how much is your elec bill?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
The gas and electric are combined, which is about $150-$200 /month.

Water is included in my rent, but that would be about $80-$100 additional if I paid it. At this point I'm down to 5 tanks.

That's not too bad, although my roommate is often not here during the week and drives home Fri-Sun. This means that most of that bill is from me & the aquariums...:ROFL:

A friend of mine runs a couple reef tanks with the big metal halide lights. His electric bill is hundreds of dollars a month!
 
ask your granny to let you see the electric bill and find out what you are paying per kilowatt hour.

you will find that your fishtank, unless the rates are extremely high, is very little.

eg. My 150g tank uses 685w if everything is on at once (both heaters, lights on etc)

I pay $0.057 per kilowatt hour.

so, if I left my lights on all the time and the twin 250w heaters were on 24/7

it would cost:

.685kw x 24h x 30days x $0.057 = $28 per month if everything was running all the time.

the actual cost is probably half that, the heaters cycle on and off, the lights are not on during the day when I am at work and are off all night etc.

so, $14 per month is a realistic figure for a 150g setup with three filters, two heaters etc in this part of North America (Ontario Canada).

chances are your fishtank is very little of the total cost of the monthly bill.
 
Wow 12 Volt Man! I would kill for only .057 per kwh. Down here in Pittsburgh I am paying around 0.12 or 0.13 per kwh. I know that after setting up my 75, my bill went up about $45 - $50 a month. That's with the lights (T-5HO) on for about 10 hours a day, and a 250watt heater running intermittently. I haven't had the stomach to look at it since setting up the 220G. I plan on eventually setting up an LED lighting system, when I have the time.......anyone know where I can find some extra time just laying around waiting to be used????
 
sub 100 bucks. and i have a well so i have to pay for electric to get my water. i have over 200 gallons up atm
 
12 Volt Man has it down. You can calculate exactly how much electricity you are using by getting the total watts used on the tank. You can get it down to a very accurate figure to show Grams and then do some chores around the house or pay a little to take care of it. Depending on what you use for filters and lights the cost can be very little. Look for Canister filters with low watts, use the proper sized heater and put your lights on a timer.

Take Care
 
Yup its not the tank I gurantee that. I had one tank....and went all the way up to 5 tanks... when I first moved here my bill was in the $60's...... now I am still here with 5 plus a 1/2 tank running and the bill is still in the $60's. I use 14kw/hr or something for my apartment (total not just the tanks). As for my water bill for having all 5 tanks its around $30-35
 
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