Quite a few questions based on appliances and other things for aquarium use.

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
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BuildingBlocks

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jun 16, 2011
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Nj, flanders
Okay well as the title say it's very broad but it's about aquarium appliances. I feel like asking with numbers:

1)Can anyone tell me what to expect how much I will have to pay for the water bill monthly/annually for owning several large aquariums? (Think of perhaps 2,300 gallon, 400gallon, and a 200gallon aquariums). I'm wondering how I can find out the price for doing large water changes on all those tanks(say 50% or more for the ones with messier fish and 30% for the ones with cleaner fish).

2)Can anyone tell me what would be the electric bill for using alot of aquarium equipments?
How to find out and such.

3)What are good methods for saving on the water bill but still not jeopardizing the health and safety of its inhabitants and keeping the tank completely clean and clear.?

4)What are the best filtrations for larger aquariums over 2,000 gallons that don't use as much as electricity as some other filtrations of that category but still work extremely well?

5)Is rain collected water good for aquariums?

6) What kind of uv sterilizer would I need for a huge tank like that?

7) What kind of lighting systems provide adequate light and still use less power than others but are still pretty bright, are less expensive to set up and last longer? I'd be having the lights on atleast 12hours/daily.

8)What are good GCFI or whatever the heck it is. Some kind of ground breaker thingy that makes sure you don't get zapped or the fish get zapped. I'm talking about one that can tolerate alot of electricity but will shut off instantly should a cable get wet.

9)How can I make a lid that will be safe on fish that tend to like to jump alot(they're easily spooked)? The lid I wish it to be able to let light through but will gentle enough that the fish won't get hurt should they jump or dart.

10)What are some good aquarium pumps for tanks that size?

11) Does anyone know where I can buy large ammounts of fish food in bulk at reduced prices and of great quality?

I'm just trying to estimate this for when I move out soon. Please bare with me and give me different scenarios. I don't know how to find this out and I wanna work with whatever I have but at the same time be able to own all these aquariums. Since I'm going to move in a few years I always like to plan ahead. Like 3-5years prior doing something.

I'm already trying to figure out other stuff about life on your own. But since well I have "special" pets that require large amounts of effort and such I need to make sure I take the right route. That's why. :x
 
Check on your water bill. There are 7.5 gallons in a cubic ft of water, and on many bills that's how the cost is broken down. Different parts of the country have different rates so unless someone lives in your town they can't tell.
The cost of electricity is much the same.
it may cost much more in California than Michigan. I have about 1 thousand gallons of fish tanks, and my electric is about $150 higher per month than without them.
There are many places that sell food in bulk. Drsfoster smith, jehmco to name a couple. Some local feed/farm stores are great sources of cheap food.
 
In the long run LED lights will save on monthly bills, but initial cost is high.
I find heaters are some of the biggest energy guzzlers.
Rain water can be used, depending on your cities air pollution level.
There is really no substitute for water changes, although planted sumps can bring down nitrates, and if in a windows cut electric bills. Fractionation can also reduce DOCs.
I keep my lights on timers, and except for the planted tanks, they only come on evening and night when I'm not sleeping.
I don't use UV. If one keeps up maintenance, and uses quarantine I don't believe UV is generally needed.
 
Uv is really just for preventions. You can't ever be too safe. As pollution in some cities. Is pennsylvania polluted? or which cities and states are good for keeping aquariums with rain collected water? Since the 2thousand gallon tank is going to be a native tank I'm not using a heater at all. AS for led lighting. how long will it last if I keep the lights on 12hours daily? I like the lights on at night to be honest. I keep the tank covered during the day and keep the lights on at night. Some people say I shouldn't do that. But I haven't seen fish being stressed out of it and they end up getting used to it where when I start turning off the tank light they find their hidey holes and start to calm down. When the lights on they start to awake and get slightly active and a few minutes later they start roaming.
 
LED lights are claimed to last much longer than florescent. As long as you have both day/night, the sequence is not important.
As for what rain is polluted or not, only testing would tell.
 
1)Can anyone tell me what to expect how much I will have to pay for the water bill monthly/annually for owning several large aquariums? (Think of perhaps 2,300 gallon, 400gallon, and a 200gallon aquariums). I'm wondering how I can find out the price for doing large water changes on all those tanks(say 50% or more for the ones with messier fish and 30% for the ones with cleaner fish).

You'll have to find out the price of water in your community, here they measure it kind of odd. On the bill it will say "1" and then $X.XX after it. The "1" is for one thousand gallons, and then the price of course. First take into account the starting fill, say 101 gallons for a 100 gallon tank - including the water in two HOB filters. Add more if you use a sump. Then take into account your weekly water changes, say 25%, or 25 gallons, meaning every month (4 week months), you'll use 100 gallons for that tank. You'll also be using water to clean equipment and decorations too, so there's more water. If you understock your tanks, or balance stock and live plants, you may squeeze 20% weekly water changes.

