90 gallon electric bill?

[Scizzle]

So I'm considering upgrading to a 90 gallon from my 30.
I know this is a loaded question, but any ideas on how much increase I will see on my electric bill.

I will have a sump, overflow, considering a fuge, two koralia flow pumps, two heaters. Not sure what to do about lights, I don't want a chiller so I'm assuming halides are not the way to go. Maybe t5's or led?

Questions: Do I have to have a refugium?
What lights do you suggest?
How much relatively will the monthly cost be to run a 90 setup?

Thanks guys

 

[thegrun]

One of the advantages of higher end pumps and lighting is that they usually runs more efficiently and can reduce your power consumption and heat load. LED lighting is much more energy efficient than metal halide or T-5 lighting, but the initial up front costs of LEDs is higher. It is possible to use MH lighting without a chiller, but you need to run fans to increase evaporation and shed heat. T-5 lighting runs cooler and is a little more efficient than MH lighting, but LED lighting is by far the most efficient.
You do not need to have a refugium, but they help reduce nitrates and phosphates and help increase pod populations. I am a strong advocate of LED lighting for it's long term cost benefits. There are huge swings in energy costs for a 90 gallon tank depending on lighting and equipment. $10.00 to as much as $100.00 would be my guess.

 

[HowieB]

The month I set up my 120 gal tank, my electric bill went up between $50.00 to $70.00. It averages that every month.

 

[stingythingy45]

You can see the stats to my 90 gallon below this post.
I'm probably right around $40-$45 a month extra.
And that's with a basement return pump and 2-250 halides.

 

[sandwi54]

I have found the bulk of the electricity bill increase to come from heating, which makes sense from the physics point of view, since water has a high heat capacity and it takes a lot of energy to heat or cool it.

in the summer months my electricity bill is around $90, about $45 increase from before-the-tank era. However, in the winter months the bill is usually around $200. This is also because I don't turn on the heater in my house, so the ambient temperature is typically in the 50's. I could turn on the house heater so the tank heater doesn't have to work has hard, but gas is more costly than electricity so turning on the house heater would result in a higher bill.

Of course, for reef tanks lighting plays a major role in the total electricity bill.

 

[porksmash]

This is my 100 gal electrical bill:

Quick stats:

• Eheim 1262 return pump pulling about 85 watts
• 250W VHO lights
• skimmer pump and powerheads pull about 30w combined
• 300W heater set to 80 deg (ambient is usually 77-78) but I have no idea how often it turns on or how much it pulls from the wall

Clearly the lights are the heavy hitters here. Plan to replace them with LEDs soon.

 

[stingythingy45]

How about AC during those summer months?
Or possibly running a swimming pool?Seem high for just a fish tank with only 250 watts lighting.

 

[sandwi54]

This is my 100 gal electrical bill:

Quick stats:

• Eheim 1262 return pump pulling about 85 watts
• 250W VHO lights
• skimmer pump and powerheads pull about 30w combined
• 300W heater set to 80 deg (ambient is usually 77-78) but I have no idea how often it turns on or how much it pulls from the wall

Clearly the lights are the heavy hitters here. Plan to replace them with LEDs soon.

Something is not right here. I have very similar setup to yours, and my electricity bill is only around $90 in the summer months. Prior to the tank it's around $40-50 just like yours.

- Water blaster HY-5000 at around 57 Watts
- 312W T5HO lights
- Skimmer and powerheads pull about 50-60W combined
- 1000W heater set to 78 deg. Ambient around 75 deg in the summer

 

[Scizzle]

Thanks for the input guys.

Well, I live in Florida so the majority of my electric bill is using the AC basically all year round. It is between 70-77 in my house from late-February to December my current bill is like 150-180 except in december- february it is significantly lower. Heating will not be an issue for me at all. I assumed Halides will need a chiller because of the house temp that's why I am not really considering halides.

