451$$ electric bill???

[ifirefight]

YUP, thats what FPL says... How much should it cost to run a 130 gallon...2 175 watt MH,320 vhos 8 hours a day,octpuss NW 200 skimmer, 2 hydor koralliias number3,little giant 4 mdsq-sc,uv steralizer, thats about it.... I think my highest bill before I ever got before this tank was 300 something.... It cant possibly cost 150 dollars a month to run this tank... I will look at ALL my FPL bills in the morning and compare KW hours used last year to this year... Just wonder what everybody thinks this should run a month...Im guessing more in the 50-60 dollar range.

 

[jrthomas40]

300/month is high any way why is it regularly so much

 

[joncat24]

My bill went up around 120 a month with my 180 with 1100 watts lighting and skimmer pumps, and approx 7000 gph water flow from various pumps.

 

[ifirefight]

Originally Posted by joncat24
My bill went up around 120 a month with my 180 with 1100 watts lighting and skimmer pumps, and approx 7000 gph water flow from various pumps.
HMMMM,,,,,,,,,,,OK.... might actually be the tank. I cant really pinpoint anything different except I added the other MH,and the skimmer and the uv.. well..its worth every penny either way.

 

[ifirefight]

Originally Posted by jrthomas40
300/month is high any way why is it regularly so much
I live in South Florida and its always 75 degrees in my house 24/7...so my A/C works OT.3 refridgertors,swimming pool,hot-tub, kids leave every light on in the house..

 

[zman1]

It's fairly simple to calculate the direct cost. The only thing that's difficult to figure is the additional load it puts on the HVAC system with the MH heat and water evap. With a Psychometric chart you can get close.
If you know what your Kwh rate is and the equipment wattage.
Example:
250Watt MH (280W ea x 2) light with T5 (54w x2?) and moon lights (not worth calculating)
2 Maxi-jet 1200 (20W x2)
1 Maxi-jet 600 (7.5W)
Mag 7 pump (70W)
10 watt Aqualight in sump
300Watt heater
Let's say
MH 2 x 280W = 560Wh or .560 KWh X 8 hours a day = 4.58KWH per day
T5 2X54W = 108Wh or .108 KWh X 10 hours a day = 1.08 KWH per day
Max 1200 20Wx2 = 40Wh or .040KWh x 24 hours = .96 KWh per day
Max 600 1x7.5Wh or .0075KWh x 24 = .18 KWh per day
Mag 7 pump 1x70Wh or .070 KWh X 24 = 1.68 KWh per day
Aqua light 1x10Wh or .010 KWh X12 hours = .12 KWh per day
Heater 1x300Whr or .3 KWh x ? say 4 hours = 1.2 KWh per day
9.8 Kwh a day x 30 days = 295 KWH a month
295 KWH a month X your rate = Monthly cost
Example 295 x.13 = $38.22
Change the durations you will be running the items, add up the KiloWattHours and then multiple by your rate for a daily cost. Then by the number of days you want. I went high on the MH they do comsume more than they are rated at on the lamps.
https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/266094/electricity-bill#post_2082484

 

[teresaq]

right there with you. Had to get chains for all the fans, and make sure kids turn off all lights. Ours was that high this month too. I wish it would cool down some. Southwest Fla too.
TeresaQ

 

[o2ngk]

$451/month seems way too high just for the equipments .. something else is running and you need to conserve man .. really $451/mo for a home is a lot?

 

[octoman]

Originally Posted by o2ngk
$451/month seems way too high just for the equipments .. something else is running and you need to conserve man .. really $451/mo for a home is a lot?

Maybe he needs to turn off the lights for the marijuana farm in the basement. j/k
Damn i thought my electric bill was expensive at $140

 

[cubsfan]

I have 3 tanks, 90, 20 ,15 and powerheads, pumps and lights and mine is only $100 a month

 

[ghiggi]

My electric bill jumped from $250 to over $400 in one month this summer. It turned out the relay to the fan on our central air unit went out. A $50 service fee and $10 to replace the relay and we are back to normal size bills.
When I upgraded to 2x400w MH on 8 hrs a day, I noticed my electric bill jumped about $30 a month. We pay $0.115 per Kwh here in Vegas.

