My 500 + gallon system. Last 13 years to now. Build, Aquascaping & more. Lots of pics

[dotcommer]

Damn, those are high bills! Yes, I eliminated my pair of metal halides. I also ran six 36" VHO actinic bulbs and switched to just the LED's under which my tank has thrived but I don't keep SPS and have no desire to do so.

Those Panworlds are pigs when it comes to power. Good pumps but pigs. The 250PS draws up to 390 watts and the 150 draws up to 150 watts. Between your 3 pumps your drawing about 950 watts! They also transfer a LOT of heat. If I were in your shoes, I'd ditch those panworlds and switch to Reeflo Golds. You could swap those two 250's for a single dart gold and reduce your power consumption on those two 250's by over 75%!! What are you using that 250PS for? If you are running a beckett or downdraft skimmer or need the head pressure, one Barracuda would be a suitable replacement for both 250's.. A dart could replace the 150 and you just gate it down to reduce flow. You will also drop your ambient tank temps substantially. Swapping the 3 pumps for two Reeflo Golds would reduce your power consumption by 60-705 while also improving your flow.

As for the lighting... That is an expensive proposition but if you factor the cost of the entire pump and LED upgrade, I'd bet your electric bill savings would more than cover the costs in less than a year. Like me, you are probably being penalized by excessive power usage and as a result, you end up paying higher KpWh rates for higher tiers. By reducing your consumption, your KwPh rates will drop reducing your bill exponentially.

I am definitely being penalized for the higher usage and being placed in the higher tiers. Same time last year during the summer in Arizona, my bill was around $1,500. Its a larger home with 5 AC units and a large pool with 5 pumps, but I am just curious how much the 300 Gallon and Equip has added. We also have a few more people visiting and staying longer than expected.

I use the 2 Panworld 250ps for my closed loop system and the 150 is my return pump. They definitely draw a lot of power especially running 24/7. I have a lot of flow in my tank from those pumps, but am looking into possibly using my APEX to shut one off for 5 minutes while the other is on, then turn the other off for 5 Minutes while the other one turns on. Not sure if the turning on and off will do much for my bill, but I am looking doing this to create even more random flow.

I was talking with the neptune rep about slowing ramping one pump down and the opposite pump up instead of just shutting one down for 5 minutes etc.. and this was his response

"They have fixed-speed AC motors, so you cannot control them with the Apex (other than ON/OFF.

You might consider replacing them with one or two suitably-sized DC pumps - you'd gain the speed control as well as get savings in electricity usage. Those PanWorld pumps are energy hogs at 390w each."

 

[slief]

I am definitely being penalized for the higher usage and being placed in the higher tiers. Same time last year during the summer in Arizona, my bill was around $1,500. Its a larger home with 5 AC units and a large pool with 5 pumps, but I am just curious how much the 300 Gallon and Equip has added. We also have a few more people visiting and staying longer than expected.

I use the 2 Panworld 250ps for my closed loop system and the 150 is my return pump. They definitely draw a lot of power especially running 24/7. I have a lot of flow in my tank from those pumps, but am looking into possibly using my APEX to shut one off for 5 minutes while the other is on, then turn the other off for 5 Minutes while the other one turns on. Not sure if the turning on and off will do much for my bill, but I am looking doing this to create even more random flow.

I was talking with the neptune rep about slowing ramping one pump down and the opposite pump up instead of just shutting one down for 5 minutes etc.. and this was his response

"They have fixed-speed AC motors, so you cannot control them with the Apex (other than ON/OFF.

You might consider replacing them with one or two suitably-sized DC pumps - you'd gain the speed control as well as get savings in electricity usage. Those PanWorld pumps are energy hogs at 390w each."

Have you seen how I have my Tunze pumps mounted in my tank? Years back, I had 3 separate external recirculation pumps. Using the bulkheads in my tank from those pumps, I was able to repurpose those bulkheads to mount my Tunze's and route my wires through. Not only did I reduce my power usage substantially but I improved my flow in a big way and also added some very nice wave motion. This retrofit required plugging up the bulkheads from the inside of the tank to stop the flow, cutting the lines and carefully rotating the bulkheads so the remaining pipe extended above the water line. I then made some PVC mounts for the new pumps and de-soldered the wires from the ends of the Tunze cables so that they could be routed through the PVC pipe out the back of the tank. I then re-soldered the wires to the tunze control box and hooked them up to my Apex. I never even had to drain my system to do this. I just used PVC plugs to prevent water from draining while doing the retrofit. Before the Tunze's, I originally used standard Koralia pumps which were really simple. Cut the plug off the end, run the wires and screw a new plug on from the local hardware store.

