Does a Tank really cost 36p a Day to run in Electric

[james adkin]

Hi All

I was in a aquatic shop at the weekend and they had labels on tanks for sale with running cost, I think the tank was around 120L they stated would cost 36p in electric all in (I understand they might undercook the figure as they are selling tanks, but I fount it hard to believe certainly not in winter, also they stated this was based on the heater running 4 hours per day

Just would like others thoughts and how much your tanks are costing to run.

Sorry if this is posted in the wrong section.

 

[LightingBamboozled]

My 250L tank with two Cannisters, CO2, t5 lighting, Hydor 500 external heater and a nternal heater with airstone has a listed value of 650W with everything running at full power.
I measured the actual draw excluding lighting and CO2 when I was speccing for a UPS when it wasn't clear whether or not there would be blackouts over winter and it turns out it averages 105W. At 33.2p/kWh that's £305.44 per year or 84p per day.

Lights are 160W and on for 10hrs per day so 1.6kWH another £194 per year or 53p per day.

The solenoid I can't remember but it was about 3W I think and 10.25 hrs so about 1p per day or £3.73 per year.
Not accounting for fish, food, water, water heating cost outside of the tank, equipment, ferts, plants, test chemicals, water treatment chemicals, media, cleaning supplies etc. £500 per year was a little more than I thought but not unreasonable.

 

[John q]

Welcome @james adkin
Yes depending on the equipment that came with the tank the 36p a day would be a fair estimate.
A rough costing for running various bits of equipment based on the current 0.34P electricity cap would be.
100w heater on for 4 hrs: 0.14P
20w light on for 8 hrs: 0.05P
15w filter on for 24 hrs: 0.12P

Obviously adding more equipment would see that costing increase.

 

[james adkin]

Welcome @james adkin
Yes depending on the equipment that came with the tank the 36p a day would be a fair estimate.
A rough costing for running various bits of equipment based on the current 0.34P electricity cap would be.
100w heater on for 4 hrs: 0.14P
20w light on for 8 hrs: 0.05P
15w filter on for 24 hrs: 0.12P

Obviously adding more equipment would see that costing increase.

Thanks John for your reply I would have thought heaters would be on longer than 4 hours a day

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

A rough costing for running various bits of equipment based on the current 0.34P electricity cap would be.
100w heater on for 4 hrs: 0.14P
20w light on for 8 hrs: 0.05P
15w filter on for 24 hrs: 0.12P

Obviously adding more equipment would see that costing increase.

I would have thought heaters would be on longer than 4 hours a day

I think they probably will be in the winter, it might depend on <"how well insulated your tank (and house) are">. I think another factor is that any heat that "leaks" out of the tank isn't wasted when the house heating is in use.

cheers Darrel

 

[Epiphyte]

I think the heater is really the bit that costs the money. My fag packet maths says that 100w of lighting over my 90p costs around 30p for 8hr a day. The pump in the filter is maybe 5w for 24hrs a day, so 4p. That's 34p a day for the essentials. In the summer I'm sure the heater won't even turn on, so heating is free. In the winter my heat sieve of a house means it's probably on a lot so will cost a whole lot more.

 

[castle]

A quid a day seems alright to me, it’s all relative tbh. I find this hobby enjoyable and for a quid a day is affordable. I think it’s more like 60p a day for my tank though. I also have a hidden cost of a dehumidifier, that I must run for about 12 hours a day. Costing me about 90p a day. £1.50 a day is ok, but I must admit nearly £50 a month to run a tank is a little bit of an “oh” moment, repeating whenever I think about it.

 

[Epiphyte]

I must admit nearly £50 a month to run a tank is a little bit of an “oh” moment, repeating whenever I think about it.

Shhhhhh I don't want to hear such things 🤫

 

[james adkin]

A quid a day seems alright to me, it’s all relative tbh. I find this hobby enjoyable and for a quid a day is affordable. I think it’s more like 60p a day for my tank though. I also have a hidden cost of a dehumidifier, that I must run for about 12 hours a day. Costing me about 90p a day. £1.50 a day is ok, but I must admit nearly £50 a month to run a tank is a little bit of an “oh” moment, repeating whenever I think about it.

Do you still run a fish room saw your post on an older forum thread if so what are the cost like or have you already stated this? cheers

 

[castle]

Do you still run a fish room saw your post on an older forum thread if so what are the cost like cheers

Sadly I do not, I’ve moved house and shut down every tank along the way.

It used to cost me 60£, so today I’d say it’s more like 400£. Could be cheaper of course.

