58 replies to this topic

[angelbaby]

Add up your tanks power consumption, it costs bugger all to run them. The heater isnt on all the time. May only cycle a few times an hour for a few mins, then its off.

HTH

mmm I'm having trouble agreeing with this, since my bills are now more than double, every tank I added, the more the power bill rose.

[Cawdor]

For cichlids I would not go below 23C, but that's just me. My tanks are set to 25-26C.

Another thing I will do to save power is that I will combine my hot and cold tap so that when I do the weekly water change the water going in is already warm, so heaters don't have to heat from 20 up to 26. Since my hot water is gas powered, it will save me $.

Also make sure when comparing bills that you look at the units used, not the amount of money. This will give an indication of whether your actual usage has increased of if it's just due to the price rise.

[angelbaby]

is it safe to do that? we are not supposed to drink out of warm tap due to it been sitting in tank? cant remember where I heard that. but if you have had no probs... I will try that. Cos I store my water in buckets, heat them up with a heater and then pump it into tanks.
Yes its the unit rise, cos i know about their 25% rise, bastXXds

[Angelo]

i use the same method as cawdor for my discus tank, i add warm water to the tank so the heater doesn't have to work as hard to bring the temp back up.

[Cawdor]

To be clear: I haven't actually done it yet, but am planning on doing it. I think combined with water conditioner there should not be a problem?

[Mike]

mmm I'm having trouble agreeing with this, since my bills are now more than double, every tank I added, the more the power bill rose.

Of course your power bill will rise. But Add up what you have got on the tank. Example only===> Say for instance 40w for 1 average cannister, powerhead of 20w, 300w heater, 2 x 4ft t5 HO lights @ 52w each, air pump at 4w. Grand total of 468w.

Now price of electricity on a A1 tariff at the moment is 18.93c per unit or 1 kwh. 468w is almost 1/2 a unit, or 0.5 kwh. That tank at the most assuming the heater ran for the full hour, cost 9.456 cents to run.

I dont doubt your bills have gone up. Its only going to go up more. But I am just stating how much a normal tank will cost to run.

As for the reverse cycle. Best bet would be to take your house plans to an air con place, or get them out to look. Sizes and types vary so much, so what suits my house may not be good for yours.
The tank rack sounds like the better option though.

BTW Been mixing hot and cold water for years with no problem

[Fox]

I use to do your method all the time Tim until I found it easier to use the garden hose
Winter I do smaller water changes more frequently, during summer I do normal W/C's as the temp out of the tap is around 22c.

[Cawdor]

I plan on using the garden hose as well Az, just connect it to both taps

[Fox]

LOL Nah I just connect to outside tap

[angelbaby]

Thanks heaps Mike
I have been looking for that info, im totally allergic to maths.
If I'm running 15 or more tanks then it will rise, but I kept wondering if there was something else in the house sucking the power.( I got an energy saver book, and did read it repeatedly) even considered faulty meter. So even if i sell half my tanks the energy is still gonna be through the roof, I'm trying to talk someone into solar power... thats good info, thanks for explaining my hunch is correct. There has to be other causes.

[Dougo]

jeas you people have got change for a block;lol it cost me 30 DOLLARS a day for power and i dont have anything to smoke for that.waiting for the feds to roll up so i can laugh when i show them 4 heaters that suck 8400 watts

[angelbaby]

I used to run the hose straight into my tanks, all of them, had 12 at the time, there is no way I will do that again unless its a very slow trickle.
I used to have alot of fish deaths and now i have none, and it was a process of elimination, investigated every single thing i did that might have been wrong. Since running tap water into large containers and adding prime etc that was, leaving it at room temp for hours, and heating, then adding have my fish been much healthier,, could also be the sera flora i feed them, but thats my experience. it works. So I wouldnt risk it again, the one time recently i did it, my 8 inch saum hid for a day and wouldnt talk to me.

My tap water is BAD!!!!!

"jeas you people have got change for a block"

speak english?

jeas you people have got change for a block;lol it cost me 30 DOLLARS a day for power and i dont have anything to smoke for that.waiting for the feds to roll up so i can laugh when i show them 4 heaters that suck 8400 watts

can just imagine the infared camera images, all these rectangular shapes radiating heat, and the DEA crashing down our doors.
I never used supernova 600's cos i was too worried about the electricity costs. LMAO!

[Dougo]

"jeas you people have got change for a block"

speak english?

speak english?
jeas is short for the son of the man. block = what guys like that comes in thirty

[scottyhooton]

######### arghhhhhhhh'' last bill was $700 ... too much fluro so i can gaze at my beloved fishies ...##### sake ... just took ALL my power heads out (have heaps of big sponges) dont need powers running up ontop of ##### heaters ...

has anyone tried using that releflective airpoket stuff to back thier tanks or line the tank raks...?
could b worth a shot

Scott

[angelbaby]

Absolutely agree, but what is the filtration isnt enough? and fish get sick n die then we may as well have sold them and the tanks and saved the money.
BTW, you wrote that post and i thought it was me speaking...you got wacked with $700 as well? mine came yesterday $734!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Selling my soul to the devil to pay for it.


"has anyone tried using that releflective airpoket stuff to back thier tanks or line the tank raks...?
could b worth a shot"

thats a good idea Scott!!! I'm about to place my tanks in the tier stand and wondered what to back them with.

[Seaview Aquariums]

You should all be carefull when using your hot water tap to add warmer water as most of you should know that the hot water piping is Copper which is no good for fish.

Yes it wont have an effect straight away but over time it will make a difference for the poor fish

Just food for thought for you all to think about the next time you use the hot water for water change.

Regards
The Seaview Team

[angelbaby]

I was wondering about the heavy metals in the pipes and fittings, copper brass etc. make sick little fishies.

[ado]

hot water piping is Copper

cold water runs through copper pipes too. except in some newer houses where all plumbing is done in plastic.

I can't see the short amount of time the water (hot or cold) running through copper pipes being a problem.
Lead on the other hand...well just ask the Romans...

[Mike]

I agree Ado. All mine is copper. Have a small amount of plastic, but only about a 6 meter run to one of the showers. Most commercial buildings I have seen use copper too!

[angelbaby]

and some aquarium products use copper for disease control, and it can be quite damaging to the biological filtration and the fish. Theres always mention of heavy metals in water and there are products to remove them. Theres a testing kit for copper in aquaria, so if it wasn't a positive component would we need to test for it? Building up over time, maybe it would be quite uncomfortable for the fishes and if you ever medicated your tank with any copper ingredients, then you would be over dosing them, or on the other hand, ineffective against disease and detrimental to the tanks balance...giving you the dreaded "Hell tank".

Thats my little rant anyway

I know all about the HELL TANK!