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Retirement and forum shutdown (17 Jan 2022)

Hi,

John Howell who has managed the forum for years is getting on and wishes to retire from the role of managing it.
Over the years, he has managed the forum through good days and bad days and he has always been fair.
He has managed to bring his passion for fish keeping to the forum and keep it going for so long.

I wish to thank John for his hard work in keeping the forum going.

With John wishing to "retire" from the role of managing the forum and the forum receiving very little traffic, I think we must agree that forum has come to a natural conclusion and it's time to put it to rest.

I am proposing that the forum be made read-only from March 2022 onwards and that no new users or content be created. The website is still registered for several more years, so the content will still be accessible but no new topics or replies will be allowed.

If there is interest from the ITFS or other fish keeping clubs, we may redirect traffic to them or to a Facebook group but will not actively manage it.

I'd like to thank everyone over the years who helped with forum, posted a reply, started a new topic, ask a question and helped a newbie in fish keeping. And thank you to the sponsors who helped us along the away. Hopefully it made the hobby stronger.

I'd especially like to thank John Howell and Valerie Rousseau for all of their contributions, without them the forum would have never been has successful.

Thank you
Darragh Sherwin

Electricity bills

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24 Jul 2008 15:55 #1 by DaveyH (Dave Horan)
Hi,

Has any one monitored the amount of power their aquariums use and the cost involved?

Thanks,
Dave.

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24 Jul 2008 16:38 #2 by Daragh_Owens (Daragh Owens)
No, spend most of the time trying not to think of such things, especially after the ESB bill reached a crescendo of €780 last Oct. Back to around €380 now. The cause of the increase was heating the room instead of the tanks. I know that does not make sense as it is supposed to be a cheaper method, but that's what happened when I tried it.

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24 Jul 2008 23:14 #3 by sheag35 (Seamus Gillespie)
i tried this method myself but in a shed and lined the walls with polystyerene, then cover it with some thin sheets of wood, had heaters in the tanks just in case.. i must say the extra effort with the polystyerene did make a difference in my case but savings were not huge
Seamus

Fishkeeping the Only way to get wet and wild

currently 25 tanks, and breeding is the aim of everything i keep
location:Limerick

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25 Jul 2008 19:46 #4 by komalley (K OM)
Seamus,

Try some tinfoil on the walls....shiny side in.....

Ask the chefs at work about the effect of shiny/dull side of tinfoil and the rate of cooking.....

kom

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25 Jul 2008 22:14 #5 by darragh (Darragh Sherwin)
I measured the load recently for my 2 tanks.
It's about 0.2kW at maximum

Darragh

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26 Jul 2008 09:38 #6 by serratus (Drew Latimer)
Interesting post.... guys just be thankful ye dont have a massive fish house, n lots of displays... never mind a 60,000 litre koi pond!!!! our \"hamsters\" are workin overtime!!!!!

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26 Jul 2008 20:18 #7 by suckers (matt lait)
how about getting us fish addicts to run a mile in a wheel b4 we get inside the shop!!!!!!!
staff....... not cleaning or helping us out why not........
oops i gotta come back and see ya soon

matt

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26 Jul 2008 21:28 #8 by JohnH (John)
Replied by JohnH (John) on topic Re:Electricity bills
serratus wrote:

Interesting post.... guys just be thankful ye dont have a massive fish house, n lots of displays... never mind a 60,000 litre koi pond!!!! our \"hamsters\" are workin overtime!!!!!


Just so long as you don't get carried away and start charging 'long-distance' visitors to use the toilet !!! (In the oft-quoted words of the wartime song \"It's a Long Way to Tipperary\"...you could substitute 'from Tipp' as well).

John

Location:
N. Tipp

We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl - year after year.


ITFS member.



It's a long way to Tipperary.

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09 Mar 2009 00:42 #9 by DaveyH (Dave Horan)
Hi,

All I have running now is a Rio 180 and Rekord 96 with their standard filters and heaters plus an extra heater and air pump in the 180 to keep the discus happy and an extra pump in the 96.

So in total:

3 medium heaters.
2 filter pumps
3 juwel hood lights
1 air pump
1 Centrifugal Pump

Can anyone help give me a ball-park figure of what this should be costing every month, please, as we got a big electric bill and the girlfriend is blaming the 2 tanks.
:S

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09 Mar 2009 13:06 #10 by goldy (goldy .)
I got a shocker this esb bill too and the same row about the cost of running the tanks etc. Try asking your girlfriend how much her hair straightener cost per bill and the arguments should stop.:laugh:

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09 Mar 2009 13:17 #11 by 2poc (2poc)
Replied by 2poc (2poc) on topic Re:Electricity bills
My ESB bill was over 500 Euro...

First I've gotten since I moved into a new house.

I have 5 tanks running with another just ready to go.
I will have to consider scaling back if this is a sign of things to come though..

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09 Mar 2009 13:24 #12 by darragh (Darragh Sherwin)
If you need to keep an eye on your electricity bill, these little smart meters can help you to identify how much you are using and what it is going to cost you.
www.efergy.com/products.html

I was able to find out that a 300W heater was busted and drawing 300W continually, I was also able to find other devices around the house were drawing 200W continuously even though they weren't being used all the time.
You can get them from time to time in B+Q for about €50 or on eBay

Darragh

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09 Mar 2009 15:58 #13 by peter (peter campbell)
was just about to ask about the cost of electricity for tanks cause im looking at buying a marine reef tank thats over 200l.:)
so does anyone have any results and stats from using one of these meters?

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09 Mar 2009 16:23 #14 by fourmations (NIall SMyth)
there is a calculator on practical fishkeeping
that will calculate your running costs for all
the elcetricals used in your tank

but you need to be registered (which is free)

www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/pfk/pages/electrical_costs.php


ciao

4

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09 Mar 2009 19:17 #15 by DaveyH (Dave Horan)
If I use that calculator for one 200watt heater:

Total Watts used: 200 watts
Watts per annum: 43800 hours per year
Kilowatt hours used: 43.8 kw/hrs

Heating: €236.52 per year (1752 kw/hrs)
TOTAL: €236.52

Surely not ???

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09 Mar 2009 19:45 #16 by peter (peter campbell)
id say thats cause its taking that it is on constantly for a year but eery heater has a thermostat so that is why its wrong.i think

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10 Mar 2009 20:02 #17 by DaveyH (Dave Horan)
Yep but i think my Discus tank heaters are on most of the time trying to keep the water at 29 - 30 degrees.:S

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10 Mar 2009 20:07 #18 by ArielBetta (Cara Keane)
LOL sooooooo glad I don't have gf/bf to explain bills to!!! Plus possibly the only female in the country who doesnt own hair straighteners!!!! :woohoo:

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10 Mar 2009 21:27 #19 by Fishowner (Gavin fishowner)
Ariel I salute you!haha!

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13 Mar 2009 12:12 #20 by curefan (Dave Massey)
Reduce ESB bills by changing to Bord Gais for electricity;)

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13 Mar 2009 13:57 #21 by Tom (Tom Brecknell)
Airtricity, also worth a try………B)

www.airtricity.com/ireland/for_your_home/


When I had a Fish-House I had a Night-rate Meter and heated the Fish-House with a Storage Heater. I also had a Fan Heater connected to a Thermostat just as a back-up for any drop in temperature, it is also good for circulation of the air around the room. :P :P

Below is a link to how I built the Fish-House………

www.irishfishkeepers.com/cms/content/view/49/30/

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