Tank is tripping breaker....
 

so i just installed 4x 250 watt metal halides over my tank and when they're all on, and i turn on the lights in the room (same circuit) it trips a 15 amp breaker.

all my tank stuff is plugged into powerbars.


anyway to avoid this?

Those lights are probably drawing close too 8 amps. General household cuicuts are 15 amps. Plus whatever else you have running is pushing the breaker to trip. You need too find another circuit too run them off of.

yeah i figured that.... but thats no possible

Hey Mark I had to run aseparte circuit to the panel to run 3 of them. i had the same problem once I ran it i was good to go

also can be a stray current too, just a coincidence when the lights were added.

Put a meter to the water.

Just a suggestion.

time to buy a nice long heavy extension cable?

thanks for the input guys. theres no way i can run a separate circuit to the panel. whole basement is finished and there isnt any room on the panel for another breaker..

how would i test for stray current? just a volt meter in the water?

What kind of ballasts are you running? Electronic will use about 8 amps but magnetic will draw a lot more than that.

discription of light says "Oceanballast M magnetic ballast"

and extension cord isnt an option. i dont want cords running to my tank.... i like the fact that everything is clean and hidden.

what im gonna try and do is move the room lights to another circuit (it'll take 6 halogen bulbs off the load)

swap to electronic ballasts - as you stated they are magnetic ballasts. discontinued icecap ones are pretty cheap - same for the vertex ones (identical ballasts - different cases)

have the halides come on like this

early morning - left light comes on
mid morning - second left comes on
lunch - both centre lights on and left one off
afternoon, both right lights on, 2nd left off
evening only left one on

I think Asmodeus does this as well.