Tank is tripping breaker....

[MarkoD]

Originally Posted by Dyspnea

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

[Skimmerking]

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

[BlueWorldAquatic]

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

Put a meter to the water.

Just a suggestion.

[MarkoD]

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?

[viperfish]

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

[MarkoD]

Originally Posted by medhatreefguy

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)

[phi delt reefer]

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.

[mike31154]

Originally Posted by MarkoD

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)

Facing the option of whether I can deal with the look of an extension cord(s) or risk burning my house down, I'd choose the extension cord(s)... as an interim measure. Then I'd get another circuit added, even if it means replacing the entire breaker panel with a new one and/or opening walls if necessary.

Tripping the breaker is a warning shot across the bow (pardon the navy jargon from an air force guy). That circuit with 4x250 watt (1000 watts right there) including whatever else is on it (more lights or perhaps even other devices, good idea to confirm) will be heating up the wiring a fair bit even if it doesn't trip the breaker. A 15 amp circuit will handle about 1800 watts max, 1500 watts reasonably safely. Why risk running a circuit near it's max? It's a safety hazard, no time to be worrying about how a heavy duty extension cord will look. If you wish to run a big tank with plenty of power requirements, you need to ensure you have the necessary circuitry in place.

[fishytime]

Originally Posted by MarkoD

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

time to buy a nice long heavy extension cable?

[spawn]

Originally Posted by fishytime

time to buy a nice long heavy extension cable?

heh heh heh