Circuit Breaker Tripped

[Leyth]

Hey guys. This morning I came downstairs and noticed my fish tank had no power. I immediately check the circuit breaker and flipped it back on. It must have tripped while I was asleep. Now everything is running again, but I’m confused as to what could have caused this.

The house is only 6 months old and the circuit is a 15 AMP. I admittedly have a lot of stuff in this office, but not everything was on like it usually is during the day. Therefore, I’m not sure what could have caused this.

In my office I have the following:

1 computer for security cameras - was on
1 desktop computer with 3 monitors - was off

2x varios6 return pumps
1 mp40
1 octopulse powerhead
1 Gyre 240
1 tunze nano stream 6055
1 300w finnex heater
1 150w cobalt heater
1 reef octopus regal 150
1 tunze ato
8x54w T5 - was off
1 48” XHO reef brite - was off
Usually during the day, all of these are on at the same time and I’ve never had any circuit trip. I do realize this is probably too much for one breaker though so I’m going to start moving things around such as the security camera can be moved to another room.

Any ideas of what I should investigate to figure out what the culprit is?

 

[KStatefan]

Just a normal breaker?

 

[Leyth]

Just a normal breaker?

Yes

 

[Leyth]

Just a normal breaker?

Actually, could this be a gfci?

 

[KStatefan]

I would guess it is an arc fault breaker

 

[Leyth]

Yea I think you’re right.

 

[olonmv]

If it holds when resetting, it’s probably an overload issue. I’d start there. If you have the means.....open panel up. Load down and amp out circuit. 20yr sparky here. By code, breakers are rated for constant load at 80% of labels value....20a breaker can hold a constant 16a....15a breaker is good for 12a constant.

 

[Dennis Cartier]

If the house is new, and your builder is anything like builders around here, you might want to check to see what else is on that breaker. Don't assume it is only the outlet(s) in your office. During recent renovations I discovered that one circuit powers a whole bunch of little used outlets spread across half my house.

Dennis

 

[Leyth]

If it holds when resetting, it’s probably an overload issue. I’d start there. If you have the means.....open panel up. Load down and amp out circuit. 20yr sparky here. By code, breakers are rated for constant load at 80% of labels value....20a breaker can hold a constant 16a....15a breaker is good for 12a constant.

I’m fairly technical, but this might be beyond my comfort zone. I’m not sure what you mean by load down and amp out the circuit. My guess is you mean make sure nothings running on the circuit and then try running everything on the circuit to cause it to trip to see if I’m exceeding that 12a?

If the house is new, and your builder is anything like builders around here, you might want to check to see what else is on that breaker. Don't assume it is only the outlet(s) in your office. During recent renovations I discovered that one circuit powers a whole bunch of little used outlets spread across half my house.

Dennis

Yea that makes sense, I will see if this circuit effects anything else. Thanks

 

[olonmv]

I’m fairly technical, but this might be beyond my comfort zone. I’m not sure what you mean by load down and amp out the circuit. My guess is you mean make sure nothings running on the circuit and then try running everything on the circuit to cause it to trip to see if I’m exceeding that 12a?


Yea that makes sense, I will see if this circuit effects anything else. Thanks

to load down a circuit is to try to rein-act the load conditions, meaning, turn on everything that could have been on to get your max amp draw reading. Gfci/arc fault breakers are pains when something within the wiring is wonky but if it’s holding and not instantly tripping odds are that the circuit is over loaded or the breaker is weak from being loaded down.

 

[olonmv]

It could be a number of things that tripped the breaker but a good starting point is to see where that circuit is load wise. It could save a ton of troubleshooting.

 

[ScottB]

All good advice so far. I have 2 X 20amp to run each of my systems. With everything running (including heaters & 8X80 watt T5), plugging in a vacuum cleaner will trip.

It is a good time to check/chuck your heaters, drip loops, salt creeps, etc. We never do this as often as we should, so take this moment of anxiety and bang it out.

 

[Leyth]

All good advice so far. I have 2 X 20amp to run each of my systems. With everything running (including heaters & 8X80 watt T5), plugging in a vacuum cleaner will trip.

It is a good time to check/chuck your heaters, drip loops, salt creeps, etc. We never do this as often as we should, so take this moment of anxiety and bang it out.

ugh, I’m an idiot. I should of had the builder just put some dedicated circuits in for me. I think I’ll probably have to get one put in.

 

[tamanning]

If the house is new, and your builder is anything like builders around here, you might want to check to see what else is on that breaker. Don't assume it is only the outlet(s) in your office. During recent renovations I discovered that one circuit powers a whole bunch of little used outlets spread across half my house.

Dennis

They have tendency to daisy chain outlets and sometimes rooms. If you have a kilowatt hour meter you can plug in and see what you are drawing. Might help you get to the bottom of it.

 

[olonmv]

All good advice so far. I have 2 X 20amp to run each of my systems. With everything running (including heaters & 8X80 watt T5), plugging in a vacuum cleaner will trip.

It is a good time to check/chuck your heaters, drip loops, salt creeps, etc. We never do this as often as we should, so take this moment of anxiety and bang it out.

Preventative maintenance is plus. I have my tank (a 13.5 nano) on a UPS. Serves 2 purposes, uninterrupted power foremost and it’ll annoyingly beep when power is lost so you know that power is out at the circuit.

 

[tamanning]

ugh, I’m an idiot. I should of had the builder just put some dedicated circuits in for me. I think I’ll probably have to get one put in.

Great idea. A dedicated circuit will solve your issue and give you clarity.

 

[tamanning]

Preventative maintenance is plus. I have my tank (a 13.5 nano) on a UPS. Serves 2 purposes, uninterrupted power foremost and it’ll annoyingly beep when power is lost so you know that power is out at the circuit.

I do this as well. Also saves me from reprograming timers for a quick flash.

 

[olonmv]

ugh, I’m an idiot. I should of had the builder just put some dedicated circuits in for me. I think I’ll probably have to get one put in.

Dedicated circuits are required in kitchen n laundry only....most appliances today are low draw. It’s hard to overload a house circuit. It’s just a matter of playing musical chairs and balancing the load. Try taking the next biggest draw off the aquarium circuit and you should be ok.

 

[Leyth]

Dedicated circuits are required in kitchen n laundry only....most appliances today are low draw. It’s hard to overload a house circuit. It’s just a matter of playing musical chairs and balancing the load. Try taking the next biggest draw off the aquarium circuit and you should be ok.

makes sense, unfortunately it’s my work computer since this in my office so I would need power to it. Fortunately the circuit breaker box is only 10 feet away from the tank so I think it shouldn’t be too hard to run a dedicated circuit for the tank.

 

[Ratherbeflyen]

Every time I've had a problem with my breaker or GFCI outlet, the heater was the culprit. I would start there.

I suggest getting a plug in power meter. It's a fast and safe way to check how much power each device is using.