Bioreactor (Most Efficient Fuel Source)

[Nimarus]

Okay, I know a lot of people have talked about what they consider to be the best fuel source. Ease of gathering, amount of fuel per item, etc. I have been looking into finding the best fuel source I could find. Not by individual item, but by energy produced per fully stocked Bioreactor.

(Energy values from subnautica wiki)

At first, I thought "I'll just use the debug console to spawn some Reefback eggs, as they give 5,000 energy per Reefback. However, they take the entire reactor, and there wll be a time between Reefbacks, where it will provide no power! So, I looked at other things. Ampeels and Crabsnakes give 4,500, but take up 9 slots in the reactor. I could put some 1 slot fish and that would be good right?

I crunched some numbers, and it seems the best way to get as much energy as possible for a fully stocked Bioreactor, is to simply fill it completely with Reginalds. I've found them before in and around the safe shallows, so I could find them early in the game. According to the wiki, they give 1,100 energy per fish. That's 17,600 energy per fully stocked Bioreactor. If I put a 3x3 Ampeel in there with the rest of the space filled with Reginalds, I'd only get 12,200 energy.

I'll be testing to see how efficient this is, primarily to see if they can reproduce fast enough to use them for fuel. I have a thermal powered base with a Bioreactor as a supplimental energy source, so I don't forsee any problems. However, powering it with just the Reginalds may be another story.

If there are other factors I may have missed, please let me know.

[ImHelping]

You got it right. Fish is the most efficient.

The wiki may list the numbers, but it, and most people, never consider the SIZE situation. Instead bragging about stocking their bio-reactors with Lanternfruit, despite the fact a reactor fully loaded with fruit is still less than two peepers.

So all planters next to the reactor accomplish is "I'm too lazy to walk to the next room for fish from my tank/grab two whole fish on the way to my base outside".

On the opposite extreme, reefback babies taking up the entire tank add the extra wrinkle of having no way to know if your bio reactor is empty or not until you look in it and find that it is. Being able to stock it with multiple objects lets you get a better measure of it's consumption rate than "Is it empty. Yes/No".

However, the only real difference it makes is how often you need to restock the reactor. As it's output is always the exact same super slow amount no matter what is in there.

Food fish are double convenience down to the fact that if you are bothering with a containment tank, you're going to have plenty to spare (and most biomes always have some kind of fish you can grab anyways. Again, two peepers is more energy than a max load of fruit) Even Gary, the worst fish, is better than the best fruit by far.

[Mharr]

From the scanner report:
"Sociable, seen travelling in small pods, behavior consistent with low-level sentience."

Reefback babies.

You're a monster from space.

[ImHelping]

Originally posted by Mharr:

From the scanner report:
"Sociable, seen travelling in small pods, behavior consistent with low-level sentience."

Reefback babies.

You're a monster from space.

So much the better that I don't bother using them as fuel, then.

I get to be practical, AND have the moral high ground! Anything I toss in the reactor is something I was going to eat anyways, (or something that would want to eat me)

[Mharr]

Yes, they're fortunate that the science worked out in their favour, Herr Doktor.

[ImHelping]

Originally posted by Mharr:

Yes, they're fortunate that the science worked out in their favour, Herr Doktor.

Now now. The gas torpedoes are too garbage to make that comparison. Get back to me when they can melt a warper.

[Mharr]

Okay, you win. :D

Damn, but the Steam forums need a scoring system.

[ImHelping]

Originally posted by Mharr:

Okay, you win. :D

Damn, but the Steam forums need a scoring system.

My score would wildly fluctuate based on how many newbies are on a forum vs how many bitter "I think scurvy is a lore friendly and realistic neccesity" live in residents are on any given games forum.

From here to Darksouls, I seem to be at my best trying to give true facts to the new guys. "Sure you COULD just 'git gud'... Or you could remember that tiny half lightning damage crossbow (That everyone ignores because it's no good for PvP) with basically no requirements and laugh as you shred the Nameless king's first phase with your pea shooter"

[BlackWater]

If your quick, loot the thermal vents, LOTS of rotten cooked fish in those, perfect for bio-fuel, were talking 50+ fish sometimes.

[straykaiya]

Reginalds are indeed the most efficient. Later in teh game you will be able to breed fish. I recommend building a multi story breeding pen, as reginalds are some of the best food for you and your reactor. Early game, jamming anything in there "works" eggs, seaweed, koosh, fruit.

[Geno Five-Two Chiliad]

Eels. Go get two eggs and drop them in a containment tank. Bioreactors are only intended to supplement your main power source. You should be using nuclear, solar or thermal.

[ImHelping]

Originally posted by BioAnagram:

Eels. Go get two eggs and drop them in a containment tank. Bioreactors are only intended to supplement your main power source. You should be using nuclear, solar or thermal.

True facts about supplementary. I always love having at minimum one of them because they are a great insurance policy for keeping the lights and air on. But their output is so slow they can't be a mainstay except for a minimalist outpost you only fabricate a small handfull of items.

I haven't tested recently how they hold up against battery and cell charging. But as ever the biggest factor is how long it takes for them to charge up even when not being drained.

They CAN be used as a "Primary power source" for stopover outposts. But not for any fully kitted out base that actually sees honesty regular use instead of "I only ever park here when it's been so long they've charged to max"

[Mharr]

Originally posted by BlackWater:

If your quick, loot the thermal vents, LOTS of rotten cooked fish in those, perfect for bio-fuel, were talking 50+ fish sometimes.

I think you might have spotted a significant lag source there.

[Mharr]

Question, is there a maximum height for bases, or can you always build a turbolift to the surface and throw a solar array on top?

[BlackWater]

Originally posted by Mharr:

Originally posted by BlackWater:

If your quick, loot the thermal vents, LOTS of rotten cooked fish in those, perfect for bio-fuel, were talking 50+ fish sometimes.

I think you might have spotted a significant lag source there.

All the more reason to harvest them and get them into that reactor.

[cwsumner]

Originally posted by Mharr:

Originally posted by BlackWater:

If your quick, loot the thermal vents, LOTS of rotten cooked fish in those, perfect for bio-fuel, were talking 50+ fish sometimes.

I think you might have spotted a significant lag source there.

Interesting! Does that mean that we can locate unusual things by noting where we get lag? 8-)

More to the point, if I can't find the TrashCan, can I use the bioreactor to get rid of things without causing lag?