Budget questions for 300 to 500 gallon aquarium.

[fishyfish]

I have been considering setting up a 300 to 500 gallon tank. I have the room BUT I am concerned about the costs of running such a set up, especially the electric bill.
I would appreciate any thoughts on this BEFORE I put myself in an awkward situation, as my family INSISTS upon eating every day, sheesh!

 

[fishyfish]

OK, let me rephrase my questions. I have read about the certain increase in electricity on former posts/threads. That is all well and fine. What I need to know is HOW can I keep the electricity cost down? I know many of you are thinking that if I have to worry about it that I shouldn't be even trying for it, BUT I will soon be turning 56 and if I don't soon, I never will. I would love to do a 1000 gallon but feel that 500 may be all that I can manage. Depending upon where I put it, it can either be a plywood tank OR concrete. So, give me your thoughts. Thanks.

 

[fwprawn]

You need to be a lot more specific. Here's why.

I have two 300's. One has one fish in it - a gourami. The other has 3 gars in it.

On each, I have one tiny (in comparison to the tank) filter, and one heater (set on low 60's for the gars, but they don't even need the heater - it's just for insurance.) - so there really wasn't much of an increase in my bills - not to mention they are in my plant house, which is kept warm for the plants. So, mine is on one end of the spectrum.

One of the guys who has 25 fish in his, with 4 canister filters, and all the fancy doodads, would be on the other side of the spectrum.

That said, you could set up an ecosystem that doesn't need ANY electricity at all - it all depends on your choices and wishes, and the location.

 

[fishyfish]

More specific. Ok, I was thinking of doing something suitable for a black pacu. I currently live in a house that would require a wooden tank, but if I move to another house I could do a concrete tank, if that was better. I am certainly NOT into fancy. I like something to work as simply as possible as I have gotten all the fiddling with stuff out of my system, if that makes sense.

 

[fwprawn]

What the tank is made of, etc, doesn't make any difference - the stock does.

So, a Pacu - Pacus need A LOT of filtration and good oxygen levels - which means you will be spending a lot more in equipment than, say, me. They are heavy feeders, and heavy poopers, so you will need to circulate the water and filtrate it very well, and also, they are strictly warm water fish, so you will need 2 300W heaters, at least, set at 75 or so.

If you don't care about ugly - you can line the outside of the tank with insulation, and leave small spaces on top for gas exchange, which will cut down on the heater bill.

However - you need to really look at what you CAN spend monthly on bills, and don't forget the water bill, the food bill.

If you do need to count your pennies - then get technical - get all the wattages of all the different equipments, and do math, and then plug it into your electric rates, and see if you can, or can't, do it.

 

[fishyfish]

Thank you for your input. I know that a lot varies according to pumps, etc. This is a big step for me as the largest tank that I have had is 90 gallons. I just do not want to make my "significant other" mad with the electric bill. It is all worth it to ME but most of us have to convince the other half, I am afraid. LOL
I just want to be smart about it all, you know?

 

[fwprawn]

What were you using on the 90 ?

 

[fishyfish]

On the 90 I have 2 Emperor filters and 1 heater. It is full of Mbuna.

 

[DIDYSIS]

My best advice is review the pumps you are going to use for the system. The heaters as well. Then check what your power company charger per energy used and get yourself a rough estimate. Then ask someone how much food they feed per month who has similar animal. Also figure out the water cost for your area and how much water you will change monthly. That will give you the best idea with everything. But honestly just the pump will be $100+ a year most likely.

Sent from the Monster Fish Keeping App

 

[aldiaz33]

To give a ballpark estimate of what it would cost to run, we would need to know what you pay per KWHr. If it's a tiered fee schedule, big tanks can easily push you into the highest tier, which can be painful. My tank always pushes me into the top tier and I cringe every month when the power bill comes in. The cost to run big setups tends to snowball, especially if you are on a tiered system.

In order to keep costs low you would want to run efficient pumps (Lagunas are my favorite), insulate the heck out of the tank and keep your bio-load low so that you don't have to do (as) frequent water changes.

Speaking of water changes, if you do a 50% water change on a 500G tank a standard 40G water heater will be completely drained, assuming you are refilling with water at around 80F. If the wife is unhappy about the cost to run the tank, a cold shower may put her over the edge. I had a tankless hot water heater installed so that I never run out of hot water. I don't have to time water changes around peoples shower schedules anymore. =)

Where would you set the tank up? If it's in a temperature controlled room, that will help reduce your heating costs, but you could run into issues with humidity. You may end up having to run a dehumidifier to keep RH below 60%. If it's over 70% for extended periods you can end up with mold growth. Dehumidifiers are total energy hogs; you can expect a unit that's rated for about 1,000 sq ft to draw around 600 watts (5 amps). Add that to the cost of running the pumps (160-200watts), the heaters (~1,000W) and the lights (~150 watts) and you can see how the power bill really starts to skyrocket. Starting to see what I mean about costs snowballing?

A 500G isn't big enough for a Black Pacu, regardless of how you slice the dimensions. It'll need >1,000G if you are looking to keep it for life.

I would suggest that instead you go with a shoal of Wide Bar Silver Dollars...they are like mini-pacu (they grow to about 12", versus 3' and 40+lbs that black Pacu can attain).