dwalk Posted June 9, 2008 Report Share Posted June 9, 2008 Being mildly worried about the cost of running 6 tanks around my house, I'm running an experiment on my Community tank. What i'm doing is comparing power usage for 1 weeks power with different insulation each week for the next 4 weeks. Week 1: No insulation Week 2: 12mm Polystyrene on 3 sides, not inc top Week 3: 12mm polystyrene on 3 sides, inc top around lights Week 4: 12mm all around except front during the day / evening. The Test Tank 130L community tank, 5 Dwarf Gourami, 5 Striata Loaches. 5 Tiger Barbs, 4 GBA (young), 1 SAE, 3 BN, 1 Plec, 1 Siamese fighter Filter: Fluval 205, cleaned weekly for duration of test. Heater: Jager 150w, 25 Degree temp Lights: Two 15 watt tubes, on a timer for 8 hours a day. I'll post a pic later this week of this tank, and a new photo of tank with each insulation setup. Any tips or ideas let me know and i'll try and include them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumzy50 Posted June 9, 2008 Report Share Posted June 9, 2008 Sounds interesting i must admit it has been worrying me as to how much my power will chute up,if i increase my tanks.My last power bill nearly made me sick.But im in desperate need to increase as it is holding me back from breeding.Will look forward to updates Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barrie Posted June 9, 2008 Report Share Posted June 9, 2008 I have all my tanks with poly back sides top and bottom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whetu Posted June 10, 2008 Report Share Posted June 10, 2008 You should probably also record the ambient temperature of the room while you are doing the experiment. After all, it's likely to get colder each week as we head deeper into winter so the experiment might not be valid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwalk Posted June 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 10, 2008 To be truly accurate I would, however, I couldn't use the ambient temp data in any real meaningful way. I decided that over a week the temp would be close enough on average for me not to worry about it, esp over 4 consecutive weeks. I could do a 5th week without insulation, and take an average over the 1st and last week to give me an uninsulated average week My other option would be to run a heater in the lounge on a low setting, but i'm trying to save money right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simian Posted June 10, 2008 Report Share Posted June 10, 2008 How are you measuring your power usage? do you have a check meter? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwalk Posted June 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 10, 2008 I'm using a meter from bunnings. What it measures compared to what an appliance is rated at matches up nicely. 18watt filter draws 18watts on the meter. Since i'm using the same meter all through the test, any comparisons in percent should be reasonably accurate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted June 10, 2008 Report Share Posted June 10, 2008 Should be close enough for the internet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whetu Posted June 11, 2008 Report Share Posted June 11, 2008 Sounds like a good experiment to me. I will be interested to see the results. By the way, how much did your meter cost you at Bunnings? I'm thinking it might be a good thing to have... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwalk Posted June 11, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 11, 2008 The meter cost $19 at Bunnings, I found it in the electrical section, next to the power multiboards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwalk Posted June 15, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2008 The weeks power usage. Well it's the end of the first week, and I've just installed the 15mm polystyrene on the back and ends of the tank. According to the power meter, my tank used 18.6 kwh over the last seven days, inc lights and filter. Subtracting lights and filter, (2.52kwh week) I used 16.08 Kwh of power to heat my tank. This sounds a little high, but could be right. Anyway, since it's the same meter on the same tank setup, (apart from the insulation) as a comparison week to week it will be accurate enough. The Test Tank 130L community tank, 5 Dwarf Gourami, 5 Striata Loaches. 5 Tiger Barbs, 4 GBA (young), 1 SAE, 3 BN, 1 Plec, 1 Siamese fighter Filter: Fluval 205, cleaned weekly for duration of test. Heater: Jager 150w, 25 Degree temp Lights: Two 15 watt tubes, on a timer for 8 hours a day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suphew Posted June 15, 2008 Report Share Posted June 15, 2008 That does sound high, if my maths is correct that means your heater was on for round 107 hours, that seems a lot to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayci Posted June 15, 2008 Report Share Posted June 15, 2008 maybe the lights are drawing more power than you think. The ballast do get hot for the flouro lights. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted June 15, 2008 Report Share Posted June 15, 2008 Nah, that would be around 100 watts average heating. Seems about what I'd expect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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