Just threw up in my mouth a little bit... the electricity bill came

[sphelps]

Most of us will always get hit with a high electric bill every few months. The Electric company invoices monthly rates based on estimates. Then every few months (depending) you will get an actual reading. For some people they may even get a discount but anyone in the hobby will likely get a large bill. You can call the electric company and have the estimates changed if you want.

Bottom line is you're not paying $400 a month, you just didn't pay enough on your last few bills to cover the actual usage. Next month it will be back down to what it was before.

[24storm]

Originally Posted by phreezee

Same here, after adding 4 powerheads, 2 250W MH, and the 6 bulb TekLight, the bill was $359! I'm with Enmax, so maybe I would have broke $400 with Direct Energy...

See these look more realistic. This is what i end up with as well i have approx 350 gallons with 3 400 watts 4 48" T5s 2 tunze power heads 2 tunze wav boxes Dart return pump bubble king skimmer a chiller that does not run in the winter and my last bill was just under 500. I am always blown away at peolpe who try to say that their tank only costs 60 80 dollars a month to run. I must be doing something wrong. Before i had a tank 3 years ago our bill was approx 150 a month.

[marie]

I'm paying $160 a month on an equal payment plan and so far I've paid more then I have actually used. If my hydro ever reaches $400 a month I'm quitting

[Mrfish55]

My last bill was $569.00, if it comes in that high again this month please watch for the shutting down tank sale!!

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

I add up the wattage of my equipment x the number of hours each set is on per day and multiply by 30. Then I multiply that by the $/kwh.

My systems are mainly low power, with the exceptions being 3 x 250w MH on for 10 hours/day. I also have 4 Sedra 9000 pumps going 24/7 (2 skimmer @ 55w/2 returns @ 90w) and those are my main draws.

Low power lighting over the fowlr, seahorse, goldfish, sump & shrimp tanks & med. power (4 x 55w PC) over the planted community. The HOB & cannister filters, powerheads & such draw very little & I keep my tank temps on the low side with no ill effects. Until a couple days ago, didn't even have a heater plugged into the reef tank & the fish/corals were fine in the low-mid 70s. On my other tanks, I estimate the heaters to be on 12 hours/day or less.

In the winter, my bill rises due to heaters but not huge.

I made sure I went with slow flow for the returns so less power needed (some friends use 300w return pumps for instance).

My wife's goldfish tank probably draws 50 watts max/hour with lights for 8 hours & 30w for the other 16 hours daily.

I use a clip on light with a 27 watt Phillips Daylight CFL bulb over my sump & 2 over my seahorse tank. (in other words, a Tek HOT5 is way over kill for a sump light)

The 210g reef draws approx. 315 watts 24/7 (pump, powerheads, skimmer, fuge light, 80w UV) and 1065 watts for 10 hours when the MH lights come on. At $.065/kwh (old rate), that's $.69 for 10 hrs & then $.29 for the other 14 hours. That's roughly a dollar for the reef or $30/month for my reef tank. All the other tanks' equipment combined do not equal what my reef tank draws. My rough calculations is $1/day for the other 5 tanks.

Actually, with those 2 new tanks I added since I last did this calculation, I guess I'm up to $60/month for powering this addiction. Averages out to $10/tank since I have 6 different tanks running. Not bad.

I know it's too late (you've already bought and installed your equipment) but there are low power alternatives to many things needed for the tanks. I went from a 250w MH pendant over my seahorse tank to 2 x 27w clip on CFL lights. I harvest and sell my macro every week or two, so they work fine for nutrient export. I have smaller heaters (150w to 200w) and keep my tank temps in the low to mid 70s without any issues.

It sounds like you have your sump in the basement & so you need a high power pump to send water up 10+ feet to the display tank, whereas I can get away with a 90w Sedra.

Anthony

[Pan]

Originally Posted by SeaHorse_Fanatic

I add up the wattage of my equipment x the number of hours each set is on per day and multiply by 30. Then I multiply that by the $/kwh.

