While on vacation I took the opportunity to test out the life support gear with a real habitat, in a real lake. Depth was about 4 feet, power coming in from the solar panels averaged 39 watts, power draw from the air pump and heaters totaled 8 watts.
Looks like I was overly conservative in prior estimates. In the Summer at least, this should prove to be more than necessary by a long shot. It's nice to have that safety margin when lives are on the line.
Not much to see underwater as I kicked up a lot of sand and debris walking around, emplacing the habitat. I didn't get many photos as the battery ran out soon after this and I forgot the charger for this specific type of camera battery. Fuck you, Olympus, let me charge your camera the same way I charge my phone!
This one's a bit more clear, the debris cloud has settled but it's off kilter. Still gives a good idea of what conditions are like in the lake and what sort of scenery a hamsternaut would see outside the habitat.
