Electricity Costs

I agree with Ryan. $65 a month is excessive.

On heaters, visit Donald's heater calculator for a better understanding
of what you use.
http://www.kernsanalysis.com/HeaterCalculator.cgi

Otherwise, we can apply some rough estimates.

You have a 55, a 10 and a 3g tank.

On the 55g: I get 1.974 to 3.552 kw/day, based on:
i) filter @ 15-25w 24 hrs/day = .360 to .600 kw/day
ii) lights 40W @ 8-12 hours/day = .360 to .480 kw/day (light)
+ ballast efficiency (wild guess 15%) = .054 to .072
iii) heater 200W @ hmmm.... 50% off (lights, pump, ambient), and 50% on
the remaining time, so 24hours x 25% x 200W= 1.2 kw/day, to
100% on 50% of the time = 2.4kw/day

On the 10g: I get 0.784 to 1.056 kw/day, based on:
i) filter 10w 24 hrs/day = .24 kw/day
ii) lights 8W @ 8-12 hours/day = .064 to .096 kw/day
(assuming CF or incandescent so no efficiency factor needed)
iii) heater 50W @ 40 to 60% on= .48 to .72 kw/day

On the 3g: I get 0.528 to 0.792 kw/day, based on:
i) filter 5w 24 hrs/day = .12 kw/day
ii) lights 6W @ 8-12 hours/day = .048 to .072 kw/day
(assuming CF or incandescent so no efficiency factor needed)
iii) heater 50W @ 30 to 50% on= .36 to .6 kw/day

So, your daily consumption could range somewhere between 3.3 to 5.4
kw/day (or 0.1375 to 0.225 kwh). Here in Ontario, Canada we pay about 5
cents per kwh, so using that, your operating costs could be between .6875
and 1.125 cents an hour. Using 720 hours in a 30 day month, your
electricity bill (consumption only) for the aquariums could be between
$4.95 to $8.10 (if I haven't completely buggered up the math ;~),
however, 5 to 10 bucks a month sounds about right for 3 tanks.

NetMax


"Ryan Minaker" wrote in message
...
That sounds a little bit expensive to me!
I would assume that it might cost you $10/month at the absolute most
even if the heaters ran constantly.


R.
http://members.rogers.com/miniks/aquarist.html


On Sun, 21 Mar 2004 15:53:56 GMT, "FishNut" wrote:

Yikes. I it's costing me about 65.00 a month to run my aquariums. I
have a
55 gallon tank, a 10 gallon turtle tank and a small 3 gallon acrylic
tank.
Does anyone else have this problem? Apparently the tank heaters are
very
costly to run. And I have 3.

It's starting to die. Buy a new one now.


"Ryan Minaker" wrote in message
...
Too funny!

Hey, I have a question for you:
I have an ebo jagger 200 watt heater and it's been working great for 3
years. Recently I've noticed that the temperature setting is all "out
of whack" if I set the temperature to 79F it'll heat the water until
it reaches 85F to 88F.

So now I have my temperature set at 71F and the heater heats the water
to 79F. Any ideas on why my heater might have suddenly stopped being
accurate?

R.




On Sun, 21 Mar 2004 17:51:29 GMT, "Dinky"
wrote:



"Ryan Minaker" wrote in message
.. .
| That sounds a little bit expensive to me!
| I would assume that it might cost you $10/month at the absolute
most
| even if the heaters ran constantly.
|


I agree. I have 6 tanks, and at best guess, my power bill is only 15
bucks a month more than before I had them. The OP needs to check his
water heater, if one of the elements burns out, it will continue to
make hot water, but the burned out one will be constantly shorting,
running up the power bill. I've had this happen twice, one time it
cost me over 85 bucks in power. The other time it was a rental, so
the landlady ate the bill, boy was she ****ed.

b

Yikes. I it's costing me about 65.00 a month to run my aquariums. I have
a
55 gallon tank, a 10 gallon turtle tank and a small 3 gallon acrylic tank.
Does anyone else have this problem? Apparently the tank heaters are very
costly to run. And I have 3.

Not sure what the exchange rate is, but my 9 tank system in the garage is
run by 4x 300w heaters, a 6 tank system by 1x 300w, Oase pump for
circulation at 38w, powerhead for smaller system at 50w, 1x 300w in a 48" in
the house, plus running costs for the house = approx £50 (GBP) per month.

Mark

Subject: Electricity Costs
From: "FishNut"
Date: 3/21/2004 9:53 AM Central Standard Time
Message-id:

Yikes. I it's costing me about 65.00 a month to run my aquariums. I have a
55 gallon tank, a 10 gallon turtle tank and a small 3 gallon acrylic tank.
Does anyone else have this problem? Apparently the tank heaters are very
costly to run. And I have 3.

Ya know.....
I don't even want to know. = /

On Sun, 21 Mar 2004 15:53:56 GMT, "FishNut" wrote:

Yikes. I it's costing me about 65.00 a month to run my aquariums. I have a
55 gallon tank, a 10 gallon turtle tank and a small 3 gallon acrylic tank.
Does anyone else have this problem? Apparently the tank heaters are very
costly to run. And I have 3.

