PG&E be damned!

[Maximus]

I've been running a combo of LEDs and t5's and want something brighter. I've decided to go back to 400 watt Radiums as I loved the look and corals benefitted immensely. Now, since I already own a Kessil a360we, why not try all three? My floating canopy will now house a single 400 watt Radium, a Kessil a360we and a pair of t5's. I'm not sure how long I will run all three but I will definitely figure out some peak time during the day in which all three types of lights will be on at the same time. Any thoughts on possible photoperiod and lighting type combinations throughout the day? Thanks!

 

[moondoggy4]

I would run the MH about 4 hours and see if you can get away with that, for outsiders, here in Ca it is all about the tier system for your elec usage. What pump do you use for a return seems everything else is a lower watt system.

 

[stancfii]

4 hours on the halide should be fine, especially with the other lighting. I agree on the return pump question. I went from a Mag 9.5 to a DC3000, and it saves me almost $60/year.

 

[orientalexpress]

You can program your Apex controller to turn the 400 watter on as a heater


lapsan

 

[adrianh11]

Here's a few outside the box ideas regarding PG&E:

First- if you have any "permanently mounted" electric heating in your house they substantially increase your baseline kilowatt hour allotment. That reduces the amount you use in the higher tiers.

Second- Go solar. I installed a 7KW system a couple years ago. Its very economical with PG&E's high rates for us in Northern CA. Despite my 240 reef and Chevy Volt (electric) my bill is very close to zero. I looked at the solar system as making my reef hobby affordable.

Third-, might be a little far fetched but here it is. If you happen to get an electric car you can get on a special rate plan. Its called schedule EV. It completely eliminates the tiered rates. That means your bill will no longer go up exponentially with usage. If you have a fair amount of tax liability then you can get something like 10k$ towards the purchase as a credit on your taxes.

bonus- If you have an apex you can program around the peak rates. My lights reduce in intensity and the temperature reduces during the peak rate period.

 

[moondoggy4]

^^^^^^ down south here, I do not believe that they remove the tier rate here for a elec car, LUCKY you guys.

 

[Maximus]

I would run the MH about 4 hours and see if you can get away with that, for outsiders, here in Ca it is all about the tier system for your elec usage. What pump do you use for a return seems everything else is a lower watt system.

I use an energy efficient Tunze 1073.04 silence pump.

 

[Maximus]

You can program your Apex controller to turn the 400 watter on as a heater


lapsan

LOL that's the idea Lap! I figure my heater comes in all the time (300 watts worth), might as well make the halides work for me!

 

[Maximus]

Here's a few outside the box ideas regarding PG&E:

First- if you have any "permanently mounted" electric heating in your house they substantially increase your baseline kilowatt hour allotment. That reduces the amount you use in the higher tiers.

Second- Go solar. I installed a 7KW system a couple years ago. Its very economical with PG&E's high rates for us in Northern CA. Despite my 240 reef and Chevy Volt (electric) my bill is very close to zero. I looked at the solar system as making my reef hobby affordable.

Wow, you're PGE bill is close to zero with solar? May I ask what your initial expenditure was? Thanks for the tips btw!
Third-, might be a little far fetched but here it is. If you happen to get an electric car you can get on a special rate plan. Its called schedule EV. It completely eliminates the tiered rates. That means your bill will no longer go up exponentially with usage. If you have a fair amount of tax liability then you can get something like 10k$ towards the purchase as a credit on your taxes.

bonus- If you have an apex you can program around the peak rates. My lights reduce in intensity and the temperature reduces during the peak rate period.

Wow, your bill is close to zero? May I ask what your initial expenditure was on your solar panels? Thanks for the tips btw.

 

[Maximus]

Damn, I just put the 400 watt Radium on my tank today and I completely forgot how bright it is! This thing is at least twice as bright as my Kessil. I'm going to leave the Kessil off for now as I bet it would bleach everything if I ran it with my Radiums and t5's.