edacsac;14990 said:
water changes are rough on the water bill though. I'd hate to have a huge tank to deal with. In that respect, I can see why some would avoid large frequent water changes. Other than that, I'm learning that frequent water changes is quite key to a happy tank.
Please note: this is not directed at you personally, but rather, the larger more general question and comments often heard on forums/list/boards etc:
Are they really the reason why the water bill is so high?
Even with say 200 gallons worth of tank, 50% weekly water change = 400gallons for the month..........
Water in CA is going to cost more than most places, it is at about 1.70$ per 100 cubic feet, or 748 gallons. If you go into tiers above the normal rate, it's now 3.00$ per 100 cubic ft.
400 gallon = 53 cubic ft.
Or about 0.90$.
Not even a dollar per month.
Or about little over 10$ a year.
If you reduce the water changes to 25% weekly or every other week, you've now saved 45 cents or about 5 $.
Rates vary, but they are not going to be nearly as high as you are suggesting.
If waste is an issue, do what I do, water the landscaping with the leftovers.
If water bills are too high for you, and you truly believe that large water changes on the tank are the cause, you should probably not keep fish tanks. Go non CO2 planted only.
I'd bet less laundry, quick showers with water saving heads, water conserving toilets, proper ecosystem local native landscaping plants etc would be more of a savings.
We all have our priorities.
Folks are going to do water changes if they have fish tanks or planted tanks, whether they are 25% or 50% is not going to make such a huge difference no matter what the argument is. It is a drop in the bucket compared to the agricultural use of water resources, they often get 100 cubic ft for about .05 cents by comparison here.
Let us look at these folks who have way too much light for a comparison here.
2w/gal vs 4 w/gal on that same 200 gallon tank.
400 w x 10 hour per day x 30 day a month = 120 kw
800 w x 10 hour per day x 30 day a month = 240 kw
Going rate per kW here: .13 cents.
120 x .13 = 15.60$
About 15X more than water cost.
What about pumps/filter energy cost?
Heaters?
Why are there not environmentalist folks in the hobby raising the banner here?

Where is the outraged?
Instead we have folks telling newbies that they should lots of lighting so they can grow Gloss or HC. Then some suggesting water changes cost more, but it's more likely they just do not want to bothered doing them in the first place.
Plants or all types grow fine, slower, but fine at 2w/gal vs 4w/gal.
Many complain that they have to trim too much due to fast growth rates, have other deficiency related issues/CO2 issues etc, all can be solved and made much easier to achieve with less light.
Now if I have large tank or many tanks, I need to have some priorities.
One will be how much will all these things cost me?
If I can afford a 200 gallon tank vs a 10 gal, then I should also be able to afford the upkeep cost that comes along with a large tank.
Regards,
Tom Barr