electricty solutions?

[surfpalmsncycads]

i know its expensive but id love to hear a lil bit about solar systems and whatnot. im interested in setting up a system that can run my entire fish room. from my very basic math skills and what ive read, even if i had all 4 sides of my 2 car garage completely covered with solar panels aimed correctly at the sun, i still could not generate enough energy to accomplish this.
lets take a basic ac110 filter using 40 watts. i have at least 12 of those running out there alone not counting other canisters, sumps, filters, air pumps, not even getting to how many heaters, lights... you get the point. those filters alone are 480 watts 24/7 to me solar is not going to do that.

any pros know how to set this kind of thing up. before we even get on the topic of converters and batteries and..... how much can your typical solar panel generate? as of now im thinking the price of solar set ups is so high its not even worth attempting. even so id love to hear pros and cons. even being able to step down from tier 6 to tier 3 would be awsome but at what initial cost?

smallest of ideas please post them!

 

[frickr]

well to give you a good answer we would need to know the wattage of all the equipment you plan on running on the solar. but a far more cost effective setup would be to ditch all the hob filters, and go with sponge filters powered off of one air pump. then im sure one or 2 solar panels will be sufficiant for the air pump allowing you to see returns on energy savings much sooner. depending on your heat needs and location you could also do a diy solar water heater too. just a thought.

 

[aldiaz33]

I got two estimates to have a solar system installed a while back and although I don't remember the exact figures or specs, both were definitely outside my budget. The return on investment was something like 10 years, and I wasn't comfortable with that.

But I have good news for you. Those Aquaclear 110's only use 14 watts each not 40. So those 12 you are running are drawing only 168 watts total, not 480.

You have PG&E in Whittier?

 

[surfpalmsncycads]

i dont know where i came up with 40 watts. thought i read that on the motor itself. im gladyou pointed that out. ive been calculating incorrectly this whole time. as for the air pump im running the eco plus comercial 5. it takes like 85 watts to run the whole room. all my fry and growout tanks have sponge filters. i use canisters,hobs,and sumps on my bigger tanks. i bought a KILL A WATT P3 tester and am puting together a log of electricity. 1 figure will be constant electricity another ill have to figure in average watts for the heaters. i have 1.5 more walls to insulate and drywall. that should make it air tight in there for winter. im hoping to see great savings over last years bill.

 

[chris1989]

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