800 gallon L - Shape Custom Build

[Ibrahim]

I think your pricing estimates are way high. Initial setup will be spendy but yearly costs should not be THAT bad.

I agree. There's a 700g reef build on this site and he pays $50 monthly. He uses LEDs but I don't think it'd cost more than $100-$150 per month if he uses halide or t5s

 

[Sqasnatch]

I don't think halides would run that much would they. Your aquarium will heat your entire house. No need for heat in the winter.lol

 

[Gti_Leo]

mr.x runs 12 x 54watt t5s and ask him how much extra his bills are a months. think about lighting an 800g L shaped tank plus the water used and the extra heat and the massive pumps you'll need to move the water around it. also we are talkign about canada here, in ontario our electricity has three different price ranges, off peak hours are like 6.2 cents per kilowatt sub peaks is 9.2 cents and peak hours at 10.8 cents a kilowatt. off peak are i believe after 9 and no one will keep their lights on after that time, so you figure most of your power is on at peak hours and a few at sub peak and your lights are lets say 24x54watt = 1296 watts or 1.296 kilowatts, lights are on from 9 to 9 thats 12 hours, say its all off peak at 9.2 cents, thats 15.5 kwh at 9.2 $1.50 a day just on lighting, now lets not forget the monster recirc pumps that will pull atleast atleast 500 watts ALLLLL day, and the few hundred watt heaters. thats easily and extra atleast 200 a month on power. plus the cost of 100gallons a week of water and a 5 gallon bucket of salt a week, lets say a waterchange costs $100 a week at 52 weeks, thats $5200 just for waterchanges if they are done o na weekly bases bi weely is still $2600 not to mention the chemical dosing or media used, or poly filters.

who ever said they pay and extra $50 monthly is lying to you, the pumps alone will use more power then that. ask mr.x what he pays extra a months for his 265g and hes only running 12x54watt t5hos and a mag 7 pump plus his little power heads, heater and skimmer

 

[Gti_Leo]

I don't think halides would run that much would they. Your aquarium will heat your entire house. No need for heat in the winter.lol

heat is cheap natural gas isn't expensive, its keeping your house cool in the summer and the increase in AC usage to keep the temp at a comfortable level and a level that your tank doesn't boil.

 

[barterking85]

mr.x runs 12 x 54watt t5s and ask him how much extra his bills are a months. think about lighting an 800g L shaped tank plus the water used and the extra heat and the massive pumps you'll need to move the water around it. also we are talkign about canada here, in ontario our electricity has three different price ranges, off peak hours are like 6.2 cents per kilowatt sub peaks is 9.2 cents and peak hours at 10.8 cents a kilowatt. off peak are i believe after 9 and no one will keep their lights on after that time, so you figure most of your power is on at peak hours and a few at sub peak and your lights are lets say 24x54watt = 1296 watts or 1.296 kilowatts, lights are on from 9 to 9 thats 12 hours, say its all off peak at 9.2 cents, thats 15.5 kwh at 9.2 $1.50 a day just on lighting, now lets not forget the monster recirc pumps that will pull atleast atleast 500 watts ALLLLL day, and the few hundred watt heaters. thats easily and extra atleast 200 a month on power. plus the cost of 100gallons a week of water and a 5 gallon bucket of salt a week, lets say a waterchange costs $100 a week at 52 weeks, thats $5200 just for waterchanges if they are done o na weekly bases bi weely is still $2600 not to mention the chemical dosing or media used, or poly filters.

who ever said they pay and extra $50 monthly is lying to you, the pumps alone will use more power then that. ask mr.x what he pays extra a months for his 265g and hes only running 12x54watt t5hos and a mag 7 pump plus his little power heads, heater and skimmer

Yeah I dont know how it works I have 2-300 gallons couple 80's 40's 33's 20's 10's huge! Terrarium and I barely notice a difference in power maybe 60$ every 2 months but it's cheaper in nova scotia then Ontario obviously

 

[barterking85]

heat is cheap natural gas isn't expensive, its keeping your house cool in the summer and the increase in AC usage to keep the temp at a comfortable level and a level that your tank doesn't boil.

And if your house is properly insulated it will cost less to cool your house then heat it

 

[Fishkeeper92]

There might be some different factors since he's putting the tank in his massage therapy clinic and not his house. It might stay the same but he may have to run things different since its not always going to be in arms reach.

