Electricity Bill!

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porschefrk

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Mar 4, 2005
Messages
14
Location
Quail Valley Ca
I just had a quick question, i just started a 120 gallon reef which uses a 1290 gph pump, and a 375w heater, and a 20w and 40w fluorescent bulbs, does this setup use up alot of electricity? I live at my parents house and i wanted to know if it uses lots of electricity, thanks.
 
Do you just have just 60w of light for a 120g reef tank? That would be plenty for a FO or FOWLR, but not nearly enough for a reef.

I'm not positive, but I don't think it will do much damage to your electricity bill.
 
In the calculator section of this site is a calculator that will figure out your electric bill. Check it out. 60 watts is definitely not enough for a reef. When you say reef what do you mean?
 
thanks i didnt know that i needed more light, they never mentioned anything about light at my local fish store. well i have a few corals like a colt coral and a gorgonian and some anenomes. ive had them for about 2 weeks and the anenomes for about 1 month in another tank (fish only). I also have a butterfly, a tang, and an angel. and a damsel which has survived through so much.
 
Don't know that much about corals but your defintely going to need alot more light. 3 watts per gallon is a commonly quoted figure. Have read anenomes can live in lower light levels if they are feed enough.
 
That tang needs to be in a larger tank too. Tangs are suggested to be in 75 gal or larger so they have plenty of swimming space... It may do fine in the 55 but keep it in mind when considering any other fish purchases.
 
My tanks with 400+w of light two 300W heaters and some misc powerheads and a return pump for the sump consume about $30month each. If you know all the equipment you can as stated use our electricty calc to help estimate monthly operating costs.
 
I'm not sure the anemone will survive at that lighting, same with the other corals, which appear to be much higher light species. Also it's not a good idea to add an anemone until the tank is at least 6 months old. You need a very mature, very stable tank for anemones...even the easy ones.
 
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