Breaker tripping

[BeanAnimal]

I'd ask him to check all the breakers in your panel to make sure they trip and get the corrosion taken care for sure as it can cause overheating. Why you would need 2 separate GFCI circuits is puzzling. I assume they are both on 15A breakers. That's quite a bit of current for a single fish tank and you indicated your lights weren't even using them.

I would never put my entire tank on a single GFCI. A single nuisance trip or faulting device takes down the entire tank. The same with breakers.

If it were me, I would have 2 circuits with 2 GFCIs per circuit, if not three per, for that size tank.

 

[W31Olds]

2 local GFCi's makes sense. 2 dedicated circuits are not practical for most people. I would guess you would be hard pressed to find forum members who do.

 

[Miami Reef]

I would never put my entire tank on a single GFCI. A single nuisance trip or faulting device takes down the entire tank. The same with breakers.

If it were me, I would have 2 circuits with 2 GFCIs per circuit, if not three per, for that size tank.

In that case I’m going to have to find another electrician because this guy was kinda lazy. I don’t think he’d do all of that. He didn’t seem interested in making failsafes.

I tried showing the posts here to him and he laughed and asked if I was using AI. In his defense it was hard for me to find the posts and explain it to him. But ya.

 

[BeanAnimal]

2 local GFCi's makes sense. 2 dedicated circuits are not practical for most people. I would guess you would be hard pressed to find forum members who do.

Practicality is relative. I think you will find many folks with large tanks or dedicated fish rooms and those with large investments do run more than one circuit. In this case, he has work being done, so not would be silly to not add capacity and GFCIs for redundancy.

In the end, people can do what they want or what works for them. I have 3 dedicated circuits and 6 GFCIs. Only 2 are currently used.

 

[KrisReef]

In that case I’m going to have to find another electrician because this guy was kinda lazy. I don’t think he’d do all of that. He didn’t seem interested in making failsafes.

I tried showing the posts here to him and he laughed and asked if I was using AI. In his defense it was hard for me to find the posts and explain it to him. But ya.

You need to get a line chord with bare wires and tune up your local electricians next time they doubt the board. They will die in the hospitals they wired.

 

[W31Olds]

Large fish rooms, agreed, large tanks maybe in some cases. Would make an interesting poll.

 

[W31Olds]

GFCI with an audible alarm for some would be helpful, especially with tanks in Basements.

 

[Miami Reef]

I’ve hit a breaking point.

I know I’ve tried to keep things focused, but the truth is…I’m completely overwhelmed right now.


Electrical issues, possible leaks in the breaker, fear of losing the tank, pressure, self-doubt; it’s all crashing at once, and I don’t know how to keep going.


I’m not asking for pity. I just needed to say it out loud: I’m exhausted, and I feel like quitting.

 

[rtparty]

I’ve hit a breaking point.

I know I’ve tried to keep things focused, but the truth is…I’m completely overwhelmed right now.


Electrical issues, possible leaks in the breaker, fear of losing the tank, pressure, self-doubt; it’s all crashing at once, and I don’t know how to keep going.


I’m not asking for pity. I just needed to say it out loud: I’m exhausted, and I feel like quitting.

Just a bump in the road and lots of change at once. You’ll come out and chuckle about the good memories and lessons learned

 

[BeanAnimal]

In that case I’m going to have to find another electrician because this guy was kinda lazy. I don’t think he’d do all of that. He didn’t seem interested in making failsafes.

I tried showing the posts here to him and he laughed and asked if I was using AI. In his defense it was hard for me to find the posts and explain it to him. But ya.

Most contractors are not going to be interested in having forum users tell them how to do their jobs.

At the same time, you are the customer and shouldn’t be ashamed to ask for what you want. It’s your house and your money.

Ignoring redundancy, you need to add up the nameplate wattage of everything that you run, add 20%. That is the bare minimum and will dictate the minimum number of circuits.

 

[Paul B]

In the end, people can do what they want or what works for them. I have 3 dedicated circuits and 6 GFCIs. Only 2 are currently used.

Being an electrician, I have so many circuits and GFIs in my Man cave/workshop/fish room that I couldn't even tell you how many circuits I installed. It seems to work though.

