Electrical Costs of keeping fish... mmmm????

Discussion in 'General Discussions' started by Cheetah, Nov 16, 2013.

  1. Cheetah

    Cheetah Retired moderator

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    Having moved from a scenario where I had company accommodation with free electricity…. I never really bothered to check up on my power consumption to assess the real expense of my fishkeeping hobby….


    So!.... The move from Limpopo province (where heating was actually not required during winter)… to Northern Cape…. Where I was compelled to put (at least) 400Watt heaters in each of 5 ponds (during the winter) …. and… 200W heaters in all my tanks in an uninsulated fishroom….. it was not that easy to establish what portion of my usage was due to the fish… and what was run of the mill domestic consumption….


    Now that the winter is (hopefully) over and gone….. I have decided to switch off all heaters in the ponds…. and in all the tanks…..


    I could not believe it….. I used an average of 90 units per day…. Whilst the heaters were on…. (my wife loaded a R500 voucher every 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] day) ….. and now…. I average between 25 and 35 units per day….


    With no market for the fish … (only 2 mediocre petshops in KBY) ….. They are killing me in running costs… Now… if that is not a good reason to stop breeding….. or even keeping fish…. I am reconsidering!!!!... I'll start by insulating the fishroom.....
     
    Cheetah, Nov 16, 2013
    #1

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  3. Willem

    Willem High fin Pangasius

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    Jip very costly I use to advertise the monster fish adoption in olx and junkmail but couldn't afford the electric bill anymore, it actually broke my heart :sad2: to have gotten rid of all the fish and shut down the adoption setup.
     
    Willem, Nov 16, 2013
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  4. Reedfish

    Reedfish Moderator

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    @Cheetah,

    Here in the UK, heating (gas and electricity) go up by at least 10% a year.
    Even though we have more than one supplier of both gas and elec, they are a cartel. And what one supplyer does, the rest invariably follow.

    I have heard of people using bubble wrap, polystyrene and even blankets over their tanks to help reduce heat loss.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 2, 2016
    Reedfish, Nov 16, 2013
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  5. OBI

    OBI

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    I run my fishtank and duck pond off solar pannels and some batteries setup cost was a bit high but with electricity cost this high you recoop it quickly
     
    OBI, Nov 17, 2013
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  6. andries

    andries

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    I think ZOOM did a write-up how to calculate your electricity and what to budget for. Very useful as I can put the doomsayers at ease at the running costs involved at fish keeping.
     
    andries, Nov 17, 2013
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  7. Double-D

    Double-D David

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    I had 7 tanks running and when we moved into a smaller place and had our little girl I had to downsize drastically. Now I only have a 1.5m planted and a 2ft guppy tank. The difference in consumption over winter was a mere 7 units a day. In the summer time it is less than 2 units a day.
     
    Double-D, Nov 18, 2013
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  8. Zoom

    Zoom Retired Moderator

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    Heaters and large volumes of lights is your major consumers of electricity.

    a 400w Heater in an external pond, (i.e. lets assume running 20 hours a day) on a R1,30 per unit will cost: R320 per month!
     
    Zoom, Nov 18, 2013
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