degrees. At night and when the house is vacant, we turn it down even lower. So the excess heat coming off of my tanks heats up our living space a tiny bit. It also provides some light.

g

 

[Myteemouse]

Energy efficient SPS tank, really is an oxymoron
But on a side note my tank was getting hot after I took the chiller down for the winter
So I moved a cheap double window fan that was blowing over the sump to actually blow air directly into the sump at a 45 degree angle and now I see my tank actually being to cold and I had to adjust my heater.

 

[roscoe]

Energy efficient SPS tank, really is an oxymoron

Yes Adam there is such a thing. You can either use energy efficient or energy hog equipment. Up front cost is of course more for energy efficient but will pay you back in the long haul as oppose to the energy hog well that will just keep sucking away at your bank acct. for ever (not that the green stuff don't but to a far lesser degree). My thought process for this hobby is always to spend more now on equipment that is more green and pay less later on energy cost.

 

[CarlaW]

I saved $30 a month on my power bill by moving someone else out of the house, does this count????

Having my tank in the basement has sure helped as it is about 5-10 degrees cooler down there than it is upstairs. The use of cheap fans also help cool the tank in the summer, instead of having a chiller. The temp in my 300 never got over 82 this summer, I was pretty happy with that considering I run 6 MH over the beast.

Ed, do you have a link to someone that sells these digital ballasts?

On another note, I was able to remove one pump, an Iwaki 100, when I changed out my skimmer here last week. I have no idea what that will actually save me as far as the bill goes.

 

[Ed Hahn]

I
Ed, do you have a link to someone that sells these digital ballasts?

Yes,
Marine Depot sells lumatek digital ballast. I also have a friend in Boise that sells them, Kim. I am surprised more LFS are not selling them.
This ballast is still fairly cheap. I expect it to go up in price after more learn about it.

You know if you really wanted a cheap performer. You could model Jake Adam's 30 gallon Glass cage as Kris might have suggested. Shallow tank with long smooth path for water. Minimal light. Two powerheads with 30 dollar wave maker Chauvet 4002 (I think is name been so long ago). You may have a run for your money Gary. That is a proven system.

 

[CarlaW]

I don't think they have a 400w ballast tho, do they?