[jules2k]

Just out of curiosity how many tanks do you guys have running and how much in electricity is it costing you per month?

list of what I have running:

1. 55 gallon tank, with 210 watts of power compact (8 hours), rena xp2, 200 watts heater, power head, co2 solonoid.

1. 10 gallon bowfront, with 16 watts t5 (9hours) 100 watts heater, AC 150.

2. 2.5 gallom betta tanks (same type of heater as 10gallon) jebo 501 filter.

1. 15 gallon tank with 72 watts of power compact (8 hours) rena xp2, Hydor inline heater.

my cost per month is roughly $60.

 

[smp]

To me it's a mute point.....I enjoy the tank too much to "worry/think" about it's operating cost.

90 gal, 2 Eheim 2215's, 260w lighting (which heat the room during winter), C02 solonid and 200w heater (which hardly runs because the lights provide enough "ambient" heat in the room).

 

[jules2k]

I love it too, but mom and dad are always complaining about the electricity bills even though Iam paying for it.

 

[GTR]

When my SW hobby power bill broke $400 a month I saw the light with a little help from my wife. But that was over 500g.

My 90g I'd say cost me between $15-$20 a month. That's much more reasonable.

SteveU

 

[non_compliance]

Really!??! Those little tanks cost you taht much?

Hmm... Here's my breakdown:

85 gal. 300w heater 4' T8 single strip, AC110, whisper 70, eheim knock off can, airpump
75 gal. 250w heater 4' t8 double strip, eheim pro II 2028, airpump
65 gal. breeder 250w heater, 3' t8 single strip, AC110, airpump
65 gal. long 250w heater, 2 corallife double bulb 56w t5 NO (128w total) AC110, AC70
37 gal. tall 200w heater, 30" t8 single strip, AC70
35 gal. long 150w heater, 4' t8 single strip, AC30, EMP 280, airpump
29 gal. 150w heater, 30" t8 single strip whisper 70, airpump
3 10 gal. 50w heater, single strip light, HOB, airpump
2 5.5 gal. 50w heater, single strip light, HOB, airpump
18 gal rubbermaid tub 24" double t8 light, corallife mini CF plant light no filter, no heater
15 gal rubbermaid tub, 75w heater, no light, airpump


My electric bill always hovered around 65-70 bucks... now it's only like 120... I only run my plant lights all day though... nothing else is on for more than a few hours.

 

[GTR]

Our power in SoCal can run 27¢ per KWH once you get to the 3rd tier as we always do in summer. We are billed directly by So Cal Edison but some municipalities have their own system where it's somewhat less.

SteveU

 

[jules2k]

yep, everything is at a premium down here in Socal

 

[bobt2]

4 reef tanks on long island $200 month

 

[smoq]

yep, everything is at a premium down here in Socal

Tell me about it. So is in NYC. My friend upsate pays much less for electricity. I would say my 75g with 2x54W light, two eheims (2217 and 2028), 300W heater and co2 regulator costs about $20 a month.

 

[[email protected]]

Michigan - About $5.00 a month for a 29 gallon with a canister. About $7.50 a month for a 70 gallon tank.

I happened to talk to an ex-Cichlid guy the other day. His heat and electric bill and feed bill was running $400.00 a month for a around a thousand gallons total.

 

[Erloas]

I've been trying to figure this out recently too, mostly because last month my power usage per day average almost tripled from months earlier and from the same time last year.
I know some of it is from the tank I just set up, but I know it can't all be, so I don't yet have numbers for how much the tank is actually costing me. I think most of the increase was from my roommate that started running an electric heater in his room all the time.
I figured as a rough estimate my 55g tank probably uses at most 5kwh per day, depending how much loss I have from lighting (power used for the drivers and not included in bulb rating), how accurate the filter power ratings are, and how much the heater is running. The heater is the biggest variable because its hard to know how much it is running, my estimate was about 60-75% of the time which is probably quite a bit high but I wanted to overestimate.
That is also with low tech lighting, I'm sure it will go up a lot when my lighting levels basically triple with the new lights I have ordered.

I've got a kill-a-watt meter on order now so I can see for sure how much it is using.
At least my power doesn't cost nearly what some of you guys seem to be paying. Here it is just under 5cents/kwh for the first 500kwh and about 10cents/kwh for the next 500kwh, not sure what it does after that because this is the first time I've even hit the second block. Plus the flat rate charges, which I'm not factoring in.

 

[Buckster]

Electrical costs can easily be calculated using this: http://www.reefcentral.com/index.php/tank-electrical Though it lists saltwater equiptment, you can just substitute for your own.
Just know what wattage your equiptment draws. (usually on label or google specs on the device.) Also your power bill should have cost per watt.

 

[jules2k]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Michigan - About $5.00 a month for a 29 gallon with a canister. About $7.50 a month for a 70 gallon tank.

I happened to talk to an ex-Cichlid guy the other day. His heat and electric bill and feed bill was running $400.00 a month for a around a thousand gallons total. "


that's insane! I want to know what he does for a living lol...

 

[[email protected]]

I happened to talk to an ex-Cichlid guy the other day. His heat and electric bill and feed bill was running $400.00 a month for a around a thousand gallons total. "

that's insane! I want to know what he does for a living lol...

EX-Cichlid guy.
I'm in Michigan. We have 15% unemployment so there are lots and lots of ex-whatever hobby you can think of. It's sad, but a great time to be buying.

 

[jules2k]

Wow, that is really sad. At 15% unemployent is that the highest in the nation?

 

[newday3000]

I measured my 220G with a KW meter and it's $20 per month (CDN) . 2 x 2028, 2 x 300 watt heaters, 108watts of lights and polising filter. 10 cents per KWH

 

[non_compliance]

Tell me about it Dbosman... I bought a 55 gal complete with 250 stealth heater, hoods, lights, whisper 70, iron stand, air pump, rocks, substrate, you name it... $40. Also, the guy threw in a 3 gallon counter tank... it reminds me of a shoebox on end.... built in light... little filter kit... I priced them at meijer... like 60 bucks!

I almost felt bad getting it all for $40... but not too bad.

 

[fishscale]

I feel lucky in Ann Arbor...it's hovering around 25% in the UP

 

[[email protected]]

Wow, that is really sad. At 15% unemployent is that the highest in the nation?

For a state, yes.
Demographically all the stats are just bad here.
The city of Detroit is running about 30% unemployment currently.

 

[Green024]

Just got my electricity bill for this last month.....180$. Just added tank #5, and a 6th possibly coming soon. I cant remember having bills this high even with my a/c running constantly in the summer. Granted i am using my dryer a lot more now. Still I feel like ive been robbed