PUB bill for a typical marine tank.

[reefer_cosmo]

Hi guys,

In view of the recent increases in electricity charges (again!), would like to survey fellow reefers on how much electricity bill they pay each month for keeping of their marine tank. Not talking about your total household bill, but the estimated portion belonging to the marine tank's upkeep. Also please indicate the size of your tank and what equipments inside, and running hours.

Let me start:

After I started my tank, I noticed a S$100 increase in my monthly electricity bill. And it is a very small nano tank, which causes me to wonder why is it consuming so much electricity. Maybe more experienced bros out there can suggest ways to save electricity in this hobby.

MH light 150W - initially run for 7 hours a day, now reduced to 4 hours a day

LED blue nite-lights around 4W - initially run for 9 hours, now reduced to 6 hours a day

Chiller Resun CL-280W - initially set at 25 deg C, now set at 27 deg C

One air pump around 7W - run 24/7

2 ACCELA powerheads around 7W each - run 24/7

1 small powerhead around 4W - run 24/7

1 UV around 9W - run 24/7

That's about it, not such a big electrical load, but still the PUB bill shoots up like crazy. Our household usage pattern and habits remain the same.

But seriously speaking ... just paying the PUB bill for 1 year, almost the cost of my whole equipment setup. This is not counting the dosing chemicals, rowaphos, carbon, supplements etc. My tank is only a 28 gallon (100L) JBJ HQI.

Wow, how does other bros who keep HUGE marine tank sustain their hobby? What kind of money do you spend per month on average, just for upkeep?

[wlchew]

That's about it, not such a big electrical load, but still the PUB bill shoots up like crazy. Our household usage pattern and habits remain the same.

But seriously speaking ... just paying the PUB bill for 1 year, almost the cost of my whole equipment setup. This is not counting the dosing chemicals, rowaphos, carbon, supplements etc. My tank is only a 28 gallon (100L) JBJ HQI.

Wow, how does other bros who keep HUGE marine tank sustain their hobby? What kind of money do you spend per month on average, just for upkeep?

I spend about S$200 for my two tank combine total water volume about 170 Gallen, two chiller(1/3HP and 1/2HP), 3x 150W MH, 2 x 54W, 4x 39W 4x Accela, 1x K4, 3 x 3000l OR Return and 1x 6500 OR return 2 x skimmer and some assorted PowerHEAD..Total household spending on electrical is ard S$240.

..so, i think a minimum average per tank cost is ard S$100 per mth.

[vt_snowman87]

i use this very useful link to calculate my electrical cost.. you'll appreciate it, just key in ur wattage for lightings, pumps etc, number of hours.. and voila! u have total cost per month.. :)

http://www.reefcentral.com/calc/tank_elec_calc.php

btw, s'pore electrical charge is abt 23c, so u need to key that in as well..

i'm having a 4ft x2ft + 2ft cube tanks combined with a 4ft sump.. using 2x 250W for 4ft, and 8x 24W for 2ft..

according to the calculations, its abt $100 per month, and i think its pretty accurate..

hope that helps.. cheers!

[piero]

It depends on how U run your tank.

I am running at 4 2 2 tank and it never exceeds $100 for total electricity bill for a month.

Think it depends on what equipment you use.

Currently using 2x tunze nano controllable, 6 T5 tubes on 6 hours a day. 1/2 chiller set at 27C with deltec APF 600 Skimmer.

Calcium and ALK dosed via a dosing computer.

[reefer_cosmo]

I spend about S$200 for my two tank combine total water volume about 170 Gallen, two chiller(1/3HP and 1/2HP), 3x 150W MH, 2 x 54W, 4x 39W 4x Accela, 1x K4, 3 x 3000l OR Return and 1x 6500 OR return 2 x skimmer and some assorted PowerHEAD..Total household spending on electrical is ard S$240.

..so, i think a minimum average per tank cost is ard S$100 per mth.

Hi Bro, looking at the size of your 2 tanks and the kind of Wattage and number of big-sized powerheads, plus lots of lighting ... quite understandable that the power bill can work out to be $100 for each tank. However, for a small 28g nano tank to consume as much electricity, something is not quite right. I am currently hunting down which component is the culprit. Most likely is the chiller (cheap China stuff, not efficient) ...

