Since it says Conservation I thought I would throw this out at you guys and see what comes back.

I'm in the process of building my own wind turbine for the sole purpose of running my reef tank (well some of it anyway).  Has anyone else looked at energy conservation as part of this hobby?  I'm really interested in getting off the grid (at least for my tank) and letting nature power things.  

Most of us are very big on aquacultured corals and preserving the reefs of our world, so I thought I would take it a step further and contribute to the environment by not using so much power but instead generate that power the "green" way.

Thoughts?  Comments?  I'd love to hear!!!

Are you talking about running lighting, heaters or just equipment?  I'm not an engineer, but I would look into the output vs. what you are trying to power.  I also don't know how well a wind turbine would work, you will also have to have some sort of back up for those days that aren't windy.  Definitely keep us updated!!!

I'm not big on alternative power methods either, but isn't solar a lot more effective and cheaper? Granted, sun in the winter is less effective but...

Regardless, I think it's awesome you are thinking about this! If you do it, make sure you document! I'd be real intersted to see how you make it work.

The wind turbine actually powers or recharges a bank of batteries that through a converter produce AC electricity.  Based on the number of batteries you have in series determines the amount of power you can get out of the system.  Solar works in the same way however you only get about 8 hours of "power".  I have priced the solar pannels and to do what I want I would have to spend nearly $5000.  The wind turbine I can actually build myself and it will generate more power then the solar panels that I would be able to afford.  I'll let you know how things work out I've ordered the motor or generator off of ebay for $45 bucks the rest is going to be a snap to get together.

Ziggy,

Power conservation, at least IMO represents one of the most important aspects of environmental preservation as a whole. Since many waterways, including the ocean have been horribly abused in the pursuit to generate power, green alternatives are very important and hobbyists work like what you are doing represents an important link in the chain.

I would be really interested in hearing how it works out. Green energy, architecture, and automobile powering is a big area of interest for me. Since we know that Global Warming is very hard on coral reef eco-systems, green power is a very exciting area to look into.