OK here are some questions I cant find any posts on. Has anyone ever tried comparing their electric bill pre and post tank setup? I know its a tough question because there are so many variables to consider but I was wondering if anyone has ever done a yearly/monthly electric cost comparison for their tanks.
Here is an even tougher question. Has anyone ever done a monthly overhead cost for the maintenance of their tanks? I would think you could break something like that down according to tank size and what kind of tank your running. Fish only, fish and live rock or reef. But I have no idea.
I'm defiantly a newbie to saltwater and reefing and was wondering about the monthly upkeep of tanks are. I can wrap my head around the initial investment but like I said I no idea what the monthly upkeep would be. I'm a freshwater wanting to go salt and I know they're a world apart.
My tanks been up and running for maybe 4 months now, and I've never noticed any real change in the electricity bills. Of course, I didn't have my lighting system until a week ago... so I guess I'll see how that effects it.
Water bill went through the freakin' roof though. Usually its something like 40 bucks, now its more around 100. I've got just under 100 gallons of water in my system, and do a 15 gallon water change every 2 weeks, along with constant top offs.
All in all, I'm sure I've spent well over $3000 on everything, not including livestock. I kept track of it for a while, but it got too depressing.
With all my pumps and my MH i think mine went up about 5-10 kw which is nothing in the way of an increase. I would say around $5.. The tank i have now i think the most expensive expense is the live stock
My tanks been up and running for maybe 4 months now, and I've never noticed any real change in the electricity bills. Of course, I didn't have my lighting system until a week ago... so I guess I'll see how that effects it.
Water bill went through the freakin' roof though. Usually its something like 40 bucks, now its more around 100. I've got just under 100 gallons of water in my system, and do a 15 gallon water change every 2 weeks, along with constant top offs.
All in all, I'm sure I've spent well over $3000 on everything, not including livestock. I kept track of it for a while, but it got too depressing.
Now there is something I didn't consider the WATER! I'll jot that one down in my notebook.
I spend a total of about 7 hours a week with my tank. as for supplies salt lasts me forever. I purchased my last salt bucket maybe 3 months ago which it was around $50. I purchased a R/O unit which was around $200 before that i was buying water at wally world which i think i was spending less then $4 a week. I dont use many chemicals and for the food i spend probably $25 a month on food maybe $30. I think that about all of my normal purchases, sometime i buy more cleaning supplies or more containers for cleaning or storing. I would say i have around $75 dollars in test kits since march of 2006.. If i can think of anything else i will post it but i would say thats about it.
Funny you bring this up. My wife has been freaking about our electric bill. It has been $300+, but the strange thing is that every once in a while it will be $200. So we bought a Kill A Watt meter to find the source. If I figured it right my 75 gallon tank with everything running (MH, PCs, heater, pumps... etc.) cost $1.10 a day. The tank with everything running draws about 900 watts. So for 31 days it would cost me $34. The room heaters that we use average about $40 a month. Now I pretty much sealed the fate of getting a larger tank.
my electric bill went up about $25 when i added the 3 x 250w MH's to my main tank. i am gonna hate it when i get my new prop system going (2 x 250w MH, 2 x 110w VHO actincs, mag 12 return pump). i am guessing a $30 - $40 increase in the bill ... AGAIN !!
__________________ Bobby
"I FORMERLY glued animals to rocks" NO TANK RIGHT NOW, but you never know when I might throw one together !! I have everything I need but the time!!
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Funny you bring this up. My wife has been freaking about our electric bill. It has been $300+, but the strange thing is that every once in a while it will be $200. So we bought a Kill A Watt meter to find the source. If I figured it right my 75 gallon tank with everything running (MH, PCs, heater, pumps... etc.) cost $1.10 a day. The tank with everything running draws about 900 watts. So for 31 days it would cost me $34. The room heaters that we use average about $40 a month. Now I pretty much sealed the fate of getting a larger tank.
I've been wanting to get one of those meters to test various other things in my house like the Plamsa TV. But this is all good information. I think this topic is important for newcomers like me who may not know how much it actually cost to run a tank.
I love this meter. Only had it less than a week, but have learned so much. Probably the best $25 I have spent. So far the 75 gallon reef is the most expensive thing in the house. My wife keeps giving it a funny look now. My plan on upgrading to 250 watt MH is on hold. Might try the switch to T-5's. I thought I could also switch out my dual return pumps for a single lower wattage pump, but there isn't one out there. External pumps are huge power vaccums.
This is something I have wanted to do for quite a while. I, too, have been concerned about our rising electric bill. Of course, i live in California, and I believe we have the highest electricity costs of anywhere in the US. In addition, the more you go over your baseline, the more you are charged.
So with this in mind, I decided to figure out what the ACTUAL electricity cost was. OMG! After discovering this shocking number, I decided to figure out what my monthly total cost of maintaining my 240. OMG again! So below is my chart showing every cost I could think of, except for adding new livestock. I figured out what the annual costs, then determined the monthly costs. Read it and weep!
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Now I pretty much sealed the fate of getting a larger tank.
