Are we wasting power (and thus money) by siting our sumps below the DT?

RocketRooster

RocketRooster

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I've been doing quite a bit of thinking on how to keep my future tank setup as efficient and environmentally friendly as possible (not to mention less beeping of my kitty)

One idea, and it seems so obvious, is to keep the sump at the same level as the DT. This means one does not need such a powerful return pump - a lot of potential flow is wasted simply lifting water back up to the display tank.

Of course, having the sump below the DT is convenient and more compact (especially when the tank is standing in your lounge), but if you can site it out of the way, isn't that the way to go?

Cheers,
Riaan
 
Yes, yes it is, I think it's called a remote DSB/sump.
 
SPACE SPACE SPACE.

If you got space next to your tank for your filtration, then why not rather enlarge your display...

And the space under the tank is wasted space, or it will become a storage room for a lot of crap.

unless you have an adjacent fishroom. then having the sump under the tank is the way we do it in south Africa. Americans with their basements have by default a fishroom underneath their tanks.

Get yourself a good pump in regards to power consumption compare to flow rate.
 
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Problem easily solved by getting a decent return pump which is efficient and use a lot less power that a cheap old pump like a halea pumps for example.
 
I would do that but then part,big part of my sump will be refugium, kitted out for pipefish and seahorses lol,a 2nd display and serve as sump, but as mentioned above ,SPACE :lol:

I have drastically reduced my elec usage by
Changing my MH for a led unit
Setup a cooling fan instead of chiller
Put one strong pump (vortech MP10wES) instead of multiple cheaper pumps
Setup a temp controler so heater/fan is off most of time(wen temp is stable obviously)
I dose manually instead of gettn reactors to do it for me etc
And lastly,packed loadsa rock for more natural filtration

So yeah, costly to make most of those changes but pays off in long run,I now save 350 per month compared to when I had my old equip in and no controlers .I'd call this an option for the guys who don't have that necesary space for a in-line sump
 
There is no cheap way to run a tank there are costs and the larger the tank the more it costs.

Electricity is just part of the cost of running a tank there are other things one needs to buy

Salt - Water Changes
Minerals - CA, MG, ALK
RO - Water

there is equipment that runs less electricity which may be worth investigating but trying to save money on an uplift pump I don't think is the right place. I have a 1500Ltr system and my uplift pump is 100W - 5000lt per hour pump, don't think I am really going to get the price down that much.

It's like buying a house owning a fish tank you need to be happy with all the costs not just the purchasing of the tank and equipment once off.

I can't afford to run a 5000lt tank the real cost is just to much if I want to do it properly.

Here would be a sample break down.

10% water change per week = R2400 per month
5KG Bio Cubes = R4000 = R400 per month over 10 Months
Sun Driven = R0 = Light cost = R400 for the MH night viewing costs per month
Calcium Reactor Media = R3000 = R300 per month over 10 months
Iodine = R120 Per month
Electricity for Pumps = R500 min per month

And and and

It costs in the region of R4000 per month to run this size tank properly and I have taken Lighting cost to the min - an LED version of this tank would push the running cost over R5000 per month.
 
100% agree with vatso, sure it can be done cheaply from the start with diy and second hand goods, but if you don't have money to literally flush down the toilet every month (water changes and fish losses maybe) this hobby isn't for you. Unfortunately there is now way around it, this tank will cost you money, and allot of it at that at 2m
 
Okay. Let's put it a different way then. Have you measured your flow at the outlet from your pump? (Timing it to fill a bucket is a good way). Then compare it to a smaller pump that does the same thing, except at equal water levels, and take the difference in wattage as your efficiency gain.

That gain, twenty four hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, will add up.

TBH I think it's absurd to state that since it's an expensive hobby, the small change benefits are just a drop in the ocean and aren't worth the trouble. That's EXACTLY why they are worth the trouble.
 
It all boils down to what the individual reefers pocket can manage ...... I ran a 2m and it was just so much effort, felt like a 2nd job, wereas my nano is so little maintanace and so much more enjoyment, saving $$$ part was just a perk of downgrading
 
But the return pump is the least if your worries, heater/chiller and lights much more of an issue. Just feels like you want to reinvent the wheel to save like 100 rand a month, not worth it.
 
I reckon there are always better and more efficient ways of accomplishing things. If you can save 50W on optimising your circulation, that's either 50W of power that goes into your pocket, or otherwise you can invest that into extra lighting, ferinstance. Either way you are the winner.

Eksdom juice will only get more and more and more expensive - our choices are to either downgrade or to start being more innovative. If I take a look at some of the revolutions that are occurring in the koi keeping fraternity for example, I'm always surprised at the ingenuity that people are capable of. Guys are starting to moving ridiculous amounts of water through their filters and ponds using carefully designed airlift systems, using chickenfeed wattage.
 
@RocketRooster what I am trying to say is rather run a tank one can afford then trying to invent ways to run it cheaper - I am all for cheaper but you suggesting running a sump at the same level to run a smaller pump to save money?

the bigger it is the more it costs there is no getting away from that, if you want to run a healthy system and electricity is just one of the costs but there are other costs the bigger the more one needs to spend
 
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