Electrical Planning for a 220 freshwater aquarium

[yellowfinfmb]

when a pump blows the circuit breaker and trips you will be pissed and all your fish die that is why I run 2 pumps separate circuit and heaters on there own circuit because how much the fish cost and raising them doesn't compare to the cost of a 15 amp circuit blowing and everything dead. but keep in mind I have a 700 gallon tank so my fish cost a lot more

 

[Caperguy99]

when a pump blows the circuit breaker and trips you will be pissed and all your fish die that is why I run 2 pumps separate circuit and heaters on there own circuit because how much the fish cost and raising them doesn't compare to the cost of a 15 amp circuit blowing and everything dead. but keep in mind I have a 700 gallon tank so my fish cost a lot more

Part of the issue is that my panel is essentially full.

I’m going to take a 15 amp circuit off the Generac pony panel - and rewire it over to a dedicated GFCI outlet which will be behind the aquarium. I wish I had space for two 20-amp circuits, but alas I do not.

From my calculations, I’ll be running a steady load of around 850 watts or 60% of the capacity of a 15 amp circuit. In addition, I’ll be periodically running an 80 watt Sicce pump during water changes - bringing me up to ~70% of available load.

Do you think that I will realistically be running into capacity problems with this level of usage?

 

[Lyrar2000]

Planning the electrical setup for your 220-gallon freshwater aquarium is an exciting task! I recently went through a similar process and picked up a few key points. First and foremost, it's crucial to ensure that your home's electrical system can handle the load.

Aquariums of this size typically require a dedicated circuit to prevent overloading. Seeking professional advice is always a good idea. I had a great experience with https://kanatautilitiesltd.ca/high-voltage-contractor-ottawa/. Their expertise can help ensure that your setup is safe and up to code.

Think about the number of devices you'll be using—lights, filters, heaters, and any other equipment. Each of these will need outlets, so plan accordingly.

 

[pacu mom]

I'm starting at ground zero for a 220 gallon Lake Tanganyika setup and I'm trying to wrap my head around the electrical requirements. I have a friend who is an electrician, so he is going to come to my house this week to run a dedicated GFCI outlet off of its own 20 amp circuit in my electrical panel. The whole circuit will also be attached to a Generac automatic propane home generator system to maintain power in the event of an outage. By my read, this should give me around 2,400 watts that I can work with - which should be more than sufficient for the type of equipment I hope to run. Let me know if you agree.

I'm planning the following:

I will be plugging two Kill-a-Watt PS-10 power strips into the GFCI outlet. These power strips will be run through the back of the middle cupboard on my aquarium stand and mounted onto an Adaptive Reef controller board.

The first power strip will control:

- Inkbird ITC-306 heater controller and attached Eheim Jager 300 watt heater (300 watts approx.)
- Inkbird ITC-306 heater controller and attached Eheim Jager 300 watt heater (300 watts approx.)
- Fluval FX-6 canister filter (45 watts approx.)
- Fluval FX-6 canister filter (45 watts approx.)

The second power strip will control:

- Twinstar LED light, Series B 120 (50 watts approx.)
- Sicce Ultra Zero Pump during water changes (100 watts approx.)

This totals out to approximately 850 watts.

Does this setup look appropriate? I've taken my watt estimates by Googling the products I hope to use - do my calculations match your expectations? Are there any additional pieces of electrical equipment that I'm not accounting for that could increase the power consumption down the road? Let me know what you all think!

Congratulations for making provisions for your fish with a Generac generator.

 

[Caperguy99]

Congratulations for making provisions for your fish with a Generac generator.

The Generac was on the house already - but made it easy to connect the aquarium to the system!

 

[cvar]

Part of the issue is that my panel is essentially full.

The easy solution (in USA & Canada) to the problem of a full load panel is to remove a regular breaker and install a "tandem" breaker in its place. A tandem breaker is just 2 skinny breakers that occupy the same space as 1 regular circuit breaker. Yes, a tandem puts 2 separate distinct circuits in 1 slot. Tandem breakers allow you to (almost) double the number of breakers inside your panel. I say "almost" because a tandem can supply two 120v circuits but it cannot supply 240V to a circuit. That's cuz a 120v uses 1 "hot" conductor, whereas 240v needs 2 "hot" conductors (1 from each side of the panel). So although you cannot replace your 240v dryer, A/C, or range breaker with a tandem, you can indeed replace any of your 120v breakers with tandem breakers.

Although a 15A circuit is all you'll need for your new aquarium, there's no harm in installing a 20A circuit since you're going through the same trouble to run a new cable from the panel to the tank. The only difference is that 20A will cost you a pittance more, cuz you'll need to use 12 gauge (yellow jacket) wire which costs a few cents more per foot than 14 gauge (white jacket) wire that's used for a 15A circuit. Might as well go 20A, for peace of mind & allow for future needs.

 

[Caperguy99]

The easy solution (in USA & Canada) to the problem of a full load panel is to remove a regular breaker and install a "tandem" breaker in its place. A tandem breaker is just 2 skinny breakers that occupy the same space as 1 regular circuit breaker. Yes, a tandem puts 2 separate distinct circuits in 1 slot. Tandem breakers allow you to (almost) double the number of breakers inside your panel. I say "almost" because a tandem can supply two 120v circuits but it cannot supply 240V to a circuit. That's cuz a 120v uses 1 "hot" conductor, whereas 240v needs 2 "hot" conductors (1 from each side of the panel). So although you cannot replace your 240v dryer, A/C, or range breaker with a tandem, you can indeed replace any of your 120v breakers with tandem breakers.

Although a 15A circuit is all you'll need for your new aquarium, there's no harm in installing a 20A circuit since you're going through the same trouble to run a new cable from the panel to the tank. The only difference is that 20A will cost you a pittance more, cuz you'll need to use 12 gauge (yellow jacket) wire which costs a few cents more per foot than 14 gauge (white jacket) wire that's used for a 15A circuit. Might as well go 20A, for peace of mind & allow for future needs.

Thanks for the info - but this aquarium is already up and running on a 15 amp circuit! But perhaps if I expand with more tanks I will try to do as you suggest.

 

[finley97544d]

The easy solution (in USA & Canada) to the problem of a full load panel is to remove a regular breaker and install a "tandem" breaker in its place. A tandem breaker is just 2 skinny breakers that occupy the same space as 1 regular circuit breaker. Yes, a tandem puts 2 separate distinct circuits in 1 slot. Tandem breakers allow you to (almost) double the number of breakers inside your panel. I say "almost" because a tandem can supply two 120v circuits but it cannot supply 240V to a circuit. That's cuz a 120v uses 1 "hot" conductor, whereas 240v needs 2 "hot" conductors (1 from each side of the panel). So although you cannot replace your 240v dryer, A/C, or range breaker with a tandem, you can indeed replace any of your 120v breakers with tandem breakers.

Although a 15A circuit is all you'll need for your new aquarium, there's no harm in installing a 20A circuit since you're going through the same trouble to run a new cable from the panel drayage los angeles to the tank . The only difference is that 20A will cost you a pittance more, cuz you'll need to use 12 gauge (yellow jacket) wire which costs a few cents more per foot than 14 gauge (white jacket) wire that's used for a 15A circuit. Might as well go 20A, for peace of mind & allow for future needs.

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