electric bill

[the big kahuna]

i have a 240 gallon i have 3 300watt heaters and 6 yes six filters--a cascade 1500(which i love) 2 xp3's and 3 aquaclear 110---had this set-up for about 2 months and my electric bill has skyrocketed --- any ideas on what to do or replace to lower costs....considering eliminating 4 filters and running an fx-5

 

[CoryWM]

first of all. How much is skyrocketed? Secondly, all 6 filters combined use about the same energy as one of your 300 watt heaters. Secondly I hope this tank is in the garage, otherwise 3 300 watt heaters is totally overkill.

Chances are something else is using alot of electricity in your house. Also make sure you have the top of your tank covered completely, use backstripping etc. Alot of heat can escape from the top.

Without more info it'll be hard to help you.

 

[the big kahuna]

tank is actually located in a room behind the garage and its very chilly in there...i was afraid to setup tank in the house due to the weight

 

[the big kahuna]

how can i heat the tank without the 60-70dollar increase in my electric bill

 

[CoryWM]

What is the ambient temperature in that chilly room?

Secondly what are your heaters doing? IF you run 1 heater, and it takes 1 hour being on every 6 hours to keep the tank at 78 degrees it'll be cheaper than running 3 heaters that are on for every 30 minutes every 6 hours.

In most cases it's something completely unrelated that is raising a electricity bill. However 3 300 watt heaters could be doing that if they're staying on most of the time.

 

[the big kahuna]

temp. in that room usually hoovers around 60-65degrees the 3 heaters run allday the lights stay on the water is about 80 the heaters seem to be working overtime

 

[Neophyte]

Just by being plugged in the heaters aren't really running all day they will only run when the temp is lower than what they are set to.

Do your heaters have indicator lights to show that they are heating? If so how often do you see that indicator come on?

 

[CoryWM]

first, drop your temp on the heaters to 78 degrees, secondly you might just buy an oil filled radiator heater, if they all 3 are constantly are running. Then heating the room with that heater will probably be cheaper.

You can also insulate the sides and back of the tank with sytrofoam.

 

[chesterthehero]

insulating the back/top/sides will help a LOT... heating the room will also help but space heaters have their own problems (like burning down the house.. they are real good at that)....


other than that... welcome to the land of monsters... it costs a lot every winter...

 

[dudey]

my 125 only ran up the electric about 15$, with the addition of every tank it was about 10-15$ more a month for me.

I started out paying around 30-45$ a month for electric in the summer with zero tanks. By the time winter got here and 5 tanks later electric was 120-140$