What is everyone's water bill?

[Tad]

hmmmm.....water and sewage @ $50 per month....Electricity for whole house $350 per month :-[....Not sure what the cost of electricity is for just my 9 aquariums

Tad

PS: beer looks good right about now ;D

[Jeff]

My water is free as I'm in a commercial building. ;D However my electric bill last month was $397.29 for all the heaters, freezer, blower etc. :-\ In the summer my heaters seldom run so it makes up for it though.

[BLUEKNIGHT]

My water is free. ;D

[Steve_Warner]

Hi all,
Just pulled out a "new water rates" schedule from a previous bill. My water(3/4" line) costs-Tier 1= $1.38 per 1000 gals(up to 20,000), tier 2=$1.66(20,000-40,000 gals), tier 3= $1.99(40,000 gals and up) + 7.45 service charge + sewer fee of about $17 bucks flat fee + this fee + that fee + whatever other fee they feel like charging.


Steve

[marti]

I live in the southern Sierras in So. Calif. My water bill is $55-$60 a month in the winter and $150-$175 in the summer. And, this was before I got back into Discus. Needless to say, I am not doing the no. of water changes that most of you do. However, I do many other things to try to compensate for this. So far, so good.

Marti

P.S. Our water rate is going up again. (We do have a large piece of property, but most of it is not irrigated at all.)

[Steve_Warner]

Hi all,
Marti, I am very interested in hearing how you compensate for the water changes as I too do not do daily W/C's anymore and my kids are doing just fine. I feel guilty using my R/O to fill up my 50 gal storage tank once a week. I think as the water shortage situations get worse, it will be so important to figure out smarter ways to combat water use in the future. Since I live in Vegas(desert), the water is a precious resource and I feel I can keep my fish healthy and happy in ways other than just doing W/C's. I do not breed or plan to(just a hobbyist), yet my discus spawn all the time in my community tank. I don't bother to separate them or anything, just let nature take it's course. I wish I had more thoughts to experiment with to try to combat water usage and keep very healthy fishies. I'm still trying, though!


Steve

[thebaglady]

Steve,

Instead of feeling guilty about doing what u must (regular partial water changes) find other ways to save and utilize your waste water....start some tanks with African cichlids, rainbowfish or livebearers. Use it for filling up your washing machine, flushing your toilets manually (using a bucket), doing dishes, watering your house plants etc...

When (and if) you get rain and you don't live in a real polluted area, catch some of it in buckets and use it for your discus tank. It's suitably soft, just like they want.

Don't overload your tank with too many fish. Aquarists of the past used very little filtration (no electricity to run the filters) but they did use plants to pull waste out of the system.

Carbon/ammonia remover is all good, but in the end, I'm sure you already know, ya gotta do the water changes, Maybe less frequently them some, but if you feed them , you can't get away from this necessary chore. It's the key to healthy fish. :-* Good luck overcoming your guilt!!

[marti]

Steve,
I, too, think this is a topic that will become more & more important to those of us who live in arid areas. I am still working on this problem, but so far I have come up with the obvious ones of being very careful how much/what I feed (one pelleted food turns into a mess, but another one doesn't) and not overstocking the tank. In addition, I use pre-filters and clean them 1-2x/week and siphon up debris off the tank bottom a minimum of 1x/day, but usually 2x or more (I use Hagen's Multi-Vac with vinyl tubing extension and filter wool in bag which I clean daily). In addition, I have plant roots growing in the tanks and a large sword plant. I do about 25% WC/wk and, so far, they are eating and healthy. If they start to have problems (I watch H2O clarity very closely), then I change the H2O. I also monitor eye color and behavior for indications that the discus are less than happy with the situation.
I realize why constant H2O changes are recommended (Discus love clean water), but I think a more moderate approach might work, too. Especially, for those of us who pay dearly for our H2O.
marti 8)

[BlueTurquoise]

[quote author=Tim S link=board=1;threadid=7729;start=0#82632 date=1046883761]
my bill went from 20 to 43 a month.
I'm compensating by not showering but once a week.
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
All for the love of discus!!
[/quote]

ROFL!

I rent so water is FREE! (within reason of course!)

Chong