Has anyone ever.......

[ryknier]

Has anyone ever put one of those "counters" on there tanks that sees how much electricity one tank takes. And does an average on how much it actually costs to run a tank??? I forget what the "counters" are called.

[Milky]

Geiger Counter Ive never used one before.

[travislopez]

don't geiger counters measure the force of earthquakes?

[saltydog]

GEIGER COUNTERS MEASURE RADIATION.......Rictor(sp) measures earthzquakes.......i think.........part of my problem is im always thinking...it hurts sometimes

[Indigo]

The Richter scale is a unit of measurement of the strength of an earthquake.

Geiger counters detect and measure radioactivity.

Are you thinking of an electricity meter? A multimeter like this: http://www.radioshack.com/category.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&category%5Fname=CTLG%5F011%5F008%5F002%5F000&Page=1
Perhaps surf around in radio shack, maybe you can find what you're thinking of

[Wildiana]

this is my fist winter in this area, (very cold, upsate NY) and my first tank, I also would like to know how much electric is used, since my electric bill doubled last month, my and the wife are trying to figue out if it is becouse the fish tank, or our heating. or our past AC.

hope is not my fish tank.

20L

2-25w bulbs(on most of the day, for at lease 10 hours)
1- Aqua clear filter (up to 20g, was told it was to small so i'm assuming it is not as powerfull as others)
1- air pump? one of those things that makes bubbles? was told not needed however i use it to creat some type of current
1-100w heater

[Indigo]

This summer, my power bill averaged ~$22-25/month, no A/C, a couple fans and a PC. My apartment faces north, gets no sun, so it doesn't get heated that way. With the baseboard heaters running now, and all the aquarium stuff, plus PC and ceiling fan, my power bill is roughly the same. I think its $24 this month.

So basically, for my little ancient shoebox apartment, my 25g tank makes little to no difference to my power bill.

[Swimfins]

I agree with Indigo, power usage costs have risen. My last year aberage was 49 a month now it averages out to 67 per month. That's including dryer, hot water etc.. I don't think basic fluorescents and a 100 watt heater uses all that much. (actualy flourescents are more energy efficient than incandescents) You buy those energy saver bulbs and put them all over your place and you'll save money that can go to supporting your aquarium costs.

[ryknier]

haha, you should have seen my face to the geiger counter, and the richter counter, creative, but the link that I went to from radio shack isn't it. You actually plug it in, and it measures how much electricity is passing through, and then look at your electric bill and find out how much a kwh costs and you can find out how MUCH it costs to run it.

I am asking because of the whole money issue, I don't plan on not setting up one, just out of curiosity

[Indigo]

I was just looking at filters, was thinking of upgrading... anyway, my AC 200 is 6W, my heater is 150W, though perhaps not drawing a current 24/7, lighting = 18W for 13 hours... so round up to a VERY generalized 2040W (I'm guessing here, lol) per 24 hours... 85 Wph or 0.085 kwh (I think)

Offhand, a kwh up here is perhaps a couple cents. So I think my tank is using about $1.25 of electricity a month.

The biggest power drain is your heater(s). Secondly, lighting, but that can be made more efficient with the use of certain fluorescent bulbs over incandescent, etc.

[saltydog]

Ive read that an average sized tank.......not a gagillion gallons.........cost only 3-5 bucks/month....if that ,to run.

[Dangerdoll]

:laugh::laugh::laugh: this thread has thoroughly cracked me up with the whole richter/geiger counter thing, LOL.... anyhoo.... my tank takes up almost nothing compared to the rest of the electric bill..... I think the cost is low, a 30 gallon though, maybe anywhere between 1 and 3 bucks to run.

[RTR]

Any of you folks want to trade electric bills?

The tank room alone has well over 1000W (=>1kw) of fluoros on 12 hr/day, not counting filters (all tanks are multi-filtered). I don't need heaters. :)

[ryknier]

Ya no kidding, where do you people live if you guys are averaging 20-30 bucks a month! I would do anything to have that bill! I just got mine which is 40! **** and I am not even home that much!

[Dangerdoll]

Any of you folks want to trade electric bills?

The tank room alone has well over 1000W (=>1kw) of fluoros on 12 hr/day, not counting filters (all tanks are multi-filtered). I don't need heaters. :)
RTR, but don't you have more tanks than the average hobbyist? ;)

[RTR]

Dangerdoll - well, maybe a few... but the tank room only has 20. :)

In the winter the "waste" heat is not totally wasted, it helps heat the house. But of course that also means that in the summer I fight the AC with extra heat.

[Kasakato]

Up here in Canada I pay about $52 per month. This includes heat, hot water, dryer, etc... That was when I had no tank. Now my bill is at $53 per month. Only a $1 difference with a fish tank. :dance