Certainly I would think that in light of recent fiscal developments regarding the Wall Street meltdown and the prospects of a sharpening of economic uncertainties and possible contractions , and hikes in energy costs, reefers may be rethinking their strategies going forward. Or not. I'd be curioius to hear what. if any, strategies folks are contemplating to contain costs of the hobby. Personally, for a long time, I have been contemplating integrating my 75 gallon tank into my 125 gallon display. My original rationale were concerns over excessive energy utilization in terms of environmental impact. More recently, my motivation has been enhanced by economic factors and a desire to decrease our national dependence on foreign oil. BTW, towards that end I will be selling many of my large sps colonies and moving more towards a mixed reef in my 125. So what are others doing or contemplating?
conserving costs/energy
- Thread starter drbronx
- Start date
mickela
New member
I have already been laid off from my job so I guess I wont be buying any frags for awhile,but I did upgrade my 48 bow to a 75 gallon but that just ment my wrasse went from a 40 breeder to a 48 bow. My electric bill is what's killing me and I dont use metal halides but t5'5 so I'm not sure where I could cut back without using less power heads and we all know that's not a good idea.I cant cut down on lighting I dont believe as they are only on from 11:00 till maybe 7:00.I'm affraid any less would upset the corals.But I am also open to any new ideas.
St.james of reefdom
New member
One of the things I have been trying on one of my tanks is less light.
I do not turn on the halides until I get home at 5:30 and they go off when I go to bed at 10: 30. There is no actinic at this point.
and I have not noticed a downturn in the coral.
One of my discussions with Steve L was about lighting and he mentioned that when he was working on the lighting experiment with Sanjay was the coral repond to the light about an hour after it has come on but after that they begin to go into a photoshock... they start shutting things down, kinda like us squinting when the sun is bright outside and we don't have any shades..anyway it is interesting observing... that lessens my electric bill as far as lighting
I do not turn on the halides until I get home at 5:30 and they go off when I go to bed at 10: 30. There is no actinic at this point.
and I have not noticed a downturn in the coral.
One of my discussions with Steve L was about lighting and he mentioned that when he was working on the lighting experiment with Sanjay was the coral repond to the light about an hour after it has come on but after that they begin to go into a photoshock... they start shutting things down, kinda like us squinting when the sun is bright outside and we don't have any shades..anyway it is interesting observing... that lessens my electric bill as far as lighting
i use a combo of lights to reduce my bill, i use to run my 175watt MH for 10 hours and my 4 watt led fixture for 2 hours before and after, now i run
10am led actinics
12pm 70 watt Hqi MH
4 pm 175MH
6 pm 175MH Off
8 pm 70 watt HQI Off
10 Pm Led actinics off
found out that it drops my electric bill about by half corals love the transitions and the option of different K Degree is nice too
10am led actinics
12pm 70 watt Hqi MH
4 pm 175MH
6 pm 175MH Off
8 pm 70 watt HQI Off
10 Pm Led actinics off
found out that it drops my electric bill about by half corals love the transitions and the option of different K Degree is nice too
The phenomenon St. James referred to is called "photo-inhibition". After a period of light exposure, photosynthesis in the xooanthellae actually slows down dramatically. People have been experimenting with various lighting schedules to maximize photosynthetic activity. In the past there have been good threads on the "Adanced Topics in reefkeeping" forum. I will try to find some. No doubt we could probably all cut back on our halide light schedule and save beaucoup $$ and reduce our "carbon footprint". I will try slowly reducing the amount of time I leave on my halides. My current schedule has been VHOs on at 8am and off at 10p-m. Halides on at 11am and off at 8pm. I will greadually work my halide exposure down to six hours per day and maybe eventually even just 4 hrs depending on observed responses. i have also chnages halide bulb and ballast configuration from 400w magnetic ballasts to 250 watt electronic (Ice Cap) ballasts and have definitely seen an energy savings as well as improved coral coloration and a more aesthetically pleasing light color in my XM 10ks. They are now a beautiful ice white as opposed to yellow white with the magnetic ballast.
So thanks for the reminder you guys to cut back on lighting!!
One final thing...I have replaced my Seio 1100 power heads with maximod 1200's which have increased flow and reduced heat and power consumption.
So thanks for the reminder you guys to cut back on lighting!!
One final thing...I have replaced my Seio 1100 power heads with maximod 1200's which have increased flow and reduced heat and power consumption.
Our electric bill went up with the 1k. The problem is that the halides are heating it. I figured that if I have to heat it anyway I might as well waste the heat in light.
I'm going to be purchasing hollow balls to put in the sump. They are supposed to reduce heat loss and evaporation. Then I hope to seal off the canopy to keep more of the heat in. If the temp of the tank goes up, I'll cut back the lighting to save money.
I'm going to be purchasing hollow balls to put in the sump. They are supposed to reduce heat loss and evaporation. Then I hope to seal off the canopy to keep more of the heat in. If the temp of the tank goes up, I'll cut back the lighting to save money.
