Just threw up in my mouth a little bit... the electricity bill came

[mseepman]

I don't have a large tank yet but with my 70 and my HQI nano I only burn about $17/mth. I did get a Kill-o-Watt Meter and check all my devices though when I set things up and I had a quietone pump that was pulling 3x what they said it would. I got it replaced and now it reads really close to what it should.

Beyond the lights, I think it's often the big returns that gobble up power on your large tanks.

[mark]

My total household electrical bill last month was $199.80 with Epcor's rate 10 to 12 cent for the period (interesting how the rate changes throught out the period but yet they estimate usage).

Using RC calculator, tank is about $70/mon. Thinking about throwing some frags in the sump and adding a 175W MH, would expect to add about another $7.00 a month. Sell one frag for $10.00, I'm making money.

[JDigital]

Originally Posted by mseepman

Beyond the lights, I think it's often the big returns that gobble up power on your large tanks.

I don't see how large returns would gobble up power. Most of the pumps I have seen for returns/closed loops are Reeflo pumps, and the popular ones, like the Snapper, Dart, & Barracuda, are equivalent to 1-4 household light bulbs running, and that's when they are running fully open, if you have them dialed back the power usage drops accordingly. At least I think that's what I saw on a chart at the LFS.

[Tom R]

Originally Posted by mseepman

I did get a Kill-o-Watt Meter and check all my devices.
Beyond the lights, I think it's often the big returns that gobble up power on your large tanks.

I am running a good size system and I calculated my electrical cost to be approx. $50 per month. I have used the RC calculator to approximate the cost of electricity consumed. I am very careful when selecting new equipment to ensure that electrical consumption is a consideration. My main system return is an Ampmaster pump and it uses about half of the power that Reeflow pumps use. Tunze product are also very low consumers as well.

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

Tom R