Electrical

This bill arrived last night, and I was grinning from ear to ear.

Every year, Texas residents have the right to pick a power company via a website called powertochoose.org and I found a company called Hino two months ago. My previous contract just expired a couple of days before. As I looked at this list of companies, I spotted this offer and couldn't believe my eyes.

I called the company to find out what the fine print hid from ...

As the years go by, equipment gets old and eventually fails. I've used UPS (uninterrupted battery system) to keep things running when the power goes out initially. They are designed for computers, but I've used them to run pumps, powerheads, and the Apex. Over the past 60 days, I've had some really old one die. When they do, they bleep or blare a never ending sound which indicates it needs a new internal battery.

However, mine are really old and once that happens, my faith waivers ...

That's a good question, and any hobbyist that has been reefing for a while begins to try to figure out what the tank costs them, electricity-wise. I've done a couple of blogs pertaining to the 280g reef, found here: http://www.melevsreef.com/labels/electricity.html

My overall estimate for the 400g is about $85 per month, but it may be worth figuring up the total wattage again now that it's 2014. My latest electric bill came in, and the graph showing usage for the past 13 months was ...

In my neighborhood, power goes out from time to time. It may be a few minutes, or an hour. About two or three times a year, it will go out for a longer period of time, which is precisely why I own a generator. I've written about how it is used, as well as good maintenance tips for long term use. Here's the full write up: http://www.reefaddicts.com/content.p...tect-your-reef

There are a few drawbacks to using a generator. Fumes ...

Right before my trip to Arizona, I spent Thursday installing the Apex controller on my system, replacing the Aquacontroller 3 that I've had for several years. I prefer never to make a big change before a trip, but the AC3 had to be rebooted internally and I lost connectivity with it. Unable to check on the tank over the web when traveling is bad news, so I gritted my teeth and took the plunge and hoped that I would get lucky this time.

What I have is the Apex brain, the display ...