Calculating Running Costs – Making It Easier

Energy costs are substantial nowadays, which means that running an aquarium is affected.

Once the aquarium has been set up and stocked, the major ongoing cost of an aquarium is electricity. Some devices make a heavier demand than others, for example metal halide lighting, heating, and chillers. Others use less electricity, for example powerheads, top-up systems etc.

When all the devices that are demanding electricity are combined the amount could be fairly high and when the time the devices run is taken into account there could be a surprise in store for the aquarist. To avoid that surprise is simple. A beginning aquarist considering purchasing an aquarium can calculate reasonably accurately how much it will cost in electricity, if this is too much then the aquarium could be downsized enabling heaters and lighting etc to be smaller. An aquarist with an existing aquarium could find out what the system is costing and, using insulation and similar, reduce the cost if excessive.

On Aquaristsonline.com an article is available on the subject of calculating the ongoing cost of electricity. Go to ‘Articles’, click on ‘Beginners’ in the left hand column, then click on ‘A New Saltwater Aquarium – Its Exciting But Check Running Costs’.

If the aquarist wishes to know the electricity cost then there is a calculator available which could well make life a little easier. The cost per unit (kilowatt) will be required, obtainable from the last electricity bill. Also the wattages of equipment, on the equipment itself and also on the manufacturer’s instructions, and the time period they run are needed – some time periods are provided but these can be changed as required. Equipment is broken down into individual devices which should also make things easier.

The calculator is at the following link:

http://www.reefcentral.com/calc/tank_elec_calc.php

There are other calculators available which are shown on the left hand side of the link page.

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