As Earth Day rolls around, I wonder, is there such a thing as “green” reefing? I imagine reef keeping may be the epitome of the opposite of “green”… There are, however, a few steps I have been, slowly but surely, taking over the past few years to reduce the energy my aquarium requires. They may not necessarily be saving me that much money (up-front cost may well exceed savings!) but were I really concerned with the cost of a reef aquarium, I would have left the hobby ages ago!
Mind the temperature
Heating & cooling elements are energy hogs, kicking on and off all day. I realize it is not feasible for all aquarium keepers to buy a full on aquarium controller, but I use one. I think any reef keeper in it for the long run would find it a boon, and if it is in the budget – pull the trigger. Too hot? Fans kick on. Keeps getting hotter? Fans stay on, lights go off. Most of the time, a few watts of fans & problem solved without a 1/4hp chiller kicking in.
Adjust for ambient temperatures
Coral, in my experience, are very resilient animals and can adjust very well to the environment, if done slowly. I find that keeping my water temperature around 75*F at it’s lowest in January, and ramping up slowly to 81 – 82 for the hot ass Chicago summers, the heaters have to work much less, saving those watts for another day. My AC3 has a seasonal temperature feature I’ve set so that it does this automatically. There is no real need to exactly replicate high temps of Fiji or Oman reefs. Coral should do just fine with small incremental changes that are reasonably in line with our ambient temperatures, be it So Cal, Chi-town, or over the Northern border.
Low wattage pumps
For flow, the choices of low wattage powerheads on the market keep getting better. From Tunze nanostreams to the Ecotech Vortech, we can create great amount of flow using much less energy than even a few years ago. The Vortech pumps, with heat source on the outside of the tank, are an excellent option for those with overheating problems, with the added benefit of more flow per watt than your maxi jets (example Vortech MP40w = 28 watts to produce 3000 gph with no heat source in tank v. MJ1220 20 watts for 295 GPH, unmodded. Or the MP10 for smaller tanks, just 18w to push 1,575 GPH)…
Reduce photoperiod
I don’t want to mention lighting (LED or T5 v MH), as good lighting is a very important part of a reef tank. If there’s an area to not worry about skimping on, lighting might be it. You may find it possible to reduce your photoperiod without sacrificing coral color or health – I certainly have. Many reefkeepers have been reporting success with reducing the number of hours their lighting systems are on. In this case, success seems to be defined as coral maintaining colors & health with reduced number of hours. Though some note no change, or even ill effect (color loss), I’ve personally been able to reduce the hours my halide by 2.5 hours with no perceivable color loss or negative changes in the tank. I did this over the course of 3 months, and haven’t looked back.
3 days of ‘lights out’ every month
It gets stormy and cloudy over reefs too. Turning lights out for a few days not only saves on energy, but I find it also helps with diatoms and gives the tank a ‘refreshed’ look when turned back on. I randomly decide when to do it, I’ll just flip the light switches to ‘OFF’ and set a reminder of when to turn them back on.
Buy tank raised livestock & encourage aquaculture
If not well aware that many of Earth’s creatures (including us) are subject to extinction, well, um, yeah.
That’s all for now. Please consider your impact on this world & be a good citizen of the earth. I’m not recommending that anyone completely change their little bit of living room reef habits completely, but do try and be aware of your impact here – reef tanks and otherwise.
A few links for Earth Day love (& hate). Feel free to add:
“No lights for 3 days every couple of months works wonders!”
“gone solar” (great thread on Sola Tubes)
Elos E-lite LED 
Ecotech Vortech MP20 
Elos Skimmer 
Eheim Return 
GFO Reactor 
Heater 1 
Heater 2 
Litermeter III 
Email Alarm 
chris
10 months ago
I do the same thing with heat. Ill allow the temp to go as high as 84/85f in the summer and have never had a problem. Never tried lights out for a few days. Ive heard of a lot of people doing this, might have to give it a shot.
stonyreef
10 months ago
For the temperatures, I’ve found 84 is about my upper limit. I have seen 85+, but usually with some ill effect (closed polyps, STN on one occasion). Our A/C went out last summer while we were out of town, and temps hit 88. I lost nearly all azooxanthellate coral in that tank by the time we got back in town (~48 hours), and the rest of the non-photosynthetics fell shortly thereafter. It was pretty rough to get constant texts from the AC3, knowing I couldn’t get anything done about it. However, all stony coral made it through – not a single loss.
Thinking about it, I suppose the ambient temp point is dependent on your individual tank and its inhabitants. I most certainly will not set up the next azoox tank without more cooling gear, nor would I adjust to ambient if I had some deeper water fish that need those mid 70’s temperatures.
The “lights out” really does seem to refresh the tank. Such an easy thing to do, just flip the switch! … but definitely remember to turn it back on
Mike Clifford
10 months ago
Great write-up. A few comments I might add on lighting is that use of efficient and directional lighting can save big time wattage. For example, T5s or LEDs with proper reflectors, which focus light into the aquarium, and reduce wasted light that escapes to the room, allow less light. If using MH, reflectors such as lumenbrights can also be used to increase efficiency so that 250w, rather than 400w bulbs can be used. With MH, planning for a wider system also helps with lighting – a 30″ or 36″ wide system that is 4 ft. long (i.e. 150 or 180g) can be lit by 2 halides, just as a 120g (48×24x24). Designing lighting around an aquascape and using spot lighting, as Eric has shown in the glassbox, also allows for significant energy reduction. As spotlights become more widely available it will allow aquarists to save money by focusing light only in the areas where there are corals.
Another suggestion is designing an open top system, along with efficient lighting to reduce energy demands from the chilling standpoint. My 300+ gallon system (240 display), which is open top and lit by 648w of T5s, occasionally uses a heater in the winter to stay at 76-77 (probably a few hours a day at most), and stays at 78-79 with no cooling whatsoever.
And one last lighting item, refugium lighting can be done very efficiently with a CF bulb from Home Depot. I’m using a 15w bulb with a $15 reflector from HD, rather than the 100w halogen bulb I’ve seen many use, and my chaeto grows well under it.
Mike Clifford
10 months ago
Edit: Meant to say that T5s or LEDs with proper reflectors, which focus light into the aquarium, and reduce wasted light that escapes to the room, allow less light to do more.
stonyreef
10 months ago
Excellent suggestions & info – thanks Mike! Poor reflectors = wasted energy, wasted light. re: spotlights, I really do hope we start to see more of them on our side of the pond. Definitely gear I would incorporate into my next set up.
Another thought, not seen as often but a seemingly excellent way to reduce the number of halides required over the tank are light movers. I must admit, I wouldn’t go this route without an in-wall set up – they can be rather unsightly… but a single MH on a light mover with a few spotlights could be dynamite… (mental note)
Maxima
10 months ago
Hmm, I don’t get much sun here but sola tubes are awesome sources for green light.
stonyreef
10 months ago
Yeah, I’m not sure how effective they’d be here in Chicago either. Great for a couple months, but we have it pretty rough for a good portion of the year. On some of the later pages of the thread, 24 / 25 ish, there’s talk of using photo cells + a controller to have halides pop on when too overcast outside – now that would be a fantastic set up.