I didn't realize how much electricity it might cost to keep a 100 gal warm...is there a way to maybe keep it more insulated? trying to cut down the electric bill.
p.s. i'm not taping sterofoam to the sides of my tank.
Things to do to lower electricity usage:
--You can lower the temp of the tank a few degrees.
--You can keep the lights off during the daylight hours, helps with algae too
--You can tape/glue 1 inch blue styrofoam insulation on the BACK of the aquarium
--You can tape/glue 1 inch blue styrofoam insulation on the inside of your tank stand top thus providing some insulation to the bottom of the tank
--You can raise the temperature of your room, transfering heating costs to a furnace using cheaper oil/gas.
--You should have a glass/plastic top on the tank as evaporation will take heat with it.
If you do the calculations, your lights are probably costing you as much as your heater is as they run all year long regardless of room temperature.
This device from Amazon will give you a direct read out of the watts you are using. Calculate the kilo watt hours and get the cost per kilio watt from your electricity bill and you will know the actual cost of electricity for the tank and can play with various things to reduce that cost.
http://www.amazon.com/P3-Internatio...d_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1234982688&sr=8-1