Been really wanting to setup a 240gal tank but not sure if I can afford the cost to run it every month right now. From what ive read people say reef and saltwater tanks of that size run about $150 a month just in electricity but can't find any info on a freshwater setup.
Avg cost to run 240gal freshwater?
- Thread starter BlindSight
- Start date
you will have to do some research. First set a list of items you plan to run the tank (heaters, filters, pumps, lights,....etc). Find the wattage for each item and last call your local utility company and find out the cost per kilowatt hour and do some math. There are some calculators online that you can just plug in the numbers.
Sweet, thanks for the quick replys...I am running marineland led's on my 46gal and love them so would stick with led's probably so I guess the reef costs are because of all the fancy lighting? I could handle $50 a month...just not $150
rgonzales;4950148; said:
Man Tell me how you do it? I have a wimpy 220 and If I could run it for $5.00 I would do jumping jacks. I use low power pump 85 watts, and low watt lights 32 watts. 117 watts total for just the pump and lights. Thats 720 Hours a Month 117 watts times 720 = 82800 divide that by 1000 = 82.8 * 0.10 = $8.28 a month
So we take total watts 117 multiple that times total hours 720 divide that by 1000 to get kwh and multiply that by 10 cents the average cost of 1 kwh. No you might say that you don't run your lights for 24 hours a day to that I say correct but you should also notice that I didn't include any heaters or fans. If you live where its warm then your tank will over heat at some point without fans if you live where its cold or mild you need water heaters.
dookie;4950157; said:
I say this is far but maybe a bit high, if you work hard to get the most efficient everything, lost watt pumps, and insulate to keep heat loss down and use ultra low watt lights you can get buy in the $35.00 - 50.00 a month easy.
I moved all my sumps as high up off the floor as possible so I could use smaller pumps to get the same flow rate. I used the lights off my 55 gallon tank 16watts X2 and suspended them so it lit up more of the tank.
With these monster tanks if you get a sump you need a big pump to get to the hight. You have to figure a minimum of 5ft head if the sump is on the floor. The average stand is 32 - 36 inchs and then add 24 - 30 inchs of tank hight. But if you make your sump right it can be level with the tank cutting the head pressure down to a only a foot or two.
When looking to get above 500gph there is a big hit in watts to go above 5ft compared to 2 ft.
Thanks alot for that awesome response. I figure I won't rush to set everything up and save up to get the good stuff the first time around and should eb able to get it reasonable. What about building a box on the side of the tank for the sump instead of having them underneath, anyone built a setup like this?
okay someone please do the math on these for me plz, 1 250 watt heater, 1 200 watt heater, 1 rio 3100, 1 32 watt power compact light (on for 6-7 hours a day) i live in cali
and thank u
p.s tank is a 180 g
and thank u
p.s tank is a 180 g
The reason a big reef 220 gal is using that much power is mostly the lights. With that depth, you basically need 400 watt metal halides, 3 of them to cover the whole tank. That's 1200 watts per hour, for 8 hours a day. Then you've likely got a return pump using 50-100 watts, multiple circulation pumps and a protein skimmer powered by 1 or 2 more pumps. And you might also have a half horsepower chiller too. Add another pump for a calcium reactor, and how about a 40 watt PC light for the refugium?
Now for comparison, my freshwater 220 has a 40 watt light, two 50 watt Fx5s and 2 250 watt heaters. It's very well sealed, so it keeps the heat in quite well, so the heaters don't run constantly.
Now for comparison, my freshwater 220 has a 40 watt light, two 50 watt Fx5s and 2 250 watt heaters. It's very well sealed, so it keeps the heat in quite well, so the heaters don't run constantly.