Electricity Bills (For 90g, 125g, 180g)

[ScubaPrawn]

Hey guys, I'm considering upgrading and I want to get an idea of how much I'd have to budget for.

So, I'd appreciate anyone with a 90g/125g/180g or any size reef tank that's comparable to tell me what it costs them a month to keep it running.

I'm specifically interested in the electricity bill, but if you want to add in other monthly expenses I'd like to know that too!

 

[ridetheducati]

It will depend on how much you pay per watt.

I am paying $100 - $120 per month for my 180. I do not have a chiller.

(2) 400w MH
(1) Eheim 1262
(1) BM 200
(2) Heater 300w
(2) Tunze 6100
(2) Maxi-Jet 1200
(1) ATO

 

[EddieJ]

You can get a pretty solid estimate by doing the following:

(Wattage × Hours Used Per Day x Days) ÷ 1000 = Kilowatt-hour (kWh) consumption

So find out your cost per kWh from your electric bill. Easy way is take your bill total and dived by kWh used that month. Our rate here is .13 per kWh

So I have a Little Giant Pump that runs the return, pulling let's say 90 watts

It runs 24/7

So 90*24*365 = 788400 divide that by 1000 you get 788.40

Multipy that by .13 and you get $102.40 as the yearly cost to run that pump.

Divide by 12 and It's $8.54 a month to run that pump

I run a light fixture that pulls 640 watts 7 hours a day

640*6*365 = 1401600 divide that by 1000 and you get 1401.6

Multiply that by .13 and you get $182.21 as the yearly cost

Divide by 12 and it's $15.18 a month to run my lights..

You can just add up all the devices and it will give you a pretty good estimate. Hard thing is the heaters, knowing how much they run is tough to calculate.

 

[Jukas]

The only way to accurately even guestimate is by knowing what your per KW charges are as they vary region to region.

Some places (where I live for example) even run tiered metering.

Where I am for example 0-300 KWH are billed at .12
300-700KWH are billed at .18
700KWH+ are billed at .23

The only study I could find was from 2008 showing that the average US household used 920 +/- KWH.

 

[Jeff000]

My 90 gallon makes such a small impact on my power bill that I can not for sure say about how much it costs. Some months are cheaper then when I didn't have the tank, some are a few dollars more, some are 15 dollars more, but it seems my power use history for the last 6 years are up and down and the tank gets lost in the variances.

I have T5 lighting, two tunze 6050 power heads, and a tunze return pump, then a skimmer, and a carbon reactor. And a couple CFL lights for my sump.

 

[ScubaPrawn]

Thanks for the great responses.

Since I haven't decided on what equipment I'll be running and because I'm moving soon it'll be harder for me to guess what I'd be paying a month.

Since I'm upgrading, I'm thinking of taking the plunge for a 180g but I have this fear that although I'm taking into account the startup costs, the additional monthly electric bill is going to bite me in the rear and I'll be wishing I had gone for a 90g.

 

[reefjunkie42]

i have a 90 and am upgrading and cannot wait

 

[Fish4Me2]

This will vary widely based on your power cost. I live in a high power cost area. My old 180 tank always pushed us into the top tier of cost, in a house that would only go into tier 2 without the tank. The extra cost was around $100 during the summers when the chiller ran frequently.

 

[Mikey122687]

Man i got a 80G tank with 6bulbs t5 and a 1/3 chiller and the bill went up $70 a month

 

[KyleO]

Don't get me started! Just be very VERY thankful that you are not paying .40 kwh like we get to pay in the SF Bay area.

Highway robbery!!! My 210ga with MHs costs me just under $500. per month.

My only reason for sharing this is to take the sting out of the extra amount you will be paying for the bigger tank.................

When it is all said and done, it is worth it!

 

[EddieJ]

Don't get me started! Just be very VERY thankful that you are not paying .40 kwh like we get to pay in the SF Bay area.

Highway robbery!!! My 210ga with MHs costs me just under $500. per month.

My only reason for sharing this is to take the sting out of the extra amount you will be paying for the bigger tank.................

