Dedicated Electrical Circuits? How much did you spend?

[Kfactor]

It costed me 50 for the Circuit breakers lucky I know an electrician lol . I have 2 dedicated 20 amp outlets

 

[ariellemermaid]

I still have to ask why you think you need additional circuits for the tank? Unless it's a godawful huge tank with giant heaters, 1.21 Gigawatts of lighting, chiller, etc, I don't see a tank using more than 5-6 amps so a typical 15 amp household circuit should be fine.

Well, it’s multi-factorial.

1. Numerous threads about tripped breakers on vacation destroying tanks.
2. Many experienced reefers on here and elsewhere stating they’d never run a tank on a normal shared house circuit.
3. A tripped breaker we just had on vacation on a circuit that doesn’t even have that much on it. It was really weird.
4. I haven’t mapped out all the sockets/circuits yet and we’re waiting to see the room with the floor installed to plan a final location. But, the fact that the power dips when I turn on the entertainment center is concerning in and of itself. We’re talking 2 large SVS subs, 7 good quality speakers, a gaming PC, server, game console, etc. There’s a lot plugged into maybe 1/3 of the sockets in the room already.
5. Unknown total amps. It’s difficult to account for everything on a circuit with lights/fans, fireplace blower, etc. I can estimate the tank total amps but I might need more lights than I’ve bought, have to add a chiller, etc. And once the tank is in place routing a new circuit will be more difficult (and impossible to put it directly behind the tank). Also to think about is running amps vs. surge starting amps. The running amps are easy to find, but less so with starting amps. Starting amps for AC units for instance are massively higher, I don’t know about chillers. No clue about heaters, pumps, lights; like if the power goes out briefly and the entire tank plus everything else on the circuit comes back on at once- how many total surge amps for that? Is it still safely well below 15 amps?
6. If using only 1 circuit especially if shared with other devices, what if a single device on the circuit, tank or not, goes bad, shorts out, gets wet, etc. especially when out of town? The breaker blows and the whole tank is down. Vs. splitting life support devices between circuits. I probably don’t have sockets on 2 separate circuits on the same wall.
7. Several power outages recently, one over 12 hours. Yes, power outage planning is mostly unrelated to the discussion. However, now that I’m in plan-for-every-problem mode, this is a hot topic.

Edit: One more. Vacuum cleaners. Even if the circuit is mostly good enough most of the time, what happens when someone else plugs another high amp device in? You/they might not realize the tank is down; there was at least one story of that I found on here resulting in death and destruction.

 

[ariellemermaid]

generally kitchen and bath GFCI's are setup so that multiple outlets downstream of them are controlled by one GFCI outlet....sometimes in the same room, sometimes not...so you'll see regular outlets marked that they are GFCI controlled ...i have seen multiple bathrooms run off the same GFCI (you'd think an extra GFCI would be cheaper and easier than over 100ft of wire to link 3 rooms together on opposite ends of the house)...also outdoor outlets may be controlled by those same kitchen or bath GFCIs...generally GFCI outlets are favored over GFCI breakers as they are cheaper and can be inserted anywhere in the circuit

Great info. That explains why I have 1 GFCI socket with nothing plugged in directly below my breaker box. I was also lucky when I moved in and tried to get the landscape lights back up and running to preemptively replace it (because it wouldn’t reset). Turns out all the landscape lights run through that one socket. Would never have guessed without the luck of going ahead and replacing it.

 

[Russell G]

I got lucky with mine. When I had my Tesla charger installed, they ran a 100A sub panel into the garage and the charger only needed a 50A breaker. That left me with the capacity to run two 20A dedicated circuits to the tank. I just had an electrician come in and run some conduit across the ceiling of the garage and drop in the two circuits through to the house. The tank is right on the other side of the garage wall so it worked out really well.

I also had him put an outlet on the garage side since my chiller was going to be there and it would make it easy to power. The last thing I had him do was move a light switch and install an outlet for my mixing station. I’m running two EB832’s with one on each of the 20A circuits so there’s no way I will pull too much and trip the breaker. If one circuit goes down, I can easily shift it to the working one. The outlets are not directly behind the tank so I can actually access them.

All in all it only cost $670 for everything. Not too shabby if you ask me.

 

[snorklr]

to kinda oversimplify things...a normal circuit breaker really requires a dead short to trip...literally touching the hot and ground wires together like sticking a fork in an outlet...a GFCI senses a short to ground, particularly when YOU are the ground...this is why they are required in kitchens, baths, outside...anywhere water is involved...you can have an exposed hot lead in your tank (pump, heater etc) but it really has nowhere to go till you put your hand in and complete the circuit...an arc fault AFCI breaker senses an arc...a spark jumping between 2 wires that really isnt a direct short and since theres resistance involved a regular breaker would just think its a load....such as a loose screw on an outlet...the extra resistance causes heat and stuff melts and burns while a normal breaker just thinks you're using the toaster...my buddy's house burned because a drywall screw got put through the wire to his water heater....again not enough to trip the breaker but it just fried over time....now the fun part of AFCI/GFCIs is that the internal electronic circuitry that makes them work is designed to be overly sensitive and err on the side of caution and are subject to nuisance tripping or complete failure on a pretty regular basis...and yes they can interpret the small amount of arcing on the brushes of an electric motor or refrigeration compressor as a fault...even lightening strikes can trip them

 

[Paul B]

to kinda oversimplify things...a normal circuit breaker really requires a dead short to trip...literally touching the hot and ground wires together like sticking a fork in an outlet..

