Electric Bill Savings????
- Thread starter forddna
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James77
Team RC
I would consider swapping out to LEDs. The initial cost is higher, but you will realize even more savings from not having to replace bulbs.
I am again in the process of making my tank more energy efficient. I will be running a 65 watt Ehiem return, a 13 watt skimz skimmer, and will be switching to LEDs real soon. I use Tunzes as flow. I figure my total tank electric costs per month, not including heat( which is only winter)), at about 100 kwH per month. Which is about $13 at my current rate for a 120 gallon mixed reef tank.
I am again in the process of making my tank more energy efficient. I will be running a 65 watt Ehiem return, a 13 watt skimz skimmer, and will be switching to LEDs real soon. I use Tunzes as flow. I figure my total tank electric costs per month, not including heat( which is only winter)), at about 100 kwH per month. Which is about $13 at my current rate for a 120 gallon mixed reef tank.
. You could definitely get by with a lower eprforming model, as you are only keeping softies.
moondoggy4
Team RC
I switched from a Eheim 1260 skimmer pump to a Tuzne 9420 Hydrofoamer and I cleaned my Refrigerator grills and turned off my surrond sound and my bill went 250 on off season to 160 Here in Cal. we are on a tier system so I went from a tier 5 to a 4.
CMcNeil
New member
Amanda for your softy tank you really should go with LED's.you wont need that many bulbs to light the tank and the initial cost wont be as bad as you think.you could probably get away with 48 bulbs or so to light it and that would cost around $500 or maybe less depending on who you buy the bulbs/drivers from.my 24 bulb kit only cost me $280 shipped to my door and with the right lenght heatsink those 24 bulbs would light half your tank and only draw 72w max.im only able to run my 24 bulbs at half power since they are so bright and the tank is small.you should get two 24"x8.46" heatsinks,2 meanwell ELN 60-48D drivers,18 cool white crees,30 royal blues crees,4 fans,and 48/70 degree optics.this will give you plenty of light and run around $500.sell your current MH's and you wont have to spend more than $250 for the setup i listed above.if you want to know where i got my kit just pm me and ill send you all the info.
also you could save power with the pumps you use.im not sure what kind of return pump or flow pumps you have but you can most likely shave power by switching.i know the tunze return pump im getting only draws 40w max and puts out up to 900gph.obviously the pumps arent cheap up front but in time will pay for themselves in power savings.the new water blaster pumps also put out alot of water for being relatively low wattage and arent that expensive.what reurn pump do you run?do you have any internal flow pumps?if yes what kind?im a firm believer in paying for the best you can buy to save on power.my new 50g setup is going to draw less than 500w and it will be an sps system.im using a tunze return pump,2 vortec mp-10's for flow,i-tech 100 skimmer,2 eheim heaters,48 LED lights,one reactor,and a tunze osmolator.
also you could save power with the pumps you use.im not sure what kind of return pump or flow pumps you have but you can most likely shave power by switching.i know the tunze return pump im getting only draws 40w max and puts out up to 900gph.obviously the pumps arent cheap up front but in time will pay for themselves in power savings.the new water blaster pumps also put out alot of water for being relatively low wattage and arent that expensive.what reurn pump do you run?do you have any internal flow pumps?if yes what kind?im a firm believer in paying for the best you can buy to save on power.my new 50g setup is going to draw less than 500w and it will be an sps system.im using a tunze return pump,2 vortec mp-10's for flow,i-tech 100 skimmer,2 eheim heaters,48 LED lights,one reactor,and a tunze osmolator.
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forddna
New member
Eheim 1262. I just looked it up, and it's 80w. I haven't had a skimmer running in a while, so no pump there. I know that the bulf of my high electric bill is because of things unrelated to the fish tank, but if I can make my tank more efficient, I can't get blamed. 
I'm running 3 Koralia 4s and one Koralia 6 (the magnum series). It's only 10w. Not sure what the K4s are. They're the old, non controllable type.
Then I also run two 250w heaters because my house is cold. That's all that's running..return pump, 4 powerheads, 2 heaters, and the MHs on a timer.
I'm running 3 Koralia 4s and one Koralia 6 (the magnum series). It's only 10w. Not sure what the K4s are. They're the old, non controllable type.
Then I also run two 250w heaters because my house is cold. That's all that's running..return pump, 4 powerheads, 2 heaters, and the MHs on a timer.
forddna
New member
Funny you mention surround sound. That's another wasteful thing we've been doing. One of my dogs will sleep in longer (and not wake us up early) if we leave the living room tv on. That means surround sound system. All night, every night. That's stopping!
I also have a well, and I've had to run sprinklers a lot, so the well pump was running a lot last month. And the heat...air conditioners...
Last month's bill was $450.
if you switch your mh off, and your house is kept cold your heaters will be running a lot more. if you have a 660 with 4 bulbs i think that ballast is maxed out. you cold get a retro kit for 60" t5s from reefgeek and spread your lighting out farther. if you end up liking the colors available in t5s the 660 ballast can be used to power t5s also but shortens there life.
NatureNerd
New member
The switch to LED's from MH has resulted in around $30 a month reduction in my power bill. Also, my reef would often swing 4 - 5 degrees (fans no chiller). Now it is controlled to about 1 degree. A chiller would have resulted in more power consumption and even higher bills.
Anemonebuff
New member
I switched to LEDs and have already had a $30 drop in my balanced budget. It should go down more being the $30 drop was only for a few months of running LED.
LED is the way to go. And get the dog an IPOD.:debi:
DoctorMatt
New member
How do you know which LEDs are good or not. I've seen tons on Ebay and Amazon that claim to be for coral aquariums but just have bad reviews as they are merely moon lights at best.
olemiss reb
Molon Labe
Go to a reputable vendor and find name brand lights you like and research them here. premium aquatics has a nice selection-- http://premiumaquatics.com/aquatic-supply/LED.html
Most of the user made setups on ebay are junk imo using 1w leds.
Algaenot
New member
I also switched to LEDs which lowered the tanks power consumption by 25%. I also like the fact that the LEDs run much cooler than MHs or T5s.
Building an LED is much easier than you think. I built one for my 90 gal and had no problems. With my design, the middle of the tank 9is a little dark so this morning I built a 24 LED fixture in about 4 hours. The nice thing about DIY is that you can expand the system as funding allows.
Building an LED is much easier than you think. I built one for my 90 gal and had no problems. With my design, the middle of the tank 9is a little dark so this morning I built a 24 LED fixture in about 4 hours. The nice thing about DIY is that you can expand the system as funding allows.
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