Is there such thing as an energy efficient large reef system build?

another lighting option is solar tubes or sky lights. there are several tanks here that are using mostly sunlight on their tanks including mine. my experience has been mixed with sps coloration, but good as far as growth goes with a past sps tank under solar tubes. my current 250 gallon mixed reef is doing very well. if you do a search here in the large tank area, you can find several more examples.

here is a link to my current tank thread if you would like to check it out:
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2062633

and an old thread of my previous sps heavy tank:
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1457056
(you will see post from many others with solar lit tanks in this thread)

this may not work for everyone, but i have been very happy with the energy savings and results in tank.
 
I've spun my wheels quite a bit on energy efficiency in the recent past. Heres what I did:

Swapped out my mag 9 (93w) for a waterblaster 3000(37w)
Went from T5HO 200w to DIY LED Dimmable (varying rate from 50w-150w throughout the day)

Changed my Red Sea C-Skim 1800(40w) + requires 400gph water flow from seperate pump or return T, with a SWC150BMK (37watt)

Obviously your numbers will be double or tripple that of above if you are doing a lorge reef, but there is definitely room for improvement on what type of equipment you run.

Mag drives are great for moving water, not great for energy efficiency. Also, if you are doing a pretty large reef, I would consider T5. This should enable you to cut out the Chiller (which is murder on your energy bill), but still produce enough heat to keep the water warmer during colder times.

The reason that I suggest T5's over LED is because I found that while my LED's are awesome, I find that my heaters are running full time during cold days and nights. This was not the case when i was running T5's. Now if your in a prodominantly warmer environment, this is when LED's will shine the most IMO. Next to no heat in the tank, and energy efficiency that cannot be beaten at the moment.
 
Is there such thing as an energy efficient large reef system build?
________________________________________
Yes there is I have seen it. There is a man down in Phoenix who has a 1400 gallon system in his house. His lighting is solar tubes. He has his plumbing run under the floor boards of the house in the ground. By doing this it keeps the water cool. Its called thermal cooling underground in Az the temp stays year round in the 50-60 degree range. He runs a large Dart to his 500 gal then this drains to his 300 gal from the 300 to a homemade 5 foot tall skimmer which runs on air stones for bubbles from here to his hair scrubber down to his sump. I will try to get him to chime in on this. But his 1100 gallons of water cost him less in power then my 50 gallon mixed reef.
 
My 180 gallon has:
LED: 300-watts
ATB Skimmer: 42-watts
Refugium Light: 21-watts
Calcium reactor:20-watts
2 Tunze 6100's: 90-watts
Heater: 300-watts(rarely runs)
PanWorld 150PS Return pump(from basement): 180-watts
 
Made4water said:
I currently have about a 195g system (165 main tank and 30g sump) that's been up for about 3 years now and have been contemplating upgrading to a much larger system, but would love to put more of a emphases on a more energy efficient set up.

As is now, my energy bill is about $250-$300 each month and before I had the tank it was $75-$150.

My equipment list...

* Mag 12 return pump (More efficient pumps possible, doubt you need one this big too)
* Mag 7 to chiller (no need for a chiller if you're making better decisions elsewhere)
* Mag 3 to protein skimmer (run it off of a drain line if you can)
* CL-650 pacific coast chiller (ditch it)
* Red Sea C-Skim 1800 Protein Skimmer (good option from a power perspective)
* 3 250w Metal Halide (LEDs)
* uv sterilizer (Not in my quiver and doubt I'll ever own one again)
* phosban reactor with carbon (20 watts)
* 2 hydor magnum 7 power heads (prop pumps are awesome for circulation)

I would be Very curious to hear what others thoughts are on this.

Thanks
Click to expand...

You can really do a lot with good choices. My tank is down to ~$31/month for 140 gallons. LEDs, prop pumps, no chiller. I was able to run the AC at 78 last summer (900 watts of MH/VHO at the time) and the tank topped out around 80 most days due to some well-placed computer fans. Next summer I expect that the AC will be set to 80 thanks to the switch to LEDs.
 
@lawrence

@lawrence

bullitr said:
Not neccassarily ....
My 96x36x29 can be fully covered with just 4 LEDs fixtures that is less than 1 k
With par reading at sand bed @ 259 Cheaper than metal halide and reflector
And the colors are great too( except my acropora because I have way too many fish and I don't do water change)
Click to expand...