2)Can anyone tell me what would be the electric bill for using alot of aquarium equipments?
How to find out and such.

Lights, filters, and pumps are getting good at posting how much electric they pull, still, invest in a Kill-A-Watt - it will tell you how much the device actually is pulling so you can calculate it out easier. Look up the local electric rates and figure it out, ours change seasonally too, so look into whether it's a constant rate or flex rate.

3)What are good methods for saving on the water bill but still not jeopardizing the health and safety of its inhabitants and keeping the tank completely clean and clear.?

Understock, understock, understock, ummm.... pothos.... good filteration, good food...

4)What are the best filtrations for larger aquariums over 2,000 gallons that don't use as much as electricity as some other filtrations of that category but still work extremely well?

pool filters, live plants...

5)Is rain collected water good for aquariums?

Run it through the proper R/O/D/I system and it could work. Even with all the testing in the world you are going to take chances, sometimes you might have nice clean rain, the next day you could get pollution. Take it with a grain of salt here, rain goes into koi ponds all the time, but those are koi..

6) What kind of uv sterilizer would I need for a huge tank like that?

I have no idea, I don't run UV.

7) What kind of lighting systems provide adequate light and still use less power than others but are still pretty bright, are less expensive to set up and last longer? I'd be having the lights on atleast 12hours/daily.

LED, you'll spend more now and save later. Natural sunlight if you can set up the tanks in the right spot.

8)What are good GCFI or whatever the heck it is. Some kind of ground breaker thingy that makes sure you don't get zapped or the fish get zapped. I'm talking about one that can tolerate alot of electricity but will shut off instantly should a cable get wet.

Have an expert come in and wire it, save yourself the headache and electrocution. Make sure it's off the ground and gives you a drip loop too.

9)How can I make a lid that will be safe on fish that tend to like to jump alot(they're easily spooked)? The lid I wish it to be able to let light through but will gentle enough that the fish won't get hurt should they jump or dart.

Use glass. If you want an open top, build a canopy that is open on top with sides of 6 inches. The fish will hit the side and fall back into the tank.

10)What are some good aquarium pumps for tanks that size?

Look up the guy that did the 50,000 gallon and 15,000 gallon tank. There are plenty others on MFK for smaller tanks too...

11) Does anyone know where I can buy large ammounts of fish food in bulk at reduced prices and of great quality?

No idea.
 
Hmm thank you sir. You actually have helped me alot. Now a weird question and please don't tell me how much you make annually or anything because I don't want you to get screwed over somehow on the internet. I'd feel bad. But could you give me an estimate on what would be a good annual salary to get if I say wanna be able to live on my own, and still afford to own a large thousand gallon aquarium and such? Because I ask since I never had anyone to ever teach me any of these things and I'm not sure how much the total maintnance cost yearly to properly keep up with the tanks. See cause whatever job I get will be depending on many factors and one of those factors will include owning my aquariums. I want to keep them no matter the cost because this is what helps me relax. I have some problems with anxiety and since I don't really think I could ever be a marine biologist I settle for owning these large aquariums because they actually do calm me down and relax me. Over the months I went to bigger tanks my blood pressure started to decrease significantly. I used to stick to smaller ones. But because they were small I had limited species selections. And since it relaxes me alot I decided it's actually a good cause for me I guess. I'm not sure how to explain it. But let's put it like this. I'd rather be home looking at my fish for hours on end than going out to the movies. I only go out when I'm hiking, fishing or herping. This is kinda awkward for me to be saying all this(well extremely awkward for me to be exact) but since I can't really get help anywhere doing the math then well. I'm looking to do it myself with atleast some hints and such. I hope I don't tick any of you off or anything. Just really asking from the bottom of my very existence in aid on how this is done. Like if I asked someone good with math it may not even be a good thing if they don't know what are the costs for taking care of these aquariums and such. I plan on upgrading soon to a 500g and eventually to atleast 1.2k gallon tank. The 500g will then be home to a common snapper later on and the 1.2 I want it to house a white catfish, 3-5longnosed suckerfish(they're a must for my tank- they're one of my favorite fish even head to head with the softbodied long whiskered catfish). and the only other thing I'd put in there would be two sunfish that I had caught a while ago in a creek near my house. I have never seen anything like it. But they're gorgeous. They have a green face, red belly that fades into orange, and vivid red fins(tail, dorsal, anal fins). They have light blue stripes that flare when they get peeved around their bodies. They kinda remind me SOMEHOW of a small peacock bass. I know they're not. Lol but just idk how they look. So I call them poor mans' peacock bass.
I'd like to have 5 yellow perchs because they're also one of my favorites but I'm not sure if that would be pushing it in a tank like that.

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P.s. I just wanted to give them the largest home I can afford that they can move and stretch their bodies so much it's like they never left home at all. Or if they did they just went to a sacred haven where they won't be preyed upon.
 
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