electricity bill ?

[sniper]

Our electricity bill came today and my moms trippen cuzz she said it came high
does any one els bill kum high since you had and aquarium?? i have a filter a air pump and a 200 watt heater and 2 15 watt lights but i only turn one of them on in the afternoon does that really use up alot of electricity??????

 

[mfdrookie516]

my electric bill only went up a couple dollars a month once i started getting aquariums. last year, it was $3 lower than this year and I have 4 tanks set up, 6 filters, 4 heaters, and the lights on all of them. In a more high tech setup like reef or high tech planted, the cost of lighting alone will raise the bill alot. thats JME of course

 

[HN1]

That hurts my brain to read a little....

I'd guess that setup would cost no more than 25 cents per day or so depending on lighting duration, room temp, etc. Just basing that off of increases we've seen as we've added tanks.

 

[Lowryder]

I have 4 aquariums. 160 watts of lighting combined and 4 heaters. I have noticed a $1 change in the lasst 4 months. All my lights are on a 12/12 cycle. Where do you live? Do you have electric heat?

 

[cwt]

I have a gadget called a 'Kill-a-watt'... it's an electric usage meter that you plug stuff into, and it tells you how many watts a device uses, and over time how many kilowatt/hours are used. Filters use very little juice, and lights use what's stated on the bulb (24W comes out to about 24W, believe it or not). But that 200W heater... how big is your tank? That's a lot of heating capacity.

 

[sniper]

do you guys think my mom is BS me cuz she wants me to pay half the bill and i keep telling her to show me the past bills of when i didnt have a aquarium but she wont im thinkin its probly the big screen in the living room

 

[sniper]

i have a 55 gallon tank and i live in Sacramento Ca

 

[Lowryder]

and lights use what's stated on the bulb (24W comes out to about 24W, believe it or not). .

Not exactly. I am an electrical engineer. 24 watts doesnt mean 24 watts. 24 watts is the maximum potential draw off that fixture. A light my say 24 watts but it may only pull <24 watts. Measure your home 110 outlet, most time it doesnt read 110.

 

[HN1]

do you guys think my mom is BS me cuz she wants me to pay half the bill and i keep telling her to show me the past bills of when i didnt have a aquarium but she wont im thinkin its probly the big screen in the living room

Make her a realistic offer.... pay her $20 a month for the aquarium. Room and board is worth a bunch more. Half the electricity is probably a very good deal.

 

[Lowryder]

Make her a realistic offer.... pay her $20 a month for the aquarium. Room and board is worth a bunch more. Half the electricity is probably a very good deal.

+1 I didnt even think of that

 

[sniper]

Make her a realistic offer.... pay her $20 a month for the aquarium. Room and board is worth a bunch more. Half the electricity is probably a very good deal.

thats exactly wat im gona tell her because the bill came at $80 and she wanted $40

 

[mfdrookie516]

wow, an $80 electric bill? Mine was $78 this month and I have had the thermostat turned off the entire time (mine is usually ~$150)! There's no way your tank is costing even $20 a month, but if thats all you gotta pay, be happy!

 

[mgamer20o0]

tell her to check the rates. suck it up and pay or get a killowatt meter to prove how much power you are using.

 

[CA_BroncoFan]

i have a 55 gallon tank and i live in Sacramento Ca

Intersting since i live near sac too....pg&e is expensive irreguardless but i dont think its bad at all.

 

[BigJim]

I think my 20L bumped up my electric bill just a few dollars a month. That's an AC50, an AC30, a 100W heater, 36W of T5, and 52W of CFL.

 

[WhiteDevil]

Not exactly. I am an electrical engineer. 24 watts doesnt mean 24 watts. 24 watts is the maximum potential draw off that fixture. A light my say 24 watts but it may only pull <24 watts. Measure your home 110 outlet, most time it doesnt read 110.

I had a monster cable killawatt box, my 110 ran on the low side from 118 to a high side of 124v.

Sniper, nice name, when are you going to earn it?

I wanted to go sniper school but I was too trigger happy.


Also my electrical bill came in, over 200 bucks this time, 4 tanks,3 tv's,tons of lights( got a 4 and 5 yo kids). even power tools and battery chargers ect.

your tank does not equal HALF of an electric bill, shes blowing smoke, probably mad at something.

 

[Bige]

If you wanted to you,you could prove your case. Get a killowatt meter, this would show usage, then check rates on bill. This would be a round about way to tell. But, it is your mom, you should just pay her so you can enjoy your fish. She can't complain if your paying.

 

[brimac41]

$20 dollars a month is way more than fair to run your aquarium a month , let alone half of the bill , that's redonkulous . When I had 3 of my tanks up and running I noticed very little difference in my bill . A 30 gal aquarium costs about $ 4.17 a month to run , this is with the standard equipment eg; lights , filter , heater and air pump .

If we ever received an $80 electric bill , I would more than likely faint dead away and then be more than happy to pay it seeing how my bills run about $175 a month .