I am mid renovation; and do have plans to start up a “studio”. Just waiting for the drain pipes to get done. That would be a dedicated room, but not sure it’s quite what people have in mind for a fish house 😅 also, all cold water. Heating is a no these days.

 

[John q]

Thanks John for your reply I would have thought heaters would be on longer than 4 hours a day

I can't accurately answer that question, there are far to many variables at play.
My tanks have lids on them and are in the front room of a well insulated house, I'll guesstimate my heater comes on for about 10 mins every hour, less in the summer, more in the winter. So over the course of a year I reckon the 4hr average figure for me isn't too far off the mark.

 

[castle]

I’ve been thinking of running a temperature controller so I’d know for sure. On big tanks I normally run multiple heaters, and I think that may offset how much they’re on?

Lids make a big difference

 

[tam]

You can get monitors that plug in between your equipment and the wall and track the actual draw if you are curious. It's going to vary a lot depending on the temp you run your tank, room temp, what lighting, whether you have a hood etc.

It would be interesting to experiment with techniques that could reduce energy use. For example, insulating canister filter hoses and the sides of the tank not used for viewing. Water cooled lights?

 

[LightingBamboozled]

Insulating small tanks can make a big diffference. I added 4" polystyrene on the bottom and 3 sides of a 60L tank I used to run in a badly insulated house and iteasily halved how often the heater came on. I didn't see a difference when I put lagging on cannister pipes but maybe over a year it would add up. Finding a way to dump all heat from equipment into the water seems like a no brainer.

 

[james adkin]

Also considering putting an insulated blanket over the tank at night

 

[fredi]

You can get monitors that plug in between your equipment and the wall and track the actual draw if you are curious. It's going to vary a lot depending on the temp you run your tank, room temp, what lighting, whether you have a hood etc.

It would be interesting to experiment with techniques that could reduce energy use. For example, insulating canister filter hoses and the sides of the tank not used for viewing. Water cooled lights?

I boxed my 1200xl’s in 20mm polystyrene, i place lighting transformers on filters under polystyrene (in the winter)
Tanks have background with 20 mm polystyrene fixed in place, i did think of using pipe insulation on piping from filter to tank, but not got round to that yet

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

Also considering putting an insulated blanket over the tank at night

Mine <"all have "lids">, so I put an old towel over them at night.

The <"cat is useless">, she only sits on the tanks when the lights are on and continually knocks the towels off. I've had words with her, but it hasn't made any difference.

cheers Darrel

 

[Mortis]

You guys are lucky only having to run 100W heaters for say half the year !! In Bombay we ideally need chillers during the hot months which cost a lot more to buy and a heck of a lot more to run !!
Because of the high humidity, cooling fans only make a degree or two of difference, just about keeping the tank temps in the "survival" zone of 28-30 degrees during peak summer.
My tank is in the bedroom which has the AC on at night and drops down to 22 by morning and tops out at 25-26 at the end of a hot day so not too much of a swing, I guess it would be comparable to an open pond in nature. Somewhat "free" cooling I guess although Im sure it would add a few extra units of electricity because physics.

Then in our hobby groups, every summer there will always be one genius or the other who "discovers" peltier cooling during summer as a cheap alternative to standard phase change chillers. HINT : Its not !!
Ive pretty much banned the topic from the two groups I moderate along with the 2nd favourite topic - Keeping CRS and other cardina in winter because the tank temps are in the suitable range with no plans on how to maintain lower temps when summer starts in 4 months.

 

[james adkin]

Anyone got cost figures they have gained through a plugin electricity monitor please

 

[LightingBamboozled]

I posted mine above in the thread. Measured using draw meter

My 250L tank with two Cannisters, CO2, t5 lighting, Hydor 500 external heater and a nternal heater with airstone has a listed value of 650W with everything running at full power.
I measured the actual draw excluding lighting and CO2 when I was speccing for a UPS when it wasn't clear whether or not there would be blackouts over winter and it turns out it averages 105W. At 33.2p/kWh that's £305.44 per year or 84p per day.

Lights are 160W and on for 10hrs per day so 1.6kWH another £194 per year or 53p per day.

The solenoid I can't remember but it was about 3W I think and 10.25 hrs so about 1p per day or £3.73 per year.
Not accounting for fish, food, water, water heating cost outside of the tank, equipment, ferts, plants, test chemicals, water treatment chemicals, media, cleaning supplies etc. £500 per year was a little more than I thought but not unreasonable.