250 Gallon Starphire SPS tank

[LittleBlueGT]

I wonder if this has to do with the loads on the pump. According to MDM in their forum, if you dial back the output on one of their pumps, the pump uses less power. I imagine this would probably account for the difference.

Later,
Tyler

MDM inc. has a graph that shows their electrical usage vs. head pressure. Still though I am measuring within 3%. Pretty good in my books.

 

[tgunn]

MDM inc. has a graph that shows their electrical usage vs. head pressure. Still though I am measuring within 3%. Pretty good in my books.

Ah, okay, that works too. Yes, within 3% is definitely pretty good. I think inductive loads also require the use of a power factor when calculating wattage from voltage and amperage, but I don't think it makes that big a difference with this type of motor.

Very interesting results though; I would have thought the lighting would be the greatest power consumer..

The way I figure it my system will draw around 583 watts for the 3 pumps (seq 1000, dart, pcx-40 for skimmer)... My T5s won't use that much!

I'm just glad we don't have to worry about power costs as much here!

Tyler

 

[LittleBlueGT]

Going from 10 hrs of halides to 5 hrs did not really save me that much on electricity. Although my a/c dosen't have to work as hard so maybe indirectly (at least in the summer) it does.

 

[NHMarine]

An update on how the tank is affecting the house for the summer:

My house is about 1450 square feet. I originally had a 1.5 ton a/c on the house (from the builder). Even with no tank that a/c proved to be too small for hot summer days. Last year with a 90 gallon tank with moderate flow and only pc lighting the a/c could not keep up. It would be 28C or 82F outside and the inside temp could not get below 24C (75F) It was really annoying! Now I have a 2.5 ton unit. I hope this will work for those hot summer days. Sometimes the temp here in Canada actually gets to 38C or 100F!

1.5 Ton unit does sound a little on the small side.

My house is 1750SF with a 5 ton unit. I installed it myself for about $3800 when I built my house back in 2001

Today when I came home it was 85F outside and 80F inside. I flipped the air on and in 1hr 20 minutes it dropped to 75F, and the humidity went from 54% to 40% in that time frame also.

So I checked out my electric bill when I came home today.....In New Hampshire, I pay 11 cents per KWH plus a $20 "service fee" per bill.....so ya, you pay half what I pay

 

[LittleBlueGT]

NHMarine from my limited knowledge of a/c units i would say yours is huge for your house. I was told that an oversized unit is not good, it will run less and take less humidity out of the air as a smaller one running longer. Of course it may depend on the prevailing climate of where you live. Our summers are not that humid, but can be with thunderstorms and such.

 

[LittleBlueGT]

Here is a question I posted on the SPS forum:

Here are some pics of my yellow monti w/ purple polyps.

That is what it used to look like.

I have since added more SPS, mostly acros and all are doing great with good growth.

This particular monti has grown a bit but now it has very little polyp extension and does not appear to be growing anymore.

Any ideas?

 

[LittleBlueGT]

I will try and get a pic of the monti tomorrow to compare.

 

[LittleBlueGT]

Another question I posted:

Is it best to thaw cyclopeze and dump it all into the tank or should it be strained first? Same question but with other frozen foods?

Is it better to feed that stuff at night when coral polyps are more extended?

I used to strain all of my frozen foods. Now that my skimmer is working awesome I have stopped doing this thinking that maybe it is better for feeding the corals to put everything in.

I am now feeding a lot, maybe 1 tbl of flake and 1.5 tbl of frozen a day, many times more. I have no more algae then before except I have to clean the glass more often.

 

[melev]

I wouldn't strain any of the cyclop-eeze. I feel that every atom of that expensive food should be used, and I'll even rinse my equipment (spatulas, knives, food processor parts) in the tank to give my livestock ample opportunity to get some of the good stuff.

 

[LittleBlueGT]

I wouldn't strain any of the cyclop-eeze. I feel that every atom of that expensive food should be used, and I'll even rinse my equipment (spatulas, knives, food processor parts) in the tank to give my livestock ample opportunity to get some of the good stuff.

That's what prompted me to change, the huge expense of that stuff. I feel that it is like a human eating a $100 meal. I wish I treated myself as good as my corals.

 

[melev]

You can say that again. You know, I started making my own food something like a year ago, maybe longer. So how come when I made my last batch is seemed like it was more expensive than just buying the bubble packs at the LFS?

I need to retally the ingredients, so I can stop eating hotdogs and drinking 2-day old coffee.

 

[LittleBlueGT]

Maybe then you can afford ozone.

 

[Aquaduck]

What happens to the power consumption of your Hammerhead if you restrict the outlet slightly. I have read a post from MDM Sequence that the power consumption drops as you restrict the outlets.

 

[LittleBlueGT]

What happens to the power consumption of your Hammerhead if you restrict the outlet slightly. I have read a post from MDM Sequence that the power consumption drops as you restrict the outlets.

A little but not very much. They have info on their website.

 

[frankiej]

I think this is an amp probe isnt it???

I think this is an amp probe isnt it???

Sorry, had to ask...8^)

Good luck with your reefs.

I got a new toy! A volt/ohm meter that tests amperage.

I will give a breakdown of the amperage draw of every component in my system soon. Some initial testing has proved surprising!

 

[LittleBlueGT]

Yes it is.

 

[tgunn]

Yes it is.

hey, out of curiosity, is that one of those ampmeters that tests amperage by clamping the loop around the wire?

Tyler

 

[LittleBlueGT]

hey, out of curiosity, is that one of those ampmeters that tests amperage by clamping the loop around the wire?

Tyler

Yes, it is.

 

[H20ENG]

LSM,
Not sure if you know this trick or not....
If you want to get a more accurate reading on a low current device, wire the hot leg to a jumper that you can wrap around the clamp 10 turns. You'll get a 10x higher amp reading, so devide by 10 and its slightly more accurate than just clamping on.
I made up a little extension cord thingy with plugs on the end to do this quickly.

 

[LittleBlueGT]

LSM,
Not sure if you know this trick or not....
If you want to get a more accurate reading on a low current device, wire the hot leg to a jumper that you can wrap around the clamp 10 turns. You'll get a 10x higher amp reading, so devide by 10 and its slightly more accurate than just clamping on.
I made up a little extension cord thingy with plugs on the end to do this quickly.

Did not know that trick, but it makes perfect sense.

Thanks!