[reefer_cosmo]

i use this very useful link to calculate my electrical cost.. you'll appreciate it, just key in ur wattage for lightings, pumps etc, number of hours.. and voila! u have total cost per month.. :)

http://www.reefcentral.com/calc/tank_elec_calc.php

btw, s'pore electrical charge is abt 23c, so u need to key that in as well..

i'm having a 4ft x2ft + 2ft cube tanks combined with a 4ft sump.. using 2x 250W for 4ft, and 8x 24W for 2ft..

according to the calculations, its abt $100 per month, and i think its pretty accurate..

hope that helps.. cheers!

Thank bro for the link, very useful. Even at worst case scenario, the calculated bill should be less than $50 per month, to be exact $40+ ... and based on my current scaled back running hours and temp setting, should be $30+ per month only. But the huge jump really shocked the hell out of me ...

[reefer_cosmo]

It depends on how U run your tank.

I am running at 4 2 2 tank and it never exceeds $100 for total electricity bill for a month.

Think it depends on what equipment you use.

Currently using 2x tunze nano controllable, 6 T5 tubes on 6 hours a day. 1/2 chiller set at 27C with deltec APF 600 Skimmer.

Calcium and ALK dosed via a dosing computer.

Bro, can I ask you one thing ... when you set your chiller temp at 27C, what is the temp of the water inside of the main display area?

Becoz of the way that I setup my feed and return of the chiller water, my display area is always 1 deg C higher than the temp sensor indicated on the chiller, Thus, when I want to maintain 27C inside the display area where all the livestocks are, I need to set the chiller at 26 deg C.

I tried to set the chiller at 27C before and the display area goes up to 28 to 28.5 deg C and lots of corals decided not to open up. Once I get the temp inside the display area down to 27C, the corals are happy again.

[vt_snowman87]

hm.. interesting, yupps find out the culprit and let us know! haha..

for my case, its the return pump 80W each (eheim 1262) thats the culprit, coupled with the chiller 450W (resun450)..

[wlchew]

Hi Bro, looking at the size of your 2 tanks and the kind of Wattage and number of big-sized powerheads, plus lots of lighting ... quite understandable that the power bill can work out to be $100 for each tank. However, for a small 28g nano tank to consume as much electricity, something is not quite right. I am currently hunting down which component is the culprit. Most likely is the chiller (cheap China stuff, not efficient) ...

It is known that RESUN Chiller thermostat is not accurate..suggest you replace it with a external thermostat to control your chiller.

And, with a appropriate return-flow..you can reduce your number of "spin" up & down of your chiller. The lesser it is ..the lower the power consumption.

[piero]

Bro, can I ask you one thing ... when you set your chiller temp at 27C, what is the temp of the water inside of the main display area?

Becoz of the way that I setup my feed and return of the chiller water, my display area is always 1 deg C higher than the temp sensor indicated on the chiller, Thus, when I want to maintain 27C inside the display area where all the livestocks are, I need to set the chiller at 26 deg C.

I tried to set the chiller at 27C before and the display area goes up to 28 to 28.5 deg C and lots of corals decided not to open up. Once I get the temp inside the display area down to 27C, the corals are happy again.

Guess U have to calibrate your chiller then? My main tank's temp is usually ard 27.5 C.

[kareen]

Bro, can I ask you one thing ... when you set your chiller temp at 27C, what is the temp of the water inside of the main display area?

Becoz of the way that I setup my feed and return of the chiller water, my display area is always 1 deg C higher than the temp sensor indicated on the chiller, Thus, when I want to maintain 27C inside the display area where all the livestocks are, I need to set the chiller at 26 deg C.

I tried to set the chiller at 27C before and the display area goes up to 28 to 28.5 deg C and lots of corals decided not to open up. Once I get the temp inside the display area down to 27C, the corals are happy again.

Sugguest to put just one cheapo thermometer inside for a better reading of temperature. Also, when adjusting chiller temperature, do it slowly like 0.1 or 0.2 temperature change every day only. The final desired temperature is reached in weeks time so that corals can adapt to the new temperature. Also, make sure the new temperature is less than 30C.

[kareen]

Hi guys,

In view of the recent increases in electricity charges (again!), would like to survey fellow reefers on how much electricity bill they pay each month for keeping of their marine tank. Not talking about your total household bill, but the estimated portion belonging to the marine tank's upkeep. Also please indicate the size of your tank and what equipments inside, and running hours.

