Fishkeeping on Renewable Energy
- Thread starter Jahkaine
- Start date
May sound a little insane but all you DIYers out there may like it...
You know the Bio-wheel, well think of it as a paddle wheel on a saw mill.
can someone make a paddle wheel out of plexi/acrylic to turn a generator?
you can charge batteries to run low voltage air pumps or small pumps.
what about using a waterfall setup to run the paddle wheel. You would have to make a decent flow to produce any substancial power to run the pump. It may help if you know electronics or are an electrical engineer haha.
or for something ancient and crazy... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heron's_fountain
Use this "old school" device to run a generator. its ALMOST a perpetual motion device but must be filled/emptied. (P.S. the larger the better!!)
You know the Bio-wheel, well think of it as a paddle wheel on a saw mill.
can someone make a paddle wheel out of plexi/acrylic to turn a generator?
you can charge batteries to run low voltage air pumps or small pumps.
what about using a waterfall setup to run the paddle wheel. You would have to make a decent flow to produce any substancial power to run the pump. It may help if you know electronics or are an electrical engineer haha.
or for something ancient and crazy... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heron's_fountain
Use this "old school" device to run a generator. its ALMOST a perpetual motion device but must be filled/emptied. (P.S. the larger the better!!)
Wow, Fishman0. I'm getting flashbacks of the torture scene in The Princess Bride. Electricity via water over water.
I was thinking of a solar thermal system, but like you said, I would need a central sump for all tanks. I don't even have A sump, but good ideas tho guys.
... off to the Pond Section.
I was thinking of a solar thermal system, but like you said, I would need a central sump for all tanks. I don't even have A sump, but good ideas tho guys.
... off to the Pond Section.
If your trying to save money with your tanks the secret is conservation not alternative energy. I don't use heaters anymore on my 125 and its always at a constant 78 degrees - the same temperature as the room. Also put timers on your lights and only run them for 5 or 6 hours a day. It also wouldn't hurt to have a low wattage lighting system. Your right in saying your HOBs don't draw that much power but to cover the startup costs for some alternative energy source would take you years considering it wouldn't save you nearly as much money as just toning it down a bit. Think of it this way: would you rather start saving money now with conservation or would you rather start saving money in ten years with alternative energy?
well, I understand that conservative is better than renewable in the beginning, but fishman raises a good question tho. I've already turned the ac up for the house and put the tank heaters on as low as they can go. I did try leaving the heater off in one tank for a few days and my clown loach was miserable the whole time, so on goes the heater.
Comfort is relative, though, dependent on the individual. I would gladly trade this 90+ weather in SC for 100+ DRY heat I miss in Vegas.
Comfort is relative, though, dependent on the individual. I would gladly trade this 90+ weather in SC for 100+ DRY heat I miss in Vegas.
First thing to do to conserve energy is cover your tanks. If your tanks are exposed to cool, dry air (like the output of your AC) you will lose a huge amount of heat energy to evaporative cooling. If you're heating the room anyway, then it's not a big deal. If you're running air conditioning, you can double the amount of energy lost because your AC has to handle it.
You can also insulate, get more efficient lighting, cut back on lighting (biggie), more efficient pumps, cut back on filtration if you're way overfiltered.
If your state has a rebate program for solar panels and you have the money available, go for it. The loan payment on my parents' system is less than the power bill was.
You can also insulate, get more efficient lighting, cut back on lighting (biggie), more efficient pumps, cut back on filtration if you're way overfiltered.
If your state has a rebate program for solar panels and you have the money available, go for it. The loan payment on my parents' system is less than the power bill was.
on grid systems are much cheaper and don't have the drawbacks of the off grid. however the potential savings are also less.
a 4kw on grid system starts at 5k$ and then you'd need to have it professionally installed for another thousand plus permits and fees from your city and local electric company rack up another 500$.
on grid systems work fairly simply, solar by day, grid by night for the most part. anything you over generate gets you a credit by your power company and usually helps off set the night time usage. dunno about grants but for me and my wife I'm thinking about it, I'd need the 6kw setup which is fully installed for 9k. current electric bill is hitting 300$ for june.july august, 120$ for october, november, march, 160$ for december, january, february 180$ for april, may, september (rate hike for summer months really kills us)
so annually we pay 2280$ for electricity. which means in 4.5 years the system payed itself off.
not as astounding as some of the off-grid setups but still hurts especially in this economy.
so brianhellno hit it on the head right now unless you've got serious cach laying about, conservation is where it's at.
a 4kw on grid system starts at 5k$ and then you'd need to have it professionally installed for another thousand plus permits and fees from your city and local electric company rack up another 500$.
on grid systems work fairly simply, solar by day, grid by night for the most part. anything you over generate gets you a credit by your power company and usually helps off set the night time usage. dunno about grants but for me and my wife I'm thinking about it, I'd need the 6kw setup which is fully installed for 9k. current electric bill is hitting 300$ for june.july august, 120$ for october, november, march, 160$ for december, january, february 180$ for april, may, september (rate hike for summer months really kills us)
so annually we pay 2280$ for electricity. which means in 4.5 years the system payed itself off.
not as astounding as some of the off-grid setups but still hurts especially in this economy.
so brianhellno hit it on the head right now unless you've got serious cach laying about, conservation is where it's at.
