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.buy turtle tank online Heating an aquarium can also be expensive. buy stones for aquariumThe larger the tank the more heat is required. buy turtle tanks in adelaide

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. fish tank rocks online150 Watts can be consumed by 600 gph and up.fish tank stand combo 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.fish tank stand plans

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.

To calculate the energy consumption of your aquarium, you will need to know the watts per equipment and the overall running time. The running time of the heater can either be observed in measuring the actual running time or by estimating. 15 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.Does Turning Down My Water Heater Really Make a Difference? Dear Pablo: Why should I turn down my water heater? Isn't it just as efficient to dilute really hot water with cold water in the faucet than to use barely warm enough water straight out of the hot side?In a strictly theoretical sense you are correct. Using 100-degree water uses the same amount of energy as mixing equal parts of 150-degree and 50-degree water. But your water heater doesn't just make hot water, it stores it as well (unless you have a tankless water heater). That large tank in your basement, garage, or hallway closet holds its water at the desired temperature 24 hours a day, 365 days a year just so that you can have a hot shower at 3 in the morning if you so desire. In real life this storage of hot water creates a difference in efficiency from the theoretical case.Water heaters are insulated, newer ones much more so than older models. Insulation basically slows the rate of heat loss, so the more insulation you have, the more the heat loss is slowed.

Insulation is measured in units of "R-value," which is derived from a formula containing thickness, heat flux (the flow of heat), and the inside/outside temperature. It is the difference between inside and outside temperature that we care about in this case. In any given water heater with consistent insulation the energy lost will be proportional to the difference between the inside and outside temperature. So what this means is that holding 150-degree water at the temperature 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, requires more energy than holding the same amount of water in the same water heater at a much lower 120-degrees.In my "Water Heater vs. Stove" article I calculated that we need 105 kJ of heat energy to heat one liter of water by 25C (45F). Since a water heater is roughly 67% efficient, I will actually need 156.7kJ/l (105kJ/0.67) per liter just to heat the water, and then an additional amount to keep it at that temperature as some of the heat escapes.Insulate Your Water Heater Of course, if you like having scalding hot water available at a moments notice you do have some options.

First, you can insulate your older water heater with a specially designed water heater blanket. Your local utility might provide rebates and they might even incentivize replacing the water heater completely. You can also insulate the hot water pipes from the water heater to each faucet. This will reduce the amount of time you have to wait for hot water to make its way through the pipes each time you turn on the faucet because the pipes will stay warmer longer. You can also have your plumber install check valves in the inlet and outlet of the water heater to prevent additional heat loss when the pipes are not in use.Change Your Shower Heads If you're hungry to do even more, you can install a low-flow shower head, or even a shower head with ShowerStart technology that senses when the hot water has arrived and turns off the flow until you are ready. This not only saves water, but it also saves time, letting you do other things while you wait for the hot water to arrive without letting any of it run down the drain.

Consider a Tankless Water Heaters If some remodeling is in your future, you might even consider a tankless water heater. The advantage of the tankless water heater is that there is no round-the-clock storage of hot water, and therefore no constant heat loss. Since tankless water heaters are typically installed under the sink or near the point of use there is also little to no waiting for hot water so you also save water. The only drawback is that teenage daughters might be inclined to take an endless Sunday morning shower without fear that the hot water tank will run out, because there is no tank!Just Turn Down the Water Heater For those of you who are simply looking for a quick, no-cost energy efficiency and cost-saving solution, just turn your water heater down. In most cases you can get away with 120-degrees or even less (indicated on some water heaters as a triangle or the word "warm"), as long as you don't need scalding hot water for a commercial kitchen, and as long as you don't have a high demand for shower water at any given time.