St.james of reefdom
New member
Thanks Doc I was having a brain freeze and couldn't remember the correct term.
fordguy1992
New member
so how long can you leave the lights on?
Sorry posted before I was finished. Equipment I use
* Aquaclear 110 - 14watts
* Replaced Seio 820 (18watts) with Koralia 3 (3.5watts)
Use Mag 7. By the way the Koralia Magnum (1,650gph) uses 8 watts
* Use Mag7 (70watts) vs Mag9.5 (95watts). Less flow but Koralia makes up for it.
Largest expense, of course, is the lights. I run 4 T5's
* 2 on ICECAP 430 (vs the 660)
* 2 on no brand. wattage unknown.
* Aquaclear 110 - 14watts
* Replaced Seio 820 (18watts) with Koralia 3 (3.5watts)
Use Mag 7. By the way the Koralia Magnum (1,650gph) uses 8 watts
* Use Mag7 (70watts) vs Mag9.5 (95watts). Less flow but Koralia makes up for it.
Largest expense, of course, is the lights. I run 4 T5's
* 2 on ICECAP 430 (vs the 660)
* 2 on no brand. wattage unknown.
Dave VG
New member
Good post Jerry!! You have me thinking of ways to conserve now. Although I did the same as Paul in the beginning by buying T-5’s and Hydor Koralia’s for there energy efficiency the only thing that was not was the Mag 9.5 (Wish I would have listened to Nate and went with a Mag 7). I have sense changed over to halides with actinic lighting and to be honest I did not see but maybe a couple of dollars difference a month. I was thinking about changing out my Mag 9.5 for a less wattage/less heat return pump before but now I think I will do it just for the less wattage. I may cut the lighting by an hour and see how everything reacts to that. Sense making the switch from T-5’s to MH’s the color and growth have been off the wall. I kinda want to keep it that way so if by changing the light cycle things change a little that’s ok. Just don’t want to go back to the T-5 color and growth lol.
mickela
New member
How many power heads does eveyone run in their tanks? I have 2 maxijet 1200's and a Koralian (4) running in my 75 gallon plus a maxi 1200 running my skimmer and a canister filter (skimmer and canister filter will soon be gone as Paula has talked me into a sump).Wondered if this might be over kill? I am just affraid of dead spots,by the way my tank is also bare bottom so maybe I dont need all those power heads.Just not sure
razzmatazz
Premium Member
mickela you better figure out what pump you want to use for a return as a mag can suck power if you are worried about cost maybe not a good thing for you maybe a quiet one or something else more energy efficient.
I found other places to cut cost how about you all?
smoke a pack every three months not every month
A beer a week not a day
No wine
NO JD
No Cable TV
No Cell phone plan
once a month eating out this even includes McDs only one eat out a month
No car payment
Once a week grocery/errond run
Group meets with friends
No Movies they are free to rent at the public Library
WII/vidio games like really guys who needs that over something for the tank.
No Ball Games at the stadiums
No Concerts
No Vacations
car pools for running kids around every time they think they need to go visit or run to a sport
I found other places to cut cost how about you all?
smoke a pack every three months not every month
A beer a week not a day
No wine
NO JD
No Cable TV
No Cell phone plan
once a month eating out this even includes McDs only one eat out a month
No car payment
Once a week grocery/errond run
Group meets with friends
No Movies they are free to rent at the public Library
WII/vidio games like really guys who needs that over something for the tank.
No Ball Games at the stadiums
No Concerts
No Vacations
car pools for running kids around every time they think they need to go visit or run to a sport
nwrogers
Got gorgs?
To start I plan on taking down all but one tank. Not sure which tank I will keep but that should reduce my electricity usage quite a bit. I will also be trying to reduce the number of pumps I have running by trying to have one pump feed more things rather than multiple pumps running all of the time. I will be reworking my aquascaping to allow for maximum coral room with minimum tank size. That way I can make the most of the tank I keep and won't have as much of a need for as many tanks (not that I need any tanks but they are nice 
) I will not be keeping any propagation tanks. Any frags made will be kept in the main display to reduce cost or will be sold as "fresh cut". Those are just a few of my recent plans for my reef keeping endeavors. One thing is certain I really love reef keeping and until I absolutely have to I won't be giving up reef keeping or my SPS corals.
) I will not be keeping any propagation tanks. Any frags made will be kept in the main display to reduce cost or will be sold as "fresh cut". Those are just a few of my recent plans for my reef keeping endeavors. One thing is certain I really love reef keeping and until I absolutely have to I won't be giving up reef keeping or my SPS corals.
Dave VG
New member
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13437462#post13437462 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Piazzon12
You guys should all move to my block where we have municipal electric.... my bill has never been more than $85 a month
Bragger !!!!!!
not fair mine is about $400.00 a month and I only have a double wide:mad2:
