Closed loop advice

[Ruth]

I like 10 too - it is a great # and has never done a single thing to me
I was just curious that was all.

[Delphinus]

5.5 cents per kwh - I wish! Hydro is good for being cheap, you guys have it great.

A quick check of my last bill tells me I paid about 9 cents per kwh - and that's not including the "transmission charge", the "transmission account deferral rider" (I am not making this up), the "distribution charge", the "local access fee" and the "balancing pool allocation", oh wait, that last one looks like a small credit, never mind.

So yeah, I dunno, $20 per month doesn't sound so bad on its own, but in some cases it may be more than that. But assuming that it IS $20 per month, that's $240 per year. Suddenly those Tunzes don't look so bad to me, and then there's the advantages that Ruth listed (ie easy to change around if needed and so on).

I guess I shouldn't knock the CL idea totally though. They do have their advantages, espescially with the Calfo manifold idea.

[littlesilvermax]

Originally Posted by BCOrchidGuy

Power consumption isn't usually a big concern, people figure electricity is cheap at 5.5 cents a kilowatt hour but it can add up quickly. That being said I don't know what kind of power some of these pumps use but for sake of argument lets say one uses or is rated at 100 watts. That means the pump has to run for 10 hours to use 1 Kilowatt hour or 5.5 cents worth of electricity which means if you run the pump 10 hours a day 7 days a week you are looking at 100 watts x 10 (hours) x 31 (days) x 5.5 (cents/hour) = $17 a month give or take a bit. That all being said, if the pump is rated at 1000watts um for sure I'd stay with powerheads. I just did a quick search and found a dart that's rated for 3600gph uses 160 watts a Tunze 6100 is rated at 45 watts so the difference would be with the Dart $27.28 per month vs $7.67 per month for a tunze 6100. I didn't check price difference between the power head and the pump but you'd be looking at $20 a month in electrical usage difference between the two.

Doug

I actually made an electrical usage file:

http://www.members.shaw.ca/bkotrla3/...calculator.htm


I think your numbers are bit off, or a lot off!

5.5 cents /Kw
100 watt pump
24 hours per day

= $4.09 per month

A dart pump (160 watts or so) running 24 hrs a day would use $6.54 per month only on months with 31 days.

[danny zubot]

There are many good points made above, thanks to everyone.

I have considered getting Tunze's with controllers or some other type of wave maker. I like the idea of being able to move them where ever they need to be in the tank. Closed loops offer some very cool options for wavemakers though.

I guess I'm just trying to figure out what is best for the tank right now. Do I rip it down and drill the tank full of holes or do I spring for the tunze's and be done with it? Do I risk damaging the balance my tank is starting to find? I'm not sure, but that is why I need peoples opinions. With the exception of some hair algae the tank is finally starting to thrive again after moving a few months ago.

LSM your numbers from the calculator seem a little more realistic to me. I've heard that sequence pumps are quite reasonable in the efficiency so if I go the closed loop direction I'll most likley buy one.

Does anyone run a closed loop with SQWD's? How are they? I can't seem to justify spending OM 4 prices for a 65 gallon tank.

Can anyone suggest a reasonable Tunze setup for a 65 gallon tank? Nano's or streams etc?

[Der_Iron_Chef]

Danny, I have an idea. Not sure if you'll like it, but.....I'll offer it up!

I think the Hydor Koralia 4 pump is controllable on a Seio controller. You could pick up a few of those bad boys ($80) and a controller? They're small, relatively unobtrusive, and they've gotten really good reviews.

[danny zubot]

Hmm, not a bad idea at all. Just read up on them, 1200 GPH isn't bad, just one is equivelent to all of my MJ1200 combined. The site I looked at said they can be controlled by a JBJ pulse controller, which adjusts from 10 seconds to 6 minutes....

[Der_Iron_Chef]

What I read is that these pumps chatter a bit on start-up, but that the Seio controllers only slow them down considerably instead of totally shutting them off, therefore eliminating that chatter. I don't know, maybe I'm out to lunch! I don't know much at all about the different controllers.

[Quinster]

Originally Posted by danny zubot

I guess I'm just trying to figure out what is best for the tank right now. Do I rip it down and drill the tank full of holes or do I spring for the tunze's and be done with it? Do I risk damaging the balance my tank is starting to find? I'm not sure, but that is why I need peoples opinions. With the exception of some hair algae the tank is finally starting to thrive again after moving a few months ago.

I did just this on my 180G thread...the center brace letting go helped the rebuild decision, but after 6+ years of a 180G full of powerheads, I decided to take the OM/Dart leap, and after @ 4 months I have no regrets. Re used 90% of the old sand and rock, and about 75% of the old water.

Originally Posted by danny zubot

Does anyone run a closed loop with SQWD's? How are they? I can't seem to justify spending OM 4 prices for a 65 gallon tank.

I ran 2 SQWD's on my returns from my sump on my 180G prior to the upgrade, and I have to say for the dollar amount they ran fine. After switching to the OM and Dart though, I have since ordered a custom Squirt to replace the SQWD running on my 75G. I will still use the SCWD's on my frag system, but I really like the design and extra flow you get through the OM.

HTH

Quinn

[danny zubot]

I will still use the SCWD's on my frag system, but I really like the design and extra flow you get through the OM.

I realize the OM is higher qualilty and can handle higher flow, which probably works very well on your 180. My 65 would only demand SQWD I think.

[danny zubot]

I found this product http://oceanaquatics.com/store/produ...cotech-Marine/

Anyone have any experience with it? It claims to be controllable from 100 to 3000 GPH, but doesn't mension if the controller can create wave actions.