UK price of running tank

[LBUK]

I'm looking at setting a tank back up in the new year but the only place I can put it will be the conservatory which in winter time is a very cold room, it has a radiator but the heating only comes on one hour in the morning and one hour in the afternoon.

The tank would be a 240l tank so more than likely a 300w heater having to heat a cold room to tropical temps, is that going to cost a fortune in todays market? Last time I had a tank in a cold room electricity was dirt cheap and money wasn't an issue lol.

 

[tetroid]

I don't know about heating costs where you are, but I know that when I first moved my tanks into a partially heated basement (not ice cold by any means), the aquarium heaters struggled to keep up during the winter. The red lights were constantly on.

Insulating the tanks themselves made a big difference. I literally just wrapped them in old sleeping bags. Not pretty, but the heaters started cycling on and off normally again. Simpler option, of course, would be to keep fish that can tolerate cooler water, like rice fish or paradise fish.

 

[LBUK]

I don't know about heating costs where you are, but I know that when I first moved my tanks into a partially heated basement (not ice cold by any means), the aquarium heaters struggled to keep up during the winter. The red lights were constantly on.

Insulating the tanks themselves made a big difference. I literally just wrapped them in old sleeping bags. Not pretty, but the heaters started cycling on and off normally again. Simpler option, of course, would be to keep fish that can tolerate cooler water, like rice fish or paradise fish.

Thanks for the reply.

I was thinking last night of insulation for the tank for colder months, I was thinking maybe using cylinder jackets and on the lids too.

I was looking at keeping ropefish which are tropical, the only sub tropical fish I'd probably look to keep might be a snakehead but looking online I can't seem to find reliable temperature ranges for them or if they can tolerate a full winter. The problem is full circle come summer the conservatory is boiling lol.

 

[LBUK]

The room the tank would go in is 7c today which is probably what it is most mornings while it's in the cold months so for the fish I was thinking of would need the temp raising 15c daily, is that going to cost a fortune?

 

[esoxlucius]

I'm from the UK so I fully understand your cost issues. Our energy prices have gone daft over the past couple of years. We have a wood burner which heats the house remarkably well. I still have heaters but the cost is manageable, it's not as if they're on 24/7 because of chilly room temps.

In the UK I'd say a conservatory is probably the worse place you can put a tank. You think you have problems in winter, wait until summer comes, especially if your conservatory is South facing. You'll be forever trying to cool your tank down!

As far as asking, "how much is it actually going to cost me?" No one can put a figure on that, there are too many variables to consider. The best thing you can do, great if you have a smart meter too, is to monitor your electric usage over a period of time before you actually set your tank up. Then monitor your usage for a period of time whilst the tank is running.

The average difference in cost will be noticeable yes. Not only will your heater be pulling juice, but any lights, filters, powerheads etc etc, will also be adding to the cost.

Once you have the figures you'll know exactly what that tank is costing you and you and your partner can then make a decision whether it's financially viable for you or not to run that tank.

Yes, you can insulate your tank, which will help. But how far do you take that before your display feature of an aquarium turns into an eyesore?

And yes, you could also embrace the coldwater aspect of the hobby, although even without heaters there will still be cost from "other" gadgets.

Lots to think about, I wish you luck!

 

[phreeflow]

You could try some gymnogeophagus, bristlenose, Apistogramma borelli, and some paleatus cories. Had a tank like that and they handled a wide range of temps, making them easy to keep. No heater needed.

For filtration, a cheap sponge filter won’t take make juice

 

[tetroid]

The room the tank would go in is 7c today which is probably what it is most mornings while it's in the cold months so for the fish I was thinking of would need the temp raising 15c daily, is that going to cost a fortune?

That's going to take a lot of juice. It's quite a bit more than I was raising the temperature of my basement tanks.

If you already have the tank and heater and want really exact usage numbers on the heater in particular, you could get one of those electricity usage monitors that you plug into an outlet, then set up the tank in the conservatory and plug the heater into the monitor. Wait until the tank reaches its operating temperature, and then monitor it for 24 hours.

 

[punman]

Maybe this would be useful, I don't know. My 90 gallon (360 litre) tank is in my heated basement in Canada. I monitored electrical costs for November. The room temperature averages 20C and I like to keep the tank at 25 C - so a 5 C increase. I have a 300W heater. To do that, I used about 63.4 KW h in November. So if you are paying 15 cents per KWh as an example, multiply 63.4 by .15 to find cost.

What I do not know, is how many degrees C you want to raise the temperature above room temperature. If you want to raise it 15 degrees C, maybe you could multiply 63.4 by 3 to get a value. Maybe the function is not linear and multiplying by 3 would be wrong, but it could be a starting point for you. A 240 litre tank might be a little cheaper to heat than my 360, but I find my smaller tanks cost more per liter or gallon to heat than my big ones as I think the smaller tanks lose heat faster. For example my 90 gallon tank is 9 times bigger than my 10, but my 90 only costs 4 as much to heat as my 10 gallon.

I guess it stands to reason. A teaspoon of boiling water probably cools down quicker than a cup of boiling water although I have never tested that theory.