Let me start:

After I started my tank, I noticed a S$100 increase in my monthly electricity bill. And it is a very small nano tank, which causes me to wonder why is it consuming so much electricity. Maybe more experienced bros out there can suggest ways to save electricity in this hobby.

MH light 150W - initially run for 7 hours a day, now reduced to 4 hours a day

LED blue nite-lights around 4W - initially run for 9 hours, now reduced to 6 hours a day

Chiller Resun CL-280W - initially set at 25 deg C, now set at 27 deg C

One air pump around 7W - run 24/7

2 ACCELA powerheads around 7W each - run 24/7

1 small powerhead around 4W - run 24/7

1 UV around 9W - run 24/7

That's about it, not such a big electrical load, but still the PUB bill shoots up like crazy. Our household usage pattern and habits remain the same.

But seriously speaking ... just paying the PUB bill for 1 year, almost the cost of my whole equipment setup. This is not counting the dosing chemicals, rowaphos, carbon, supplements etc. My tank is only a 28 gallon (100L) JBJ HQI.

Wow, how does other bros who keep HUGE marine tank sustain their hobby? What kind of money do you spend per month on average, just for upkeep?

If I were you, I will look at how to reduce the 2 ACCELA powerheads 7W each Also, I see that your air pump should be a huge one, a rating of 7W for your tank size.... I think a saving of a minimum 5W can be achieve....

[reefer_cosmo]

If I were you, I will look at how to reduce the 2 ACCELA powerheads 7W each Also, I see that your air pump should be a huge one, a rating of 7W for your tank size.... I think a saving of a minimum 5W can be achieve....

Hi Bro,

Yes, I did come up with a plan to reconfigure the stuff if my next 2 months' electricity bill still do not go down. I have some constraints ...

7W air pump is the stock air-pump supplied (variable speed) for the airstone driven protein skimmer. Initially I thought, wow, so big arhhhh ... better get a smaller one to replace, then later realised why they supplied one this huge ... as the airstone age, and progressively gets "stuck", I could turn up the power to continue the skimming action at the last level of efficiency ... of course, after 2 months, the wooden airstone needs to be changed. So far quite happy with the supplied skimmer. So I will keep this piece of equipment running.

7W ACCELA pumps, 2 of them ... I am using one as "return pump" to return the water from the filter box section to the display area. The other one, I am using it to drive the chiller water cycle (the returned chilled water is into a compartment filled with coral chips, so got the additional benefit of higher surface area for bio filteration, which I will lose this additional bio filteration capacity if I pipe the water back into the display area - as below).

Then, I have a small 4W powerhead serving as a small "return pump" that drives the water through an UV unit, then back into the display area.

So, the only thing I can cut out is the 4W powerhead ... by connecting the UV unit to the chiller water cycle, then water flow back into the display area. But to do that, I need to raise the chiller up higher, as I am experiencing high head loss due to the placement of the chiller on the floor. Then there is the cutting of tubes, risk of saltwater flooding the floor while reconfiguring the tubes etc. etc. Which is why I rather run the 4W powerhead then to itchy hand go and modify everything again.

I believe I have narrowed down the 2 highest impact items: Resun Chiller (darn Made-in-China stuff, not energy efficient) and the 150W MH light. Currently trying to cut the run time of these 2 items down to as low as possible, while still keeping the corals and fishes happy.

BTW, sidetrack a bit, today I saw something very interesting ... my clownfish starts to "host" the jewel coral, and when I feed prawn cubes to the bigger fishes, this clownfish will snatch the prawn cube and place it on top of the jewel coral (right in the center) ... as though it is "feeding" the jewel like feeding an anemone. When I took the prawn cube away, and continuing feeding ... again, the clownfish did the whole routine again. This goes on for 4 times.

Ahhh ... very cute. These are the magical Kodak moments that prompt people to continue with this money draining hobby ehhh? Amount of time and money spend to upkeep a marine tank, no joke.

[kareen]

Hi Bro,

Yes, I did come up with a plan to reconfigure the stuff if my next 2 months' electricity bill still do not go down. I have some constraints ...

