Las Vegas 1000 gallon pond and heater???

[JamieB]

omg! A high bill here is 200, I’m not sure of square footage, but it’s a 4 bed 2 1/2 bath two story house, usually have central heat and air on, but heat is propane. Normal bill runs 175ish, bad summer with additional ac running upstairs 285, I think the worst I ever saw here was 330ish. We put 300 gallons of propane in the tank every other month or so in winter, running 350-450 depending on price, but only need to add in the summer maybe twice. So I guess that balances out the electricity bill.

 

[Killemall]

Most houses in America are 3-5 bedrooms and around 1600 to 3000 sq ft.on average

Mine is 3 stories and 7 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms at 5000 sq feet.

If my house was a more average sized 2200 sq feet. I'm sure the electricity bill would be $100-150 a month less.

It also varies by state...

Some states charge slightly more or less kilowatts per hour than others.

But I'm primarily say it sq feet and ac.

Keeping 6000 sq feet 70 degrees with dual ACs will be much more expensive then keeping 3000 sq feet 70 degrees with a single AC.


Times like this I'm happy my pond is only 1000 gallons.

I cant imagine maintaining these 10,000 gallon ponds expense wise.

I'm going broke as it is

 

[GBBUDD]

You think it's hard now just wait

 

[Jhn]

My pond running around 13,000gph in pumps not really a noticeable difference in electric bill. My electric bill even before I installed the pond avg. around $5-600 a month on roughly a 5,000sq ft house during fall and spring. Have had it hit $800 or more in winter/summer, mainly hot summers......

 

[JamieB]

When I think of how bad folks have it that are part time employees, making minimum wage, renting a house, but still have to pay 300+ a month in utilities, it just hurts. I’ve heard of bills running 800 a month in town, where folks have to run ac units. I think I would rather deal with the heat than give over half my paycheck to electric bill.

 

[addy1]

Have had it hit $800 or more in winter/summer

I would cry! Our bill is usually around 150, winter it really drops we have a ventless propane heater that keeps our living space nice and warm. And our huge windows do a great job at solar heat. We open doors in the winter to cool off.

 

[Lisak1]

But I'm primarily say it sq feet and ac.

I would argue that. We had our AC unit replaced in the spring of 2019. Before doing that, we did a remodel on 80% of our house - down to the studs. My husband worked with a knowledgeable HVAC company to totally revamp the venting in our house to get it properly sized for our house, get it balanced, and whatever else they did - I stopped listening at some point, but I know it involved MATH and ENGINEERING and PRESSURES. Then they worked out the details on how big the AC unit needed to be. And to finish it all off, we re-insulated most of the house.

ANYWAY - same house, two different systems. Our old AC cost us 250-300 a month to run. The last two years (with electric prices in IL that are some of the highest in the country and just keep going up) we haven't exceeded $40 a month. So having the right venting, the correct AC unit and good insulation - no matter where you live - will definitely make a difference. In warmer climates they frequently don't insulate homes very well or at all - insulation does as much to keep the cool air in as it does to keep the cold out. Our AC unit is about 8 times bigger than our previous unit - our neighbors all laughed when they saw it going in - but it's so efficient, so quiet, and works so perfectly. And when we tell them what our electric bill is, they stop laughing.

And now - back to your regularly scheduled post!

@Killemall I'm still going with my original suggestion (and now that @GBBUDD brought it up, I feel even smarter!) to get some kind of cover going on. But you're right - that really is more fountain than pond. I'm not sure how much better your fish will fare in the hot Vegas sun to be honest.

 

[Killemall]

Wow!!!! Some great info here on electric bills!!!

My AC is only set to 79-81 during the summer....And cost 2900-400

For me around 80f is fine when its 110 outside

But to many they prefer a more comfortable 73f

I'm sure going from 80f to 73 f would put my bill in the 400-500 range

So I think that's yet another aspect of electricity bill we are forgetting

You should see people faces when they say they are hot in my 80 degree house and ask me to turn on ac..

Then I tell them...It already Is On lololol

Without AC my house hangs out at 95-100 degrees

 

[Killemall]

My AC is only set to 79-81 during the summer....And cost 300-400

Not 2900 spelling error

 

[poconojoe]

I feel for a lot of you with such high electric bills. If I have an $80-$90 bill, that's high.
3 bedrooms, 4 baths in the Pocono Mountains of PA.
I do have oil heat. My cooking and cloths dryer are propane. So, I guess those things offset the electric useage.

 

[Killemall]

My pond running around 13,000gph in pumps not really a noticeable difference in electric bill. My electric bill even before I installed the pond avg. around $5-600 a month on roughly a 5,000sq ft house during fall and spring. Have had it hit $800 or more in winter/summer, mainly hot summers......

I built it September 5th. It was in the 100-108 range if memory serves.

I only had one pump circulating water.

Fish seemed ok

Now I have 2 pumps circulating to keep water cooler and I've planted lily's to help with shading.

She will be a nice garden pond like you guys have eventually

 

[Killemall]

Question

Are my random 16 cent gold fish

$5 fan tails

10$ black pop out eyes fan tail

And large 35$ fancy...

All fine for 30 degrees???

I'm gonna turn off the heaters since no tropicals till march.

Will they be ok.

I will put in a 250 watt deicer just in case

 

[Lisak1]

Remind me - how deep is this pond? If you have at least 24 inches of depth I would say they'll be fine.

 

[JamieB]

They should be fine, the cheap feeders for sure, and since you are in Vegas and any ice should be just a thin layer if at all, I expect the others will be too unless they have an underlying health problem. One thing to keep in mind, if your pop eye and fancy are the round bodied wiggle butt type gold fish, they will swim slower than the others. This means more likely to be eaten by the sharks, not get a fair share of food, or be caught by predators. Even in cities the raccoons like to find places to enjoy sushi!

 

[Killemall]

I have 3 wiggle butt. They are amazing lol.

My sharks are 4 inches. Grew maybe half an inch at most in past 10 weeks. So I think years before they are big enough to pose a problem.

The pet store guy said the wiggle butts could get baseball size and 8-12 inches.

Any truth in that