Running costs

So does anyone know how much we actually spend running our tanks? How would I work that out?

Although there are theoretical calculations available, the best they can do is to give you a ball-park arena.

You would normally use the wattage quoted on the product (assuming it is true) and the number of hours it is on to do a ball-park calculation.

But, in reality the unit (especially a heater) may not be using the product wattage continuously (so that would be a value less than theoretically calculated).

On the other hand, poor or dodgy wiring or a faulty unit may be using more than stated (so that would put a real value greater than the theoretical).

The hours a thermostatically controlled heater will be on depends on the size of the tank, the dimensions of the tank (note.....that is not the same as the size of the tank), the insulation, ambient room temperature, type of water, rocks etc etc, and the efficiency of the heater (and the appropriate fitting of heater wattage to tank) and water circulation.

So.....the easy theory without getting the unit tested (assuming everything is perfect):

take the wattage (not the kilowatt, but the wattage)....
.....divide that number by 1000 (so, if you have 100 watts, then the answer will be 0.1; if the unit is 2kilowatts, then that is 2000 watts, so divided by 1000 give 2)....
multiply that number by the cost per Unit electricty (from your electric bill).

That will give you the cost per hour that the unit is working at that wattage.

For a reasonable sized tank in a living room with the basic equipment, it doesn't actually work out to cost much to run at all.

If you have 40 tanks.....then things can start to get noticeable.

If you are running mercury vapour lamps on 40 tanks....then you will certainly start to notice a massive difference

ian

If you are running mercury vapour lamps on 40 tanks....then you will certainly start to notice a massive difference

And maybe the gardai taking an interest in your electric bill. No no officer it is not that kind of grow house

As for running cost the heaters are the tricky bit as you know near enough for lights and filters assuming the ratings given are correct but how do you know how long your heater is actually running.

Think of how things were back in the days when high output mercury vapour lamps were the only available stuff for keeping chameleons and coral.

On the number of hours a heater is on......there are too many variables. So you'd just have to guess. If you assume 24hrs then that will give you the upper limit. If they are actually on for 24hrs, then something is seriously wrong with the choice of heaters for the tank.

ian

at least with the mercury vapor lamps you'd probably save on the heating oil. I'd be happy enough with working out the upper limit for the heaters, since all 3 tanks are in the same small room in a generally warm house and usage would never ever approach that upper limit. I'll calculate everything tomorrow but I reckon my costs will be pretty low

ok, so a rough estimate is that the tanks cost me 20-25 euro a month to run. and the majority of that cost is the heaters, and i KNOW i've overestimated how long they run for each day. realistically it costs me about 15-20 euro to run all 4 tanks each month which i think is a very reasonable amount to run a very enjoyable hobby

now if i could only get free fish...

I have over 40 fishtanks, many with more than one powerfilter, plus reptile/frog vivariums and tarantula heating. Running costs are not high.

ian

another way to get a rough guide to the running cost is to use ur meter readings. first note the meter reading, then turn of every thing in ur fish tank/tanks for one hour and note the meter reading again, this gives u the units ur house is using in that one hour, turn on ur tanks again and after one hour note the reading again. this gives u the amount of power ur tanks use in one hour. use ur electric bill to calculate the cost of that hour of running ur tank, multiply up for a monthly cost, dont forget to include the VAT added on to ur electric bill.of course some sensitive marine tanks and fry tanks cant be just turned of so another way is to switch of every thing electrical in ur house including mobile phone chargers and anything on stand by like micro wave ovens, tv and so on. then note ur meter reading for one hour with only ur tanks running.for example ur tank uses 0.25 unit an hour, thats 6 units a day or 180 for 30 day month at 0.16c per unit thats 28.8euro a month plus VAT at 13.5% total cost for a month is 32.6 euro a month or roughly a euro a day. thats how i did mine.