In-Wall 180 Project

:D Thanks Avansickle!

I still gotta figure out how to properly use a camera though. Noticed some serious coraline growth starting on the rocks, the loclines, and the back wall. Good sign!! Still, Calcium is only at 390 right now. Granted I dont need much more than that at this point since I'm in a 180 and not really coral heavy yet. But, I figure if I can get to about 420 and maintain, the SPS I do put in there should respond well.
 
just found this thread.

jarhed, i don't know you, but i'm proud of you. bravo, looks like fun, thanks for the documentation.
 
Thanks Scruz!

I'm pretty proud of the work too! I honestly never thought I could do it all myself! Still learning and still plenty to do though! :D
 
OMFG!!!!!!!!!!:eek1:

My electric bill:

$389!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ***??????????? I'll tear the thing down rather than deal with that all year long!!! Hopefully, it was from the AC running trying to keep the house at 77 for the past month during the heat wave! (praying)
 
lol jarhed,, I it shouldn't be that big of a jump.. Probably 30 bucks a month.. Of course your in California.. soo
 
Have you look at the electrical calc here on RC? Assuming your wattages are correct, that will let you assign blame for the power consumption. Maybe shorten the time your lights are on or stagger on/off times. Can't remember if you have a closed loop but if so maybe turn that pump off at night.

I'd feel that same way if (when?) I got an electrical bill like that!
 
What is your normal electric bill a month?

Mine always jumps significantly in July and August, the hottest months of the year. Right now I'm running 3 ACs on high and heading to home depot tomorrow for number 4!
 
NexDog said:
You're scaring me.
Click to expand...

haha!!!

Well, I'm completely HORRIFIED! This simply cant be! I'm trying to convince myself that its from the AC running. I PRAY thats the case because thats an easy fix, just turn it up to 78 instead of the 77 I have it set at and turn on the fans.

The HQ's are only on from 7:15pm to about 1:25am, the VHO's on from 6:15pm til about 2:00am, the return pump is 24/7 of course, the skimmer pump is on from about 7:00pm til 5:00am and till about 9:00am on weekends, the closed loop pumps run alternatively from 7:00pm til 5:00am, never at the same time, the calcium reactor with the Eheim runs 24/7, along with it's aqualifter, and one more aqualifter running occasionally for topoffs between 7:00pm and 5:00am (when the skimmer runs), then a small clip on fan that runs 24/7 blowing into the sump.

I'm giving it one more month and going to adjust the house temp. If it's near the same, it's gotta stop. This is insane!

Going to call Edison ASAP to see if I can do some averaging or whatever solution they can suggest. This just will NOT do at all. Sucks. :mad2:
 
To tell you the truth, our electricity bill doesn't alter much between winter and summer. In fact the winter might be a tad more expensive due to running heaters that eat more electricity. But it has been insanely hot here the last 3 months with the AC on 24/7 so I'm going to wait and see what the bill is. I think my planned 400g system might eat $150/mo in electricity but I'm prepared for that.
 
You can buy a small device called a kill-a-watt meter and it'll tell you exactly how much power each device you plug into it is using. You can then figure out to the $ how much your tank uses per month. (it calculates kilowatt hours)
 
Psyire said:
You can buy a small device called a kill-a-watt meter and it'll tell you exactly how much power each device you plug into it is using. You can then figure out to the $ how much your tank uses per month. (it calculates kilowatt hours)
Click to expand...

Good idea Psyire, know where those are available?
 
I'm pretty sure radio shack sells them too.. You could also use a clamp on voltage meter that shows amps.. just convert the amps to watts. voltage X amps=watts. Atleast with the meter you could use it on other homeprojects.. It would probably cost more like 30-50 bucks though.
 
Hey jarhed Had the same problem here got the bill $306. took down the 75 upstairs and moved the stuff down in the 180. Not bad saved allot of money moving the stuff and the 75 was my first attempt at this so it wasn't user friendly anyways. But like you said the ac was running full blast so I guess it will take a while to see what the tank costs per month.
 
I'm having Edison install a radio transmitter on the AC to turn it off during power emergencies. The rep told me that the longest they have done it this year was for two hours. With my sump fan blowing and evaporating water, I should have no problem keeping the temp below 82 degrees considering that the temp has been around 76 with the AC set at 77 during the day.

I'm sticking with 80 degrees during the day when I'm not home and may drop it to 79 in the evening, then back to 80 overnight. I'll see how this week goes. If my bill is around the same next month, I have to make some serious choices.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Brian60077
Big project starting today......
Replies
7
Views
182
Dustin07
D
adova
300g DIY Acrylic Tank Recommendations
Replies
5
Views
136
griss
griss
U
New build
Replies
3
Views
301
griss
griss
M
Iam about to build my forever tank. Any advice? I want to migrate my current two ranks
Replies
5
Views
242
Paul B
Paul B
AZBigJohn
New Build... I'm back
Replies
15
Views
446
Dustin07
D
Back
Top