Should I combine my tanks?

[SamAnthrax]

So I currently have a 20g with :

3 Cockatoo Cichlids (1m 2f)
1 Agassizi Cichlid (1m)
2 Hasborus Corys
11 Ember Tetras
1 Gold tetra (hes a loner...)

and my 5g I have
A TON OF RED CHERRY SHRIMP (breeding)
and 1 male guppy.



My mother got our first electric bill at our new place and it was well, more than we were expecting, and I kinda feel like it is (well I know it is) because of my two tanks.

So I was thining of just getting rid of my 5g and putting the shrimp and guppy into the 5g and hoping they get along fine there, with them moving into the tank their log full of java moss would be moving also.

How does this sound to you guys? :help:

[korith]

I think the shrimp may become a pricy feist for the cichlids.

To save on power, maybe switch the bulbs in your 2 tanks to fluorescent bulbs since they are cheaper to run, and cut down on number of hours they are on. Maybe turn the heater on them down a bit. Red cherry shrimp can be fine without heating, at just room temperature. One guy in the fish club I belong to keeps his red cherry shrimp in a 55g tank on his porch year round without any issues. They probably won't breed as quickly of course in the colder temps. May also want to have a full hood on the tanks to retain the heat better.

You sure it's your 2 fish tanks that are contributing to a higher bill? I've only seen an increase of a few dollars each month and I'm running 4 tanks here.

[SamAnthrax]

Well I cant do that since both plants are live planted.

I just don't see what else it could be since we dont have a tv or anything and were hardly home sometimes so the lights arent on? Hm I don't know yet.

[SamAnthrax]

Plus I'm tired of having two tanks, SO I kinda want to combine them regardless. Since the 5 is in the kitchen and I hardly see it.

[korith]

Plus I'm tired of having two tanks, SO I kinda want to combine them regardless. Since the 5 is in the kitchen and I hardly see it.

Hmm if you have a lot of plants in the 20g, might be able to keep a stable population of red cherry shrimp going. Maybe low lying, bushy plants.

You could always start selling off the shrimp, to make some money. I will sometimes sell my shrimp locally, just to get some money to spend on plants/fish.

[PostalPenguin]

If its your first bill at the place, it probably has a lot to do with things other than your tank. The big electricity users are: heat, water heater, AC, and big appliances like refrigerator and the stove. The price shock could be due to any of the above being less efficient and using more electricity than at your old place. For example your new place could be a lot draftier and require the heater to run more to keep the temperature. You could also be playing more per kWh too.

If you want to know how much your tanks are using get one of these:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882715001

You'll be able to tell exactly how much your tanks are using.

[SamAnthrax]

Well I moved them over, and my cockatoo male started to chow down. So i took him out ( i like my cherries better than him) and my male agassizi doesn't seem to mind the cherries at all. He sorta looked at them, looked at the guppy, and swam around.

Plus the cockatoo always always bothers the agassizi male. So I think I might get rid of the cockatoo male. Ugh. I dont know.

[bushwhacker]

i'm sure this isnt your problem but the last few months my power bill was out the roof.. turned out i had one of the heating elements burned out in my house water heater and the other was running 24/7 to try to heat the water

[terrapin24h]

rental properties are notorious for inefficient appliances. Is it an apartment proper, or like half a house that was broke up? I had a friend who lived in an old large victorian that had been converted, and he figured out that 2 outlets on a shared wall were actually on the other unit's service. Needless to say he had alot plugged into them. But if you're in a regular apartment it could be anything from power over-estimation to crappy appliances. Phone in power readings to the electric company every month and see if that helps. If they get a phone in reading, they won't estimate for that month.

--chris

[AABatteries]

The fridge makes up alot of the power.