Fishtank-powered electricity???

[brianhellno]

There's this stupid thing called the Theory of Thermal Dynamics that says your not allowed to do that. No matter what you do you can't use the falling water to power itself back up to the tank. What you can do is maybe use the falling water to power something else. Here's some ideas to maybe get you started:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8xow_R0YRI
http://www.green-trust.org/hydro.htm
http://www.otherpower.com/otherpower_hydro.html
http://www.waterwheelfactory.com/HP Table.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7A_4VP6V80
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLvsixjlYIo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z900AKfwC5Y

For the youtube videos read the comments sections for information on what they did. Also it seems in the youtube videos that those huge turbines only put out about 30 Watts of DC.

 

[cchhcc]

Agreed.


I'm afraid this train of thought is where some of the recent political arguments fall apart. A hope is converted to belief which is converted to policy.......

 

[TheFishJunky]

no it will work! we just need to throw in 2 gerbils and 2 hamsters to run in those wheel things for the extra juice needed.the reason we need 2 of each is so they can take turns.

 

[zennzzo]

As many people have already stated, there is no such thing as perpetual motion, conservation of energy doesn't allow it. Pumping water up to create energy as it falls is a losing proposition.

Solar and wind power are great, but expensive to set up and maintain. The best way to cut electricity costs is to make your tanks more efficient.

Insulating against heat loss is going to give you the best savings/cost ratio. The heater is by far the most energy-hungry equipment in a tank, so reducing the amount of heat lost will give you huge returns in energy savings.

A well designed filter would also help. This means properly sized piping without restrictions (if your valves don't say "full-flow" than they have a smaller port than their pipe-size). Also, unnecessary head height can waste a lot of power. Pumps should be properly sized and the lowest wattage for the required amount of flow/pressure.

If lighting is needed for plants/corals, reducing the time your lights are on will also be a very easy way to cut power usage.

A-Men Brother!! A-Men!!

 

[CHOMPERS]

Awww, man. You guys are a bunch of amauters. Every teenager knows that there is unlimited power if you just plug two power strips into each other. Actually when you try it, it doesn't work as well as plugging two UPS's into each other.






...but I gotta agree that anything gerbil powered is gonna be better.

 

[zennzzo]

Awww, man. You guys are a bunch of amauters. Every teenager knows that there is unlimited power if you just plug two power strips into each other. Actually when you try it, it doesn't work as well as plugging two UPS's into each other.






...but I gotta agree that anything gerbil powered is gonna be better.

 

[angeltc]

nice share Frnchjeep

i think the maintenance of the electric eel might over come the benefits of the free electricity

I knew it wasn't gonna work, but I didn't think that people would get so technical.