This is what efficient basement fishrooms, wholesalers, hatcheries, etc do... ambient room climate control... never chillers or heaters.

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Anthony Calfo

I see a few POSSIBLE areas of improvement for your setup, but without pics or a diagram, all I can do is convey principles and hope you can use them.

1. use smaller pumps for sump returns.  Almost any reef I can think of would be fine with an overflow that only handles 1-2x the tank volume per hour.  So a 200g really only needs about 200-300gph going through the overflow... and I have seen even less.  You really want to target the top layers of water, where the proeins and oils (scum) builds up, and then feed this directly to your skimmer (or into a skimmer sump where it will get run throught the skimmer a few times)

2. use in-tank circulation pumps for minimal wattage/heat/noise.  Closed loops are even good for this.  The big no-no is when I see people using 300watt pumps for their tank's main flow as well as sump return.  The amount of flow that you lose due to head-pressure is equal to a good chunk of wattage.  Ahd that been a smaller pump, sure, it might not perform as well, but its enough, and you are only wasting 10 watts due to elevation change rather than 100-150.

3. use low-pressure, high-flow pumps as much as possible.  Pressure pumps (high-head) often use 2x the wattage or more compared to lower-pressure pumps.  Compare the likes of a ReefFlo Dart, up to 3600gph for 140-160watts, with a Mag 12... almost the same wattage but less than 1/3 the possible flow.  Not good for sump returns, but great for closed loops.  The ultimate of course being Tunze Streams and other prop driven pumps.  They dont make alot of pressure, but they do make alot of flow.  The ReefFlo dart is just the tip of the iceberg too.... Deltec makes some digital pumps, and Tunze makes some recircualtion pumps that have insaaaane flow rates for minimal wattage.

4. Use what you have to get more.  Rather than having a skimmer with its own feed pump, run its intake directly from the overflow if possible.  Rather than run a chiller on a your sump return (where that added length adds alot of back-pressure on the pump), run it on a closed loop, or even better, use a drop-in that elimintes the need.  Use the sump baffles to your advantage.  Rather than using seperate pumps for things like phosban reactors and calcium reactor feeds, drill holes in the baffle that has a higher water level, and use that area as your intake, and then return that water to the sump in a place where the water level is lower.  I have run my phosban, Ca reactors, etc without the need for extra pumps (or splicing off of a larger pump) like this for a long time.  Let gravity do the work.

5. Run overflows in series, not parallel.  Rather than have a huge pump that branches off to every tank, and then they all return to the sump, run a smaller pump that runs to one tank, then that tank's overflow runs to the next tank that is slightly lower, and to the next, etc.  This way, you get more flow for less watts.

6. Limit the photoperiod.  I know some guys that used to burn through kilowatt hours like mad until they realized that most reef tanks only need a 6 hour daily exposure under halides... the rest of the photoperiod is just for looks/show.  Most corals can get all they need in this period.  Some might need more, so 8 hours is better to start out with.  But running your lights for 10-12 hours a day is just a waste.

7. use natural lighting when possible.  Sola-tubes, skylights, etc.  You think not blue enough?  Fine, there is usually enough light to spare that you can put purple and blue films on the skylight to get more blue light (er, rather, get less of everything else).

8. Dont overlook the stress that a reef system can have on your A/C.  A contractor buddy of mine was running $600 per month, and we couldnt figure out how.  I added up everything, and even after streamlining his system (he had something like a half dozen large mag pumps running a few smaller 60g vats in the basement and a 120g upstairs) down to one sump return pump to run everything, and Tunze streams and SEIOs for all the tank's flow requirements... he still had over a $450 bill.  So he added a door to the basement sump room, and finished a wall... enclosing the room and sealing it with FRP panels.  Then, he put in a power vent that runs on a timer every day when the lights are on.  He can open the windows as well to let fresh air in.  Then, for the upstairs display tank, we enclosed the canopy on all sides, and added a 4" duct pipe that runs out the side, and up into the attic where another fan in the attic sucks all the hot and humid air out.  The electric bill dropped almost $200... the A/C had been running overtime to keep up.  We just ducted/sealed off the hot and humid air and saved alot of money.

