What do I tell an electrician when planning a new tank build?

[Jedi1199]

If possible, the best is 2 dedicated 15-20A circuits. Split your loads between energy bars sp that if any one circuit trips, you still have heat and flow available on the other one.

You also want flow and the apex on a battery backup or UPS so you can get notified if one or both circuit goes out and flow will be maintained until it can be corrected.

This is kinda what I am thinking for myself... I have a 15a already, if I add another or a 20A I will be splitting the load between the 2.

Edit: Or, I could use the new one to remove the new tank off the old circuit completely. One dedicated 20A should be plenty to run a single tank with the basic equipment.

 

[ZombieEngineer]

This is kinda what I am thinking for myself... I have a 15a already, if I add another or a 20A I will be splitting the load between the 2.

Edit: Or, I could use the new one to remove the new tank off the old circuit completely. One dedicated 20A should be plenty to run a single tank with the basic equipment.

Everything on one dedicated circuit is best avoided. You are better of putting most things on the dedicated circuit and then put at least one heater and one powerhead on the non-dedicated circuit.

 

[Jedi1199]

Everything on one dedicated circuit is best avoided. You are better of putting most things on the dedicated circuit and then put at least one heater and one powerhead on the non-dedicated circuit.

I agree.. but I am in the brainstorming phase here. Since all 3 of my tanks run on the same circuit entirely, and I have not had any issues, one tank on a dedicated circuit "should" be fine. But, I understand the concept of a failsafe in case an issue DOES arise.

I will also be removing the small 32g tank after the new 135 is up. I am tired of fighting that little tank. That will allow for more freedom to work with on the existing circuit.

 

[A_Blind_Reefer]

Thanks! That all makes a lot of sense. I'll probably do similar, with just a regular outlet and then two dedicated 20A connected outlets.

I'm trying to keep my equipment pretty simple (I always start simple, then it gets crazy, then I get mad and tear it down to minimal and it works best that way).

It usually does start simple. Then oh I’ll add uv, an algae scrubber, an calcuim reactor, dosing pumps, more power heads, more lighting. I rarely hear someone say, yeah I’m going to remove that second heater, remove two light fixtures, reduce how many power heads I have.

edit. I have a medium sized tank at 160g display and I feel it’s power consumption is moderate for its size (excluding the chiller). Each of my circuits run at about 2amps max (night time, lights off, and 5-7 amps during the day (exception being when the heaters are on at +2amps each circuit, or when the chiller is on at +6amps on one circuit). Peak amps is 10 amps on one and 12 on the other, so 22 amps total. I have a buffer if I add any equipment. Labor is the same for a 20a vs 15a, and the material price is negligible.

 

[Jedi1199]

It usually does start simple. Then oh I’ll add uv, an algae scrubber, an calcuim reactor, dosing pumps, more power heads, more lighting. I rarely hear someone say, yeah I’m going to remove that second heater, remove two light fixtures, reduce how many power heads I have.

True statement!!

 

[RedoubtReef]

You're running LEDs? Are you sure you need the chiller?

 

[ZombieEngineer]

You're running LEDs? Are you sure you need the chiller?

^this. Evaporative cooling with some fans is usually enough.

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

I did a quick calculation based on watts I found for each of these things, and I'm coming up with about 1,000 watts (minus the chiller, I'm not sure how much that one is). I think it's safe to just get a 20 AMP on its own dedicated circuit with GFCI.

If you are already running lines, Honestly there is no reason not to run two circuits at least

 

[kinetic]

I found out today that all 3 of my tanks run off the same 15A circuit breaker. I plugged my air compressor into an outlet I thought was on a different circuit and tripped the breaker. Shut down all 3 of the tanks.

2x 20A circuits is WAY overkill based on that, but also better safe than sorry. I am going to call a contractor friend of mine and look into adding at least one 20A to my house for the upgrade tank I am working on.

Since you are remodeling anyway, it seems a good idea to add multiple receptacles in areas where you need to plug things in. One of my major issues with my tanks is the need for extension cords to reach the plugs.. UGGHHH!!!

Good idea on the outlets. The wall that the tank is going against will almost be totally new, so I'll have them build in a few outlets right behind the tank stand. In fact, I might take over one of the kitchen cabinets and just poke a hole through the cabinet and have all the outlets hidden away in there.

I don't know much, but I guess I would just put 2 outlets on each circuit?

 

[kinetic]

^this. Evaporative cooling with some fans is usually enough.

Yes I'm running LED's. I want a chiller because I might be a bit obsessed with consistency in temperature. My current tank is a Reefer 170 with a 1/10hp chiller. My temperature only fluctuates about 3 degrees at most. Maybe it's overkill? Either way, I have space and peace of mind when I'm not home running the A/C would be nice.

