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I've had my tank for just over a month now and the other day we got our power bill only to find out it is about three times more expensive than what we usually pay -aaaahhhhh! So, I 've thrown myself into a panic trying to work out the reason for the huge cost and I've come up with 2 possible conclusions.

The first is that the electricity company have been under-estimating our usage for the last 3 or 4 months and now that they've finally got around to doing an actual meter reading, the true cost of our bills has caught up with us.

The second option is that our fish tank is sucking all our power.

I sincerely hope it is the first option, because if the tank is at fault, I simply can't afford to continue with my hobby. So please help me by telling me about your experiences with power consumption. I really don't imagine that my tank could be using that much electricity. It is 250 litres and has a heater set for 26degrees, an external filter (Via Aqua 650) and three 25 Watt bulbs which run for 10 hours per day.

Any advice greatly appreciated

what wattage is the heater?

For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

I have 4 tanks up and running (100, 62, 55, and 10 gal) and have watched my electric bill increase a whopping $7 over its usual amount, so I DEFINITELY don't think it's an issue with your tank. Either that, or I misread what you wrote and you're actually keeping Shamu in your house...

PM/email/msg me if you have any questions/comments regarding me or my knowledge or if you want me to read a thread.

I really doubt your tank is to blame... at any given time i've got half a dozen heaters & a couple of filters running, and knowing my parents i'm SURE i would have heard about it if the electricity bills had shot up

i had something like this before. turned out a bad heater. once it's replaced, no more problem with power bill hike.

I have 6 tanks with heaters and filters. My power bill went up about $10 every two months. My power bills goes high when I use my dishwasher, washer or dryer more that month.

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If at first you DO succeed, try not to look astonished.

The heater is 300W (is that okay? The guy in the shop told me it was the one I needed to buy). I'm going to check my electricity meter in about a week to see how much power I've used. If it's as much as the bill suggests, I'll try purchasing a new heater to see if that changes anything.

Otherwise, thanks for your comments, they have made me feel quite a bit better. Now, if only I could make that bill disappear...

make sure your power company hasn't gotten any rate hikes approved in the last few months too. my bill has gone up mostly because of rate hikes. even with 3 tanks and 4 computers running almost 24/7 my electric consumption is actually *DOWN* from last year

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"That's the trouble with political jokes in this country... they get elected!" -- Dave Lippman

Well, I have to say that the electricity companies receiving an actual meter reading, and billing you for that rather than their estimate, accounted for my receiving an £80 bill Sounds like that is most likely by my experience!!

I had a bill well over $100 when I first moved into my house....the next month it was $4....no, not a typo....being january and snowing it ended up being an estimated bill.

I also agree that the tanks aren't likely to be blamed on this...I sat down and estimated how much electricity the 20 gallon tank (the one I had running @home @the time) was consuming...came out to less than 25watts per hour over a 24 hour period (given the fact that the heater isnt' always on). since that's about the ammount of electricity my alarm clock used, I simply unplugged the clock (the red numbers bugged me anyway).
You can try insulating the tank better to prevent heat loss, but honestly look for other ways to reduce your electricity consumption (switch to energy saver bulbs if you're not allergic to flourescent lights, take shorter cooler showers, that kind of thing).

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Often, utility companies have a rate hike, and try to slip it in under the radar. I would complain to the company and ask why the big difference. Also, talk to your neighbors and see if their bills have gone up. A couple months ago, my parents'(we live in separate states) water company announced a 90% rate hike. They went to the city council meetings, and the water board meetings, and let them know. the water board was held accountable for faulty accounting and were all forced to resign, and the hike never took place.

Good luck.

Karina,

Where abouts in NZ are you. I'm in Wellington and started this hobby in February. At the time my power bill was anywhere in the region of $100-150 a month. Now I have 9 tanks and my bill is just over $400 a month. My power company is Genesis and I believe their daily rate on the Kiwi Saver plan has recently increased and well as line charges.

Hope this helps (or maybe it doesn't)

Regards

Robbie

Hi Karina and Robbie I'm also in NZ (Auckland)

Karina, for your heater to cause a huge hike in your power bill like that, it would need to be stuck "on." You'd soon be noticing that with a 300watt heater! I'm positive there's another source for your power bill increase. Good luck with tracing it and hopefully getting it sorted out!

cheers,
whetu

PS 250 litres is around 66 US Gallons for those of you who haven't caught up with metrics yet

Last edited by whetu at 30-Sep-2004 00:13

yeah, look, we worked out the cost of my 2 thanks, and it was something like 20c a day.

was this bill monthly or quarterly?

cause maybe if yours was $1 a day, over 3 months that could almost be $100....

For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

Kia ora (Hello) all. I'm in Auckland and my power bill is usually around $100 a month. This month it was almost $300! . Not sure if the power company has had a price hike, but I don't imagine it would be by this much. Will check out of interest though. Thanks for all your great advice. I feel somewhat assured now that the fish tank can't be blamed entirely (assuming it is working correctly). This is what I think has happened. New Zealand has just come out of winter, which has meant more heaters, more hot water and more use of the dryer. We are usually really careful with how much electricity we use. However, if all our estimates for the last four months have been based on our autumn power consumption, then it would make sense that all the extra winter power we used has accumulated. At least this is what I hope has happened. I will definately be monitoring my meter much more closely from now on.
Thanks again.

I would spew to the electrical company.

A lot.


Although I did get a gas bill once for $450.


I spewed.