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Thread: 100W Solar set up
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22-05-2019, 01:44 PM #1
100W Solar set up
Hi All,
I've been loooking at setting up a very small Solar set up in the region of a 100W kit.
I know very little about electrics and even less about solar power systems, so I thought I'd make a delicate step into the unknown and see what I could learn.
I was thinking that I could start with powering my waterfall and oxygenator, plus the expanding shelf of power tool batteries in the shed. If I did it right and my calculations are correct, it would take me two years plus to return the investment, but that's not the reason. It's to learn for future, bigger set ups, perhaps for the whole pond one day.
So here's my thinking; 100W solar panel south facing on the garage roof. Feed into the shed and set up my circuit board in there. I've seen an inverter which has USB and three-pin outlets, so that bit is easy enough to wire to a circuit breaker and junction box for the appliances. I could go further and introduce a battery to store the energy and put it on a timer so it preserves the charge overnight. Otherise it runs when the sun shines.
What do you think? I'm curious to see if I could make it work, just for the fun of it.
1000 gallons, approximately 3ft deep
Hozelock Bioforce Revolution 9000
Sanke, ogon, ghost, shusui,
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22-05-2019, 11:57 PM #2
You need to provide more info ... what are you powering? ... 1st off 6 x koi in 1000G 3 foot deep is pushing it ...
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Kyliewantsme Thanked / Liked this Post
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23-05-2019, 08:27 AM #3
Thanks Trace; I intend to look at the feasibility of powering an 18W waterfall pump and an 8W oxygentor. If it works well I would try and charge my powertool batteries on the side. Taking into consideration that I would only have the waterfall and oxygenator running in the day, it should not drain the battery overnight.
Regarding the size of the pond.. you've got me worried now. I estimate 6,000 litres / 1,300 gallons if my maths are correct. You say six are too many?....1000 gallons, approximately 3ft deep
Hozelock Bioforce Revolution 9000
Sanke, ogon, ghost, shusui,
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23-05-2019, 10:26 AM #4
Yes ... it'll be ok when they are small but they grow fast (some forum members have 3ft long koi) and you'll find it hard to keep your water chemistry parameters good. Do you have a water test kit? ... if not get one a.s.a.p. it'll be the best investment you can make for a small pond and also defo get some aeration going soon as ...
Here's a good test kit: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/API-Fresh...AAAOSwNepcV0zt
If you shop about you might find it slightly cheaper but don't ever buy a second hand kit.
Have a read at this: Number of Koi
I'm not saying this is set in stone but it goes into a lot of the reasons why 6 koi in your pond is a lot.
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Kyliewantsme, freddyboy Thanked / Liked this Post
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23-05-2019, 11:34 AM #5
Brilliant thanks Trace. This is why I joined the forum. Appreciate the time you’ve taken to apply the links. I have a test kit but based only on dip slides. I will invest in the better one as advised.
I have a weak oxygenator going on solar, hence the thoughts about a powered one.
cheers!Last edited by Kyliewantsme; 23-05-2019 at 11:39 AM.
1000 gallons, approximately 3ft deep
Hozelock Bioforce Revolution 9000
Sanke, ogon, ghost, shusui,
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23-05-2019, 11:48 AM #6
Yes get a good test kit ... the dip strips are generally considered to be crap.
What air flow does your air pump have for aeration? ... you want at least 30L/m going in there to get the water moving.
Hailea ACO9810 is a brilliant small air pump 30L/m and only 25w to run.
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Kyliewantsme, freddyboy Thanked / Liked this Post
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24-05-2019, 08:08 PM #7
Oxygen levels are lower over night and also when the temperature is higher so really you would be better to have the air pump running all the time.
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25-05-2019, 02:12 AM #8
Yes that's a good point that I took for granted ... yes proper aeration has to be 99% of the time ...
There's gonna be a few things that you don't like that you will be told here Kylie ... but everybody here has been through pretty much the same learning curve ... brace yourself for shockingly high prices ...
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25-05-2019, 07:25 AM #9
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Kyliewantsme Thanked / Liked this Post
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25-05-2019, 09:08 AM #10
Heehee, yes Trace, it’s beginning to look like a money drain at least to begin with, hence the thought about solar or wind power to manage the costs in the long term.
I have a tendency to go a bit over the top on projects, so I won’t be skimping on the requirements to make the most of what we’ve got. To be honest, this project started out as a resurrection of a former pond which I filled in 20 years ago and it was meant to be purely ornamental...... until we put fish in it and I joined the forum!
Happy days, I’m up for the challenge1000 gallons, approximately 3ft deep
Hozelock Bioforce Revolution 9000
Sanke, ogon, ghost, shusui,
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Frimley Koi keeper Thanked / Liked this Post
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25-05-2019, 10:12 PM #11
Solar powered aeration is not a bad idea at all- given that the highest requirements for oxygen are when it's hot and sunny.
You need a backup system for warm thundery nights though.
I would definitely advise going big on any solar system if in the UK as most days you will not get the max the system is capable of. That said we just put an 8kW system on our house which is running the pond and charging the cars currently so it can definitely work if you go big enough!2016 new 6000 gallon pond
https://www.koiforum.uk/pond-construc...ghlight=feline
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26-05-2019, 09:33 AM #12
An 8 kw system nice.
If used correctly then you should be paying very little for your electricity. The trick is to run all your washing machines, dishwashers etc during the day when you are at work and you should make quite a good saving.
It's a shame that when PV came out and was being pushed big time about 10 years ago too many people went out and bought fields and filled them full of panels making what was and probably still is referred to as PV farms and this knocked the price of the feed in tariff down from 45p or 49p a unit of electricity. I think it dropped to something like 30p a unit? It has been dropping ever since as the government realised the figures were unsustainable. When the feed in tariff was around 45p a unit the time it would take a standard household system to break even allowing for the cost of the system and fitting etc was about 10 years if I remember correctly? Now it is a lot longer than that, thanks to all the PV farms
You do or at least to get 3 lots of payback or savings from a PV system. The amount the system is capable of providing and this was a deemed figure going by the system fitted, the amount of electricity the system put back into the grid that you didn't use and the amount you used that your system supplied.
One thing you had to be careful about was if you had an older electric meter and your PV system was producing more than you were using the meter actually went backwards. If this happened you had to get your meter changed as your electricity supplier didn't like it very much obviously.
The Daily pond temp thread
Yep , forecast snow here ! Hoping so more money to be made gritting lol Sent from my SM-S918B...