 

[theappe3]

Well.... I work at FPL and I can tell you that your tank will raise your elec. bill, but not that much. The culprit of it all would be your a/c blasted at 75 deg. the 3 fridges and I wonder how long is your pool pump running. BTW our kwh rate for FPL is 11 cents per kwh.

 

[scsinet]

All I can say is welcome to my world.
Fish tanks and computers... they add up.

 

[devil dog]

Your lights are the only thing that I can see...
If you look and see how many amps you are using to run them... On my 400w MH if they are wired for 110v they will pull 4 amps each and if they are wired 220v they will pull 2 amps each.
Your lights are about that same so if you have them wired for 110v that is about 8 amps for 8 hours a day...That is like running a vacuum for that long!
But it should be round $150 to run that tank.
Next time you put a tank together you will have to look for stuff that will take less energy.
How long has your tank been running for? And is this your first big bill?

 

[theappe3]

Originally Posted by SCSInet
All I can say is welcome to my world.
Fish tanks and computers... they add up.

Im gonna have to agree.... everything adds up and you'd be surprised how fast they do.

 

[scsinet]

Originally Posted by Devil Dog
Your lights are the only thing that I can see...
If you look and see how many amps you are using to run them... On my 400w MH if they are wired for 110v they will pull 4 amps each and if they are wired 220v they will pull 2 amps each.
Your lights are about that same so if you have them wired for 110v that is about 8 amps for 8 hours a day...That is like running a vacuum for that long!
But it should be round $150 to run that tank.
Next time you put a tank together you will have to look for stuff that will take less energy.
How long has your tank been running for? And is this your first big bill?
Just to be completely clear to everyone here, this doesn't mean that running your stuff on 220v causes it to consume less energy.

 

[devil dog]

Originally Posted by SCSInet
Just to be completely clear to everyone here, this doesn't mean that running your stuff on 220v causes it to consume less energy.
Why do you say that? if you are useing less amps you are useing less energy

 

[ifirefight]

Originally Posted by Devil Dog

How long has your tank been running for? And is this your first big bill?
No,my tank is 10 months old. I recently upgraded the skimmer and added another MH, and a UV ster.. Its not really a big deal... My house was built in 92 so its not very energy efficient.My bill is always higher in the summer and its been a hot one this year. I also think FPL raised there rates because almost everybody I talk to says they have seen an increase in their bills. Now Im not sure of the temperature last year at this time ( may have been cooler ) BUT...according to my bill last year at this time I used 86KW per day and this time Im at 120KW per day...Nothing new really except the fish tank. I am going to add up all the equipment..just for fun and see if I can nail down the cost of this baby. I may need some help with the math though..

 

[saltn00b]

hey brett,
i live in my 3 BR house in tamarac. its an old innefficient "Tamarac Nightmare" as they call it. thankfully a brandnew AC unit. anyway for the last 3 months with my 150 running my bill has been at around 220.
keep in mind i am by myself and energy saving where i can. i turn off lights when not needed, turn off computers and keep the house at 78.

 

[scsinet]

Originally Posted by Devil Dog
Why do you say that? if you are useing less amps you are useing less energy

This is actually a very common misconception. If you are drawing less amps you are drawing less CURRENT, but not less electricity.
Current is dependant on voltage, but the universal measure of electrical energy consumption is watts, not amps.
Watts = Volts * Amps
Therefore:
115v * 4A = 460w
230V * 2A = 460w
Watts are the measure of consumption, and what the electric company bills you based on.
The main advantage of running at higher voltages is that it gets more efficient to transmit electricity over long distances at higher voltages because smaller wires can carry the same amount of power at higher voltages, and electricity moves over wires easier at higher voltages. However, in a residential scenario, the length of the circuits between your tank and the panelboard are not sufficient to reap any demonstrable benefit in this area.