Reef tank electricity $450?!?!

[Acrofiend]

Ahhhh yeah that will explode heater costs as that's essentially running an electric aquarium heater as a space heater

Do you think running a second heater and letting the tank cool would be more efficient? Versus a 200w heater running constantly.

 

[AV corals]

hmmm I would suggest looking at your output rate on those outlets that the tank is plugged into. You can get smart plugs on amazon from the brand KASA and on your phone you can literally view the output of what your tank is consuming in electricity but my hinkering is that something else in your home is consuming that extra $$ also inflation. I live in LA and my normal bill rate is 275-300$ monthly with running a 100gal reef with UV, skimmer, 200w heater, 2 wave pumps, carbon reactor, GFO reactor, reef dose & three Reef LED90’s.

 

[lynn.reef.nerd]

I would check your wattage usage from the month before. We had a rate hike for january where I was at and increased our bill by $300.

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

Yeah my house is pretty much the temp outside which is 40’s overnight.

Sounds about right. My old house was a now 100 year old craftsman, so it was drafty to say the least. If you didn't heat the house with regularity, it was within 5 degrees of ambient temp in about 24 hours. Glancing at your bill, I'm assuming your DWP? I'm Edison as I'm in the county, but not the city of LA (Long Beach).

I just read the line on your bill... 1200 kwh, insaneo. How many people, how big of a house. All electric or some natural gas? My summer months with the central A/C at 74 degrees dosent even come close to cracking half that.

Something's wrong.... Or your entire house is electrically heated and the rain/cold kicked your butt.

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

And we're a hour from anything, lol. That's about it.

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

Also one to think about, the meter didn't read right for a month as they work on a cell signal to send data to the central location for billing. I had that happen a few years ago and about fell out of my chair when I saw the bill untill a call to SCE answered my question.

 

[Opus]

Sounds about right. My old house was a now 100 year old craftsman, so it was drafty to say the least. If you didn't heat the house with regularity, it was within 5 degrees of ambient temp in about 24 hours. Glancing at your bill, I'm assuming your DWP? I'm Edison as I'm in the county, but not the city of LA (Long Beach).

I just read the line on your bill... 1200 kwh, insaneo. How many people, how big of a house. All electric or some natural gas? My summer months with the central A/C at 74 degrees dosent even come close to cracking half that.

Something's wrong.... Or your entire house is electrically heated and the rain/cold kicked your butt.

I would love to be that low usage wise. Last month was 2748kwh and in the summer it is between 3000 and 4000kwh.

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

I would love to be that low usage

I would love to be that low usage wise. Last month was 2748kwh and in the summer it is between 3000 and 4000kwh.

I bet you have a LOT more square footage or a few thousand gallons of tanks or a combo there of.

 

[nuxx Verified Sponsor]

Seems excessive...

Had 650 gallons of total volume and didn't see that type of expense.

All lights were LED, pumps were DC, etc... we're in Texas and keep our house in the low/mid 70s, so that probably had something to do with it.

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

hmmm I would suggest looking at your output rate on those outlets that the tank is plugged into. You can get smart plugs on amazon from the brand KASA and on your phone you can literally view the output of what your tank is consuming in electricity but my hinkering is that something else in your home is consuming that extra $$ also inflation is a b***.. I live in LA and my normal bill rate is 275-300$ monthly with running a 100gal reef with UV, skimmer, 200w heater, 2 wave pumps, carbon reactor, GFO reactor, reef dose & three Reef LED90’s.

Your numbers, you should get off of TOU and go fixed rate...

Edit, NM. Your off schedule usage is high, electric car?

 

[Opus]

I bet you have a LOT more square footage or a few thousand gallons of tanks or a combo there of.

It would have to be sq footage, I have a 2500 sq/ft home. Less than 150gal in aquariums. This winter has been rough with all the cold. When it got down below 10 the heat pump basically stayed on all night trying to keep the house at 70.

 

[PotatoPig]

My 200w heater runs almost half the time now during these colder months in Los Angeles county. So i guess according to my rates it’s correct, unfortunately. Here are my rates

Even if your 200W heater is running 24/7 that’s “only” 144kWh per month.

 

[Kasrift]

Hi all so I usually average maybe $60 a month for my reef tank electricity but this last month I hit $450 for my 50 gallon cube. Has anyone experienced the same? How can I heat tank more efficiently during the cold months?

Look at your gas. I'm assuming gas and electric are on the same bill. I'm in southern California too and policies are driving up gas costs (as well as electric, but not nearly as much).

 

[srobertb]

Hi all so I usually average maybe $60 a month for my reef tank electricity but this last month I hit $450 for my 50 gallon cube. Has anyone experienced the same? How can I heat tank more efficiently during the cold months?

Yeah I have a 30Kw solar array and still have a bill in the summer. The unseen and unspoken cost of reefing.

 

[slojim]

does your tank have a lid? Makes a huge difference - I had an open top but lost home heat in a cold snap in a small poorly insulated apartment years ago, heater couldn't keep up. Wrapped the tank in blankets and put some plastic over the top and suddenly had no problems.

 

[AV corals]

Your numbers, you should get off of TOU and go fixed rate...

Edit, NM. Your off schedule usage is high, electric car?

The only thing I can think of is running our heater or dishwasher at night. This is for my apartment. I do have an electric car but I charge it in the garage which is not tied to my apt so free charging shhhhh but my fiancé loves the heater so we think that’s the blame. My tank also runs 24/7 with my skimmer & GFO turning off at 9pm then back on 7am. Everything else 24/7 tank and equipment

 

[Acrofiend]

Your numbers, you should get off of TOU and go fixed rate...

Edit, NM. Your off schedule usage is high, electric car?

Off schedule? Which numbers are they? The heater runs almost all night. Photo posted is from 10 pm to 10 am.

 

[Acrofiend]

Yeah it’s not worth it now that I’ve grown older. I’d move but my wife doesn’t want to leave her family .

 

[Acrofiend]

Look at your gas. I'm assuming gas and electric are on the same bill. I'm in southern California too and policies are driving up gas costs (as well as electric, but not nearly as much).

My gas was at $165. Unless the gas wall heater is using electricity somehow.

 

[Acrofiend]

I would check your wattage usage from the month before. We had a rate hike for january where I was at and increased our bill by $300.

This month was 1200 units. Month before was 220. I assume it was just my heater running all night and almost all day.