Hey All,
Yeah I'm still alive
Been going through a choking over the power bill issue of late
As I'm sure we all do... Decided to sit down with google and figure out why the tank's costing me so damn much.
Started with the "smart" part analyzing the pumps I had running - as they have the biggest impact on power (as they're 24/7 always on). Here's the shock; that aquaclear 110 powerhead that's never let me down - 62w!!! Meanwhile that mag12 is wasted - as i'm diverting almost half it's flow back to the sump; it was time for a rework...
Original pumps / consumption:
Mag 12 return 110w
penguin 550 sump feed 23w
maxijet 1200 overflow 20w
AC110 powerhead 62w
Seio 820 powerhead 18w
CSS220 45w
278w
So we're in the process of making some changes, still need to drop to an eheim 1250 on the return and adjust some plumbing (eliminating the pumps to feed the fuge/skimmer); tossed the CSS220 in favour of an old ASU air driven skimmer (which actually is working better than the CSS did)
***
Eheim 1250 Return 28w
TOM Aqualifter pump overflow 3w
Microjet MC320 skimmer feed 6w
Rena Air 400 air pump 8w
Koralia 3 4.5w
Koralia 3 4.5w
54w
228w of power savings @ .094$/kwh (last power bills rate) translates into 184.45$ savings in power costs for the year... So roughly 2 year payback at current pricing...
Just some food for thought...