Running tank equipment on solar?

[radek]

Hi folks,
Been in a "read-only" mode for a long time. I am fairly new to the trade (barely a 1 yr). My friend, fellow hobbyist and I, we gave my tank a makeover recently (Tank used to house cichilds before. Just added the cleaning crew (12 ottos, 8 panda cories to the tank. Will update the thread over the weekend with some new pics of the tank)

You can check this thread Amazon based theme Tank

I have 2 external Eheims filtering this and a Jager 300W heater (all running 24x7) for the same. From where I come, its almost sunny 8-9 months of the year. I would like to understand if there is a possibility of using a solar panel (small one) that could (presumably) help me cut down my running costs on the tank, and hopefully also serve as a backup during power outages (Of course those are also in abundance, from where i come from)

Again, a complete newbie to the whole idea, hence the post. Any ideas, pointers or leads would help.

Thanks,

 

[joe jaskot]

I would guess that you could supplement your electrical supply with solar power. However, I don't know if it would be cost effective. It would depend upon how much the solar panel or panels cost and how long it would take to recoup your investment. Running a single fish tank is relatively inexpensive. Your filters do run 24//7, but they are low wattage consumers. As far as your 300 watt heater goes, it only uses electricity when needed. Your heater probably doesn't even go on in the summer. So before investing in solar panels, calculate how much it costs to run your equipment and see if it would be worthwhile to invest in solar panels.

 

[Fat Homer]

Just saw your tank and have to say absolutely LOVE the driftwood...

Anyway, i guess it might be useful if your using the panels to also supplement other appliances in your house, but i would guess if it was purely for the fish tank only, then it may not be the best investment depending on how long it would take for you to get your monies worth...

 

[radek]

I agree, makes sense. I plan to do a Cost Benefit Analysis over the weekend after visiting a few vendors that I think might be able to give me fair estimates on solar panel costs nad the related quipment (charge controllers, power inverters etc.).

@Fat Homer
Yup, if it does make sense if I were to run a few other things in the house on it and then find out the break-even when I think it would give me my monies worth.

Will post my thoughts after some homework over the weekend.
Thanks!

 

[Cicho]

India, huh?

If you are concerned about power outages the solar is only going to help you during daylight hours. Maybe a 12V deep cycle battery bank and inverter would make more sense for the filters only, no heater.

If you are trying to reduce the cost of the heaters I would think India would be a prime place for some type of solar water heating, even if it were a black poly tank on your roof recirculating water through a stainless steel loop in a sump or tank.

How much is a kilowatt of power in India? What region are you in?

 

[radek]

India, huh?

If you are concerned about power outages the solar is only going to help you during daylight hours. Maybe a 12V deep cycle battery bank and inverter would make more sense for the filters only, no heater.

If you are trying to reduce the cost of the heaters I would think India would be a prime place for some type of solar water heating, even if it were a black poly tank on your roof recirculating water through a stainless steel loop in a sump or tank.

How much is a kilowatt of power in India? What region are you in?

I am in Pune, around 130 km south-east to Mumbai. The building i live in (apartment or condos) already has huge solar panels on the top (terrace) that supplies hot water to our bathrooms (for the entire building complex). Of course, I have no plans into tapping into those solar panels,since they are installed for common use, however, since I live on the top most floor, I could potentially install a few new ones for personal use.

But I think i agree, maybe install a small one that could heat my water and do away with the heater. But in that case, will have to figure out a way in controlling the water temperature by running cold water and mixing.

For me the power rates are somewhere around 7-8 INR per unit. Average consumption going by past electricity bills is @ 250-275 units for my place.

 

[skjl47]

Hello; This will not address the current equipment you have, but there exist solar setups that operate at 12 volts. There are 12 volt pumps batteries and lights used around fishing, house boats and the like. This may be a way to get into the solar and at least provide backup in power outages. There are converters to to change solar and battery to household current as well. If you decide to try this, please post the progress from time to time.

 

[Dracor]

Just my opinion but I would hope if you do invest in solar panels you would use it to power a few battery backup systems. I would be more worried about power being out for long periods of time. And you would have the charge needed to run your tank on a few batteries for a couple days. And of course I agree with not worrying as much on the heater being in India, but mainly focusing on filtration. I have learned 1 thing that may help you out though, if in a bind and you can get just a UPS battery backup system plug in an air pump and stone. It's the most important thing you can do on your tank is keep the water oxygenated, but if you can keep a filter running that's always the best. I was without power for a few days, but kept my fish alive by using this method. I did have to do a 15 percent water change on day 2 to help keep water parameters good.

 

[radek]

I did some more reading on this, and could calculate (a first cut at least) my requirements.
Source:- http://www.solarpanel.co.za/solar-power-calculator.htm

I agree to the plan of using solar panels to charge batteries that could serve as backup rather than get my tank equipment completely off the grid. So based on the assumption that I will use battery back up for around 6 hours to run the filters and the heater, my calculations (based on the link) is as follows:

[TABLE="width: 411"]
[TR]
[TD]Complete System[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]
Solar Panels[/TD]
[TD]4 X 75W[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]
Solar Regulators[/TD]
[TD]1 X 20A[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]
Batteries[/TD]
[TD]2 X 105 AH deep cycle batteries[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Sine Wave Power Inverter[/TD]
[TD]
1 X 600W
[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
I was surfing the internet for a few pointers on the total cost, and it could be well over INR 100,000 (around USD 2000-2200 based on an assumed exchange rate of 50/52)

Now I still need to
1. Validate my calculations
2. Work and refine the cost model
3. Calcuate my break-even and check if this really makes sense for me to even invest that amount of money( INR 1 lac, is steep for me, and that too is a moderate estimate)

Anyways, will keep you posted if and this progresses.

Thanks a lot for your inputs!

 

[m1ste2tea]

unless you're going to invest that much money, cheap solar solar power kits would be great for low wattage equipment such as air pumps. Ideally solar power would work best for something that you only need to use during the day, such as the lights, yet most light systems require a lot of wattage, except for LED lighting. So Solar power and LED lighting is the match made in heaven.