My systems are mainly low power, with the exceptions being 3 x 250w MH on for 10 hours/day. I also have 4 Sedra 9000 pumps going 24/7 (2 skimmer @ 55w/2 returns @ 90w) and those are my main draws.

Low power lighting over the fowlr, seahorse, goldfish, sump & shrimp tanks & med. power (4 x 55w PC) over the planted community. The HOB & cannister filters, powerheads & such draw very little & I keep my tank temps on the low side with no ill effects. Until a couple days ago, didn't even have a heater plugged into the reef tank & the fish/corals were fine in the low-mid 70s. On my other tanks, I estimate the heaters to be on 12 hours/day or less.

In the winter, my bill rises due to heaters but not huge.

I made sure I went with slow flow for the returns so less power needed (some friends use 300w return pumps for instance).

My wife's goldfish tank probably draws 50 watts max/hour with lights for 8 hours & 30w for the other 16 hours daily.

I use a clip on light with a 27 watt Phillips Daylight CFL bulb over my sump & 2 over my seahorse tank. (in other words, a Tek HOT5 is way over kill for a sump light)

The 210g reef draws approx. 315 watts 24/7 (pump, powerheads, skimmer, fuge light, 80w UV) and 1065 watts for 10 hours when the MH lights come on. At $.065/kwh (old rate), that's $.69 for 10 hrs & then $.29 for the other 14 hours. That's roughly a dollar for the reef or $30/month for my reef tank. All the other tanks' equipment combined do not equal what my reef tank draws. My rough calculations is $1/day for the other 5 tanks.

Actually, with those 2 new tanks I added since I last did this calculation, I guess I'm up to $60/month for powering this addiction. Averages out to $10/tank since I have 6 different tanks running. Not bad.

I know it's too late (you've already bought and installed your equipment) but there are low power alternatives to many things needed for the tanks. I went from a 250w MH pendant over my seahorse tank to 2 x 27w clip on CFL lights. I harvest and sell my macro every week or two, so they work fine for nutrient export. I have smaller heaters (150w to 200w) and keep my tank temps in the low to mid 70s without any issues.

It sounds like you have your sump in the basement & so you need a high power pump to send water up 10+ feet to the display tank, whereas I can get away with a 90w Sedra.

Anthony

hehehehe....wifes goldfish tank...

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

Originally Posted by Pan

hehehehe....wifes goldfish tank...

Ask my friends. She made me tear down a 6'6" planted community discus tank over a 6' rainbow/congo tetra tank, then tells me she wants a fancy goldfish tank as I'm draining my tanks of water.

[christyf5]

Originally Posted by 24storm

How does every one know what there tanks cost per month. I have tried those calculators and such. But i still get a very high bill. And the bill does not break out my tank for me. Since i have had a tank i have seen my bill increase quite a bit. But i cannot say my tank costs 200 a month or 50 a month, How do others come up with tank costs. It seams like every month enmax has a new fee for this or that.

I moved in with my boyfriend (now husband) and his bill was about $40-50 per month without me and about $100-$110 with me. I'd say thats pretty much my tank that took care of the increase. Previously I had run it through that calculator on RC which gave me about the same values.

[mseepman]

I don't have a large tank yet but with my 70 and my HQI nano I only burn about $17/mth. I did get a Kill-o-Watt Meter and check all my devices though when I set things up and I had a quietone pump that was pulling 3x what they said it would. I got it replaced and now it reads really close to what it should.

Beyond the lights, I think it's often the big returns that gobble up power on your large tanks.

[mark]

My total household electrical bill last month was $199.80 with Epcor's rate 10 to 12 cent for the period (interesting how the rate changes throught out the period but yet they estimate usage).

Using RC calculator, tank is about $70/mon. Thinking about throwing some frags in the sump and adding a 175W MH, would expect to add about another $7.00 a month. Sell one frag for $10.00, I'm making money.