 

[audifusion]

I'm not expecting the cost to be as ridiculous as gti is predicting.

the pump pulls about 275 watts, and puts out quite a but of current. Limiting the amount of power heads I'll need.

the heaters total 600w and heat it up no problem.

My fish room is fully insulated, floor ceiling and all walls.

My pump room is insulated the same aswell, my sump is 2 ft off the ground to keep it away from the cool concrete.

I also put heat ducting in to both the display tank area and the pump/sump so that helps keep things warm.

Just installed a 97% efficiency furnace. Seems to be working pretty well, I keep the inside temp at a little under 75 degrees.

Also, with such a large amount of water, that I don't plan on overstocking with fish water changes shouldn't be too bad.

 

[mrbee2828]

Could you post some progress pics of the tank and filtration? Would love to see more!

 

[carey]

I second that request. lol I've been following along to see how this project turns out. The filtration would be a treat to see! At least I know I wanna see it! LOL

 

[Gti_Leo]

have you bought a skimmer yet? also what type of powerheads are you using? what about the lighting you plan on using?

 

[Gregcoyote]

I run a 20 year old 250 gallon reef. Pumps are in the basement, so I lift water up 12' from my sump (24 hours a day in power, about 4.8kw per day). It was lit with 1000 watts of MH (9 hours a day, 9kw a day) and the algae scrubber in the basement was lit with 500 watts of MH (4.5kw a day, 9 hours a day). I also had a 1/2 horsepower chiller about 4 hours a day with MH, 2kw a day).

We pay around 12 cents per kilowatt hour in winter and about 14 cents an hour in the summer. That adds up to about 20.3kw per day ($2.44 per day), or 609kw per month. In the winter this costs $73.08 and in the summer it costs $85.26 per month. When I went with LEDs I reduced this to 12.3kw per day or a total of 369kw per month, and a price of around $44 a month.

 

[carey]

Wow, what a difference the leds made. Good for you! Wish I could go totally over to leds, maybe one day....lol

 

[Fishkeeper92]

LED's are a major cost upfront for reef capable but save a lot in the long run. I wish i could afford better LED's so i could go reef.

 

[Gregcoyote]

Wow, what a difference the leds made. Good for you! Wish I could go totally over to leds, maybe one day....lol

Watts are watts. At a savings of $40 per month, it would only take me 5-7 years to justify! But if you add in bulb replacement and peace of mind, it makes sense. As powerful LEDs drop in price...this metric will really take hold and replace most other power hungry technologies.

 

[Gti_Leo]

oh i missed bulb cost too

but i agree with you greg, thats LEDs are becomign more popular in new construction, or the use of induction lighting and or fluorescent high bays for industial and big box stores liek home depot and wally mart

 

[Sqasnatch]

The only thing I don't like about the LEDs is from all the tests that I have seen, is that coloration and growth still seem to be better with halides and t5s. Otherwise I would have already made the change as well.

 

[Gti_Leo]

coloration really all has to do with the amount of UV light you have present which is the blue/violet spectrum. the corals flesh does the same thing our skin does when we are out in the sun, to combat the UV light our skin gets darker and corals are the came, their color darkens to bight off the effects of the UV rays.

that beign said the growth under LEDs has been proven to be highter, LEDs tend to put out more PAR and PUR then both metal halides and T5HOs. playign with the spectrum with LEDs is far easier then it is with halides and better then T5s dispit all the different bulb types, so you can get the full spectrum that allows the coral to grow faster and produce more zooxanthili algae to help feed this growth

 

[Gregcoyote]

coloration really all has to do with the amount of UV light you have present which is the blue/violet spectrum. the corals flesh does the same thing our skin does when we are out in the sun, to combat the UV light our skin gets darker and corals are the came, their color darkens to bight off the effects of the UV rays.

that beign said the growth under LEDs has been proven to be highter, LEDs tend to put out more PAR and PUR then both metal halides and T5HOs. playign with the spectrum with LEDs is far easier then it is with halides and better then T5s dispit all the different bulb types, so you can get the full spectrum that allows the coral to grow faster and produce more zooxanthili algae to help feed this growth

Absolutely...the LEDs are tuned to the spectrum that the coral responds to, everything else is for cosmetics. A MH produces tons of lumens at wavelengths coral could care less about. Add a few actinic tubes to make the corals glow if necessary, but led is the best technology currently available for coral growth. I always though some home reefs looked like 60's black light posters.

 

[Sqasnatch]

But will LEDs be able to penetrate deep enough for the size of this tank?