I must have 20 or 30 outlets behind my tank.

 

[Reefering1]

I’ve hit a breaking point.

I know I’ve tried to keep things focused, but the truth is…I’m completely overwhelmed right now.


Electrical issues, possible leaks in the breaker, fear of losing the tank, pressure, self-doubt; it’s all crashing at once, and I don’t know how to keep going.


I’m not asking for pity. I just needed to say it out loud: I’m exhausted, and I feel like quitting.

Your doing just fine..
I wouldn't rush to replace the electrician because he doesn't know about reef tanks. As bean said, tell him what you want and his job is to get it done safely and within code. The next guy might be more headache than you have now.
Fwiw, my 2 systems each operate on 2 circuits.

 

[KStatefan]

2 local GFCi's makes sense. 2 dedicated circuits are not practical for most people. I would guess you would be hard pressed to find forum members who do.

There is a least two in this thread that do.

 

[KStatefan]

I’ve hit a breaking point.

I know I’ve tried to keep things focused, but the truth is…I’m completely overwhelmed right now.


Electrical issues, possible leaks in the breaker, fear of losing the tank, pressure, self-doubt; it’s all crashing at once, and I don’t know how to keep going.


I’m not asking for pity. I just needed to say it out loud: I’m exhausted, and I feel like quitting.

Filter the noise out.
Get help from one person to build a goal of what you what your electrical to be. Write that up to give to an electrician to see if they can get you to your goal.

When you hire someone to do work for you YOU are the boss.

 

[bobmissy31]

Just to be clear here…
It’s not the breaker that’s “rated” for 80% it’s that continuous loads (defined as 3 hours or more) must not exceed 80% of the breaker’s rating per NEC.

A standard 15A breaker can handle short-term loads up to 15A, but for continuous use, it should be limited to 12A.

It is not a safety issue, but rather one of nuisance trips based on the time current curve of the breakers thermal response.

I used the short version, but your absolutely right. I have seen breakers hold a lot more than they are rated for and not trip, and some that will not hold anywhere close to their load and trip.

 

[bobmissy31]

Being an electrician, I have so many circuits and GFIs in my Man cave/workshop/fish room that I couldn't even tell you how many circuits I installed. It seems to work though.

I must have 20 or 30 outlets behind my tank.

That's a whole lot of power, I would hate to pay your electrical bill every month....have you ever tried to see what kind of actual load your pulling?

 

[Tamberav]

I’ve hit a breaking point.

I know I’ve tried to keep things focused, but the truth is…I’m completely overwhelmed right now.


Electrical issues, possible leaks in the breaker, fear of losing the tank, pressure, self-doubt; it’s all crashing at once, and I don’t know how to keep going.


I’m not asking for pity. I just needed to say it out loud: I’m exhausted, and I feel like quitting.

Don’t show him the posts, just tell him what you want done/fixed. Say you have a very large saltwater tank so you need redundancy others may not care about.

I’m sure he likes being paid

 

[W31Olds]

Miami, if the Electrician cannot answer your questions then I would look for another one. Look at the positive, your panel needed work and that would need to be corrected whether you have a Tank or not. He can easily check what you tanks load is by using a clamp amp meter and then you just add in the load for things that aren't on like a chiller or heater. You already have 2 circuits in place so just keep them. Have them clean up the corrosion, check the breakers and replace any bad ones. Finally, I would ask the Electrician if your Panel is getting wet from a leak in the wall during strong storms, that should be detectable. Easy peasy.

 

[Paul B]

Its 6064 km between New York and Gothenburg = 6064 000 00 cm which giva a resistance of 11 400 320 000 ohm If I am Sweden (240 V) I = 240/11 400 320 000 I = 0.0000000211A - the circuit breaker will not tip. If I am in the US - 110 V - the amperage will be 0.0000000096 A - your breaker will not tip

There are a lot of outlets behind my tank but they are all probably on only two circuits.

 

[Miami Reef]

Someone tell me this price is a bit outrageous? Is it normal?


He will fix up the panel. He will replace the rusted lugs, but he said that part was optional. He wants to add a surge protector; he told me one was enough.

I mentioned about adding 2 circuits and 2 GFCI per circuit, so he added it to the quote.