Cost of Running a tank?

[Inchworm]

Hummm.........

I suspect that my electric bills have increased due to fishkeeping, but not because of the fish directly. I think it's because I have the computer on all day talking about them!

 

[Tempestuousfury]

You could use these formulas to figure out exactly how much you're indirectly spending on fish.

 

[Bol]

Just as a side note, the rated wattage listed on an appliance is usually the maximum power drain it will use -- not typical drain, which can vary. Some products, of course, give an additional estimate of typical usage.

 

[drobbins27]

If you're worried about the electrical cost there are some fish that actually generate an electrical field. It's may be possible that you could somehow harness their energy and run your tank off of that.

 

[kell]

buy a solar pannel (can be expencive in the short term but cheap in the long term because it stays there for ages) and then you would only have to pay for that and that is all.

Then if you have a blackout ur fish tank keeps going

 

[Yenko]

In my opinion, the cost of running a tank is insignificant in my situation. Any energy used by the tank heater is just energy that isn't used by the electric heater. Even the lights (although, 40w isn't much) produce heat in one form or another, wether it's directly at the ballast, tube or on objects the light hits. Even the filter converts all of it's energy into heat, in the form of friction between moving parts and friction between the water and the stationary objects in the tank.

In the winter, the actual energy consumption of my tank is basically just the light that goes through the window. In the summer, the heater is barely ever used, because the outside temperature is about what I keep my tank at. The filter and the lights are the only things that consume energy in the summer, and it's basically free to use in the winter.