Well it really just needs something to draw more current than the breaker is rated for. Of course a direct short will do that also.

 

[ks2509]

I just set up a 80 gallon last week. In Virginia beach I had a local company who was noted for lower/fair prices 23 ft from box to living room one box 4 outlets they quoted $750. Went to my lfs afterwords to ask if they thought that was fair and was put in touch with a local reefer that is an electrician. He came out 2 weeks ago $140 he brought everything with him.

 

[ariellemermaid]

I just set up a 80 gallon last week. In Virginia beach I had a local company who was noted for lower/fair prices 23 ft from box to living room one box 4 outlets they quoted $750. Went to my lfs afterwords to ask if they thought that was fair and was put in touch with a local reefer that is an electrician. He came out 2 weeks ago $140 he brought everything with him.

That’s awesome! My main LFS closed so LFS just = petco for me. No real community here.

 

[atnet360]

I had two 20amp circuits ran to my 180 gallon that I'm working on. It's more power than I will ever need, but two circuits cost the same as one so I went for it.

Mine was expensive ($1200), but it was a pretty unique circumstance. The box is on the opposite side of a twonstory house. Had to go up two stories, into a vaulted attic, across the house, then down two internal walls to get to the tank.

I contemplated doing it myself, but $1000 to avoid crawling around in a cramped attic was money well spent for me.

 

[ariellemermaid]

First quote so far is $1300. It actually seems a little high to me given how he plans to do it. Basically the panel room is next to an unfinished room. The unfinished room is next to the outside however it’s a covered porch where some electrical work is already running underneath (light fixture plus hot tub wiring). So basically he would fish it into the unfinished room maybe 10ft, run it outside under the porch, then punch back in right into the wall where it’s going to go and only make one hole in the ceiling (with a new fake vent) to run it down the wall. In addition, he said running a second circuit would be double the price which seems crazy to me given the only difficult part is the fishing!

 

[Paul B]

In addition, he said running a second circuit would be double the price which seems crazy to me given the only difficult part is the fishing!

This is true and he is ripping you off. a second circuit is almost no extra labor and a very small cost for a breaker and extra wire, depending on how far it is.

 

[ariellemermaid]

So I went with a $1200 quote for two outlets, just installed today! I got a total of 3-4 quotes and all were similar except the first (double the price for 2). Keeping in mind housing prices where I live have been insane even since before the covid bubble. They used a ceiling vent to access the wall but had to make a different ceiling hole for the fishing due to a beam. Despite open joists and an unfinished access room it still took them about 4-5 hours work but they probably lost 1-2 hours trying to not make any holes.

What this whole experience made me realize however is that my unfinished room will make a great fish room! Getting the quotes and learning about the structure of the home with open joists made me realize routing water tubing following the same path should be super easy to follow their work! So it was educational too and overall I’d say worth it. Not to mention I’ve wanted to install surround sound with atmos on the other side of the room, and now that I have a better idea of how to do it, I feel like it’s possible!

 

[Cygnus]

We’re putting in a new tank and it seems everyone recommends not running a tank without 1-2 dedicated 20 amp electrical circuits for larger tanks (GFCI or not is debated). The cost varies widely by how much you DIY, location, home layout and distance from the breaker box, etc. So I’d like to know how much you guys actually ended up spending making this happen in your homes. If you ran the wires yourself but had an electrician just hook it up to the box, include the breakdown in the comments!

GFCI should be a requirement. Its to protect you. I do understand that its possible it could trip and shut off equipment. But the question you should ask yourself. Whats more important. Human life or the fish?

Installed 2 20amp breakers and ran 2 runs of 14/2nmb with 2 GFCI outlets for my tank.

I did the entire thing myself(pretty handy DIY skills as we rewired our entire home, and passed electrical inspections lol). So other then material costs, and my time, labor was $0, but materials was around $200 all said and done.

20 amp circuits require #12 wire or cable. Its not compliant to use 20 amp breakers on #14 wire. If this passed inspection, the inspector needs inspecting.

Very true, but if there isn't an open spot for even the tandem breaker, you have to install a new box to accommodate the extra breaker(s).

One tandem breaker will serve two wires. So each tandem used will free up one single pole breaker slot. But you must look at the panel legend to see if they are approved for that particular panel and where they can go in that particular panel.

If you competent enough to afford and setup a reef , electrical work should be easy. Material isn't bad, the tools and equipment isn't that expensive either. The hardest part is running the wire from the panel to where every you are running it to. If you are lucky enough to have an attic, should be easy. However, many have to go through walls, which will require dry wall work then cost just went way up.