I have one 75 gallon, one 29 gallon and three 10 gallon tanks. I run
them at 79 degrees. In the winter I keep the room temperature set to
76 degrees, but the actual temperature at each fish tank varies by
location from 70 to 76 (near the thermostat).

I run under 2 watts per gallon in each tank, but I leave the lights on
for 13 hours each day.

This is my first winter, but I think it cost me about $50/month extra.
I air condition my home and keep the ambient temperature about 74
degrees in the summer. I don't understand why 76 is comfortable in
the winter but too hot in the summer, but that is the way it comes
down for me. So the short of it is in both summer and winter I must
add heat to reach the tank temperature of 79 degrees. Thus my gas and
electric bill does average the extra $50 all year round. I spend
more for my ISDN internet service and drink more than $50 a month, so
the price is acceptable for the pleasure I get from the tanks.

On Sun, 21 Mar 2004 15:53:56 GMT, "FishNut" wrote:

Yikes. I it's costing me about 65.00 a month to run my aquariums. I have a
55 gallon tank, a 10 gallon turtle tank and a small 3 gallon acrylic tank.
Does anyone else have this problem? Apparently the tank heaters are very
costly to run. And I have 3.


In the last 12 months my combined gas and electric bill was $2000.
Just wanted to add this to my earlier comments to provide perspective.

Where do you live. I'm in NY?


"Dick" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 21 Mar 2004 15:53:56 GMT, "FishNut" wrote:

Yikes. I it's costing me about 65.00 a month to run my aquariums. I
have a
55 gallon tank, a 10 gallon turtle tank and a small 3 gallon acrylic
tank.
Does anyone else have this problem? Apparently the tank heaters are very
costly to run. And I have 3.

I have one 75 gallon, one 29 gallon and three 10 gallon tanks. I run
them at 79 degrees. In the winter I keep the room temperature set to
76 degrees, but the actual temperature at each fish tank varies by
location from 70 to 76 (near the thermostat).

I run under 2 watts per gallon in each tank, but I leave the lights on
for 13 hours each day.

This is my first winter, but I think it cost me about $50/month extra.
I air condition my home and keep the ambient temperature about 74
degrees in the summer. I don't understand why 76 is comfortable in
the winter but too hot in the summer, but that is the way it comes
down for me. So the short of it is in both summer and winter I must
add heat to reach the tank temperature of 79 degrees. Thus my gas and
electric bill does average the extra $50 all year round. I spend
more for my ISDN internet service and drink more than $50 a month, so
the price is acceptable for the pleasure I get from the tanks.

One guy said he had unusually high electrical bills to discover a short in
one of his heaters. Does anyone know how to check for this?

Thanks

"FishNut" wrote in message
news
Yikes. I it's costing me about 65.00 a month to run my aquariums. I have
a
55 gallon tank, a 10 gallon turtle tank and a small 3 gallon acrylic tank.
Does anyone else have this problem? Apparently the tank heaters are very
costly to run. And I have 3.

"FishNut" wrote:
Yikes. I it's costing me about 65.00 a month to run my aquariums. I have a
55 gallon tank, a 10 gallon turtle tank and a small 3 gallon acrylic tank.
Does anyone else have this problem? Apparently the tank heaters are very
costly to run. And I have 3.

What's your cost per kWh?

Geez, that shouldn't be more than 200W worth of heaters, top. Assuming they're
on 24x7 (as opposed to a more "normal" 5% duty cycle), that's 144 kWh. At the
US average of $0.075 / kWh, that's only $10.80 (and, for a more likely duty
cycle, more like $0.50).

Naw.

It's gotta be something else sucking down that kind of power. What are you
using for lighting? If you're not using fluorescent, it might be time to
rethink the decision.

I have a 150 watt heater, a 75 watt heater and a 50 watt heater. My
lighting consists of 4 T8 bulbs 32 watts each and 1 small 18 watt reptile
light. All I can think is that one of my heaters is shorting out and
causing all this extra electricity use. It doesn't make sense.

"Andy Hill" wrote in message
...
"FishNut" wrote:
Yikes. I it's costing me about 65.00 a month to run my aquariums. I
have a
55 gallon tank, a 10 gallon turtle tank and a small 3 gallon acrylic
tank.
Does anyone else have this problem? Apparently the tank heaters are very
costly to run. And I have 3.

What's your cost per kWh?

Geez, that shouldn't be more than 200W worth of heaters, top. Assuming
they're
on 24x7 (as opposed to a more "normal" 5% duty cycle), that's 144 kWh.
At the
US average of $0.075 / kWh, that's only $10.80 (and, for a more likely
duty
cycle, more like $0.50).

Naw.

It's gotta be something else sucking down that kind of power. What are
you
using for lighting? If you're not using fluorescent, it might be time to
rethink the decision.