BASIC MARINE AQUARIUM
Percentage monthly electricity
usage (in k Wh), of different
components of a simple system.
Fig 1b.
HOUSEHOLD SHARE
Percentage monthly electricity
usage (in k Wh), total energy
used by a basic aquarium vs
other appliances for a household
of three.
Fig 1c.
COMPONENTS
Percentage monthly electricity
usage (in k Wh), basic aquarium
equipment vs other appliances
for a household of three.
Lighting
Current Pump
Protein Skimmer
Time switches
Aquarium Equipment Total
Other Household Appliances
Lighting
Current Pump
Protein Skimmer
Time switches
Household
is significantly higher. Manufacturer data for electronic
ballasts for T5 lights suggest 5–7 watts. To calculate the
energy cost for each HQI lamp with an individual electronic ballast, we will use 260 watts. For each T5 lamp
switched individually, we will use 60 watts.
Current pump: Tunze Stream 6125, 3,166 gallons
( 12,000 L) per hour, 22 watts, running 24 hours a day.
External protein skimmer: Around 28 watts depending on the model, running time 24 hours a day.
Heating: For this size tank, a heater capacity of 200
watts is recommended in very cold rooms. Since the
heaters rarely come on in my aquaria, I won’t include
electricity consumption in my calculations.
Time switches to regulate the lighting: Consumption data vary between 1 and 2 watts depending on the
manufacturer. In our example, we will assume 2 watts
per time switch running time 24 hours a day.
Some aquarists may (and do) throw up their hands
in horror at this dearth of equipment, but additional
devices really aren’t necessary. I actually run my own
aquaria—and very successfully, too—using just this ba-
sic configuration. The daily and monthly electricity con-
sumption and costs are shown in the table on page 46.
THE FULLY LOADED AQUARIUM
In this case a number of pieces of equipment have been
added to the basic coral reef aquarium described above to
facilitate the maintenance of zooxanthellate stony corals. These are:
