Lighting Electricity Cost

I am trying to figure out my lighting situation for my new 120g (48"x24"x24") mixed reef I am starting.

I am deciding between MH, ATI Powermodule, and LED (aqua illumination).

The PowerModule would be 432W (8x54W 48")
The MH would be 596W (2x250W+2x48W reefbright led)
The LED would be 225W (3x75 36" AI modules)

At $0.12/kWh this is only $12.44, $17.16, $6.48 respectively for 8hrs a day for 30days a month.

This seems WAY too cheap. Am I forgetting something? Do the light units use approximately the same wattage as their bulbs or do the ballasts take significantly more wattage? Do the HQI MH have higher used wattage then their bulbs?

Thanks

 

no that actually looks about right. there are aquarium electric cost calculators on google just type in all info and it tells you how much. my 55 gallon with 216 watt t5 and all equiptment cost about 20 a month. i would never want metal halides and pay for them though

 

I'm confused - this makes it look like the matal halide setup would only directly cost $5 more per month. The MH initial setup cost is the same if not cheaper than a powermodule T5 setup and 8T5 bulbs and 2 MH bulbs are comparable costs.

 

This topic has seem to come up here a few times recently. What you need to keep in mind is that a watt is a watt. If you have 500w of T5 and 500w of MH, they will both use 500w. Now, let me explain a bit more. T5s are more efficient then MH, thus one reason why they produce less heat. T5s will use a little bit more electricity then their stated wattage to make up for their inefficiency. For example, depending on the ballast and bulbs, a 216w T5 setup may use 220-225w, more or less. MH are not quite as efficient as T5s, but with some of the new electronic ballasts, they are getting closer. If you have 250w of MH, it may use 260-275w or so, again it largely depends on the ballast.

People say MHs are so much more to run, in reality, they aren't much more, maybe a few dollars a month, but what people forget is that they are many times comparing a 216w or 324wT5 fixture with 500w of MH, of course it's going to cost more to run then. You need to compare apples to apples and not apples to oranges.

 

Its funny because I was always afraid oh MH...it was such an unknown for me years ago and I never wanted to veture there because of all this talk of the prices to buy and run.

Now that I have MH (just recently upgraded)...its a piece of cake and not that much money at all.

I opened my first electric bill and was so shocked at how low it was...I was expecting an insane bill...hardly any difference.

I would never use anything but MH for right now, the quality of the light is so amazing.

That's just my 3 cents!!!!

 

Just like Guitar Man said watts are watts. It's simple math.

Also..... you needs to look at how you will actually be running your lights. First 8 hours is a little low. I run mine for 12, but I only run my MH for 6-7. I do the dusk dawn thing. So if you buy adequate MHs, you will not be running them full time. think of them as mid day Sun.

In fact, there was some discussion about high powered MHs and photo inhibition of corals. That they can have too much light. I know some folks that have good MHs that only run them 4 hours a day.

So my point is you really need to get the amount of light you need, then try to look at how you will actually run them, and figure by that. Going by 12 hours a day, and running dusk and dawn...... running your T-5 setup for 12 hours can cost more than a MH with supplementation that can be run how you want.

 

I have been told that HQIs run at much higher wattage (a 250W HQI run at ~400W).
Is this true?

Either way, I am astonished at how cheap the electricity is going to be. I was told it will be between $150-200 a month for a 120g tank. I am not seeing how that is possible even if you include 4 Koralia 4s (4x12W), the ATB 840 (20W), and the Eheim 1262 return (80W) - at $0.12 /kWhr this is only $12.79 to run all of them 24-7. This brings the total to $30-$35 permonth for the whole tank.

Only if my heaters and/or chiller are on constantly can I figure out how to get up to the $150 mark people were quoting.

Am I missing something?

 

nice thread....very interesting stuff.

 

Same arguement as "muscle weighs more than fat." A lb of muscle is the exact same weight as a lb of fat. It's just that a lb of muscle is more dense and takes up less space than a lb of fat, it's the quality of that weight we worry about. The same is true here.
The quality of each watt of light is where the difference is. A watt of CF is not the same as a watt of T5 which is not the same as a watt of MH. Running each watt will cost the same amount of money, all things being equal. A 2x55w CF fixture will cost the same as a 2x54w T5, though the quality of light in the T5 will smoke the CF fixture.

 

ive never used mh but im never going to. i know they can heat the water and then you would need a chiller....more electricity...more money. i like t5's there bright...cool running..less power