MH running costs

How much does it truly cost to run MH lights? I have heard they will jump electric bill... how much did it raises yours? How long do you run them for? I currently am using a 4bulb t5 on my 75 with only softies.

 

More than what you have, LOL...

But seroiusly -- Wattage of bulbs (150, 250, etc...) and the cost of electricty in your area are going to be just some of the factors involved.

Many areas have a tiered rate structure and if switching to MH bulbs pushes you into the next higher rate, the costs could be rather high. Also consider the extra heat genereated, if you run AC; plan on it running more often.

Just a few things to consider...

 

for my bill based on my rates its was about 30-40 bucks a month... and thats with all my pumps heaters etc though.

 

truthfully it will only go up a tad since your already running t5's, now thats just for the 150w. Once you jump up to 250+ then the power is gonna go up more and thats the reason im goign with 150w and not any higher since its not needed in my new tank build.

 

your pulling 216 watts with your t5 bulbs... so if you go with 150w halide it will be cheaper... if you go with 250w halide it will be only a few cents more.
My 250 watt halide costs me $43 a year

 

lol 1 light, thats what hes gotta think about, running 2 ups the cost thats why i said from t5 to 150w its min but 2 250w gonna cost more

 

Consider this....

4x54W= 216W
2x150W = 300W

So going from a 4 bulb T5HO configuration to a 2 bulb MH setup would increase your bill slightly. Now remember that you may want to have a 1-2 bulb setup for actnic supplement.You can take your 4x54 apart and depending if they used a 1x2 ballast you could use it for your actnic thereafter at no additional investment cost. Keep the other ballast around for a spare. You're then also increasing that overall wattage from 300W to 408W with two 54W actnics. An overall change of 192 Watts.

Now check your electric bill and estimate another 200watts of utilization per month.

(I just recently did this same thing as my 4x54 on my 75 was not cutting it and then i was forced to replace it because the ballasts died lol I went with 6x54W T5HO 324Watts total from 216Watts)

 

Remember, a watt is a watt. The only real difference in electrical costs between MH and T5 is that T5s are a little more efficient, so less is lost to heat. However, there are some nice electronic ballasts out there that are very efficient. So if you have 500w of Mh and 500w of T5s, it will basically cost you the same thing. You can figure out exactly how it will cost by seeing in total what you pay per KwH on your bill, then figure out how long you run your lights, do a little simple math and you can figure it out. I plan on getting a 2x250w MH setup and replacing my 6x54w T5 setup and calculated the cost will be about $7-10 more per month, but remember, I'm also using about 284 more watts.

 

thank you everyone for your input about the MH costs. I was thinking it would be a very large increase every month. It seems as long as I dont jump from my 216w to the 2x250w MH and additional actinic lighting, that I should only see a minimal increase in electric bill. Again thank you all for the simple break downs on it. it sounds logical, but I guess I thought there would be more to it.

 

O no, you would notice a large increase say if you have a 20g then upgraded to like a 90 which means more powerheads, big return, more lights, bigger skimmer, reactors and such. Lmao then it would prolly go up liek 30 bucks. God this hobby adds up with everythign new we get!