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aquarium portrait | INKEN KRAUSE<br />
An energy-saving<br />
Swiss aquarium<br />
created by Ruedi Furter and Brigitte Utz<br />
ALL: I. KRAUSE<br />
I<br />
Above: The blending of LED lighting and<br />
natural sunlight during the day is very<br />
attractive. Right: owners Brigitte and Ruedi<br />
enjoy their 925-gallon (3,500-L) reef.<br />
n documenting the construction of this aquarium<br />
on our website, we explained that it all began with<br />
a little Pacific Blue Tang in a 105-gallon (400-L)<br />
aquarium. Two years later we had graduated to a<br />
265-gallon (1,000-L) aquarium. But we soon outgrew<br />
that as well, and we now enjoy the 925-gallon<br />
(3,500-L) aquarium portrayed here.<br />
Due to a number of adaptations we have made<br />
over time, we can now happily describe our tank as an<br />
energy-saving system. Initially, in the spring of 2007,<br />
it was illuminated by two 1,000-watt units and run by<br />
high-output pumps from Troptronic—four PW16s with<br />
an output of 4,220 gallons (16,000 L) per hour for current<br />
and one PW8 at around 2,110 gallons (8,000 L) per<br />
hour as a return pump. Together with other equipment,<br />
such as protein skimmers and the calcium reactor still<br />
in use at that time, the total peak power consumption<br />
added up to around 3,000 watts—not excessive for an<br />
aquarium of this size.<br />
The first noteworthy change we made, intended to<br />
make our 925-gallon (3,500-L) reef aquarium more<br />
economical, involved the pumps. Current is now created<br />
by four Abyzz A400s (with 65 percent output during<br />
“flood” and 5 percent at “ebb”), and the return pump is<br />
an Abyzz A200 run at 100 percent output. These powerful<br />
pumps have a combined power consumption of just<br />
570 watts!<br />
We also recently converted to LED lighting technology.<br />
Ten 75-watt modules (Sol Blue from Aqua Illumination)<br />
provide enough light for the aquarium, even when<br />
it is operating at 85 percent output. This means that our<br />
living-room reef tank can be operated with a total peak<br />
power consumption of less than 1,500 watts.<br />
THE CONCEPT<br />
Because our aquarium was installed in the middle of our<br />
newly built living room and can be viewed from all four<br />
sides, we banished all the equipment to the cellar—there<br />
CORAL<br />
105
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