7W air pump is the stock air-pump supplied (variable speed) for the airstone driven protein skimmer. Initially I thought, wow, so big arhhhh ... better get a smaller one to replace, then later realised why they supplied one this huge ... as the airstone age, and progressively gets "stuck", I could turn up the power to continue the skimming action at the last level of efficiency ... of course, after 2 months, the wooden airstone needs to be changed. So far quite happy with the supplied skimmer. So I will keep this piece of equipment running.

7W ACCELA pumps, 2 of them ... I am using one as "return pump" to return the water from the filter box section to the display area. The other one, I am using it to drive the chiller water cycle (the returned chilled water is into a compartment filled with coral chips, so got the additional benefit of higher surface area for bio filteration, which I will lose this additional bio filteration capacity if I pipe the water back into the display area - as below).

Then, I have a small 4W powerhead serving as a small "return pump" that drives the water through an UV unit, then back into the display area.

So, the only thing I can cut out is the 4W powerhead ... by connecting the UV unit to the chiller water cycle, then water flow back into the display area. But to do that, I need to raise the chiller up higher, as I am experiencing high head loss due to the placement of the chiller on the floor. Then there is the cutting of tubes, risk of saltwater flooding the floor while reconfiguring the tubes etc. etc. Which is why I rather run the 4W powerhead then to itchy hand go and modify everything again.

I believe I have narrowed down the 2 highest impact items: Resun Chiller (darn Made-in-China stuff, not energy efficient) and the 150W MH light. Currently trying to cut the run time of these 2 items down to as low as possible, while still keeping the corals and fishes happy.

BTW, sidetrack a bit, today I saw something very interesting ... my clownfish starts to "host" the jewel coral, and when I feed prawn cubes to the bigger fishes, this clownfish will snatch the prawn cube and place it on top of the jewel coral (right in the center) ... as though it is "feeding" the jewel like feeding an anemone. When I took the prawn cube away, and continuing feeding ... again, the clownfish did the whole routine again. This goes on for 4 times.

Ahhh ... very cute. These are the magical Kodak moments that prompt people to continue with this money draining hobby ehhh? Amount of time and money spend to upkeep a marine tank, no joke.

oic... then no choice... initially I thought the ACCELA is a wavemaker in tank which could use a tunze nano or Hydor which is lower watt rating....

[natsu]

Hi guys,

In view of the recent increases in electricity charges (again!), would like to survey fellow reefers on how much electricity bill they pay each month for keeping of their marine tank. Not talking about your total household bill, but the estimated portion belonging to the marine tank's upkeep. Also please indicate the size of your tank and what equipments inside, and running hours.

Let me start:

After I started my tank, I noticed a S$100 increase in my monthly electricity bill. And it is a very small nano tank, which causes me to wonder why is it consuming so much electricity. Maybe more experienced bros out there can suggest ways to save electricity in this hobby.

MH light 150W - initially run for 7 hours a day, now reduced to 4 hours a day

LED blue nite-lights around 4W - initially run for 9 hours, now reduced to 6 hours a day

Chiller Resun CL-280W - initially set at 25 deg C, now set at 27 deg C

One air pump around 7W - run 24/7

2 ACCELA powerheads around 7W each - run 24/7

1 small powerhead around 4W - run 24/7

1 UV around 9W - run 24/7

That's about it, not such a big electrical load, but still the PUB bill shoots up like crazy. Our household usage pattern and habits remain the same.

But seriously speaking ... just paying the PUB bill for 1 year, almost the cost of my whole equipment setup. This is not counting the dosing chemicals, rowaphos, carbon, supplements etc. My tank is only a 28 gallon (100L) JBJ HQI.

Wow, how does other bros who keep HUGE marine tank sustain their hobby? What kind of money do you spend per month on average, just for upkeep?

WOW marin really kick the pocket hard>>

[natsu]

Hi guys,

In view of the recent increases in electricity charges (again!), would like to survey fellow reefers on how much electricity bill they pay each month for keeping of their marine tank. Not talking about your total household bill, but the estimated portion belonging to the marine tank's upkeep. Also please indicate the size of your tank and what equipments inside, and running hours.

Let me start:

After I started my tank, I noticed a S$100 increase in my monthly electricity bill. And it is a very small nano tank, which causes me to wonder why is it consuming so much electricity. Maybe more experienced bros out there can suggest ways to save electricity in this hobby.

