Tank Power

[mike31154]

Originally Posted by Wretch

Looks like I am just around 400w to run the tank. that includes lights(120w), return pump(31w), protein skimmer(20w), Powerheads(30w), ATO(5w), heaters(200w).

Without getting into too much calculating, you're still at a fairly safe load level. As mentioned, a 15 amp circuit can handle up to 1800 watts maximum, but you don't really want to load any circuit to that level & hope the circuit breaker saves your butt. 1500 watts (the 80% safe continuous load percentage) provides a good buffer & the fact that you're now on a gfci indicates that you should be fine provided you don't plug a 15 amp device into any of the other receptacles on that circuit. Something like a freezer or high power vacuum might cause a breaker trip. I think code requires a fridge/freezer to have their own separate circuit. If most of the other loads on that circuit are lighting & a couple of receptacles for casual use, you'll be ok. Keep in mind that all your tank components aren't 'on' all of the time. A number of them are on cycles (lights) & the heater will cut in & out as required.

However, also as already mentioned, never a bad idea to split one or two critical components such as a heater or pump for your tank to another circuit. Not a problem if you're home, but if you're away & the circuit trips taking out all your tank components, your livestock might have a tough time surviving after a lengthy outage. A battery backup air pump or something would also help in that regard.

[Wildechild_01]

A few quick thoughts here. Some good info so far, and yes if you are not currently tripping the breaker you are probably okay until you add something to your setup or to something somewhere else on the circuit. Typically you will find 10-12 items on the same breaker, this can be a combination of plugs and lights in your house. As was mentioned before finding out exactly what your sharing with is a good idea. If it is mostly lights then the chances of you having an issue down the road go down significantly, and if it is more plugs then you need to be very careful what is being plugged in. In a perfect world i would recommend having new wiring run to put your system on its own circuit, mine runs on a dedicated 20A circuit, absolute overkill in my case but allows for any changes i may want in the future.

My next thought. What was the reasoning behind installing a GFCI for your tank? My guess would be water and electricity close together, lets be safe. The GFCI will do NOTHING to protect your setup, but will protect YOU if you happen to be touching anything in the area causing a small leak of power to ground. In addition running submersible pumps on a GFCI protected power source can lead to nuisance tripping, shutting down your system, hopefully someone is home and notices when it happens.

Anyway, just my two cents on the matter

9 Years working as an electrician
4 Since Journeyman Ticket
1 Since Masters Ticket
2.5 Years Reefing.