Electric bill and Filtration.

[dawnmarie]

It's possible the OP subscribes to the same theory on heaters that I do.
On my large tank I run two smaller heaters as opposed to one big heater. If one heater fails in the on position the other shuts off and I have a much better chance of catching it before my fish are cooked.

 

[johns]

Originally Posted by cichlidude
So all your fish stuff is on a separate meter and that is your

Sorry!
No. Only have one. Bill was never that bad untill I started to get carried away with My latest Fish tank obession.

I also believe in the Multiple smaller Heater therory. But just not sure if it is not costing Me more Money that way.

 

[HarleyK]

Howdy,

I think you should looks beyond fish tanks. My electricity bill is not nearly approaching that, and my set-up is a bit more than yours.

You can do some simple math:

Electricity costs (on my bill)
$0.18 per kWh

FX5 per day = 50W x 24h = 1200 Wh = $0.22/day= $ 6.82 per month

You can do the same with lighting (use on-time) and heaters (use a few hours depending on your room temp)

HarleyK

 

[12 Volt Man]

^
agreed. most of the time, unless you have heaters that are running all day, its not your setups that are raising your bill.

its everything else in the house.

 

[dawnmarie]

I also believe in the Multiple smaller Heater therory. But just not sure if it is not costing Me more Money that way.

Btu's produced per Kwh won't vary enough to matter regardless if you use four 250w heaters or one 1000w heater. Electric heat is just a power sucking thing.

 

[CHUPA CABRA]

heaters is what drive your electric bill off the roof
my reg house electric bill is $150.00 a month with 16 tanks running
when i heat my 220g, 75g, 75g, to 74* in the winter my electric bill goes to $200 a month. it cost me $50.00 a month, not bad

 

[cichlidude]

Hello

^
agreed. most of the time, unless you have heaters that are running all day, its not your setups that are raising your bill.

its everything else in the house.

Exactly my point. Is not your tank setup.

 

[nfored]

So all your fish stuff is on a separate meter and that is your bill?

I have often wounder how much it would cost me to have the elec company put in a second meter for my fish.

if u only have 3 tanks, y are u running 6 heaters? U said they were in a well insulated garage.

I have 1 tank with 3 heaters and two other tanks with 1 heater each. I have 3 300 watt heaters in my 220, Do I need all 3 probably not but I need at least 2 of them for the icy winter. However even with 3 in the winter I always have to set them 2 degrees hotter then I want the tank as they always ran 2 degrees cooler. 86 gave my 84 and 80 gave me 78.

 

[cichlidude]

I have often wounder how much it would cost me to have the elec company put in a second meter for my fish.

Easier to just add up total wattage and do the math. Assume a 50% duty cycle on the heaters in winter. My heater has been turned off for three months and my 75 gallon tank is at 82 degrees.

 

[bubbles123]

Our electric bill was $249 this month (the smallest one in a year). The biggest things that effect us are the a/c in the summer, and the furnace fan and extra lighting in the winter (in the winter we have daylight for about 8 hours/day), the single biggest thing year round is this computer. It alone costs about $50/ month.