MH light 150W - initially run for 7 hours a day, now reduced to 4 hours a day

LED blue nite-lights around 4W - initially run for 9 hours, now reduced to 6 hours a day

Chiller Resun CL-280W - initially set at 25 deg C, now set at 27 deg C

One air pump around 7W - run 24/7

2 ACCELA powerheads around 7W each - run 24/7

1 small powerhead around 4W - run 24/7

1 UV around 9W - run 24/7

That's about it, not such a big electrical load, but still the PUB bill shoots up like crazy. Our household usage pattern and habits remain the same.

But seriously speaking ... just paying the PUB bill for 1 year, almost the cost of my whole equipment setup. This is not counting the dosing chemicals, rowaphos, carbon, supplements etc. My tank is only a 28 gallon (100L) JBJ HQI.

Wow, how does other bros who keep HUGE marine tank sustain their hobby? What kind of money do you spend per month on average, just for upkeep?

WOW marin really kick the pocket hard>>

[gerrard_boon]

i guess its the chiller my friend....7w for the other equipments is really low already....even if u cut away those equipment...the bill will not make much of a difference.....like the others,i suggest u do something to yr chilller(either install a external probe or change to a better brand)n at the same time,u could consider changing to t5 light..(less heat..usage of wattage should be lower as well)..

[wil_lee76]

IMO, small pumps are not the main cause...look at your chiller...study how long it kick off and stop....if im not wrong, CL280 will kick on quite often and wont stay long..no matter how u place the pump or others, it still wont do much...

2nd, ur MH is another factor to consider.

hope these helps!

[reefer_cosmo]

Hi Boon & Wil,

Thanks for your inputs. Indeed, it was the chiller & MH. By monitoring the electricity bill, I finally had a heart attack (almost fainted) when my PUB bill peaked at $450 !!! for last month.

I immediately went out to the marine tank, disconnect the chiller and MH light. Then this month's bill dropped to $305

Can die like that man ... electricity bill for chiller & MH light already costs more than those 2 equipment in just few months' time.

[Victor007]

really puzzled. becos i running only 2 150W MH and 300W T5 plus a 1/2hp chiller.

my bill this month is $700. the consumption kept increasing each month.

dun know what's the problem but really scared becos my bill used to be at $300to$400 only.

[gerrard_boon]

well electricity charges are increasing but $300 to $700 is amazing...maybe recent weather too hot...chiller running at longer hrs....even though i still think the increase is too incredible...!

[RedStar]

well electricity charges are increasing but $300 to $700 is amazing...maybe recent weather too hot...chiller running at longer hrs....even though i still think the increase is too incredible...!

maybe PUB needs to check their meters...

my 3ft tank is on 6xT5s, planning to switch to MH, with such high bills, having 2nd thoughts....

but the shimmering effect is too good to be missed lor... hiyah, must install solar panels...

[arcanehacker]

really puzzled. becos i running only 2 150W MH and 300W T5 plus a 1/2hp chiller.

my bill this month is $700. the consumption kept increasing each month.

dun know what's the problem but really scared becos my bill used to be at $300to$400 only.

pengz... $300-$400 only..

[thedidavid]

Hi Boon & Wil,

Thanks for your inputs. Indeed, it was the chiller & MH. By monitoring the electricity bill, I finally had a heart attack (almost fainted) when my PUB bill peaked at $450 !!! for last month.

I immediately went out to the marine tank, disconnect the chiller and MH light. Then this month's bill dropped to $305

Can die like that man ... electricity bill for chiller & MH light already costs more than those 2 equipment in just few months' time.

I think JBJ 28G using magnetic ballast, this ballast consume lot of electricity and running bloody hot. Maybe changing to electric ballast will be better. I also had bad experience with resun cl280 and cl 200, I sugggest to change it into artica mini chiller.

[dachkie]

Hi Boon & Wil,

Thanks for your inputs. Indeed, it was the chiller & MH. By monitoring the electricity bill, I finally had a heart attack (almost fainted) when my PUB bill peaked at $450 !!! for last month.

I immediately went out to the marine tank, disconnect the chiller and MH light. Then this month's bill dropped to $305

Can die like that man ... electricity bill for chiller & MH light already costs more than those 2 equipment in just few months' time.

lol mine also shoot like crazy , now seriously hoping for more affordable led lightings to come in, i heard the wattage for mh lights are just for the light rating but they actually consume more watts then stated, any1 can confirm this?