What are the most energy efficient extenal pumps on the market?
What burns more electricity T5 or Metal Halides?
Thanks
What burns more electricity T5 or Metal Halides?
Thanks
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Efficent equipment?
- Thread starter oceanblue28
- Start date
The most efficient pumps would be the Red Dragons. They don't do a lot of head pressure though so they're best for under tank installations. They're also extremely expensive. After that there are a few pumps that are not as expensive but are fairly good. I think Reeflo makes a few new ones that seem more efficient.
T5 or MH depends on how many T5s you would use. If you're going to put 14 T5s over your tank then MH may not be much more expensive, if at all. With T5s you NEED to have fans with them to keep the heat off of the bulbs. MH will require more fans over your tank or sump to keep the temperature of the tank down. MH provides a shimmer that you can't get with long bulbs.
Do you know how many T5 bulbs you would need over your tank? What size is it?
T5 or MH depends on how many T5s you would use. If you're going to put 14 T5s over your tank then MH may not be much more expensive, if at all. With T5s you NEED to have fans with them to keep the heat off of the bulbs. MH will require more fans over your tank or sump to keep the temperature of the tank down. MH provides a shimmer that you can't get with long bulbs.
Do you know how many T5 bulbs you would need over your tank? What size is it?
Product evaluation actually needs to go a lot deeper than how much energy it uses. While this is an important factor, you first need to make sure it's going to do the job in the application.
For pumps you need to consider how much water you need to move and how high you want to move it, and if your going to force it through anything. Then you need to consider where you will place the pump. Usually this will be inside the sump or external to it. Only when you have that figured out can you consider other factors like cost and power consumed, because if the pump doesn't meet the water flow and location factors, you can not use it.
As for Red Dragon pumps, I must admit that I've never used them. Considering the price, I doubt if I ever will. I think this will be true of most of the others here.
Generally the in sump pumps consume less power than external ones. My first choice for these would be Ehiem pumps, with my second choice being Mag pumps.
For external pumps, I have used Iwaki, and their power consumption on some models isn't too bad. Do check, because some of the largest ones do use a lot of power. Also check other beands because there are a lot of similar pumps available now.
For lighting you need to not only consider the bulb, you also need to consider the ballast. Most manufactured MH fixtures use coil and core ballasts. These are a bit less efficient than electronic ballasts. Electronic ballasts do cost more, but the energy saves usually pays for the ballast upgrade in a year or two, depending upon the bulb size being used.
When dealing with lighting, you ned to consider total cost of ownership. In other words, you must take into consideration the cost of the fixture, cost of replacement bulbs, and the amount of power consumed.
For pumps you need to consider how much water you need to move and how high you want to move it, and if your going to force it through anything. Then you need to consider where you will place the pump. Usually this will be inside the sump or external to it. Only when you have that figured out can you consider other factors like cost and power consumed, because if the pump doesn't meet the water flow and location factors, you can not use it.
As for Red Dragon pumps, I must admit that I've never used them. Considering the price, I doubt if I ever will. I think this will be true of most of the others here.
Generally the in sump pumps consume less power than external ones. My first choice for these would be Ehiem pumps, with my second choice being Mag pumps.
For external pumps, I have used Iwaki, and their power consumption on some models isn't too bad. Do check, because some of the largest ones do use a lot of power. Also check other beands because there are a lot of similar pumps available now.
For lighting you need to not only consider the bulb, you also need to consider the ballast. Most manufactured MH fixtures use coil and core ballasts. These are a bit less efficient than electronic ballasts. Electronic ballasts do cost more, but the energy saves usually pays for the ballast upgrade in a year or two, depending upon the bulb size being used.
When dealing with lighting, you ned to consider total cost of ownership. In other words, you must take into consideration the cost of the fixture, cost of replacement bulbs, and the amount of power consumed.
DaveK said:
I agree with this statement but I wouldn't limit it to just lighting, it applies to all pieces of equipment. For example I looked into buying a Red Dragon because they're more effcient than the Sequence pumps. But when I calculated the purchase price of the pump and my cost of electricity it would take almost ten years to pay back the higher purchase price of the Red Dragon pump. Now I had my Iwaki pumps for 12 years, assuming RDs will last that long I would only see 2 years of electricity savings. So to me I wasn't actually saving any money.