I've been able to leave my tank completely unattended (knock on wood) for a month, multiple times a year, for 5-ish years now. I do have a neighbor come check every few days, apex alarms, and a webcam on it just in case. So getting a chiller is going to be good... unless I've been overthinking it.

 

[kinetic]

It usually does start simple. Then oh I’ll add uv, an algae scrubber, an calcuim reactor, dosing pumps, more power heads, more lighting. I rarely hear someone say, yeah I’m going to remove that second heater, remove two light fixtures, reduce how many power heads I have.

edit. I have a medium sized tank at 160g display and I feel it’s power consumption is moderate for its size (excluding the chiller). Each of my circuits run at about 2amps max (night time, lights off, and 5-7 amps during the day (exception being when the heaters are on at +2amps each circuit, or when the chiller is on at +6amps on one circuit). Peak amps is 10 amps on one and 12 on the other, so 22 amps total. I have a buffer if I add any equipment. Labor is the same for a 20a vs 15a, and the material price is negligible.

I'm at the point where I've gone super simple (or so I think), and simple just works better. I am, however, getting really tired of constantly manually checking Alk/Ca/Mg... so I am going to be getting a Trident with this new tank build (on top of my "simple" setup). We'll see where that takes me.

 

[ZombieEngineer]

Yes I'm running LED's. I want a chiller because I might be a bit obsessed with consistency in temperature. My current tank is a Reefer 170 with a 1/10hp chiller. My temperature only fluctuates about 3 degrees at most. Maybe it's overkill? Either way, I have space and peace of mind when I'm not home running the A/C would be nice.

I've been able to leave my tank completely unattended (knock on wood) for a month, multiple times a year, for 5-ish years now. I do have a neighbor come check every few days, apex alarms, and a webcam on it just in case. So getting a chiller is going to be good... unless I've been overthinking it.

You would be surprised how well a fan pointed at the waters surface works for very little energy.

I have a little 15W, 4" vornado clip on fan and that cools my 65g up to 2 degrees. One of the 9 inch fans is enough to cool a 300 gallon tank by a couple degrees.

 

[kinetic]

You would be surprised how well a fan pointed at the waters surface works for very little energy.

I have a little 15W, 4" vornado clip on fan and that cools my 65g up to 2 degrees. One of the 9 inch fans is enough to cool a 300 gallon tank by a couple degrees.

dang. I wonder if the chiller is indeed overkill then.

 

[trevorhiller]

Yeah I don’t hear of too many people running chillers unless they are still running metal halides or live in the south with routine 100+ temps.

Say you keep your house at 74 degrees (pretty warm) I think it would take a lot of LEDs to heat the tank 4 degrees to 78. Then to get to 80 where I would start to get worried about it, you’re talking another 2 degrees. Chiller makes sense if you’re keeping colder water creatures
Id bet you can get away with a fan.

 

[AshyLarry]

I'm doing 2 separate circuits. One will be 30 amps and the other will be a 20 amp circuit. Both circuits will be have 4 outlets each. Doing gfi breakers so I don't have to reach behind the tank to reset the outlet if it ever trips. I hope this will be enough. FWIW it know absolutely nothing reefing yet, I'm still in the planning stages

 

[WVNed]

I am running a 240 and a 180, 1500w of heaters, 1400w of lights, many pumps etc. on 2 20 amp circuits.

 

[RedoubtReef]

Not sure why you would need a 30 amp circuit. That is for high amp appliances like stoves and Dryer type connections. I once installed a dedicated 20 amp circuit for my 80 gallon while it was running halides and a small chiller and I had everything plugged into just that one outlet. Never had an issue.

 

[dwest]

Lots of good advice. I would do 2 20 amp circuits with receptacles mounted near tank level height if possible. A small fan instead of the chiller will almost certainly work.

 

[BZOFIQ]

I'm doing 2 separate circuits. One will be 30 amps and the other will be a 20 amp circuit. Both circuits will be have 4 outlets each. Doing gfi breakers so I don't have to reach behind the tank to reset the outlet if it ever trips. I hope this will be enough. FWIW it know absolutely nothing reefing yet, I'm still in the planning stages

This doesn't make sense. What can you possibly plug into a 30Amp outlet?

 

[SteveMM62Reef]

They have GFCI That have Audible Alarms if they trip. Also there are WR GFCI That are moisture resistant. I don’t like putting GFCI Behind the tank, I put them “upstream,” where they are easily accessible. Behind the tank I have a WR Receptacles, with a Plastic Weather-Proof cover over it. My Power Strip, with surge protection, has a Flat Plug, so the cover can be closed while in use. Also I put the Power Strips on the back outside of the stand. I took a piece of Acrylic Sheet and bent it to act as a splash shield.