 

[trhaynes]

In all honesty it can vary alot, since everyone pays a different amount for there electricity. Some people even work on a tier system, meaning after so much use they raise the rate you pay per kilowatt hour. So it is going to be hard to compare, there is a calculator on the home page that you can plug all of your info into and it will tell you about what it costs. Look at your electricity bill to see what you pay per kilowatt hour.

 

[Babybrown1249]

I think it all depends on where you live and how your electric company bills you. I have friends that their bill sky rocketed but my bill only went up about 15 a month.

 

[radicaltimes]

It will depend also on what your kilowatt per hour cost is. If running two 250 watt MH for 4 hours at 10 cents a kilowatt it would cost you 10 cents. Really just a little bit more because the ballast aren't 100% efficient. I live in Columbus ,Ohio and have a 120 Reef,also a Hot tub.My electric budget is 175 a month. The aquarium I think is more expensive than the Hot Tub to run. Add up what eveything uses and look at your electric bill for what you are charged per kilowatt. I have seen a calculator on this site for your electic cost but I don't know where.

 

[CRC88]

This is my 100 gal electrical bill:

Quick stats:

• Eheim 1262 return pump pulling about 85 watts
• 250W VHO lights
• skimmer pump and powerheads pull about 30w combined
• 300W heater set to 80 deg (ambient is usually 77-78) but I have no idea how often it turns on or how much it pulls from the wall

Clearly the lights are the heavy hitters here. Plan to replace them with LEDs soon.

I agree that something is not right here. Using a utility cost of 14 cents per kW/hr (which I know varies significantly) the highest I can add this up to at all is $51.60/month to run this system, and that's assuming your heater runs 24/7. Since the heater does NOT run 24/7, or even half that (I'd assume less than a tenth) then your electric bill should be no more than $25 per month with the equipment you've showed.

I'm not sure where your savings from the lights come into play here either. A 250W setup only costs $1.05 per hour per month to run. So if your lights are on 6 hours a day, it will cost you $6.30 in lighting costs per month. If they're on 10 hours a day, you're looking at $10.50 per month to run your lights. (.250kW/hr*30days*.14$/Kw= $1.05 per hr per month.) Your savings don't even come from a reduction in cooling- a 250W heater (your lights) would be very easily cooled by 1kw/h additional use from your AC. So a kW per hour to cool your lights would only cost $4.20 a month. I don't understand where the math adds up.

My guess is you're running your A/C most of this time. A central A/C unit is the single biggest consumer of power...and you use your AC in the summer - exactly the same timing you started your tank. That reduction in costs in October when you lowered your light usage is probably from less A/C use due to cooler temps instead of savings from running your tank.

Correct me if you think I'm wrong, but I would only expect to pay AT MOST $50 a month to run a 90gallon tank.

 

[want2reef]

This should help ya.

My 120g costs me about $35 a month.

http://reefcentral.com/index.php/tank-electrical

 

[SecretiveFish]

Do I have to have a refugium?
- No, but it is not a bad idea. You can use these bulbs from Home Depot http://www.homedepot.com/Electrical...langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053#specs for the lighting, just make sure you do not use a reflector with this type of bulb. We have a coral tank that is just running these bulbs.

What lights do you suggest?
- If you have the money, I would suggest LED. There are no replacement bulb costs and it uses a lot less power than other types of lighting. MH IMO is the most expensive lighting to keep running. Not only do you have to consider the bulb replacement costs (every 12-18 months!) but the power consumption. Ouch! And the heat that gets output.... And if you accidentally touch the fixture...

How much relatively will the monthly cost be to run a 90 setup?
- You biggest expense is going to be the return pump, heaters, and lighting. It should not be too hard figure out your potential consumption.
((((watts used by return pump * 24 hours) + 2*((watts used by heater) * (4 hours (or your best guess as to how much the heaters will be on per day))) + 2 * (watts used by Koralia flow pumps * 24 hours) + (watts used by chosen lighting fixture * 8 hours (or however long you are going to keep your lights on)) + (watts used by skimmer pump * 24 hours))/1000) * (cents/KWH as determined by your power bill)) * 30 = monthly cost