Reducing Aquarium Energy Consumption
There are a few things that you can do to improve the energy efficiency of your aquarium. It doesn’t take much to make an impact on how much energy your aquarium is sucking out of the power outlets in your home.
Energy Efficient Lighting
Buy lighting equipment for your aquarium that is only powerful enough to provide the lighting that your aquarium requires. It doesn’t make sense to buy an aquarium lighting fixture or hood that requires two bulbs instead of one, for example, if you situation doesn’t require two bulbs.
Fluorescent lighting is the most energy efficient type of lighting. Fluorescent aquarium lights will consume much less energy than their incandescent or halide counterparts.
If you are keeping coral, you will need to buy more powerful lighting of course. But if you are keeping a smaller aquarium with fish only, you should really consider using only as much lighting as you really need.
Don’t Run Your Lights More Than Needed
In many cases, the main aquarium lighting doesn’t need to be run for as long as you might be running it. Think about the times of day that you are in the area where your aquarium runs and adjust the aquarium lighting accordingly. Try to run the main aquarium lighting 8 hours a day or less.
It also can help to employ moonlight led lights. They allow you to get some light in your tank during the off hours of the main lighting in your aquarium. Moonlight led lights will usually consume very little power compared to your main aquarium lights as well, making them a great option for providing some ambient light in your aquarium during off hours.
Use a Lower Powered Filter
Don’t buy a power filter that is overpowered for your aquarium. Buy only the size that you need, and only round up one level in power if you need to round up to get the appropriate filtering power for your aquarium.
Using a power filter that is correctly rated for your size aquarium will ensure that you are not using more power to filter the water of your aquarium than your require. If your power filter has adjustable speeds for changing the rate of gallons per hour, then it is best to find the most energy efficient speeds at all times to reduce the amount of energy your filter is consuming.
Turn Your Heater Down a Notch
You might be able to get by with turning your aquarium heater down a degree or two, or even more. Study the water temperatures that your particular fish or aquarium inhabitants require and make sure that you are actually not trying to keep your water warmer than
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