Electrical Expense.

[sdellin]

Does anyone know where the electrical expense is in fishkeeping? My husband thinks it's the pumps and powerheads running all the time. I was thinking lighting, but we have heaters as well.

Assuming you have a typical setup, couple powerheads, heater, canister filter, protein skimmer pump and 260 watts of lighting could you narrow down the items using the most electricity? I'm just curious on whether or not it's the combination or if there's a real culprit there.

 

[Gatorfreak]

I'm pretty sure it's the lighting. I have a 90 gal with 350 watts and several PHs and a Mag 7. I once added it all up based on the electric rates in my area and it came to about $18/month. Remember that the lights and heaters don't run 24 hours/day like the pumps.

 

[aznbob]

Just check the wattage of all the equipments. That's the number that tells you how much energy is used per hour. Then calculate or guess how many hour it's on per day. Multiply the two and compare. I would say that hands down it's the lighting.

 

[sdellin]

I would think lighting as well. Thanks for the opinions.

 

[bromion]

Powerheads or pumps running all the time can add up. Assume each takes 10W, which is reasonable, and you have 5 of them running 24x7. That means you spend 33.6 KWh per month on powerheads. If you have 400W lighting running 8hr/day, you spend about 96 KWh per month on lighting. Half that if you only have 200W lighting (48 KWh/month). If you have external filtration that will add some costs, too, depending on the type. Heating should be fairly negligible since the heater is on sporadically.

So, depending on your setup, you may very well be spending more on pumps/powerheads than lighting. They're probably pretty close in most cases.

I spend most on lighting, since I have a 400W that runs about 8hr/day.

 

[fishfreek]

Use this to get a rough idea on what a tank would cost.

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/calcs2.php?type=electric

 

[Brenden]

I have around 12,000 GPH of flow in my tank so I am sure it contributes but by far I would say lighting is my biggest expense.