Need home electrical advice for upgades for fish room

[Rickdareefa]

Hey guys I am looking for advice for what I would need to make sure that my home will be protected with the million plugs I'm beginning to plug into the wall. I don't have much experience with electrical work but I know I would need about 3 gfcis installed and also from what I heard from the owner of the fish store I should have a dedicated breaker for just the tank that is stronger I guess? I also I'm interested in setting up some plugs in the wall 42 flat screen TVs. I know I've seen comments from guys on here that are actual electricians that said they may be able to help possibly even do the work I would love to get a quote and would love to keep it in the arc family as long as you are licensed. For the unlicensed guys I am willing to accept advice as to what I need. / what you think I should pay. I am currently already running a 120 gallon as well as a 50 gallon frag tank with a 40 gallon sump with a 6 bulb T5 fixture one Radion xr30 large skimmer refugium light dosing pump 3 heaters two castles and 5 wave pumps as well as a 3000 gallon return pump any and all advice is appreciated thanks!

 

[ichthyoid]

Where are you located?
(this will help)

 

[Rickdareefa]

I'm in lithonia right at the panola rd exit on I 20

 

[sharis100]

For our system, we run 4 separate dedicated GFCI quads in the basement- where the sump , water station and frag system are located- and two duplex GFCI separate dedicated circuits for the main level displays. The quads in the basement have their own GFCI protection in the panel box. We also use GFCI extension cords that can handle heavy loads to plug in anything near water in addition. After suffering major loss this past year, we prefer being safer .

 

[Rickdareefa]

For our system, we run 4 separate dedicated GFCI quads in the basement- where the sump , water station and frag system are located- and two duplex GFCI separate dedicated circuits for the main level displays. The quads in the basement have their own GFCI protection in the panel box. We also use GFCI extension cords that can handle heavy loads to plug in anything near water in addition. After suffering major loss this past year, we prefer being safer .

That's why I'm trying to get in front it. I may not be an electrician but I know when things are getting serious. I already know I'm planning to add several more things but the amount of plugs and power is definitely getting noticable. Thx for the info

 

[ricky5415]

Chuck & Adam(Anit) are pretty good at electric

 

[Adam]

Adding new runs in existing finished space is a lot different than adding them to unfinished space in a basement. In finished space it will at the very least require cutting into the drywall in multiple places. Some of them might need to be big enough to fit a drill into. That may be undesirable.

There are GFCI breakers now that will cover everything connected to that circuit. If you know which circuit you want protected it's as easy as swapping out the breaker with the same amperage GFCI breaker. DO NOT increase the amperage. So no changing from 15amp to 20amp unless you are absolutely certain that the wire ran for the circuit is 12ga. Doing so is a big fire hazard.

You can also string multiple outlets after a single GFCI outlet, just like you see in bathrooms and kitchens. You would need to know which outlets are on a circuit and the order they run from the first one after the breaker to the last one in the string. This will tell you in which one to put in the GFCI.

I am up to my neck in work at our new house finishing the basement. The HVAC is just about finished then I'm jumping onto this exact project, running all the electrical. My free time is limited but @Rickdareefa you're welcome to come by and see what I'm doing and decide if you want to try it yourself if you can't find a member to help you with it. If not this is an area where hiring an electrician would be a good idea.

 

[sharis100]

If you have areas in your basement, an electrician can run new circuits inside watertight pvc pipes in code of course and mount these pipes to your walls. We ran three new quads from our panel to the areas in the fish room where we wanted them located.we wanted to see where the electrical was located to avoid hitting anything when mounting equipment and shelving etc....

 

[Rickdareefa]

If you have areas in your basement, an electrician can run new circuits inside watertight pvc pipes in code of course and mount these pipes to your walls. We ran three new quads from our panel to the areas in the fish room where we wanted them located.we wanted to see where the electrical was located to avoid hitting anything when mounting equipment and shelving etc....

Unfortunately I have no basement I own a 2nd floor condo

 

[Rickdareefa]

Adding new runs in existing finished space is a lot different than adding them to unfinished space in a basement. In finished space it will at the very least require cutting into the drywall in multiple places. Some of them might need to be big enough to fit a drill into. That may be undesirable.

There are GFCI breakers now that will cover everything connected to that circuit. If you know which circuit you want protected it's as easy as swapping out the breaker with the same amperage GFCI breaker. DO NOT increase the amperage. So no changing from 15amp to 20amp unless you are absolutely certain that the wire ran for the circuit is 12ga. Doing so is a big fire hazard.

You can also string multiple outlets after a single GFCI outlet, just like you see in bathrooms and kitchens. You would need to know which outlets are on a circuit and the order they run from the first one after the breaker to the last one in the string. This will tell you in which one to put in the GFCI.

I am up to my neck in work at our new house finishing the basement. The HVAC is just about finished then I'm jumping onto this exact project, running all the electrical. My free time is limited but @Rickdareefa you're welcome to come by and see what I'm doing and decide if you want to try it yourself if you can't find a member to help you with it. If not this is an area where hiring an electrician would be a good idea.

