Next to food and maintenance products, the biggest cost of maintaining an aquarium is the energy consumption required to run the equipment. Filters, lights, powerheads, heaters, protein skimmers, air pumps, water pumps, uv-filters etc., more or less constantly consume energy. Based on a freshwater fish only aquarium at about 72 F, the total consumption for a small tank (10 Gallons) is about 150 kWh a year. A medium tank (30 Gallons) will run between 150 – 200 kWh per year, while a large aquarium (55 Gallons) needs 200 – 400 kWh per year. These values are calculated while considering the basic equipment required and serve as an average only. The biggest consumption is used for the lighting system which accounts for approximately 45% of the total bill. Usually the heater comes in second at about 35% of the total cost. Filters commonly run at about 12% while airpumps, etc. account for the remaining 8%. Again this is based on the average aquarium setup. Lighting is the only component in the aquarium that doesn’t run on a 24-hour shift.

Furthermore, the lighting expenses can easily be controlled by the lighting time as well as the equipment we use. The common fluorescent light bulb (15 – 40 Watts) that is provided with most hoods doesn’t significantly add much cost. Planted tanks with higher lighting requirements that use power compacts (30- 100 Watts) or VHO fluorescent bulbs (75 and 160 Watts) and/or a combination thereof obviously will lead to higher power consumption. A reef tank may even run on metal halides which run from 150 – 1000 Watts – and that will quickly add to the bill. Heating an aquarium can also be expensive. The larger the tank the more heat is required. Further, a tropical fish environment usually requires a higher water temperature making it more expensive to heat compared to non-tropical fish tanks. For example, a 30 Gallon tank heated at 72 F (22 C) will consume approx. 110 kWh per year. The same tank heated at 82 F (28 C) will consume about 440 kWh per year. That is 4 times as much!

Water pumps start at 3 Watts and easily go up to 400 Watts depending on the gallon per hour (gph) rate.Some ball park rates are 10 Watts for 200 gph and 30 Watts for 300 gph. 150 Watts can be consumed by 600 gph and up. Powerheads, air pumps and filters are low in consumption starting at only 3 Watts and generally not exceeding 25 – 50 Watts for the heavy duty models. UV filters run between 8 – 130 Watts and up. Generally spoken, a fish only aquarium runs on a rather low cost. Tank size will matter and add on cost, so will a more and more densely planted tank, a saltwater tank and ultimately the reef tank. To save on the energy cost and consumption, lighting can be adjusted to more energy efficient bulbs and a change in lighting. A planted tank may do just as well running on a 100 Watt bulb instead of a 150 Watt bulb. This would already be a savings of 1/3 of the total lighting cost. In many cases the heater can also be turned down by a degree or two without affecting the fish.

This can safe a lot of energy in the long run. In well heated environments a heater might not even be necessary during the day or heating period. Water pumps can be reduced to lower gph ratings the same applies to uv-filters. Choosing energy efficient equipment and comparing them with other makes and models can yield substantial savings in the long and sometimes even short run.fish tank heater marineland To calculate the energy consumption of your aquarium, you will need to know the watts per equipment and the overall running time. fish tank heater what sizeThe running time of the heater can either be observed in measuring the actual running time or by estimating. in wall aquarium access15 minutes out of every hour (6 hours total per day) for lower temperatures or 30minutes out of the hour (12 hours total) for higher temperatures.

This will of course vary greatly, depending on your room temperature. Watts multiplied by hours will give you the daily wattage per equipment. (1000 Watts equal 1 kWh) The cost of 1 kWh can be found on most electric bills. The cost of one kWh should be calculated by adding up all the rates that end with “per kWh (that will include the transmission, distribution, and generation charges). (Watts x hours) : 1000 x kWh cost x 30 = monthly electrical cost of the aquarium The exact usage of electricity for each piece of equipment can only be determined by actual readings using an ampmeter, which measures the actual energy used and not the energy based on the maximum output. The formula will provide an approximate cost only.Results 1-12 of 8612345678 If our price does not beat our competitor's, we will meet their price.August 9, 2016, Energy Efficiency Saving energy (and money) is always easier when you know how much you’re using. But because many of the convenient smaller appliances we use seem to draw little amounts of power, we all too often discount how their use really does impact our electricity bills.

With our How Much Energy Does This Appliance Use?, we’ll examine what’s watt in small appliances to see approximately how much they use. To help you understand very basic electrical consumption calculations, you’ll need to keep a simple equation in mind: Volts (V) x Amperes (I) = Watts (W). What you’ll discover is how just how small appliances can contribute to your home’s energy usage and how these little conveniences can make big differences on your bill. On this deep dive into world of fin-fanciers, we’re going to submerge ourselves in aquarium energy use. Because fish tanks are self-contained environments, maintaining their life support system on dry land — round the clock, year ’round — can eat up a significant chunk of energy. Three factors affect an aquarium’s energy use: The average sized aquarium is roughly 29 gallons to 30 gallons, making it about 30” long x 12” wide x 18” deep. Different fish have different habitat needs – for example, fresh water tends to have more oxygen dissolved in it versus salt water .