What fixtures would those be im looking for some leds around 1k that will do the job for my 96x30x30
 
hobogato said:
another lighting option is solar tubes or sky lights. there are several tanks here that are using mostly sunlight on their tanks including mine. my experience has been mixed with sps coloration, but good as far as growth goes with a past sps tank under solar tubes. my current 250 gallon mixed reef is doing very well. if you do a search here in the large tank area, you can find several more examples.

here is a link to my current tank thread if you would like to check it out:
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2062633

and an old thread of my previous sps heavy tank:
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1457056
(you will see post from many others with solar lit tanks in this thread)

this may not work for everyone, but i have been very happy with the energy savings and results in tank.
Click to expand...

Really cool! Thanks for sharing.
 
insomniac2k2 said:
I've spun my wheels quite a bit on energy efficiency in the recent past. Heres what I did:

Swapped out my mag 9 (93w) for a waterblaster 3000(37w)
Went from T5HO 200w to DIY LED Dimmable (varying rate from 50w-150w throughout the day)

Changed my Red Sea C-Skim 1800(40w) + requires 400gph water flow from seperate pump or return T, with a SWC150BMK (37watt)

Obviously your numbers will be double or tripple that of above if you are doing a lorge reef, but there is definitely room for improvement on what type of equipment you run.

Mag drives are great for moving water, not great for energy efficiency. Also, if you are doing a pretty large reef, I would consider T5. This should enable you to cut out the Chiller (which is murder on your energy bill), but still produce enough heat to keep the water warmer during colder times.

The reason that I suggest T5's over LED is because I found that while my LED's are awesome, I find that my heaters are running full time during cold days and nights. This was not the case when i was running T5's. Now if your in a prodominantly warmer environment, this is when LED's will shine the most IMO. Next to no heat in the tank, and energy efficiency that cannot be beaten at the moment.
Click to expand...

So are you satisfied with your LEDs?
 
TundraGuy said:
Is there such thing as an energy efficient large reef system build?
________________________________________
Yes there is I have seen it. There is a man down in Phoenix who has a 1400 gallon system in his house. His lighting is solar tubes. He has his plumbing run under the floor boards of the house in the ground. By doing this it keeps the water cool. Its called thermal cooling underground in Az the temp stays year round in the 50-60 degree range. He runs a large Dart to his 500 gal then this drains to his 300 gal from the 300 to a homemade 5 foot tall skimmer which runs on air stones for bubbles from here to his hair scrubber down to his sump. I will try to get him to chime in on this. But his 1100 gallons of water cost him less in power then my 50 gallon mixed reef.
Click to expand...

Is there a build thread on this system anywhere?
 
Yes, very. Although I was a little surprised to see how much more my heaters were kicking on to keep my tank warm. It almost negated the purpose to run LED's in the first place. Would I do LED's again? Yes, because i love the dimming.

+'s for LED:
glimmer is amazing
coral "pops" for amazing colors whenever you want them to!
low energy and long lifecycle

Your local temperatures or at least house temperatures could vary drastically from mine, so i just threw out that disclaimer and option for you to chew over.

Made4water said:
So are you satisfied with your LEDs?
Click to expand...
 
I did not get him on the phone last but will keep trying and when I get the info I will post it or better yet he will.
 
On my 800G tank I had a wave paddle that would move the water. For about 50W of power it would displace 8 cubic feet every 30 seconds. It also kept all the water in the tank moving back and forth just like the ocean. No dead spots in the tank. The tank has to be designed for this to work well. I had a false back wall to the tank and the paddle was behind it. The water came out of the two ends of the tank.
 
David MC Lee said:
On my 800G tank I had a wave paddle that would move the water. For about 50W of power it would displace 8 cubic feet every 30 seconds. It also kept all the water in the tank moving back and forth just like the ocean. No dead spots in the tank. The tank has to be designed for this to work well. I had a false back wall to the tank and the paddle was behind it. The water came out of the two ends of the tank.
Click to expand...

Wow! Is this system still set up?
 
Made4water said:
Wow! Is this system still set up?
Click to expand...

No, I moved last year and had to take it down. It may be another year or two before I am able to get it up again.
DSCN5743.jpg


Paddle Pics
DSCN3997.jpg


Paddle Motor
DSCN3998.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

D
Custom 250 rimless reef tank for sell
Replies
0
Views
435
derrell
D
Ted_C
300 Gallon for sale (Brokered) - $20,000 - no part out!
Replies
0
Views
774
Ted_C
Ted_C
S
Selling off everything .... 120gal reef tank
Replies
1
Views
2K
Sara17
S
drukkosz
FS: complete 90 gallon setup
Replies
3
Views
914
drukkosz
drukkosz
Hentz
A Reef in the Desert - 120 Gallon Build
3 4 5
Replies
81
Views
22K
serum153
serum153
Back
Top