fish tanks- electricity useage EEK!!!

Onetwothreefour

Hi just wondering if anyone has any advice about the amount of electricity that tropical fish tanks use...my partner has two fish tanks (120l &60l I think) and after recently taking meter readings for our electricity...our usage has soured (&bills) !!! I was shocked to say the least.
The only change is the addition of the tanks no other appliances apart from Sky box..so I am surmising its the tanks...is this normal and if so is there any energy saving devices/alterations we can use before the bills go even higher!!
Thanks in advance...

Fosterdog

I can't say that I've noticed mine costing a lot to run, I have the filter running 24/7, the heater on 24/7 with a thermostat so only on when needed and the lights for 6 hours a day.

What equipment is he running in the tanks? I have lights that are a bit more expensive to run because my tank is planted, if you just have fish and no plants it's worth switching to LED lights, much cheaper to run. Although my light also helps heat the water so less time for the heater to be on.

Heliflyguy

You can calculate the power use of the filters they should have wattage printed on them somewhere.

Fluorescent lights shouldn't use much power unless your running mercury vapour lamps or similar.

How long are they being left on for? 6 - 7 hours in a planted tank is enough.

The heater at this time of year should rarely be on in both tanks.

http://www.algone.com/the-aquarium-and-energy-consumption

Plants will grow happily under LEDs, any light will do plants don't care, its all about balance.
Good LED's, although a lot cheaper than before still cost a bit and are not to everyones tastes when it comes to how the light appears in the tank.

http://www.ukaps.org/

rising_from_the_ashes

How much (money terms) are you talking about?




I know one of my pals had one of these huge cabinet type tanks with tropical fish in & I'm sure his bill went down about £30 / month when he got rid of it (and that's a while ago now so prob more in monetary value now) - so they can cost a lot


I guess the only thing would be to see if there are energy efficient pumps / motors etc