I've been thinking about this a lot lately too, but I would have a hard time leaving the hobby altogether. I'm already leaning heavily towards fish that require much less in the way of heating than most "tropicals". In future, I can see getting rid of most of my fish if they require any degree of additional heat. Right now, the only tanks I have that really need heaters 24/7/365 are my Jelly Cat and my Red Wolffish. Everything else gets heat off and on, here and there...but there's no denying that I do use energy on it.
I have been toying with the idea of devoting my one largest tank to Goldfish and avoiding the need for heat altogether. I have also been a long-time fan of native fish and they would be another excellent choice.
Lighting? I'm switching to LED's on all my tanks, and they are still cheap enough to run that I am willing to keep them...for now.
Filtration? I use a submersible pump to run my 360 gallon and its sump; it runs at 13 watts, which means that it takes more than three days to utilize a single kilowatt/hour of energy, which translates to an energy cost of roughly 10 cents per day. Three dollars per month to filter my 360 gallon aquarium. My basement stock tank acts as the sump for my wolffish tank, and the pump runs at 8 watts; about $1.75 per month for those two tanks.
I also run a central air pump at 17 watts for roughly $3.60 per month. This pump alone could easily handle filtration duties for all my tanks, with capacity to spare, if I convert them all to sponge or matten filters. In fact, when I built my 360 gallon, that was my original plan; I had a design all laid out for a tank drilled at each end, with an intake manifold at one end, a large pipe running the length of the tank beneath the floor, and then an exhaust manifold at the far end equipped with airlifts. Done it before on a slightly smaller scale, and it works. The only reason I went with a traditional sump/submersible pump set-up was the fact that I already owned several suitable pumps. I could sell those, and the proceeds would cover maintenance on my central air pump, and even an eventual replacement.
No, I won't be "turning over" my tank's entire volume every 2.674 seconds. No, my tanks will not be ideal for all types of fish. But guess what? Nobody has a tank suitable for everything. I will do what I have always done: decide how much effort and cash I am willing to expend on my tanks...ensure that this expenditure is used to its maximum possible efficiency...and then select fish whose requirements match the conditions produced.
So....a basement full of Goldfish, Rosy Reds, some native fish would remain cheap to run. I could give up live plants, and reduce lighting to viewing-only levels, but that wouldn't save me much, at least not yet. Less than four bucks per month to filter everything (not including, of course, the cost of any additional Poret foam I would need to buy, which wouldn't be a lot because I already have tons). If the time comes that I can't handle that...well, I'll still downgrade, but I won't completely drop out.
Heating is the killer, plain and simple. Make do without that...be willing to not be high-tech...and the hobby can remain affordable.
At this rate, I could keep my Jelly Cat and splurge on keeping him warm. If my Red Wolf becomes a long-term commitment, he would live in a small tank plumbed in with the cat, so additional filtration would cost nothing, and likely no perceptible increase in heating cost.
Between increasing legal restrictions on some of my hobbies and interests...and decreasing physical ability to enjoy others as I would like...and now spiraling cost increases on everything...I'm just fed up with a gradually diminishing quality of life. Screw it; I'm not dead yet. I want to have as much fun as possible while I'm here.
I have been toying with the idea of devoting my one largest tank to Goldfish and avoiding the need for heat altogether. I have also been a long-time fan of native fish and they would be another excellent choice.
Lighting? I'm switching to LED's on all my tanks, and they are still cheap enough to run that I am willing to keep them...for now.
Filtration? I use a submersible pump to run my 360 gallon and its sump; it runs at 13 watts, which means that it takes more than three days to utilize a single kilowatt/hour of energy, which translates to an energy cost of roughly 10 cents per day. Three dollars per month to filter my 360 gallon aquarium. My basement stock tank acts as the sump for my wolffish tank, and the pump runs at 8 watts; about $1.75 per month for those two tanks.
I also run a central air pump at 17 watts for roughly $3.60 per month. This pump alone could easily handle filtration duties for all my tanks, with capacity to spare, if I convert them all to sponge or matten filters. In fact, when I built my 360 gallon, that was my original plan; I had a design all laid out for a tank drilled at each end, with an intake manifold at one end, a large pipe running the length of the tank beneath the floor, and then an exhaust manifold at the far end equipped with airlifts. Done it before on a slightly smaller scale, and it works. The only reason I went with a traditional sump/submersible pump set-up was the fact that I already owned several suitable pumps. I could sell those, and the proceeds would cover maintenance on my central air pump, and even an eventual replacement.
No, I won't be "turning over" my tank's entire volume every 2.674 seconds. No, my tanks will not be ideal for all types of fish. But guess what? Nobody has a tank suitable for everything. I will do what I have always done: decide how much effort and cash I am willing to expend on my tanks...ensure that this expenditure is used to its maximum possible efficiency...and then select fish whose requirements match the conditions produced.
So....a basement full of Goldfish, Rosy Reds, some native fish would remain cheap to run. I could give up live plants, and reduce lighting to viewing-only levels, but that wouldn't save me much, at least not yet. Less than four bucks per month to filter everything (not including, of course, the cost of any additional Poret foam I would need to buy, which wouldn't be a lot because I already have tons). If the time comes that I can't handle that...well, I'll still downgrade, but I won't completely drop out.
Heating is the killer, plain and simple. Make do without that...be willing to not be high-tech...and the hobby can remain affordable.
At this rate, I could keep my Jelly Cat and splurge on keeping him warm. If my Red Wolf becomes a long-term commitment, he would live in a small tank plumbed in with the cat, so additional filtration would cost nothing, and likely no perceptible increase in heating cost.
Between increasing legal restrictions on some of my hobbies and interests...and decreasing physical ability to enjoy others as I would like...and now spiraling cost increases on everything...I'm just fed up with a gradually diminishing quality of life. Screw it; I'm not dead yet. I want to have as much fun as possible while I'm here.
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