Electricity

[Ocicat]

So I made the mistake of reading the "Cost for your SW Setup" thread... 8O

I am prepared for the initial costs of equipment, rock, etc, but I was surprised by some of the estimates of monthly costs, particularly electricity. Will my electricity bill really jump dramatically if I get a large (ie, 120-gal) tank? Is this a factor of lighting choices more than anything else, or are the pumps, skimmers, etc, equally responsible? I think I'm hooked on this already, but I do want a clear idea of what I'm in for!

 

[seaham358]

It will jump up... I have a 125 with a return pump, skimmer, heaters then a fuge with lights for that!!! It all adds up. If your run MH lighting I would say your going to use more electricity then someone using VHO lighting.
If you really like the fish and the corals you will just have to bite the bullet and pay the extra cost that comes with the hobby.
I don't have exact numbers but I would say that my bill is up a extra $30-40 a month with the 2 tanks..

 

[greenmaji]

the price of electricity really isnt that bad usually (depending on the market) in most areas its 8 cents per kilowatt hour.. thats like 2-500watt MH bulbs burning for 1 hour..
It can be calculated before hand to give you a grip on what your going to be paying before the bill shows up.. but it can add up..
The big consumers of electricity in a house are central air and heat and water heaters IME; so it depends on how efficient those systems are as to how high your bill will be.. HTH

 

[fishfreek]

We have an electrcity calculator that will help you estimate the cost increase. The biggest cost increases would be with high output lights. On a 120 gal tank if you set it up with a reef its not to unreasonable to expect 500+ Watts of light over the tank. Given most of our lights are on 10-12 hours a day that can add a few $ to the monthly bill.

 

[ellisz]

I have been looking at electricty costs as of late since my electric bill is over $300!

I bought a device call kill-a-watt. I measures you killawatt/hr usage. My cost per hr is $0.077. This is what I found:

Display Tank 75 gal
2x250 MH with 2x54 T5
2 moonlights
2 maxijet 1200
2 Seio 620
1 DJ switching timer for PH's
This is is costing me about $15 month

Sump
1 300 watt heater
2 Mag 7's
1 maxijet 1200
1 Mak4(PCX40)
2 20 watt PC bulbs for refugium light
1 top off pump
This is about $15 month

I did not measure the frag tank lights, heater, ph and dehumidifier yet. I figure the tank is costing me about $40 on the low side.

Just an FYI, I leave my PC on all the time and the PC, router,modem and monitor cost about $8 month.

HTH

 

[gfishguy56]

These days the extra electricty cost is nowhere near as painful as filling up my SUV with gas very week...

 

[AndyH5512]

Isnt that the truth, Gfishguy.....