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

[superduperwesman]

I think my tank only cost me around $10 a month ahah... except I don't actually pay for the electricity

[my2rotties]

Well then you must have some deep pockets to spring for some of our bills... Should have gt a nano...

Originally Posted by superduperwesman

I think my tank only cost me around $10 a month ahah... except I don't actually pay for the electricity

[JDigital]

Originally Posted by mseepman

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

I don't see how large returns would gobble up power. Most of the pumps I have seen for returns/closed loops are Reeflo pumps, and the popular ones, like the Snapper, Dart, & Barracuda, are equivalent to 1-4 household light bulbs running, and that's when they are running fully open, if you have them dialed back the power usage drops accordingly. At least I think that's what I saw on a chart at the LFS.

[Tom R]

Originally Posted by mseepman

I did get a Kill-o-Watt Meter and check all my devices.
Beyond the lights, I think it's often the big returns that gobble up power on your large tanks.

I am running a good size system and I calculated my electrical cost to be approx. $50 per month. I have used the RC calculator to approximate the cost of electricity consumed. I am very careful when selecting new equipment to ensure that electrical consumption is a consideration. My main system return is an Ampmaster pump and it uses about half of the power that Reeflow pumps use. Tunze product are also very low consumers as well.

http://reefcentral.com/calc/tank_elec_calc.php

Tom R