Consequently, salt water aquariums have slightly different water filtration, circulation, and maintenance needs to keep those fish thriving. Plants make the aquarium environment more interesting and healthy for the fish, but the plants require the right amount of lighting in order to thrive as well. To prevent this introductory discussion from becoming too complex, we will stick to the average medium tank size of 30 gallons. To keep our fish happy and healthy, we need to make sure that water is clean, aerated, and kept at the right temperature 24/7. That means we need the right kind of pump. Pumps — Going with the Flow There are two basic kinds of pumps: air and water. Both are used to help move water through a filter and to circulate the water for aeration. Air pumps make bubbles that float to the surface and move the water. Moving surface water constantly mixes air and brings oxygen into the water. Air pumps might be a great solution for small tanks, but in larger tanks, over 18-24 inches, resistance to air pressure makes the air pump use more energy.

In terms of energy use, an air pump wattage runs about 3 watts. Larger aquariums (and some ponds) >50 gallons using larger air pumps will run about 6 watts. Water pumps (including power heads) create currents and aeration, while moving water through various peripherals like filters, skimmers, and heaters. What determines the pump you need is the volume of water you need moved. Generally, about 6 gallons per hour is the recommended filtration rate; thus, if you have a 40-gallon tank, use a pump that moves about 240 gallons per hour (gph). In our case, we’re looking for a pump for a 30-gallon tank that can move at least 180 gph. Submersible pumps can be submerged, but while this is handy, some submersible filter pumps don’t generate the waves we need for aeration. In that case, we would also want to wave pump to help aerate and circulate the water. Inline pumps are outside the tank. Far more powerful than submersible pumps, these are connected via tubing to filters, heaters, chillers, etc.

There is also the pump-filter combo that hangs on the side of the tank pumping water through filter and uses a venturi to mix air and water to create the surface turbulence that aerates the water. Because water is heavier, water pumps require more robust motors. Water pumps that fit with in the flow rate for our 30-gallon tank include: Heaters, UV Sterilizers, and Lighting Water heaters help keep water at the proper temperature, 72° F to 82° F (depending on the fish type), with a minimum fluctuation of 1-2 degrees over a 24-hour period. A rule of thumb is that it takes 3-5 watts per gallon to maintain water temperature depending on the room’s ambient temperature. Naturally, the lower the room’s ambient temperature, the more heat the aquarium requires and the higher the wattage. If our room is at 68°F, it will take 102 watts to keep per day to keep the 30-gallon tank heated at 72° F. To keep it heated to 82° F, it will need 170 watts a day. We’re going to stay with 72° F, but since we want a little cushion for power, we’ll choose an Aquatop Quartz 150 Watt heater.

UV sterilization lamps come after the filtration section. These kill all sorts of free-floating green water algae, parasites, and harmful bacteria. Lamp wattage depends on tank size and flow rate. In our case, we’re looking at one rated between 3 watts to 9 watts, as the UV lamp runs continuously. Lighting can be an energy headache depending on the wattage. A basic T8 fluorescent lamp uses from 17 to 24 watts depending on the color temperature and lumen output. If you plan on having plants or corals, you want to be able to provide enough light to keep them growing and healthy — whilch will require better-quality lighting and keeping the lights on for 8 to 12 hours per day. A good rule of thumb is 2-5 watts per aquarium gallon, but this also depends on the needs of your plants. The deeper the tank, the brighter the lamps will need to be and the higher wattage it will require. These lights usually have a higher lumen output and, depending on the bulb type (halogen, fluorescent, or LED ), they can put out LOTS of heat — which may require using a fan or water chiller to keep the water at the proper temperature.

We’ve got a couple of plants in our tank, but with a somewhat shallow (18”) tank, so we’ll go with a 20-watt T8 fluorescent. All Those Details are Great, but What Does It All Really Cost?Let’s start by assuming we’re on fixed-rate electricity plan paying is 10¢/kWh. Our pump is going to be the Danner Supreme Aqua-Mag 190 ghr running at 19 watts. It’s powerful enough to move the water and still provide adequate flow rate for the filter and UV lamp. Since 19 watts/hour x 24 = .456 kWh/day, this becomes 13.68 kWh/month and 164.16 kWh/year for a cost of $16.42/year. As mentioned, we’re going with the Aquatop Quartz 150 Watt heater. This becomes 150 watt/hour x 24 =3.6 kWh, 108 kWh/month, and 1,296 kWh/year for a cost of $129.60. Our UV lamp requires 5 watts. This means 5 watts/hour x 24 hours = .12 kWh/day, .36 kWh/month, and 43.2 kWh/ year for a cost of $4.32/year. Lighting will come from a standard 2- watt T8 fluorescent. A cheap timer can help reduce the energy consumption, so we’ll estimate that the lights are on 66% of the time or 16 hours of the day.