Electrical Madness

[KeyWestReef2009Indiana]

With everything in life I never think things through. I am a quality manager, so I can process risks. My question to the experienced members, has to do with electrical knowledge. I have some, but not seasoned. Do I need to call an electrician to wire up a socket capable of supporting my salt water aquarium? We are looking at powering the return pump, red sea lights(90s), cabinet lights, reef mat 500, skimmer, ATO, power head, two heaters, doser pumps, and some maybe's. No water in the tank yet, as I'm still researching. Just for kicks, I'm stocking the tank with 2-3 fish, cleanup crew, and a reef. I have freshwater tanks throughout the house, but this seems like a heavy load on the socket!

 

[Kingsley_Reef]

Dedicated 20amp circuit should be sufficient a second wouldn’t hurt

 

[X-37B]

Get an electrician to wire up a 20amp gfci plug. I run 2 on my 150.
One should be perfect for your system.

 

[Bruttall]

You should consult an electrician for sure. Need to estimate your amp load so you can figure if you need 1 circuit or 2.

 

[exnisstech]

If you have to ask I would at least consult with an electrician. I ran my own dedicated circuit but had a good idea what I was doing since I used to work in new home construction.

 

[Pistondog]

Should be aqequate. You want to plug into a gfci outlet though. You can purchase a gfci extension cord if desired.
Heaters will be the largest load. To get amps draw take watts/120.
300 watt heater = 300/120 = 2.5 amps

 

[Reefering1]

If you're asking, you probably shouldn't be digging around in your panel...

 

[KeyWestReef2009Indiana]

Get an electrician to wire up a 20amp gfci plug. I run 2 on my 150.
One should be perfect for your system.yh

If you're asking, you probably shouldn't be digging around in your panel...

I'm not digging into nothing. Just asking for advice. Don't spend money if not needed. In this case the advice says spend.

 

[KeyWestReef2009Indiana]

I appreciate all the advice with this question. This site is good research, I read it everyday. I will get someone in here to wire up the socket proper.

 

[myrcies]

You should always get a Battery Back-Up System for your aquarium.
Most battery backup systems have around 10 outlets attached to them.

Is there an outlet near the tank? I am not an electrician, but I have definitely run similar gear out of a singular outlet before.

A single outlet can supply a lot of electricity.

 

[Dewaxdi]

I’d use a dedicated circuit with a GFCI outlet so any fault trips safely. If you’re unsure about code or panel work, having an electrician wire it is safer.

 

[BryanM]

With everything in life I never think things through. I am a quality manager, so I can process risks. My question to the experienced members, has to do with electrical knowledge. I have some, but not seasoned. Do I need to call an electrician to wire up a socket capable of supporting my salt water aquarium? We are looking at powering the return pump, red sea lights(90s), cabinet lights, reef mat 500, skimmer, ATO, power head, two heaters, doser pumps, and some maybe's. No water in the tank yet, as I'm still researching. Just for kicks, I'm stocking the tank with 2-3 fish, cleanup crew, and a reef. I have freshwater tanks throughout the house, but this seems like a heavy load on the socket!

Cute dog!

If where the tank is has a GFCI already, you're good to go. If it does not, I would hire an electrician to change it.

At the same time I would offer this advice, running a 2nd circuit for redundancy is nice to have, but not necessary. But if you did you could spit the large load items between the two, and if you were to run two heaters (highly recommended), you'd run one heater on each circuit.

 

[Dewaxdi]

I’d use a dedicated circuit with a GFCI outlet so any fault trips safely. If you’re unsure about code or panel work, having an electrician wire it is safer.

For heavy loads like a salt system, I’ve found it safer to run a dedicated circuit with the right breaker and a GFCI outlet instead of tapping into an existing line. I had Mr Electrician SG handle a similar setup for me since they follow proper LEW and safety rules, and it took the stress out of guessing whether the wiring could handle the amps.

 

[sdreefer619]

I just had this done. Gfci on its own 20amp dedicated breaker. It’s gonna run you around 5-800 bucks