wsun013 Posted April 29, 2011 Report Share Posted April 29, 2011 Winter is coming and I do wonder what power companies do people use. I am using Genesis and it roughly cost me $160 in summer and $250 in winter.....it is expensive (kinda) to me. I have 400L tank: 120W lights + 2 x 200W heater + 2 x 55W filter = 630W 60L tank: 40W light + 1 x 50W heater + 2 x 15W filter = 120W 75L tank: 100W heater + 1 x 30 W filter = 130W so that is roughly 900W in total. (900 W / 1000 W) * 24 hours * 0.75 (factor that lights are off half day) * 30 days = 486 units. I am having 21cent per units so that is $102 Anyone with similar setup, or cheapter elec. rate ? of which company and which plan ? cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spoon Posted April 29, 2011 Report Share Posted April 29, 2011 your heaters wont be on all the time either , in fact if you have a warm house they will hardly be on at all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottie841 Posted April 29, 2011 Report Share Posted April 29, 2011 you have assumed with your calculation that your heaters will be on 24/7. This same question came up last year and people decided that there is not that much difference to tanks from summer to winter. Filter & lights uses the same power. The heater will use a small amount more but would not be overly noticeable if you live in a nice warm home. If you are wanting to save power you would be best to look at other areas such as making sure you fridge works properly and also you can do the dishes by hand rather than relying on the dish washer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottie841 Posted April 29, 2011 Report Share Posted April 29, 2011 Have a look at this http://www.consumer.org.nz/powerswitch/step_one When you are thinking about power companies there is more to think about than price. You need to see what their customer service is like e.g. if you power is cut off are you going to be able to contact them to get the issue fixed or are you going to be listening to hold music for 17 hours till you get to speak with a real person Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wsun013 Posted April 29, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 29, 2011 I have my tanks in the garage. The garage is cool all year, not cold though, but still different from a warmly house, so I assume my heaters are on most of the time. What could I do to keep the tank warm ? I have putting polys around the tank during the night, not sure if it works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottie841 Posted April 29, 2011 Report Share Posted April 29, 2011 I have my tanks in the garage. The garage is cool all year, not cold though, but still different from a warmly house, so I assume my heaters are on most of the time. What could I do to keep the tank warm ? I have putting polys around the tank during the night, not sure if it works. You can leave poly or other insulation on the back and sides all the time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wsun013 Posted April 29, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 29, 2011 Have a look at this http://www.consumer.org.nz/powerswitch/step_one Cool link. Few people have told me that powershop is not bad and it seems to be ok on the resulted table. I have tried turning off heaters in Feb that only saved me $20 or less..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waterlogged Posted April 29, 2011 Report Share Posted April 29, 2011 We've with genesis I have a 300L - 300W & 150W heater - 10000K lighting 2X30Lish - 25W in each - basic lighting 27L - no heater - 2 10W halogens (soon to be LEDs hopefully) lights on for 8hrs a day, 300W is on most of the time as I can't physically turn it down lol stays up near 26C I'm in a flat with 4 other students, all with out lapstops on most of the day, Tv most nights and heaters in winter and i think we only just went over $210 a few months in winter last year. bill is usually $150 That was also with me playing Xbox 360 alot which aparently sucks up power to Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wsun013 Posted April 29, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 29, 2011 @waterlogged: Which plan are you on ? I start to doubt if there is a monster sucking out power at home now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waterlogged Posted April 29, 2011 Report Share Posted April 29, 2011 I don't know I'm in charge of the phone and internet lol. They take it straight from the account forgotten what thats called. and we get points for everytime there is enough in there and paid on time. so we're pretti good with our bills :smln: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted April 29, 2011 Report Share Posted April 29, 2011 Maybe give fishkeeping a break and join a golf club or take up skiing, might not seem so expensive after that! How big is your house? How many people live there? What other power-sucking appliances do you have? How long do you spend in the shower? It doesn't sound at all bad (mine is considerably more, with two people and ~2600L of tanks), and I think if you work out how many Watts per day its using (with the lights on 10 hours and the heaters working about 14 hours) and multiply that by the "kilowatt hour" rate on your power bill you'll find its not all that much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hovmoller Posted April 30, 2011 Report Share Posted April 30, 2011 I have putting polys around the tank during the night, not sure if it works. It works! And it works well! Clad as much as you can (except the sides you want to see through of course) in 25mm polystyrene. Not just during the night but all the time and make sure its stuck on tight and there are no airgaps around the sides. Even though you think you keep spending much on powerbills the poly makes a big difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophia Posted May 3, 2011 Report Share Posted May 3, 2011 I am going to get some polystyrene to insulate my 2 garage tanks - what is the best way to attach it? There are no walls surrounding them so nothing to support or press the insulation to the tank. I would guess that thick double sided tape would be Ok but wouldn't condensation ruin the stickiness? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hovmoller Posted May 3, 2011 Report Share Posted May 3, 2011 I am going to get some polystyrene to insulate my 2 garage tanks - what is the best way to attach it? There are no walls surrounding them so nothing to support or press the insulation to the tank. I would guess that thick double sided tape would be Ok but wouldn't condensation ruin the stickiness? You don't get condensation between poly and glass.. (it's warm there) I just have tape going around the corners... a bit rough but it sticks for now... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zayne Posted May 3, 2011 Report Share Posted May 3, 2011 You don't get condensation between poly and glass.. (it's warm there) I just have tape going around the corners... a bit rough but it sticks for now... What tape are you using? i have masking tape and duct tape and they all ways seem to come off Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted May 4, 2011 Report Share Posted May 4, 2011 What tape are you using? i have masking tape and duct tape and they all ways seem to come off Use MORE duct tape. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hovmoller Posted May 4, 2011 Report Share Posted May 4, 2011 Nah duct tape just makes a huge mess if you ever need to remove it.. I use normal office type tape (the stuff you cant really see if you put it on paper) The trick is to have a long piece on the poly and to rub it onto the poly really well with the tip of your fingernail Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wsun013 Posted May 4, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 4, 2011 Do you guys use proper insulation polys ? how thick are them ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hovmoller Posted May 4, 2011 Report Share Posted May 4, 2011 Do you guys use proper insulation polys ? how thick are them ? Just "normal" polystyrene sheets from a hardware store (bunnings, mitre 10 etc.) 10mm if you wanna do something about your heatloss 25mm if you wanna do it hardcore 50mm is a waste of money and space Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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