MH Qs and cost??

[nanoreefer]

hi all, iam thinking of finaly trying MH, i coundent offored it before(cant realy now but;)) and iam afraid of the heat in summer but if i can find one or two at a good price soon iam going to try it, but i dont know much about MH so i was wondering if someone could tell me,

i was reading that SE bulbs are cheaper then DE but that DE HQI is way better, how true is this?

aside from the initial cost of the lights, can some tell me aprox the monthly cost running either a single 75w(if i get one for my 24g nano) or the cost of two 150s or 250s(for my 75g not sure wich to get 150 or 250)

and besides heat dos anyone have any complaints about there MHs?

[xtreme]

Try this calculator, it will help you figure out your monthly costs.

http://reefcentral.com/calc/tank_elec_calc.php

[dabandit]

Wow that calculator was a terifying experience lol I guess now I wait for the knock from the grow op squad lol

[JDigital]

Wow that calculator was a terifying experience lol I guess now I wait for the knock from the grow op squad lol

??? What you got running?

I got 2x 250W MH, 250W heater, a Reeflo Snapper (98W max), and my OR6500 (guessed around 80W), my Skimmer pump (20W), no powerheads...

My "bill" came out to $33... I don't think any cops are gonna be knocking on my door.. :lol:

[mark]

for interest, each of my 250W DE, actually draws 320watts.

[spreerider]

i have a 175W MH and 250W MH for my orchids and together they only cost me a few bucks a month, its easy to calculate the cost per month,
(watts / by 1000) X Hours/month XHydro Rate in KWH,
for me its
(425 \ 1000) X (10X30) X (.065) = 8.28 per month

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

I have 2 400watt MH over my tank and the cost is not too bad. I have never worked it out but I think it must be about $40-50 a month for the lights.

Heat is not an issue either with a fan blowing down and across the water surface in front of the lights. And my place gets HOT in the summer.

[spreerider]

800W / 1000 X (12 X 30) X .07 = 20.17 per month, if your lights are on 12 hrs a day and you pay $.07 per kwh

800W / 1000 X 10 X 30 X .07 = 16.8 per month

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

800W / 1000 X (12 X 30) X .07 = 20.17 per month, if your lights are on 12 hrs a day and you pay $.07 per kwh

800W / 1000 X 10 X 30 X .07 = 16.8 per month

They are only on 9 hours and the actinics are 12. So even less than $16 a month. Nice.

LOL...Ok well I was off by just a little. Actually that makes more sense though. Since switching from 250's to 400's, my bill has only gone up about $8 a month at the most.

Thanks, its nice to know I am not paying $40 a month for the lights...Im not really sure where I got that number from. I think I just kind of assumed they were a big chunk of my monthly bill :razz:

[fkshiu]

You should get a watt meter of some sort to verify what your equipment actually draws. HQI and magnetic ballasts can draw a lot more than what they are rated as. Only electronic ballasts draw what they say they draw.

[Slick Fork]

Everything is relative though, I've been doing some figuring today so I have these numbers stuck in my head, with everything turned on (2 magnetic MH ballasts drawing ~340 each, 400 watt heater, skimmer, return, powerheads, etc.) my 110gallon display+40ish gallon sump draws about 1250 to 1300 watts. My coffee pot alone lists it's draw at 1200 watts so you've gotta keep it all in perspective.

If I had to start fresh, I maybe would've gone with an Electronic ballast, but at this point the energy savings aren't worth the cost to swap out perfectly good magnetics. I have 250 watt DE's and I love them.