Electric cost for reef tank?

[Mr. Barlow]

Ok, so one of the things that I havent seen mentioned in my research is how much my electric bill will go up running a reef tank.

120g 48x24x24 with fish,inverts,coral. Thinking about led's since that lowers electical cost, bulb replacement, eliminates need for chillers, timers, less heat means less ac in the summer to cool room etc.

So how much does your setup cost you a month in terms of the electric bill. Just curious. Ball park figures are fine since I know everybody has different setups.

Thanks

 

[noodleman]

i say about $20 a month ontop of whatever my normal e-bill is

 

[Wes]

i don't keep track of how much electricity the tank is using, i think it's better that way lol.

anyways, here is a good calculator that estimates the monthly electrical cost for you

http://reefcentral.com/calc/tank_elec_calc.php

 

[tunicata]

I haven't used that calculator, buuut, my bill is $30 max per month for everything.
I only have the reef system, refridgerator,tv/cable/comp, reg. lights, and...that's about it.

I'm only running under 200w light, pump, 2 heaters, 2 skimmers, 1 powerhead..that's it.

 

[Bikinisalt]

i don't keep track of how much electricity the tank is using, i think it's better that way lol.

I agree, I think I would cry...

 

[NYreefNoob]

mine runs about 60-100 depending on time of the year for mine. alot of it depends on how much equiptment you have what type of equip ect

 

[grknyer]

J/K

 

[roncgizmo]

I'd say my 37 gallon is costing me about 300 a month...But that includes running my a/c and heat 24/7 Cooking, running the fridg 24/7, running power tools to build things for it...etc, etc,...

But really maybe 20 bucks just for the tank itself

 

[Mr. Barlow]

300 a month! Whats the square footage of your home! That sounds like a lot, reef tank or not!

 

[Cloud1921]

As Wes posted, sometimes its better not to know :scratch::teeth:

Con Edison is defintely not on my "friends" list.
My total E-bill per month is around $3-400:banghead: (Normal Months)
I don't mean to discourage you, but it all depends on the equipment.

I would say ~ 50% of the bill is attributed to the cost of running the tank.

I did try out one of those kill-a-watt meters.
Never figured that leaving my computer on for 24hrs a day would cost ~$20-25/month.

 

[ZANYMASTER]

You know Con ed.fluctuating cents per kilowatt especially in the summer time.Winters aren't too bad.Under 200 bucks.

 

[h20 freak]

Thats not the cost you will be feeling:tongue:

 

[House of Laughter]

My whole house electric bill was $460 this month - no AC, no fans, no nothing

I would say it costs me about $275 a month just to run the 2 systems I have running with a total water volume of approx 500g

House

 

[Alfredo De La Fe]

Man, my tank runs me at least an extra $250 per month (averaged out). About $150 in the winter and $350 in the summer). I live in an apartment, my tank specs:

180 Gal
1 Iwaki 55-RLT
3 400W Metal Halide (e-Ballast to reduce electric consumption)
Heater
Chiller
20,000 BTU AC in summer (220V and so many BTU's to reduce power consumption)
Reefkeeper II
Skimmer, Phosban Reactor and Calcium Reactor pumps
1 tiny powerhead

-Alfred

 

[tosiek]

wow. and i thought my bills were high. Anywhere from 70$ to 230$ was my peak during summer. Prolly 20-30$ a month im paying in electric for just the tank.

 

[manyfish]

about 200 month and summer time 250

 

[roncgizmo]

300 a month! Whats the square footage of your home! That sounds like a lot, reef tank or not!

That's the worst case maybe 1 or 2 months out of the year ...on the low end it's about 130

 

[emmanuel]

My 125 reef runs $100-$130 extra a month not including other sappliances for those who say $25 what do you have a 12 gallon eclipse?

 

[frank arriaga]

$25.00 Blame the other 200.00 on my wife hair dryer runnig about 325 gal lol

 

[jackson6745]

Ok, so one of the things that I havent seen mentioned in my research is how much my electric bill will go up running a reef tank.

120g 48x24x24 with fish,inverts,coral. Thinking about led's since that lowers electical cost, bulb replacement, eliminates need for chillers, timers, less heat means less ac in the summer to cool room etc.

So how much does your setup cost you a month in terms of the electric bill. Just curious. Ball park figures are fine since I know everybody has different setups.

Thanks

My 120 ran me between $80-$100 per month with 400w halides, a chiller that never turned on, Bubble master skimmer, Eheim return pump, and 2 tunze 6100's.

I repeat, MY CHILLER NEVER TURNED ON WITH 400W HALIDES. If you run efficient pumps and have a well vented canopy, you won't get much heat from your lighting.
When I was running 250w halides with larger external pumps my chiller was on all the time.