T5 led Bulb

Broly_PT · Mar 16, 2018

Hello my friends

Im in a point that i cant keep my aquarium because the eletricity bill.

I have 8x80 ATI bulb, that i need to reduce the consumption, or my tank will be disable.

I know that brands like E5 sells this bulbs, but the cost of each bulb is high and the reviews that im reading from many forums is not very good.

I see the that other brands are selling bulbs, "sera" for example.
Phillips are starting in this world but i think they dont have bulbs yet.

Any one know other brands ?

My aquarium

regards

ihavecrabs · Mar 16, 2018

Hey Broly_PT,

While lights are normally one of the higher expenses, there are many others that may cost just as much (or more) depending on your setup. (Heaters and chillers to name a few)

Assuming you do not run any actinic and your cost per kwh is 12cents, your bulbs cost you around the below amounts... Considering dialing back how long they are on for or the number of bulbs you use, you could save a little bit.

8-bulb 80w

12 hrs/day - $28/mo
8 hrs/day - $19/mo
6 hrs/day - $14/mo

6-bulb 80W

12 hrs/day - $21/mo
8 hrs/day - $14/mo
6 hrs/day - $10.50/mo

I did a comparison for me with LED fixtures vs my 6-bulb T5HO and to get the coverage I needed, I was at an additional 150W with LED. Bulb replacement costs are still there but it about evens out.

An area where I received savings was on my return pump. I was originally using a mag drive 9.5 which is 93w at 950 gal/min. I went to an Ecotech M1 which is 80w (at 100%) at 2000 gal/min.

Per watt I saved a lot of money (moving more water at the same wattage the mag drive was 10.2gal per watt and the ecotech was 25gal per watt) but my month by month savings were not crazy.. Maybe a $1.50

.. Throttle it down, and maybe $3

Check heaters, chillers, dehumidifiers... these are all the high cost areas typically as well.

Oh and I forgot to mention, if you end up going with E5 bulbs or the like, you'll save around 45% of the electical cost and the bulbs will last longer; however, up front investment is high and I'm unsure how proven they are.

Broly_PT · Mar 17, 2018

hello,

here in Portugal, the kw price is 0.20,

I have 2x, 300w heaters but i need them, my tank have 250GAL, and is cold, and they run almost the 24hours, but this is a think that i cannot turn off or quit.

I will reduce the time of the lights and observe the corals how they response.

regards and thanks

ihavecrabs · Mar 17, 2018

Broly_PT said:
hello,

here in Portugal, the kw price is 0.20,

I have 2x, 300w heaters but i need them, my tank have 250GAL, and is cold, and they run almost the 24hours, but this is a think that i cannot turn off or quit.

I will reduce the time of the lights and observe the corals how they response.

regards and thanks

There is an article about using your boiler or water heater and a heat exchanger in the tank to lower heating cost. Might be worth looking into.

Broly_PT · Mar 19, 2018

ihavecrabs said:
There is an article about using your boiler or water heater and a heat exchanger in the tank to lower heating cost. Might be worth looking into.

here is that article?

regards