Question for people not using controllers and opt to use Timers & switches instead.

[cjd]

Who is hating?? I think any reefer would question the statement of having a return pump only run 9 hrs. a day. We as a community responding to this don't know anything about the original poster . Is this his first reef tank only going for 8 months . Is this his 50th tank in 15 years ? It is definitely breaking away from the "norm" and if you have the experience to take such a venture then by all means. After all, it is your box of water, so do with it as you please. I was asking out of curiosity more then anything. I freak out if I revamp my sump and its offline for a couple of hours let alone off for 15. How much money are we saving by turning off return pump ? Does the heater in the main tank come on more often nullifying the return pump being off ? If you enjoy looking at 150 lbs. of rock in a 90 gal tank that's your choice . Yes , live rock is a great filter . Personally I don't , I'd rather look at coral , I am more concerned with gas exchange , ph swing and chemical warfare amongst corals .

 

[marcballz]

Who is hating?? I think any reefer would question the statement of having a return pump only run 9 hrs. a day. We as a community responding to this don't know anything about the original poster . Is this his first reef tank only going for 8 months . Is this his 50th tank in 15 years ? It is definitely breaking away from the "norm" and if you have the experience to take such a venture then by all means. After all, it is your box of water, so do with it as you please. I was asking out of curiosity more then anything. I freak out if I revamp my sump and its offline for a couple of hours let alone off for 15. How much money are we saving by turning off return pump ? Does the heater in the main tank come on more often nullifying the return pump being off ? If you enjoy looking at 150 lbs. of rock in a 90 gal tank that's your choice . Yes , live rock is a great filter . Personally I don't , I'd rather look at coral , I am more concerned with gas exchange , ph swing and chemical warfare amongst corals .

mm sorry not trying to offend anyone just looking for helpful opinions & to anwser some of those questions its my 2nd tank 3rd year running with 1 tear down to move apts.
had fish only for about 2 years and just started lps/sps corals 8 months ago.
i dont have a exact number for kl but save about 60.00 - 100.00 so far from when i first started.
the heater only turns on at night when i turn my ac down from 77f to 72f .( i live in texas so i only have to worry in the summer about over heating)
150lbs is in combination not in display only.

 

[bblumberg]

Depending on your brand of return pump, there are some out there which are extremely efficient. I think my Reeflo operates at approx 150 watts? You said you're operating a heater, a power head, and an air pump in your sump area while your return is off. What sort of wattage differentials are you saving, just curious?
Also, just a concern on the heaters: many a tank has gotten nuked by failing to run a heater on a controller. For instance, early on in the hobby I had two Jager heaters stick "On" and had one full system crash, and almost had another until I wired them to a controller.

Amen to that. I have had quite a few heaters fail on in the past few years. Eheim Jaeger is not the same quality as the old Ebo Jaeger was. Mine are now on a controller.

Bruce

 

[Jizu Puentes]

I don't use a controller, yet, just digital home depot timers. The only equipment on timers though are my lights. My skimmer, jager heaters, powerheads, dosing pump and return pump run 24/7. In my system, turning off the return pump fills my 55 gallon sump and that water would just sit stagnat all night. Also the three tanks in my system would be cutoff from the heaters which are in the sump and experience temperature swings as well as missed dosages of Kalkwasser haha.

If your powerheads are able to keep the oxygen exchange high enough as when your return pump is on then I'm sure you are still evaporating water and if your ATO is in your sump then the water isn't topped off until morning?