I put a kilowatt meter on my tank to see how much power it used. I tested it with my 130 watt PC lighting, and then with my 520 watt MH/VHO lighting. Jumping from 130 watts to 520 watts only increased the cost around $12.00 a month. This was on top of the $12.00 the tank already cost me in power each month.
To read more about my tests go here http://utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2935&PN=3
The added increase in your power bill is not just because of your tank but because of the time of year. Your now running fans, and A/C which add lots to your power bill.
Power cost >$0.08 a kilowatt hour. A kilowatt hour is 1000 watts used in 1 hour. So 500 watts would take 2 hours to make 1 kilowatt hour or costs $0.04 and hour to run.
Lets say your system is a total of 1000 watts this includes pumps, heaters, lights, and everything else you have to run your tank. This would cost you $1.92 a day or $57.60 a month to run if everything was on for 24 hours a day. Most people do not use 1000 watts 24/7 on there tanks. They may use 1000 watts for 10 to 12 hours a day and less the 200 watt the rest of the time. But a 1000 watt tank is a big tank. My 55 gallon is only around 670 watts when fully lighted up and pumping water.
Hope this helps.
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