Electicity Question

[Gumby]

This may be in the wrong spot. And this is for those Electrical Geniousess.

I plan on putting a dedicated fuse in my fuse box for my fish tank. What size should I put in there.

My brother thinks on 20amp should do it......I am not sure as I think about all the crap I have plugged in behind the fishtank.

Mag5 (return pump)
PRizm Skimmer (soon to be TERM II)
little water pump in the sump
(2) Hydor Koralia #4
Current 265watt lights (3 plugs) - Sometime into the unknown future I will upgrade these, but it will be several years
40 lizard light for sump


I think there may be more but I cant remember what else there is. I konw i do not have a heater.

[Pulker]

Haha.
I'm no guru but 20 amps is a lot of juice. 20 amps x 110v = 2200 watts max draw.

[Gumby]

I am a self admitted knucklehead when it comes to electricity.

I leave the electric stuff to those who know it.

[sasquatch]

it dosent matter, whatever you put will not be enough, its the law of reefing, I would suggest if you have enough left in your panel to run a 30 amp breaker to a sub panel and go from there, 20 amps sounds like a lot but if the power goes out upon restart many devices draw a lot more than when running and could trip the breaker if your too near the load

[tbittner]

I also don't like to have all my eggs in one basket. I was fortunate enough that the previous owner of my house had two 200 amp breaker panels installed. I have the pumps split between the two.

If your one breaker trips, for whatever reason, you're tank is dead in the water (so to speak) until you reset that one breaker. I'd run two 20 amp lines from your main breaker panel and split at least the pumps up between the lines. It's most likely overkill but eventually, you'll end up with thousands of dollars worth of animals in your tank.

[prow]

just add up all the amps going through the loop. 20 amp should be good for your list. but if you ever go with MH or need a chiller i would add something like 2 or 3 - 20A breakers and spread the load. give a backup in case one breaker pops your tank will not totally dead.

[AQTCJAK]

We are actually running a 20 & a 30 amp breaker for Vickis DT

[Triggerjay]

Remember to size your wire according to the breaker or fuse you install... If you use a 20a fuse or breaker, you have to run #12 wire.... I have two dedicated 20a circuts for my system. One feeds the basement stuff, at 9.74a full load, and the other powers the main display at 10.2 a,... I have the breakers situated in the panel so they are directly oppisite each other. (One on each bus), this way the load is split as even as possible. NEVER put more than an 80% load on the fuse or breaker. This means if you use a 20a breaker, you only want a MAX of 16a actual amperage pulling on the breaker. You can go to the library, and take a look at the NEC 2008 book.. (National electrical code)..

Jason

[RyanG]

20 amp should be fine as long as you dont start everything up at once in the case of an outage

[naperenterprise]

I have a 20 amp dedicated for my reef room.
Should be just fine for you.

[Origami2547]

Triggerjay has it exactly right. A 20A circuit, by code, requires 12 gauge wiring to be compliant. This is to reduce the risk of fire from overheated wires. Most homes are wired with 14 gauge so chances are you'll be violating code if you go the route that you're suggesting. If the breaker that you're contemplating replacing is a 15A breaker, it's probably because that's what the wiring is rated for.

[JWarren]

Exactly! It's the wiring in the walls that you must be concerned with. You cannot pull 20 amps through wire that is designed to handle only 10 or 15. You need to find out what size wire is running through the wall to where you want to plug in. Allowing too much amperage to be drawn through insufficient wiring will cause the wires to heat up, melt the insulation and cause a fire in your walls and it makes no difference if you have breakers or fuses, which basically do the same thing; kill the power if they are overdrawn or shorted out.

You should never attempt to make electrical changes if you don't really understand the codes and the hazards of those changes. Don't want to hear that your home burnt down!

Make good decisions and call an qualified electrician!

[Origami2547]

Gumby, if you're running NEW circuits (that's outlets, conductors, and breakers), I'd run two and split the load / functions so that if one breaker popped while you weren't around, you'd have a second one powering half the devices. 15 or 20 A each would probably be plenty. If you've not wired a circuit to code before, find somebody who has done it right to help you.

[JoJo]

i ran 2 20a GFI breakers for my tank area. it will be more than enough juice for my set up. i would go with 2 20a.

[BoomerD]

Originally Posted by Triggerjay

Remember to size your wire according to the breaker or fuse you install... If you use a 20a fuse or breaker, you have to run #12 wire.... I have two dedicated 20a circuts for my system. One feeds the basement stuff, at 9.74a full load, and the other powers the main display at 10.2 a,... I have the breakers situated in the panel so they are directly oppisite each other. (One on each bus), this way the load is split as even as possible. NEVER put more than an 80% load on the fuse or breaker. This means if you use a 20a breaker, you only want a MAX of 16a actual amperage pulling on the breaker. You can go to the library, and take a look at the NEC 2008 book.. (National electrical code)..
Jason

Here's the best info so far in this thread...If you're having a dedicated circuit pulled for the fish tank, have 2 separate circuits pulled in so you can split the load for the safety of your tank. Be sure to properly size the wire for the max load on the circuit. IIRC, the NEC limits you to 20 amps for a standard outlet/circuit.

Next, if you're just going to install a different breaker on an existing line, BE CAREFUL you don't just install a larger breaker because the sparky's (electricians) install the smallest wire the circuit is rated for, (cost control) and overloading the wire can (and often does) cause house fires.