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Kull 
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Joined: October 24 2003
Location: Zimbabwe
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 Topic: How much does it cost to run a Reef tank
Posted: August 13 2004 at 4:04pm |
I had a friend come over today and ask f I have ever looked at how much it cost to run my reef tank.
I don't know.
He heard thatI had just added some "cool" lighting and was thinking of doing the same and wanted to know how much my power bill was.
I really haven't noticed any differance. he thinks that his home tank may be costing him over $100.00 a month in power. Based on the differance between his power bill and his neigbors power bill.
I am going to check it out and see if I am paying anything near that to power my reef. My standard power bill hasn't gone up that much since I started my reef, but I was curious to know how much it has gone up. It has to cost something to power all that equipment I have plugged in.
3 power heads
1 return pump
1 UV light
1 150 watt HQI
1 175 watt MH
1 96 watt PC
2 fans
1 heater
1 air conditioned room
hmmm I wonder how much all the power these thing actually use. 'm going to monitor my power consumption this weekend, I'll let you know.
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"So this is what gives meaning to your life." -Unknown
Daniel in Santaquin
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ssilcox
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Joined: November 17 2003
Location: Sandy
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Posted: August 13 2004 at 4:30pm |
There is a calculator on reefcentral that could help.
http://www.reefcentral.com/calc/tank_elec_calc.php
Kinda scary.
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bugzme
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Joined: May 22 2004
Location: West Jordan
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Posted: August 13 2004 at 4:43pm |
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well i guess i'm out 500 bucks a year
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Jeff
125 tank
50 gallon sump
T-5 lighting
Rum drinker, Carbon User
I KNOW ROCKS THAT ARE YOUNGER THEN ME!! I AM A Realist! I write what I think!!
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jfinch
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Joined: March 06 2003
Location: Pleasant Grove
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Posted: August 13 2004 at 8:23pm |
Let me tell you from recent experience... my July electric bill (electricity only) was $360  . When that happens the wife starts silly talk about shutting down the aquarium and asks questions like "just how much does that thing cost?" So, I brought home a nice amp meter and measured all the circuits in my house, including the aquarium. I measured the amp draw for all my aquarium users. Everything was pretty much like the nameplate data except my 400 watt MH. It drew closer to 600 watts. My 125 gallon tank consumes just over 600 kW-hr per month (about 20 kW-hr per day). That's about $40 - $50 per month (depending on which pay tier I'm on). Ouch! But it's workable. Oh, I had UP&L come out and verify these numbers.
So for you Daniel:
3 power heads (10 watts)(24 hr) = 240 W-hr
1 return pump (50 watts)(24 hr) = 1200 W-hr
1 UV light (25 watts)(24 hr) = 600 W-hr
1 150 watt HQI (150 watts)(10 hr) = 1500 W-hr
1 175 watt MH (175 watts)(10 hr) = 1750 W-hr
1 96 watt PC (96 watts)(12 hr) = 1152 W-hr
2 fans (10 watts)(10 hr) = 100 W-hr
1 heater (150 watts)(1 hr) = 150 w-hr
1 air conditioned room ???
Total = 6692 W-hr = 6.692 kW-hr per day
6.692 kW-hr/day x $0.07/kW-hr x 30 days = $14.05 per month
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Travis
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Joined: September 23 2003
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Posted: August 13 2004 at 11:09pm |
Here's mine http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2935& PN=6 I'm at about 60 a month between two tanks.
Jon, what kind of ballast is the 400w MH??
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jfinch
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Posted: August 14 2004 at 8:38am |
It is a Universal-Magnetek ballast firing a coralvue 20K bulb. I'm not really sure why it's drawing so many amps  .
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smatney
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Posted: August 14 2004 at 10:35am |
Was this friend just talking about electricity? There's much more cost than just electricity. Some people spend thousands of dollars for their set-up. Then there's Mark who I told last night could write the "frugal aquarist" book. He manages to set up his tank and end up with an awesome tank for much less than a thousand dollars.
I think cost also depends on how handy you are. Some people have everything plumbed and wired for them professionally. Others do a lot of DIY projects.
Then there's the maintenence.
One thing for sure. No matter how you do it, it's not a cheap hobby.
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Susan Matney
Farmington, UT
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Connie
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Posted: August 14 2004 at 2:01pm |
Susan is on the right rack. Did they want to know only of the electrical costs or the cost... I dont even want to knwo what I spend when you add test kits, salt, B-Ionic, etc. etc, etc, etc, etc, etc,........ We wont even talk about that coral or fish I just had to have........ Without a doubt, Im in over 6 or 7 thousand and most are in alot deep then I am.......
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I have flying monkeys and I'm not afraid to use them.
180 gallon money pit that I love.....
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SSpargur
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Joined: February 05 2003
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Posted: August 14 2004 at 3:24pm |
 Connie wrote:
Without a doubt, Im in over 6 or 7 thousand and most are in alot deep then I am....... |
Heh, I wish it was just 6 or 7 thousand....shhhhh, don't tell my wife! 
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Sean Spargur
West Valley, UT
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Kull
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Joined: October 24 2003
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Posted: August 14 2004 at 4:07pm |
He was talking just flat out electricity.
I mentioned having the power company come out to him. I think that he may have a bad meter.
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"So this is what gives meaning to your life." -Unknown
Daniel in Santaquin
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Travis
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Posted: August 15 2004 at 12:16am |
jfinch wrote:
It is a Universal-Magnetek ballast firing a coralvue 20K bulb. I'm not really sure why it's drawing so many amps . |
According to their web site it should only pull between 458-475W. It my be getting bad??
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Kull
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Posted: August 16 2004 at 12:07pm |
Turns out the power issue was cuased by a clogged AC condenser.
Poor chap, his dryer vent blows lint right on top of his ac unit.
Thanks for all the input.
My setup costs roughly $20.00 a month.
Edited by Kull
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"So this is what gives meaning to your life." -Unknown
Daniel in Santaquin
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Will Spencer
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Joined: September 04 2003
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Posted: August 17 2004 at 5:44pm |
According to the RC calculator my reef runs me about $28/month. Add the other 3 FW tanks and it comes out to $41/month. Many people fear it will be much more than that. Of course we have relatively cheap electricity compared to much of the nation. What would it cost to run it all in California? 
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imaexpat2
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Posted: August 23 2004 at 2:10am |
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Seems my bill only went up about 60-70 a month, but thats for a 135 reef with 250 watt halides, 300 reef with 400 watt halides, a 75 Frag and VHO, 24 Nano Reef PC, 10 gallon with PC. I dont think it was that bad. The 3 larger tanks have refugiums almost the same size as the tank too.
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300 gal. Frag System
300 gal. Live Rock Vat
240 gal. SPS/Clam Reef Tank
135 gal. SPS/Clam Reef Tank
75 gal. Softies only Tank
65 gal. LPS/Softies
24 gal. SPS/Softies Nano Reef
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