Yeah that's what I was worried about. No paper, just the ballasts. There is a duagram for the bulbs right on the ballast but not the power unless this is it.
This is the bulb diagram
Jackie
Your Resident Electrician for all your electrical questions!
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Yeah that's what I was worried about. No paper, just the ballasts. There is a duagram for the bulbs right on the ballast but not the power unless this is it.
This is the bulb diagram
Jackie
I got these from reef geek so maybe if I ask them they will know
Reef geek replied quickly to my email 
So for anyone else with this ballast question the power cord wires in this order.
Green (or connect PE to case)
White (input/netz)
Black (100-277V)
Jackie
So for anyone else with this ballast question the power cord wires in this order.Green (or connect PE to case)
White (input/netz)
Black (100-277V)
Jackie
newjack0000
Active Member
I was about to tell you lol yeah that's right
760mason
Active Member
My tank is going up against a wall. With a cabinet on top of the tank. I have no room to run wires behind the tank and i dont want to have cords visible on the sides of the tank. My question is can i put 2 4 gang boxes one down near my power supply and one up in the cabinet. They would get power supply from the apex in the lower cabinet. They would be wired to each other but not to the house power. basically i want them to act as extension cords that are buried in the wall. Can this be done i dont see any issues with it. But I am not an electrician.
newjack0000
Active Member
yes it can be done. The only thing you need to watch out for is: condensation getting in it. you can use a weather proof box for protection. I would recommend using Weather resistant GFIs on everything but the pumps. Use 12 AWG wire, make sure its grounded and dont overload it. How many devices are you planning to plug in off of the one circuit?
I'm wanting to do the same thing. We will be adding an extra breaker or 2 and will be plugging in about 12 items. I will also have a toggle switch for the pump and skimmer to turn off for easy water changes without unplugging them. My question is why no gfi on the pumps? Just curious.
newjack0000
Active Member
if your gone for more than a day, plugging your pumps into a GFI can and more than likely will crash your tank. Reason being, Anything with a motor boggs up and down constantly as there is change in resistance. No motor will stay exactly the same rpm. They will either consume more or less amps/fuel as resistance changes. GFIs work by sensing a change in the flow of current/amps. They trip when more current is going in than being used and returned to the neutral.
Motors are very well known for tripping GFIs in that way. That is why they are usually no GFIs for microwaves and refrigerators. If you plan on being gone for more than a day and the GFI trips, stopping your pumps, you will loose circulation causing the tank to crash. You can go days without lights and everything else but not circulation.
Motors are very well known for tripping GFIs in that way. That is why they are usually no GFIs for microwaves and refrigerators. If you plan on being gone for more than a day and the GFI trips, stopping your pumps, you will loose circulation causing the tank to crash. You can go days without lights and everything else but not circulation.
I see... so powerheads like the wp40 should also not be on gfi also. Then when we do the box only lights and constant flow pumps such as mj pumps for reactors, protein skimmer and uv sterilzer go on the gfi circuits correct?
Or no pumps or powerheads at all? If so, that only leaves the lights in my case.
newjack0000
Active Member
its up to you on what exactly you want to do. I think everything would be fine except the main circulation pump. I would just leave the one with the biggest motor and most circulating on a normal receptacle not GFI. If the others start tripping the GFI then its a cheap replacement to put in a standard receptacle.
Ok. Sounds good, thank you!
Jackie
Jackie
760mason
Active Member
So now I am confused. I have one gfci outlet. My Apex base unit and Eb8 will plugged into that gfci. Everything else will be plugged into the Apex and Eb8. My Eb8 will have a dc10000 return pump, under cabinet LED's, ATO pump, Tunze 9011 skimmer, Bio pellet reactor pump, heater, frag tank LED, wireless gaming adapter. that leaves me 4 outlets on the base unit. 2 AI Hydra and 2 jaebo wp 25's. will be plugged into the base unit. Since I plan on using the Apex for control it makes no sense to run all my pumps on a dedicated non gfci. I would lose controllability. So do I use gfci or not? As you are advising not to use gfci on main pumps. This my first tank set up with a controller I would hate for it to crash because the gfci was tripped. I sort of have a blank slate to work with and am just wondering what my best option for powering my tank. The wall the tank is going on has a GFCI outlet already in the wall that is in the middle of my stand I figured I would use that outlet. But now I have some doubts. I am trying to keep it neat and clean and want all in my cabinet. So should I mount the apex and power supply away from the tank On a non GFCI? And rely on drip loops like I have for the last 25 years? Or plug it into the gfci that is already there?
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newjack0000
Active Member
its entirely up to you. GFI is safe to prevent fire but if a motor is connected to it, it could trip. Its not a big deal to trip while your at work and what not but if you plan on being away for more than 24 hours and it so happens to trip then the tank would crash.. But at least the house is not on fire. If you plug the pump into a normal one then it wont trip when your away but yet its not safe.
You just got to way your options and pick one.
You just got to way your options and pick one.
760mason
Active Member
Ok so this is what i have going on. I dont want cords visible on the outside of the tank. My Apex and energy bars will be in my tank stand. I have 2 lights and 4 power heads that need power from the Apex. So I wired 6 outlets to each other in the wall. They are not connected to any power source. I broke the tabs off each outlet so they are all independent outlets for a total of 6 plugs. They are grounded and wired properly. They will be back powered from the Apex. So now I need male to male extension cords to run from the Apex to the outlets. I understand the danger in this. And know not to play with the live end of the wire. In fact I know not to plug it into the live outlet then to the outlet. Other than getting shocked from being stupid is there any other concerns? Is there a a properly wired male to male commercially available? Or is this something I need to DIY so that I know it is done properly?
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mcarroll
10K Club member
While it may work, there's no way I'd proceed as described.
I don't know how you'll finish the hole, but I'd refashion the lower wiring into a set of standard grounded male NEMA5 (three prong) connectors so you can properly plug into the Apex.
$0.02
-Matt
I don't know how you'll finish the hole, but I'd refashion the lower wiring into a set of standard grounded male NEMA5 (three prong) connectors so you can properly plug into the Apex.
$0.02
-Matt
GFCI's have a tendency to become faulty after a certain amount of trips. Moving parts are more likely to fail than those that are stationary though it is not uncommon for a normal grounded receptacle. My guess is that the GFCI is faulty. My .02.
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