For me, I am lucky enough where the builder installed 2 circuit panels in my house so I got plenty of space to add additional circuits. I also have an attic above all parts of my house. So its just material as I already have all the tools. I ran 220 in my garage and it cost me $50.

Easy is not the same as safe and compliant.

I ran one dedicated circuit, it was easy because my tank is in the basement and running the line was nothing more than securing the line to the rafters.
After much consideration, I did not include a GFCI, my primary thinking was that all the GFCI that I have in the house inevitability get tripped, it happens and they have to be replace every so often. In 25 years in my home, I have only had a circuit breaker trip a handful of times. I can't say the same for my GFCIs
Regarding cost, see if you can run the line yourself and if you are not comfortable with electrical, have the electrician make the final connections.
This will save you a ton

GFCI is to protect you from electrical shock or worse. A standard breaker does not protect you. Not using GFCI is your choice. But to inadvertently advise against it is short sighted.
I use GFCI, but I use a single GFCI receptacle that feeds two other receptacles. That makes 3 GFCI receptacles with only one of them actually a GFCI.
Also one GFCI receptacle can be used to plug in power strips.

I will just put this out there but to stay up to code you need to be using AFCI breakers or combination AFCI/GFCI breakers for all locations except unfinished basements and garages. And if you are adding an aquarium to your basement, an inspector would not see that as unfinished. Remember the NEC was created to help Insurance companies

If you have an existing system without AFCI, there is no requirement to use them. Same with GFCI. I'm not saying to not use them. I am saying its not required.
Most people will not have an inspection on a small job like adding a receptacle or two. In fact in many jurisdictions, inspection is not required for this.
In some jurisdictions homeowners are not even allowed to do any electrical work. So its a catch 22 thing. Do it yourself, have no inspection. Do it yourself with inspection (then you open up all possibilties that an inspector can fail you and have you do more things you did not plan to do). Hire a professional and let him decide for you on inspection or not.

I still have to ask why you think you need additional circuits for the tank? Unless it's a godawful huge tank with giant heaters, 1.21 Gigawatts of lighting, chiller, etc, I don't see a tank using more than 5-6 amps so a typical 15 amp household circuit should be fine.

Depends on the equipment. All the equipment must be counted and watts considered. It is only then you can decide if your current power availability is sufficient.

generally kitchen and bath GFCI's are setup so that multiple outlets downstream of them are controlled by one GFCI outlet....sometimes in the same room, sometimes not...so you'll see regular outlets marked that they are GFCI controlled ...i have seen multiple bathrooms run off the same GFCI (you'd think an extra GFCI would be cheaper and easier than over 100ft of wire to link 3 rooms together on opposite ends of the house)...also outdoor outlets may be controlled by those same kitchen or bath GFCIs...generally GFCI outlets are favored over GFCI breakers as they are cheaper and can be inserted anywhere in the circuit

Bathrooms must be on there own circuit. Kitchen receptacles serving counter tops cannot be mingled with any other circuits either. Outdoor GFCI circuits can be shared with other general GFCI household circuits.
Keep in mind some of these rules are fairly new. So finding a bathroom GFCI circuit sharing other circuits indoor or outdoor is common in older homes.

to kinda oversimplify things...a normal circuit breaker really requires a dead short to trip...literally touching the hot and ground wires together like sticking a fork in an outlet...a GFCI senses a short to ground, particularly when YOU are the ground...this is why they are required in kitchens, baths, outside...anywhere water is involved...you can have an exposed hot lead in your tank (pump, heater etc) but it really has nowhere to go till you put your hand in and complete the circuit...an arc fault AFCI breaker senses an arc...a spark jumping between 2 wires that really isnt a direct short and since theres resistance involved a regular breaker would just think its a load....such as a loose screw on an outlet...the extra resistance causes heat and stuff melts and burns while a normal breaker just thinks you're using the toaster...my buddy's house burned because a drywall screw got put through the wire to his water heater....again not enough to trip the breaker but it just fried over time....now the fun part of AFCI/GFCIs is that the internal electronic circuitry that makes them work is designed to be overly sensitive and err on the side of caution and are subject to nuisance tripping or complete failure on a pretty regular basis...and yes they can interpret the small amount of arcing on the brushes of an electric motor or refrigeration compressor as a fault...even lightening strikes can trip them

GFCI monitors current between the hot and the neutral. No ground is required for a GFCI to trip. This is the reason GFCI can take the place of two wire ungrounded circuits.

 

[Susan Edwards]

We added 2 20 amp outlets with 2 20 amp breakers. All dedicated to the tank. Had it done professionally. Paid 1200. Worth it

 

[homer1475]

Could have been #12 wire, don't really remember as it was years ago. Could even have been #10 wire as I had that on hand to run to my garage. Like I said though, we rewired our entire house(with the help of a professional friend), and with 3 or 4 different wire sizes around, it was hard to remember what we actually used for those circuits.

I did not mean to spread misinformation.