This is how the wires come out the back. These lines were previously used as part of my recirculation. These bulk heads were nearly 10 years old when I did the retrofit. I rotated them such that the bulkhead nut would loosen when I rotated them and tightened the nut when I got my pipe oriented. They never leaked after the retrofit either.

This is the original mod with the Koralia pumps. Even these provided a substantial improvement in my flow over my previous Wave II Pond Pumps.

I then drilled a hole through the mount to run the wire through.

Here you can see the Koralias in place inside the tank.

 

[slief]

Here are the Tunze's mounted to the PVC before being installed in the tank. To clean them, I just pull some cord through the lines such that I can do the vinegar bath on top of the tank.

 

[anbosu]

How is that giant hammer coral doing?

 

[slief]

How is that giant hammer coral doing?

It's doing great! I'll take a picture tonight after cleaning the acrylic.

 

[dotcommer]

Wow, that was pretty creative on the Tunze pumps, great way to pretty much hide them. Are they hard to take out and clean when you have the wire plumbed that way?

 

[slief]

Wow, that was pretty creative on the Tunze pumps, great way to pretty much hide them. Are they hard to take out and clean when you have the wire plumbed that way?

Truth is that I only clean the pumps every year or so on an "as needed" basis. It is however very easy. I just pull some of the cord through the fittings and clean them in a container on top of the tank. A container of vinegar and a container of water and 5 minutes later they look like new. Once clean, I pull or push the cord back through the fittings and place the pump back in it's clamp and remove any remaining slack in the lines.

 

[tdykes3256]

Great thread I have a lot of catching up to do.

 

[slief]

Great thread I have a lot of catching up to do.

Thank you very much!

 

[slief]

It's looking like a lighting change may be in my near future. I just purchased a Kessil 360WE which should arrive later this week. I also purchased a VDM module for my Apex and the Kessil cable to go with it. The VDM and cable should arrive tomorrow so I will program my profiles immediately and start testing as soon as the 360WE arrives which should be late this week.

While my Reeftech's have worked great for my tank since installing them a few years back, feature creep has been getting to me. I want the ability to control my lights from my Apex which my Reeftechs can't do. I'd also like to take advantage of other features such as weather. I have no interest in lightening however, clouds could be useful and interesting. I also like the fact that the newer fixtures include other useful spectrums. I've been contemplating this move for several months and have been really torn between the Kessil 360WE's, Radion Pro G3's, Hydra 52's as well as few others. Apex controllability is a prerequisite.

I love the shimmer from the Kessils and I like the fact that they would be very easy to mount on my light rack. Especially with the mounting components I am going to use. I also like the fact that each light is reasonably priced making keep a spare light affordable. Most important is the Apex compatibility. My plan is to start programming some profiles and doing some testing. I will hang one over the tank and see how large of an area it lights up and check the PAR with my Apogee meter. Ultimately I need to determine how many I am going to need to light my tank up adequately. I could probably get away with 6 to begin with however I am thinking I will likely go with 8 of them. I also purchased a bunch of Ram Mount articulating arm mounts for the lights so I can hang them from my light rack and point them as needed.

If my testing goes as planned, the complete migration could happen as early as late next week.

This is how two of my current fixtures are mounted. The two that are mounted this way need to be able to me aimed. My plan is to use a similar mount for each Kessil so that I can aim them where I need so as to not light of my viewing panes while also being able to focus the light where I need it most while also avoiding hot spots. This method will allow me to angle the lights as needed. I will show some new photos of the Kessil on my articulating mount when the parts arrive.

 

[dave.m]

Great idea for mounting and aiming the lights. This is so important in cutting down algae growth on the viewing panes. Can you tell us what they are and where you got them? Thx!

Dave.M

 

[slief]

Great idea for mounting and aiming the lights. This is so important in cutting down algae growth on the viewing panes. Can you tell us what they are and where you got them? Thx!

Dave.M

The mounts are made by Ram Mount. The ones I used in the photo are as follows.
P/N: RAP-272 Ram Mount base
P/N: RAP-B-200-1U Ram Mount Plastic Arm
P/N: RAM-B-337U 1" Ball with .25-20 thread.

I will be using as different ball for the Kessil so I can use an M5 x .8 screw to hold the ball to the Kessil.