Great advice thank you! I'm gonna hire and electrician just wasn't sure what to ask for.

 

[sharis100]

Unfortunately I have no basement I own a 2nd floor condo

Sorry . Maybe an electrician can implement some of the very clever suggestions of @anit77. I would also suggest looking on Amazon for gfci extension cords in the meantime for safety.
You can get individual single use ones.

 

[Adam]

Great advice thank you! I'm gonna hire and electrician just wasn't sure what to ask for.

Best of luck to you. If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask.

I just want to stress the amps. 14 gauge wire is generally used for 15amp circuits, 12 gauge for 20. Electric dryers and ovens are 6 to 8 gauge. The smaller the number the heavier the gauge equals thicker wire. The best analogy I like to use is most of us have used a cheap extension cord or the thinner cords on some vacuums. You notice how warm they can get after a long period of use? The same thing will happen in the walls of your house when you over drive a circuit. Thicker wires can handle the load.

Sorry . Maybe an electrician can implement some of the very clever suggestions of @anit77. I would also suggest looking on Amazon for gfci extension cords in the meantime for safety.
You can get individual single use ones.

There are even GFCI power strips that work good too.

 

[schwaggs]

I would suggest multiple circuits so you can run some equipment on one and other equipment on the other. For example skimmer and return pump on one and your power heads on the other circuit. This way one tripped breaker will not eliminate all your circulation

I would also avoid GFCI in the breaker box. Put separate gfci outlets in each outlet location. This way a failed item will only trip one outlet and not the entire circuit

 

[Adam]

I would suggest multiple circuits so you can run some equipment on one and other equipment on the other. For example skimmer and return pump on one and your power heads on the other circuit. This way one tripped breaker will not eliminate all your circulation

I would also avoid GFCI in the breaker box. Put separate gfci outlets in each outlet location. This way a failed item will only trip one outlet and not the entire circuit

Very good point!

 

[RonS]

I agree completely with what anit77 said. Here are my thoughts - I am not a pro, but I have a lot of electrical background and do all my own wiring in my home, data centers, etc. So, FWIW.... (also, forgive me if I'm repeating!)

Don't sweat the number of things you have plugged in. The quantity does not matter. What matters is the total current draw on that circuit. Modern aquarium gear on a moderately sized tank just doesn't pull many amps. Your biggest draw is going to be your heater(s). The 15 amp circuit you're using has a total capacity (including a 20% safety margin) of about 1400W. If you have, say, 200W of heaters, you're only using a fraction of the circuit's capacity.

Before you spend any money, I would buy/borrow either a Kill-A-Watt or inductive ammeter. The Kill-A-Watt works at the outlet and can be left in place for permanent monitoring. The Ammeter is used at the circuit panel and can tell you the total load on the entire circuit.

I also agree not to worry about the GFI outlet - as others have said, there are GFI-protected power strips that will do the job.

Given the size of your system, chances are slim that you're pushing the limits of the circuit. Test it first!

Hope that helps,

--Ron

 

[Rickdareefa]

Hey guys thank for all your advice! Went with @anit77 and his suggestion for a gfci breaker on the whole room

 

[RonS]

I like it! It's better than installing one in an outlet - I always hate having to chase the thing down when it trips! It's easier to find int he panel.

I would mention... GFI circuits tend to trip often, especially in a multi-outlet environment. You may want to think about adding a UPS for your tank...

 

[chuck]

Hey Rick still I'm sure adam said this. I would run 2 20 amp runs to your tank. Your equipment will last longer. People run there tank with a 15 amp. You will have tons of problems. And since it's a 15 amp on a gfci breaker it's the same thing

 

[RonS]

@chuck - I think you're saying that there will be problems running a tank off of a shared GFCI circuit? If so, I do agree with that possibility.

But... needing 2 or even one dedicated 20 amp circuit(s), I gotta respectfully disagree. I broke down some of the power items pretty thoroughly above....

Running a 3000 gph DC pump (~85W) and 4@ kessil A360X lights (4 x 90W) + 2@ 300W heaters would only pull about 2/3 of a 15A circuit, and that's with a 20% safety factor (and running all equipment at 100%). Ditto the equipment lasting longer - until/unless you get to about 80% of the wire's capacity, you really aren't going to see enough of a voltage loss to matter (especially with the capacitors in the power bricks on all of the DC gear).

Not trying to be combative! Maybe my math is goofy?

 

[NanCrab]

For our system, we run 4 separate dedicated GFCI quads in the basement- where the sump , water station and frag system are located- and two duplex GFCI separate dedicated circuits for the main level displays. The quads in the basement have their own GFCI protection in the panel box. We also use GFCI extension cords that can handle heavy loads to plug in anything near water in addition. After suffering major loss this past year, we prefer being safer .

Wow...we had an electrician come in and run us a dedicated 20 amp circuit, GFCI but only 2 outlets. Figured the two outlets would be enough with multi plug power strips and Apex power strip..maybe I underestimated our needs?