how do you guys afford the electricity?

fedel castro

fedel castro

Member
here's proof, i pull my hair out everytime i see it, pay it, etc...

bill go's up,up,up, for every tank i set up, can't wait till it go's down.
 
jmpowie

jmpowie

Member
$100 per month sounds crazy
I had a 75 gal with 2- 250watt mh running 8 hours a day, pizm pro running all the time, 4 powerheads all the time, 2- 250 watt heaters, quiet one pump for the wet/ dry. The biggest thing is I live in NH and have PSNH. Now I have a 24 gal nano with a 70 watt mh and it cost me maybe 10-15.00 a month
 
coraljunky

coraljunky

Active Member
Originally Posted by fedel castro
here's proof, i pull my hair out everytime i see it, pay it, etc...

bill go's up,up,up, for every tank i set up, can't wait till it go's down.
 
T

tiberius

Guest
Originally Posted by fedel castro
here's proof, i pull my hair out everytime i see it, pay it, etc...


bill go's up,up,up, for every tank i set up, can't wait till it go's down.
To house all those tanks you have, your square footage must be huge anyways. Mine only went up $20. since last year. I only have the 110g and keep the A/C set at 80. Plus, I have no pool and my bill is $150 this month.
Have fun traveling the world! Go scuba diving every where you can!
 
fedel castro

fedel castro

Member
Originally Posted by Tiberius
To house all those tanks you have, your square footage must be huge anyways. Mine only went up $20. since last year. I only have the 110g and keep the A/C set at 80. Plus, I have no pool and my bill is $150 this month.
Have fun traveling the world! Go scuba diving every where you can!
boy, my house is small, but i can fit them in ,lol.
and yes i want to go scuba diving, and some diving in some of our worlds best reef's that ARE LEFT ON EARTH.
 
chris22582

chris22582

Member
You sure can. lol I dont think you could fit too many more in there. ITs not a small house but not big either. Teco loves you Laz. lol
 
srfisher17

srfisher17

Active Member
Originally Posted by jonthefishguy
My home aquarium pulls 250 per month alone. We estimated the kilowatts being used by the aquarium and well, doubled the bill from 250 to 500. Oh well, no one said this hobby was cheap.
Come'on dont be so gulible! That doesnt work. There is a sucker born everyday. By the way, here is a link that debunks it. (Boy, this reply seems oddly familiar!)
https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/288970/451-electric-bill
 
teen

teen

Active Member
i just run an extension cord from my neighbors yard into my room.

but seriously, im not sure how much its costing to run my tank.
 
vito525

vito525

Member
I'm in the opposite boat. I moved from an apartment to a house, a bigger house. I upgraded from a 55 to a 75g tank. I run my lights 8 hours a day, 5 powerheads, skimmer etc. My electric bill actually went DOWN from what it was in the apartment. Weird.
 
srfisher17

srfisher17

Active Member
I live in N.E. Tennessee. I didn't break down the whole thing; but I assume lighting is the biggest elec user in any reef set-up. (Maybe a chiller.) I could run 1000 watts of lighting, 12 hours a day, for $26.64 a month; A 1200gph (8.4 watts) Koralia pump, running 24/7 would cost about 45cents a month. A 1hp chiller, running,12 hrs a day (a lot) would cost $16.56 monthly.
 
limitedslip

limitedslip

Member
mines pretty low, and im running a 125 w/ 2 175w metal halides, 2 150watt heaters (off most of the time since the metal halides keep the tank constant anyway), return pump, and 3 maxijet 1200s(2 hooked up to PS's). ill be downgrading the lighting soon , since it is a FOWLR, so itll go down even more ><...Im glad my bill is a community bill in my apartment
(entire building gets added together, then divided by number of aparments and relative size). But i called my electricity provider, and im in the middle of the spetrum of my complex, must be all those dumb kids blasting radios and leaving lights/tv on 24/7
 
tx reef

tx reef

Active Member
Originally Posted by jonthefishguy
My home aquarium pulls 250 per month alone. We estimated the kilowatts being used by the aquarium and well, doubled the bill from 250 to 500. Oh well, no one said this hobby was cheap.

Are you sure about that?
I have.....
2 - Seio 2600s
2 - Koralia #4s
1 - E.T.S.S. Reef Devil Skimmer w/ Mag 7
1 - Return Pump
2 - 250 Watt MH
2 - 65 Watt PC Actinics
2 - 75 Watt VHO Actinics
1 - Reactor Running Carbon w/MJ 1200
1 - CA 2200 Pump (constantly mixing fresh saltwater)
This is all in a 54 gallon corner. Small tank, but a whole lot of equipment. My electric bill went up approx. $20.
 
zman1

zman1

Active Member
Originally Posted by earlybird
I wonder... has anyone ever been suspected by the "law" with higher electric bills possibly thinking you're growing illegal plants?
I haul a lot of water and I fear my neighbors think I've got a meth lab or something.
They have used Infrared in the police helicopters to look for heat signatures of Sodium grow lights over homes. So MH could give you a larger than normal heat signature if you run them at night -LOL
 
zman1

zman1

Active Member
Of a typical tank - The lights and heater are the big direct consumers of power when running. Non-typical is a chiller, this would be in the direct big category.
Indirect energy cost would be that your HVAC system would have to work harder to maintain your comfort level. This is from the heat added to the house from the lights and moisture from evaporation, this is in the summertime. Winter - one way to cut down on heating cost is to humidify the air. Higher RH allows a lower sensible temp to feel comfortable, but you can have more condensation on windows and frames etc...
 
zman1

zman1

Active Member
Originally Posted by fedel castro
here's proof, i pull my hair out everytime i see it, pay it, etc...


bill go's up,up,up, for every tank i set up, can't wait till it go's down.
I am surprised they haven't pulled the meter. I assume the number in the lower left is the due OCT bill. You're carrying a three month total due $2873. $9XX a month average? Wow - that's a lot.
 
srfisher17

srfisher17

Active Member
Some of the elec bill amounts being attributed to fishkeeping are sure starting another dreaded "Aquarium Myth". These high numbers are absolutely impossible, IMO; and if I'm wrong, I'll apologize. If someone really wants help please post 1.) your equipment, including "watts", or even ". HP" 2.) The hours you use each device each day 3.) The cost per kilowatt hour from your elec bill or company. Someone on this site will do the math. Powerheads, small pumps,etc use so little elec, you don't even need to count them. I havent taken the time to figure my bigger tanks. But, my 55 gal, "small fish", no frills tank uses under $8 a month. 3-40watt bulbs, HOT skimmer, 2HOT filters, 2PH, and a heater that is seldom, if ever used. I even add a buck for the PH & heater in my water change system. I pay 7.4 cents per KWH.
 
turtle66

turtle66

New Member
Originally Posted by earlybird
I wonder... has anyone ever been suspected by the "law" with higher electric bills possibly thinking you're growing illegal plants?
I haul a lot of water and I fear my neighbors think I've got a meth lab or something.

My tank is in our front room and our house has windows up near the ceiling. Needless to say, at night, the house glows a purplish-blue color and if we open the tank lid - WWWWHHHOOOAAA!!!![/ We did have a couple of neighbors ask us what was up with that.... But the law hasn't shown up...yet.
 
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