When it is all said and done, it is worth it!

that is your total electric bill including the house correct? 500 seems high for only the tank system.. If I assume .40 kwh cost and the following:

1200 watts for 3 400w MHs running 6 hours a day
200 watts for actinic running 12 hours a day
290 watts for a return pump 24 hours a day
120 watts for skimmer 24 hours a day
790 watts for a 1/2HP chiller running 12 hours a day (guessing on the high side)
and then 200 watts for misc equipment

comes out to around $372 a month actual electrical usage from the above system.

Yes, that electrical cost STINGS out on the coast!!! That same system running here in Cleveland Ohio would cost $122.15 a month...

 

[agreeive?fish]

since my home is 110% electric so i dont even worry what the tank cost to run, iam sure my stove/fridge/washer/dryer/hot water heater/tvs use more elctricity than my multiple tanks..thats my excuse and iam sticking to it

 

[MarkGP]

My electric bill went up about $80 for my 125 G using a gen-x pump in the basement sump and 1000 watts of heat and LED lights.

 

[tozzi]

Dont even wanna know what it cost! Lol

 

[Ringens]

My 187g runs $70 per month. 2 x 250w halides, pcx-30 and various smaller things. No chiller.

 

[KyleO]

that is your total electric bill including the house correct? 500 seems high for only the tank system.. If I assume .40 kwh cost and the following:

1200 watts for 3 400w MHs running 6 hours a day
200 watts for actinic running 12 hours a day
290 watts for a return pump 24 hours a day
120 watts for skimmer 24 hours a day
790 watts for a 1/2HP chiller running 12 hours a day (guessing on the high side)
and then 200 watts for misc equipment

comes out to around $372 a month actual electrical usage from the above system.

Yes, that electrical cost STINGS out on the coast!!! That same system running here in Cleveland Ohio would cost $122.15 a month...

I am in a big house, but the first two months I was in the house (without the tank) my electricity bill ran in the mid 300's.

Ever since I set up my tank, we have a party if the bill comes in under $800. It is usually close to $1,000. (sometimes higher)

"Stings" is putting it mildly

 

[stevek480]

My 125g tank costs about $80/month in electric at $0.18/kWh.

 

[DallasSVT]

I am in a big house, but the first two months I was in the house (without the tank) my electricity bill ran in the mid 300's.

Ever since I set up my tank, we have a party if the bill comes in under $800. It is usually close to $1,000. (sometimes higher)

"Stings" is putting it mildly

Thank you Cail for buying power from Texas!!

:love1:

 

[davidtsx]

My 125g tank costs about $80/month in electric at $0.18/kWh.

Man I fell bad for you. I only pay about $12 bucks a month for my 125 at $0.0233/kWh. I'm so happy I live in VA.

 

[travis32]

I just looked at my electricity bill.
Half of my home's heat is electric baseboard and half is gas fireplace. We use the gas fireplace to supplement the baseboard heat.

So, this includes 500W of Halides on for 9 hours, 320W of actinics on for 11 hours, 90Watt return pump, 10 watts in powerheads, 400 W in heaters (2 heaters.)

SWC Protein skimmer, controller, ATO, a couple sump lights and then some for a 125g tank.

My total home wattage usage was 2,122 KWH.

My electric company charged $.042730 per KWH and then multipled 2122 again X
$.024147 for a "fuel charge". To generate the electricity used I guess..

There's a separate section on the bill for the natural gas usage, so it's not gas related.

So, in the end it comes out to $.066877 per KWH.
Let's say 1.4 KWH X 12 Hours a day and .7 KWH @ 12 hours a day (just for sake of estimating a cost.)


16.8 KWH + 8.4 = 25.2 KWH per day, 30 days a month comes to:

756 KWH / Month * .066877 ~ $50.559012 Per month is what my 125g runs.

That's probably on the high side, given that I don't know that my heaters would run 12 hours continuously per day. ANd they were a large chuck of wattage. So, I would guess my tank varies betwee $20 and $50.00 a month at $.06 / KWH.

Which comes to 1/5 to 1/3 of my overall house electricity usage, and 90% is electric in the house.