cheaper-running lights?

[cirrus]

Hi everyone,

A few months back I bought a used 40 gallon tank (not assembled), and set it up with a few fish, some basic inverts, and plans to add some soft coral. It came from a hobbyist who is much more advanced than I am, and so I also got his MH light (10 watts/gal) as part of the deal.

I'm realizing now though that I can't keep paying an extra $70/mo to run it, so I'm looking to replace the light with something more economical. I have to admit that though I've asked questions and tried to read about lighting, there are so many models and different kinds of light that I'm kind of at a loss as to what would be best.

Could anyone make some suggestions? The tank measures 36x18x16.

Thanks

 

[BL1]

What kind of bulbs does your MH use, there's no way it should be costing you $70 a month to run your lights

 

[cirrus]

The only markings on them say "SPS 400w," and the extra cost is from the whole system combined, I'm sure. But everything I've read seems to indicate that the light is the major draw with heating a close second?

 

[BL1]

is it one bulb or two?

 

[cirrus]

single bulb with a reflector

 

[Ace5high]

Wow $70 a month off 1 - 400watt MH... That does sound high, how many hours per day are you lighting?

 

[BL1]

[FONT=Arial, Verdana, sans-serif]I'm not sure what your electricity rate is but, here's a little formula that can help you figure out what everything in your tank is costing you. This formula is assuming that you will keep your lights on for 10 hours a day and that your power cost 10 cents per kilowatt hour.

400 x 10 hours/day = 4000 watts
4000 divided by 1000 = 4 Kwh
4 x 0.10 = $0.40/day
$0.40/day x 30 = $12/month

If you still think you wanna go to T5s this is a nice affordable fixture Odyssea T5 High Output Lighting
[/FONT]

 

[cirrus]

I might be calculating that wrong, I'm not exactly sure how much the light alone is contributing to the bill. But it's running on a 12 hour cycle.

 

[cirrus]

Hmm, ok, that makes me think now it may have been something else in the house... Are there any other piece of equipment that are particularly expensive to run? We have a 150w heater and a Reef Octopus HOB skimmer with a couple of medium Hydor Koralias. Any ideas?

 

[little_fish]

Heating water is very power intensive, i would think that is the larger chunk of your bill

 

[cirrus]

Hmm this means my housemates overcharged me for electricity last month. It was probably all of their Xboxs and space heaters jajaja...

 

[Pwny]

Aquarium Equipment Monitor: Kill A Watt Power Strip by P3 International

this comes to mind if you wana track how much power you use