The various Ram Mount Parts can be found here as well as other on line suppliers by searching by part number. First check out the ram mount site to select the parts you need. In the link below, select the ball size. I use 1" balls. From there, use the tabs to search for different mounting options and components.
http://www.rammount.com/Products/Components/tabid/798/Default.aspx

Here are a couple more shots of my light rack so you can see how and why I have them hung. The ones that are on the articulating arms are setup this way because I have my overflow dead center in the tank. These two particular lights shine through the acrylic on the top of the tank and are closer to the viewing panes. I wanted to insure that the lighting was maximised on my aquascape that hides the overflow but do so while preventing the light from hitting the viewing pane too much. It was an effort to maximize the light on the rocks and not the glass.

 

[slief]

With the Kesslis, my thought is to have two rows of 4 lights running length wise down the rack. The lights would tentatively be positioned with them about 10" from the outer perimeter of the light rack and be angled slightly away from the viewing panes towards the center of the rack. That is the plan but that could change depending on my test results and their coverage.

 

[dave.m]

Thx for the info. I imagine you will also have to play with the height of the light fixture, as well. IIRC you put in a motorized pulley system so you can raise and lower the light fixture for easy access. That should make the transition a lot smoother for you.

Dave.M

 

[slief]

Thx for the info. I imagine you will also have to play with the height of the light fixture, as well. IIRC you put in a motorized pulley system so you can raise and lower the light fixture for easy access. That should make the transition a lot smoother for you.

Dave.M

That is correct. The light rack is motorized so height adjustment will be easy. I will probably simplify my programming and do it through Apex Fusion that way I don't have to monkey with a mess of profiles but given that I am reasonably proficient with Apex programming, even that part of setup should be easy enough. Fusion will just make incremental output and color changes a bit easier.

 

[pmrossetti]

I knew it!
Cool Scott.

 

[slief]

I knew it!
Cool Scott.

LOL.. All but one light should be here today if not tomorrow. I've got 8 of the 360WE's coming.. Neptune VDM module and Kessil control cable will arrive today. Mounting hardware is in transit as well and should be here by weeks end. It's looking like I will have a big project Saturday.. :hmm4:

 

[yudruln8]

very ice haven't seen this tank in a while since la fish guys. can you tell me where you bought the large sump from?

 

[slief]

very ice haven't seen this tank in a while since la fish guys. can you tell me where you bought the large sump from?

I designed the sump and refugium myself and had it built by Kara Kreations in Simi Valley. They were a fairly recognized tank manufacturer several years back and had a line called Krystal Klear Aquatics that was very popular. They are actually the ones that built my current display tank that I've had for about 20 years now. They have since changed their direction and focus more on other aspects of the acrylic business but still build tanks and sumps on an build to order basis.

Jim and I were talking about a new episode on my tank. That could be shot sooner than later. He is going back to the old format instead of his most recent long and drawn out episodes. If and when we do another episode on my tank, it will cover the entire tank and system as well as any of the new updates I have done to it including the new LED's and skimmer. My guess is that we could shoot it in the next couple weeks and it would be made public in the next month or two depending on what he has in the way of episodes to release. I think he has material for 5 episodes right now.

On another note, my VDM and Kessil cable arrived. I won't be getting the first 7 lights until tomorrow though. Hopefully the 8th light and the rest of the hardware will be here by the end of the week so I can get them setup this weekend.

 

[yudruln8]

I designed the sump and refugium myself and had it built by Kara Kreations in Simi Valley. They were a fairly recognized tank manufacturer several years back and had a line called Krystal Klear Aquatics that was very popular. They are actually the ones that built my current display tank that I've had for about 20 years now. They have since changed their direction and focus more on other aspects of the acrylic business but still build tanks and sumps on an build to order basis.

Jim and I were talking about a new episode on my tank. That could be shot sooner than later. He is going back to the old format instead of his most recent long and drawn out episodes. If and when we do another episode on my tank, it will cover the entire tank and system as well as any of the new updates I have done to it including the new LED's and skimmer. My guess is that we could shoot it in the next couple weeks and it would be made public in the next month or two depending on what he has in the way of episodes to release. I think he has material for 5 episodes right now.

On another note, my VDM and Kessil cable arrived. I won't be getting the first 7 lights until tomorrow though. Hopefully the 8th light and the rest of the hardware will be here by the end of the week so I can get them setup this weekend.

awesome thanks for the reply I will keep a look out for the new videos.