Solar Powered Aquarium?

[snakeblitz33]

Just wondering if anyone has looked into running a small - lets say 20-30g saltwater tank on solar power? What would be needed, besides the obvious... solar panel(s), Transformer, wiring...

Lets say LED lighting,... roughly 24 x 3w LED lights dimmed down properly
A vortech MP10 - 4w-14 w
One larger return pump on a manifold to power any other equipment (30w)
Small skimmer (12w)

Total: 100w+- per hour? Roughly needing roughly 2kW hours per day to function...

Can it be done or is it just wishful thinking? Is it cost effective over a long period of time?

 

[bang guy]

Batteries are also a major expense.

You could look into fiber optics or a mirrored tube system for lighting the tank directly from Sunlight. That's far more efficient than converting the light to electricity and then converting the electricity back to light.

 

[snakeblitz33]

Cutting ledligts out of the equasion, its still about 50w of useage.
I did not take into account a fan for the summer and a heater in the witer. Louisiana has really mild winters at least.

 

[bang guy]

I would suggest you focus on about 100 watts of continuous power. That would require probably 250w - 300w worth of solar collectors and a decent sized bank of batteries. Financially that's a major up front cost with a payback period of at least 10 years.

If it were a business I would say definitely not. As an experiment I'd say heck yes.

 

[snakeblitz33]

Business... heck no! lol Absolutely only for an experiment. I want to stay in the hobby, but I also want to live the simple life... and was wondering if it was possible.

I looked into fiber optic lighting for aquariums - and jeez, some of those system are extremely expensive.. but highly efficient. I think I would more or less have a solartube instead.

 

[saxman]

We looked into solar supplementation back when we were running 14 setups...just to get us out of the "5th tier" pricing, but they couldn't get enuff panels on our roof to make it worthwhile. Unless you have a lot of "surface area" on your roof, you'd need a place to put the panels. Also, do look into leasing as opposed to buying...that way, the equipment will always be upgraded and taken care of (we got that tip from a solar guy).

 

[phixer]

Solar tubes for lighting?

 

[acrylic51]

Yes solar tubes for lighting!!!!!

 

[snakeblitz33]

Since my goal in life is to live a simple life, an aquarium really doesn't fit into the equation, honestly. But, It is a really hard habit to quit as well. So,... if I have a home aquarium, aside from a tank in my classroom, it has to be extremely electrical efficient and cost very little to operate - probably a fish and invert tank lit with solar tubes and some easy, easy corals.

 

[phixer]

A noble objective. I did some research on this. Solar tubes for lighting above marine tanks tend to be susceptible to pitting corrosion from the salt spray. The deterioration in the surface of the reflective metal reduces the intensity and spectrum of light available over time. Although the human eye will not visually detect this your corals will, the use of a PAR/lumen meter will show the difference.

The tubes need to breath in order to prevent condensation from building up inside of them so covering the bottom with a sheet of glass really isnt a solution either. A vent and fan located midway in the tube helps but the glass still needs to be wiped down all the time. A better way to prevent the tubes from corroding is to coat the inside of the tube with clear acrylic enamel.

 

[acrylic51]

Phixer.....how is the guy making out over on RC that's been using them......

 

[phixer]

Quote:
Originally Posted by acrylic51 http:///t/396442/solar-powered-aquarium#post_3533428
Phixer.....how is the guy making out over on RC that's been using them......
Hi Shawn. I havent heard much about him, but did do a little research into this myself. I do see some potential in using them. My time on RC was like an an NFL coach. When I stopped sucking up to the mods and began to disagree with them, they banned me. Never question "the man" mentality over there.