9. limit water height changes.  If you can run a sump in an adjacent room, or just behind/next to the main display rather than completely below the main tank (or a basement sump), you reduce the work that the return pump has to do.  Not only this, but the amount of splashing and evaporation that happens when water falls in your overflow and pipes adds alot of vapor.

10. There is really no need for a chiller if you design the tank properly.  Use fans blowing across the surface, or run the tank 'open top', etc.  The amount of heat that water takes with it when it changes from liquid to vapor is larger than you might think.  Never underestimate the power of evaporative cooling... its waaay more efficient than a compressor.  If you must use a chiller, be sure to vent it/run it outside so all that hot air isnt just adding to your home's heat.

Hope something there helped you...

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Im AKA hahnmeister on RC

48x30x21"h 125g w/ 250wattDE on light mover w/ ushio 14,000K, 4x54wattT5s: 2x ATI blue+, 2x Giesemann true actinic 03, ATB cone 'Small' skimmer, Korallin 1502, Tunze TS24kit, 40L sump, passive fed DIY phos/carbon chambers, eheim 1250 return pump, 20g refugium.  SPS dominant, zebrasoma, genicanthus, and Cirrhilabrus fish.

I currently have a 1000 gallon sump/lagoon (6'widex12'longx2'deep)with a 240 gallon(2'wx6'longx31" deep) running in series. I am looking for some energy conservation ideas. Currently heres what i power 1- 1HP pump runs whole system 3- 400w MH(display) 1- 1000W MH(sump) 1- 1000w heater 1- 1/5 hp Chiller 1- Mag36 Closed loop on lagoon 1- ASM G6 with three sedra 9000 1- Mag 24 for the chiller (runs a long way to the chiller) 1- Tunze stream 1- High output 150watt light on refugium As it sits the sytem works and everything is healthy and growing and looking great. I am looking for some ideas on how to cut my power consumption. Has anyone tried solar for electricity? are there high effeciency products out there that would actually make a noticeable difference? Or do I just have to exept that my electricity bill will run $350 plus each month. Would reducing my wattage on lights help? say going with 4-250 MH on the display and 2- 400 Watts on the lagoon? that is a net reduction of 400 watts. or does that not make a difference on power usage.  I even had the local utility company stop by to see if my meter was broken, my wife explained that I was the issue not the meter.

From what I can tell, you could eliminate your Mag36 for a ReefFlo Dart (or a Tunze 6100, or even 6200) and cut out a couple hundred watts or more...

You could eliminate the 1hp pump.  My cousin uses nothing but a eheim 1250 (about 200gph at 3' head)to run his overflow on his 180g (about the same tank as your 240g).  Just an idea...  I dont know everything that that 1hp pump is running, but I dont see anything that needs it exacltly.

I dont see why with such a huge sump/fuge (1000g) why you need a chiller, esp if its in the basement.  If you simply set up some box fans blowing across the 1000 gallons when the lights are on (and even at that, 1000g is a huge heat-sink by itself) you should be able to keep things cool and eliminate the chiller, and the pump that feeds it.  Thats a few hundred watts right there.

1000watt halides are not going to make as much usable light as two 400watters, or 4x250watters.  They do generate a butt-load more heat though.  I would consider a swap out.  I like 1000watters for frag farming (a 20,000K 1000watter looks sweet and grows some awesome looking stuff)... but its just not worth it IMO.  Perhaps even an array of T5s (more PAR/watt than halide it seems)?

You didnt say, but I will assume you have A/C... in which case, is the 1000g vented/sealed off from the rest of the house?  If not... I would get right on that with that much water/vapor/heat.

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Im AKA hahnmeister on RC

48x30x21"h 125g w/ 250wattDE on light mover w/ ushio 14,000K, 4x54wattT5s: 2x ATI blue+, 2x Giesemann true actinic 03, ATB cone 'Small' skimmer, Korallin 1502, Tunze TS24kit, 40L sump, passive fed DIY phos/carbon chambers, eheim 1250 return pump, 20g refugium.  SPS dominant, zebrasoma, genicanthus, and Cirrhilabrus fish.

Anthony Calfo