jimbojonesnz Posted October 11, 2006 Report Share Posted October 11, 2006 Hey all, I was just wondering if people could give me an idea on how much extra power they pay for with their tropical setup? I have a 120l coldwater tank and was thinking about switching to tropical and power is the one thing that concerns me. Thanks Jimbo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
me love fishy Posted October 11, 2006 Report Share Posted October 11, 2006 Hiya I haven't really noticed a big jump in our powerbill. Hard to tell though since we have quite a variance between winter and summer being down south. but to be honest the dryer and the heatpump would outweigh any extra power my 4 ft tank and 60 litre tank use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted October 11, 2006 Report Share Posted October 11, 2006 Unless you have a really cold house I doubt the heating would cost you more than $10-20/month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharn Posted October 11, 2006 Report Share Posted October 11, 2006 i run around 900L or so worth of tanks in my bedroom (which helps cause when i close the door and windows it really heats up) and that costs me, in winter, an extra $30 on average so its not really that expensive at all. keep in mind you can help reduce costs by putting poly around the back and sides of your tank. also your heater is not on 24/7 so if you are calculating how much power you would use probably only count it as being on for 12 hours a day or so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimbojonesnz Posted October 12, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2006 Ok, does anyone have any suggestions for heaters? i.e brand etc... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ocean4freedom Posted October 12, 2006 Report Share Posted October 12, 2006 Go for fully submersible heaters. Jebo are pretty good and if you can fork out a few extra $$$ go for stainless steel ones rather than glass - sounds over-kill when you start out but those glass ones just LOVE hitting against rocks (or being hit against them, courtesy of a nosey/bored Oscar!) :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharn Posted October 12, 2006 Report Share Posted October 12, 2006 personally i have had nothing but bad experiences with jebos and i know many others have also. aqua one is one of the better cheaper brands IMO and my 5 all hold their temp well (i have two stainless aqua ones). everyone has had bad and good experiences with most brands so do some googling for reviews on the different brands to come to your own conclusion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evilknieval69 Posted October 12, 2006 Report Share Posted October 12, 2006 I find Jebos good at keeping water temps right and not fluctuating too much but they break VERY easily from a tap on the glass... I have 3 jebo heaters here that dont work as they have accidently been hit on the glass or rocks etc. I agree with sharn, aqua one is a very reliable brand, and arent too expensive. I have a 300W stainless steel Aqua one heater and i love it to bits, mainly because they keep the temp even, and the external controler make it so easy to use/adjust Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shauntilyard Posted October 12, 2006 Report Share Posted October 12, 2006 When i was setting up my tanks, since i am a student cost for heating is very important. Especially in lovely cold DUNEDIN. You can figure out how much power your tank uses per hour very easily. To figure it out calculate all of the power used on your tank in watts. For example if you have a 200w heater and a couple of 25w fluro's that is 250watts per hour. When you get your power bill you can find out how much it cost you for ONE unit of power. One unit of power on your power bill is equal to 1Kw (1000watts) of power. The power company charges you per hour. So just an example say you get charged $0.40 per 1kw per hour from your power company your fish tank which is using 250watts per hour will be costing you $0.10 per hour. This calculation is done on the belief that the devices that are running are running 24 hrs a day. I know it is kinda confusing but i hope it helps :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evilknieval69 Posted October 12, 2006 Report Share Posted October 12, 2006 When i was setting up my tanks, since i am a student cost for heating is very important. Especially in lovely cold DUNEDIN. You can figure out how much power your tank uses per hour very easily. To figure it out calculate all of the power used on your tank in watts. For example if you have a 200w heater and a couple of 25w fluro's that is 250watts per hour. When you get your power bill you can find out how much it cost you for ONE unit of power. One unit of power on your power bill is equal to 1Kw (1000watts) of power. The power company charges you per hour. So just an example say you get charged $0.40 per 1kw per hour from your power company your fish tank which is using 250watts per hour will be costing you $0.10 per hour. This calculation is done on the belief that the devices that are running are running 24 hrs a day. I know it is kinda confusing but i hope it helps :lol: Thats all true, BUT, the heater isnt running all the time, probably only 6 hours a day sort of thing so you can minus a bit afterwards if you dont need it to be PERFECT.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted October 12, 2006 Report Share Posted October 12, 2006 If you're being charged $.40 per kw/hr it's time to change power companies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke* Posted October 12, 2006 Report Share Posted October 12, 2006 Agreed lol but yea for the purposes of the exercise your calculations are correct shauntilyard (cool user name by the way ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
me love fishy Posted October 13, 2006 Report Share Posted October 13, 2006 I have a personal preference for Jager heaters, they are more expensive, but you get what you pay for. I have tapped them against the glass before and not had one break or crack. I have used a variety of cheaper heaters in the past, but have had a couple malfunction and cook my fish, so just beware, good to google and get opinions on the different types as mentioned above. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ofishals Posted February 9, 2007 Report Share Posted February 9, 2007 I know this topic is a little old by now but here is a link to a bit of hardware that will take the guess work out of calculating the power consumpsion of their tanks... http://www.jaycar.co.nz/productView.asp ... &SUBCATID= Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted February 9, 2007 Report Share Posted February 9, 2007 Oooh, cool, I want one of those...Would go well along with my Centameter to display the whole house power draw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdspider Posted February 10, 2007 Report Share Posted February 10, 2007 Here is an online calculator that works it out for you. You enter what your electricity costs are, and all the wattages of your bits & pieces. My tank only came to about $110 a year though, that seems really cheap! http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/p ... _costs.php Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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