Electric Bill
 

How much do you think my 75 Gallon tank is hurting the monthly electric bill?

I run 2 x 175w Metal Halides with 4 x 110w VHO's, an ASM G2 Skimmer w/HOB Overflow, 3 power heads, and a Mag 2 pump. The skimmer pump and return pump are running continuosly as are the power heads and the lights are on about 10 hours a day.

Would there be a significnt drop in my monthly bill if I dismantled the tank? Any ideas?

Thank you,

Sherry

well you'd need to know what power heads and how many watts they draw. as well as the watt usage of the mag 2 and the sedra 3500 on the skimmer. these numbers are usually on the back of the units. A thought on how to reduce usage is to drop down to 2 VHO's. maybe also get 2 effiecent power heads instead of 3 and maybe run the skimmer a little less depending on Bio load and coral content.

Here's the RC calculator.

You just need to know the wattage of your pumps and lights and enter the cost per kW hour:

[url]http://www.reefcentral.com/calc/tank_elec_calc.php[/url]

Ok, I have the VHO's at 440 watts, the MH at 300 watts, the Mag 2 at 24 watts, the Sedra at 35 watts. I'm using the calculator, but have no idea what the power heads are. I have 1 maxi jet 1200, 1 power sweep 228, and 1 power sweep 226. Any ideas on the watts. I forgot about the heater that is on 24 hours a day. I have no idea on what it is or the watts.

This is all I can come up with:

Power Sweep 226 - 190 gph
Power Sweep 228 - 270 gph

Is there a way to figure out there wattages?

Sherry the powerheads are most likely in the 8-12 watt range at max.

geo

thank you. any idea about the heater?

You are better off not know what this is all really costing you per month in electricity not to mention new additions and upgrades. Just take solace in the fact that you are spending very very small fractions of what most of these crazies are spending. Ignorance and nice fish tanks are bliss.

But seriously,
I checked both owners manuals for those (I have both as well) and neither one stated power consumption. you could call zoomed at 1-888-496-6633 or email then at [email]zoomed@zoomed.com[/email] and marineland's # is 800.322.1266, email is [email]marineland.consumer@unitedpetgroup.com[/email]

Thank you for checking for me. As for the tank, I'm trying to be a responsible adult. It is really the only thing I can do to help reduce the bills around here. So I thought if I was able to figure out how much it is all costing me to run maybe I would see it's not so bad and not going to make that much of a change in the bill.

I put in 10 watts for the heater as an estimate. With all the numbers in the calculator says I will save about $40 a month if I dismantle the tank.

Good luck with your decision and I am thinking of upgrading to a system like yours so if you decide to get out then let me know.


Matt

Your heater is really on 24/7? I've never seen mine turn on and I only run 440w VHO over a 75g. I think my heater is 150w. I think you generally want like 4 or 5 watts per gallon for a heater. I could be wrong with that though.

Sherry I know where you are coming from but you also have to look at it that 40.00 is pretty cheap entertainment. Speaking for myself I did think for a short time of getting out because of the cost and than having 1 son in college and my daighter on the way to college. I know how much I would hate that part of the room where the tank sits if it was not there.My wife is the 1 that said keep it. You are the only one that knows if an extra 40.00 a month will make your like easier but also remember if you do when you get back in after a short while it will cost you alot more to rebuy everything to get up and running.Good luck in your decision and I hope to see you stay...Scott

I had a similar decision to make last January when my 120 leaked all over the dining room. After cleaning the mess and getting things stabilized, I sat down and said to myself “Should I just sell my fish, corals and gear and get out, saving money”.

Thankfully when I approached my wife with the topic, she said “no way”. Her perspective was that our tank is a living piece of art in our house and she loves sharing it with our family and friends. I didn’t know this until I talked to her. She felt that the tanks expenses, maintenance and upkeep were a part just another part of our overall household maintenance.

So with that, I went with bigger a bigger tank and designed a whole room around viewing it. :D

I'm on the budget plan with our gas and electric. I took my tank down in April/May. They just adjusted my monthly budget amount and it went down $145. You should also factor in the cost of salt, water and fish food.

[QUOTE][i]<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11568710#post11568710 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Sherry34 [/i]
[B]Thank you for checking for me. As for the tank, I'm trying to be a responsible adult. It is really the only thing I can do to help reduce the bills around here. So I thought if I was able to figure out how much it is all costing me to run maybe I would see it's not so bad and not going to make that much of a change in the bill.

I put in 10 watts for the heater as an estimate. With all the numbers in the calculator says I will save about $40 a month if I dismantle the tank. [/B][/QUOTE]

I don't know what was off, but I ran my tanks and they use 95% of the electricity that I pay for :lol:

If you had one of the kill-a-watt meters then you could really see what things are pulling and get real #'s

I think I see a problem in my estimate of $40 a month. I didn't change the $ .12 per KWH. I need to look up last months bill to see what we pay per KWH. I'll update you when I find it.

And thank you to all of you for your thoughts and support. It's definately not an easy descision to make.

Okay, I'm doing something wrong. We pay $4.92 per KWH. Return Pump 24 watts, Skimmer Pump 35 watts, 3 Powerheads at approx. 10 watts each, heater approx 5 watts, 300 watts of MH, 440 watts of VHO's.

What are you getting as cost per month? Am I figuring something wrong like maybe the lights?

MH's are 2 at 175 watts each
VHO's are 4 at 110 watts each

[QUOTE][i]<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11570868#post11570868 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Sherry34 [/i]
[B]Okay, I'm doing something wrong. We pay $4.92 per KWH. Return Pump 24 watts, Skimmer Pump 35 watts, 3 Powerheads at approx. 10 watts each, heater approx 5 watts, 300 watts of MH, 440 watts of VHO's.

What are you getting as cost per month? Am I figuring something wrong like maybe the lights? [/B][/QUOTE]

I was supposedly using 540KWh @ $0.11 / KWh for about $59 iirc which was nearly all of my electric costs. Lights being the biggest draw seem about right based on the rated watts and I double checked the KWh consumed by those and got the same as the calculator, but it was 280KWh of my total 533KWh for the month, which i just connot believe. Because of head our return pumps usually draw less wattage than the max rated, but still close to the max. Maybe we're not getting charged for all the power we're actually using????

SHHHH, Hush, don't let anyone from RG&E see this thread .

-Walter

$4.92 per kWh? Thats Crazy! Even Hawaii is only like $0.23. You've done something wrong. The national average is about $0.10, and average in NY is $0.16

Sherry,
Just checked my electric bill.

Electricity is 0.08426 per kWH and then 0.037667 per kWH to supply it

so about 12 cents kwh

okay, found it. ours is .08782

Also check for the delivery charge.

yeah, thanks. i have figured all that in and it is approx. $40 a mo.

Time of use meter only runs me $0.019 cents per KWH at night. Soooo cheap