20141125 180 Reef Ready Tank Build part 4

The LED light arrived and installed. All the plumbing are also in place. The cloudy crust on the front glass is just salt crystal when the tank was laying on its side waiting for the paint to dry.

I will be using two Mag 7 as return pumps, and also 2X 200W heaters. I have learned from experience to have 2X of these as a preventative measure in case one of them fails, I would still have one working. The general rule is to have multiple mechanisms that are considered "lifeline" for your tank, such as pump, heater, etc.

20140916 Power Outage and Fishtank

One of fish keeping hobbyist's biggest nightmare- power outrage. What should you do and prepare for expected (known approaching hurricane or winter storm) and unexpected (thunderstorm, fire, flash flood, and other disaster) power outages.

An example of what power outrage can do to an aquarium is New Orlean's Aquarium of the Americas' major disaster after 2005's Hurricane Katrina. Just about everything that was not mammal or reptile perished during the disaster. The lone survivors were the mammals and turtles as they breath from the air.

Living in Wisconsin, the long, brutal winter can often cause power outrage during strong snow storms. And the threat is not only the immediate oxygen deprivation from uncirculated water, but the rapid temperature drop from the elements. For this reason, depends on where you live and what capacity your tank is, it is strongly recommended that you have a backup generator as your tanks' lifeline during times of emergency.

So the question is- how long can things survive without any back up? If the power outrage is temporary and will not last long during a relatively warm, summer day, no need to panic-
well, without flowing water to generate dissolved oxygen, most creatures will begin to display distress within a few hours depends on your bio-load. Imaging a fish can do alright in a bag of water during its transport from store to home (typically anywhere from 30 minutes up to 2 hours + acclimation time). That sac of water is definitely no more than 1/4 gallon. Now multiply that by how many gallons of water you have in your tank, and decided by how many fish/critters you have, you should get a pretty good rough idea of when your "deadline" is. That said, it's definitely not optimal to leave things as is. You can find battery operated pumps in stores or online. Don't be cheap on this, it can save hundreds of dollars in livestock for you.

The bigger problem will present if the outrage is more than a few hours. While the back up battery operated air pumps can last a day or two, your water temperature will begin to decrease overtime, especially if you live in colder climate in winter. This is when you must invest in a backup generator.
Once again, don't be cheap, this can save you hundreds, if not thousands of dollars of livestock. When choosing a back up generator, I would add up the wattage needed for heater and at least one powerhead for the fish tank portion of your household needs. corals and clams can survive a few days without light so light is not your priority for short term outrage.

2014-05-17 Gear Spotlight- Chiller

So what's the deal with Chillers? Until I began keeping salt-water aquariums, I've never even heard of it! Why chillers? Well, there is an excellent article here on Marine Depot taking about it: http://www.marinedepot.com
I also want to credit Marine Depot for this illustration below:

Tank Chiller Set up according to Marine Depot

So why do you need Chiller, if you already have to use a heater to "heat" up your tank?

Well, While terrestrial day time and night time temperature swings can be quite big- here in Wisconsin we have 80 degree days with nights in the 30's, it's ridiculous!

Also, while fluorescent lights and LEDs do not emit as much heat, reef tanks with metal halide can boil eggs and more! So it is vital to ensure your tanks does not over head by the end of your photoperiod (light-on hours). 

A couple ways you can get by without a chiller- have well ventilated tank/sump area with central air/AC on for the house, not just for the tank but for your own comfort. But let's face it, it's cheaper to cool down the tank than the entire house.

Or, you can choose a low-heat emission lighting system such as LED light, which can emit almost as much, if not more energy than that of metal halide.

But if the above are not in your option, a chiller might be the better choice.

Natural tropical sea water's temperature range from low 70's to mid 80's, depends on the current, time of day, and the depth. Many people say the sea water is very constant, that's not true. 

I used to spend years living in Belize and swim in the barrier reef on weekends. The real ocean water comes in waves of warm pockets followed by cool pockets, and the surface (top 3 feet) is significantly warmer than the deeper region (5-30 feet). So don't worry too much if your temperature swings a little between day and night. It's OK and it's natural.

2014-05-08 Save $$$ on electricity

I have heard and seen many discussions on how much energy their reef tanks draw and that they can see a BIG difference in energy bill with/without the tank operating. Today I want to make an attempt to break it down by using my own tank as an analysis.

First of all let's understand how do power companies charge your energy usage

Below is an example of one of my recent bills:

  Customer Charge                  30 DAYS   AT $    .34308  $       10.29       
  State Low-Income Asst Fee        30 DAYS   AT $    .10333  $        3.10       
  Distribution Service           1356 KWH    AT $    .03000  $       40.68       
  Electricity Service            1356 KWH    AT $    .10992  $      149.05       

    Subtotal Electric Meter     250177 ---------------------------$      203.12  

Note the items in line 1 and 2 are things you cannot change- you are paying those regardless how much energy you use.

And line 3 and 4 are basically two of the same thing, so I am going to add it together and call it approximately $.14 for each KWH of energy we use in the house.

KWH stands for Kilowatt hour. Basically if you add up all the wattage your household electronics' and appliances' labels you are looking at this. To illustrate:

1356/ 30 days= roughly 45 KWH for each of the 30 days this month, meaning I use 45KWH each day. To divide that by 24 hours, I am using nearly 2KWH each hour. 2KWH= 2000W= 20 X 100W lightbulbs on simultaneously for the entire 24 hour cycle each day. Using this principle above, let's estimate what % of my household energy contributes to my tank:

Tank energy:

Light: 2X70W Aqua Illumination Sol Blue LED on for 10 hours at an average of 35% of the 70W= 70 X 2 X 35% X 10= 526W

Heater: 200W, but not on constantly, probably on for approximately 70% of the time- 200 X 70% X 24= 3360W

Return Pump: Mag drive 7- 60W X 24hours= 1440W

Powerhead/wave makers: 3X 15W X 24hours= 1080W

Skimmer Pump: 60W X 23 Hours (minus feeding time)=1380

Total= 7786W

Here is the kick, even though electronics may label as 100W. Few to none ever operate at exactly that amount. Most of them actually consumes 20-40% more energy to operate at the energy level labelled. In another words, if a light build is labeled 100W, it might actually consume 140W in reality. 

For that reason, we will multiply 7786 X 140%= 10900W

10900W=10.9Kilowatt, let's call it 11 KWh

So each day out of the 45 KWh, 11 goes to the tank, roughly a quarter of my household energy! and if you look at my monthly charge- that's about $50

Now, things actually used to be worse- Metal Halide bulbs. I used to use a fixture containing 1X250W Metal halide + 4X24W T-5 tubes, a whopping 342W. And this fixture did not have the ramping and % control like the LED lights do. So if I have this light on for 10 hours/day- 342X10= 3420W 

Add this up with other parts (heater, pumps, skimmer)-10680 X 140%= 14952W

14952W is roughly 15KWh

So let's do the math: 15KWh - 11KWh=4KWh/day

4KWh X 30= 120KWh/month X $.14= roughly $17 a month of energy bill difference.- $200 a year in energy savings!

A Good LED lighting system cost between $400-$900 and lasts 10,000 hours - if you can keep the light for more than 2 years you got your money back.

A Good Metal Halide system cost about the same amount and definitely does not last as long - at least you need to replace the $50 bulb annually for optimum performance.

So next time if your significant other questions why you need to upgrade to the LED and other energy efficient pieces, please show her this post and tell her- you are saving money on the energy bill in the long run.