Electrical considerations for new aquarium

[Rhoads238]

Hey everyone,

I'm planning a 250 gallon aquarium build. Dimensions will be something like 72x32x24 or 84x32x24. I am thinking about the electrical demands of a tank this size and would like to get some opinions. Do you guys think i need a separate circuit installed to run a tank of this size. Below is the list of parts I'm intending to use. The room that the aquarium will be going in is on its own circuit and will also have a tv, gaming console, lights and eventually a gaming pc. The circuit that is in this room is rated for 15 amps.


10 ecotech xr15 pro blue
4 ecotech mp 40
2 ecotech vectra m2
kessil a360x fuge light
nyos quantum skimmer 220
2 300w titanium heaters
Neptune Apex
Neptune trident
Neptune DOS x2

I think this is all the equipment that I will be running. Let me know if you guys think adding a circuit will be necessary.

Thanks!

 

[andrewkw]

I would suggest 2 separate circuits both on gfci's. I would consider running the return pump on the existing circuit to limit any chance of everything going off in one shot due to trips but not putting the return on a gfci does mean there is some risk to you.

 

[HockeyRooster]

I run a dedicated circuit for my 90g with way less gear. It’s in my theatre room and the stereo was on the same circuit to begin with. Bid draw from the stereo kept blowing the breaker so we separated the circuits.
If you can run a dedicated circuit

 

[DaneGer21]

I always run 2 circuits. One for filtration/pumps and one for lighting.

 

[Lasse]

IMO - even if not needed because of load - 2 or more circuits is wise to have. As @andrewkw suggest - both should be on separate GFCI (RCD). These are very sensitive and can sometimes just shout down the circuit. With 2 circuits you can have the return pump at one and your wavemakers on the other.

Sincerely Lasse

 

[lavoisier]

Definitely run a dedicated circuit; two would be better. I would run wire that supports 30 amps. My system is a little larger than yours and I installed a 30 amp sub panel.

 

[Rhoads238]

I know only an electrician would be able to give a quote. But is this something that would be very expensive to do? My circuit breaker has empty space for at least two 30 amp circuits. Its located is in the garage. The tank will be on the same floor, about 50 feet away. Wires would have to be run through the ceiling, which is between two floors. If anyone has a similar setup and doesn't mind sharing what the spent on this I would appreciate it. DM me if you don't want to post publicly.

Thanks again for the input!

Also this is the mockup of the tank. It’s going to be awesome!

 

[Flippers4pups]

I know only an electrician would be able to give a quote. But is this something that would be very expensive to do? My circuit breaker has empty space for at least two 30 amp circuits. Its located is in the garage. The tank will be on the same floor, about 50 feet away. Wires would have to be run through the ceiling, which is between two floors. If anyone has a similar setup and doesn't mind sharing what the spent on this I would appreciate it. DM me if you don't want to post publicly.

Thanks again for the input!

Also this is the mockup of the tank. It’s going to be awesome!

I know you would not want to use 30 amp circuit breakers for the dedicated circuits for your tank. 15 amp is most common in residential circuits. Check your local codes for this.

With this said, the number of runs of circuits would be determined by the recommended continuous max load for one circuit. This is done by knowing how much your equipment load is in total, plus any additional equipment you may need later down the road.

I would highly recommend having a electrician look at what you want to do.

 

[Lasse]

@Brew12

Sincerely Lasse

 

[Brew12]

@Brew12

Sincerely Lasse

Thanks for the shout out!

I would agree with running two new circuits. You may not need it for just your aquarium loads, but it prevents issues like plugging in a vacuum cleaner on the same circuit as your tank and tripping it off. I would do 2 GFCI circuits, and I would split my filtration and lighting between the two. Try to set it up so that if either GFCI trips your tank will be fine for hours if not days. My ideal setup would run 2 return pumps and 2 heaters, one on each circuit. Split your lights and powerheads between the two circuits. It would give you the most redundancy possible.

As for cost, there are a lot of variables. If you are on a slab in a two story house, it can be expensive. If you have a basement, crawlspace, or a single story house, it shouldn't be more than a few hundred dollars. And regardless, a second circuit will cost only a little more than one circuit since the electrician can pull both wires at the same time through the same location.

 

[snorklr]

half the battle with running the wires through the ceiling is finding out which way the beams run...if they run in the same direction you're just snaking wires between them...if they go the other way multiple access holes will have to be made in the ceiling to drill holes in the beams to feed the wires through...so the sheetrock, joint compound and paint work will be worse than the electrical work...and you could have an hvac duct in the way too

 

[lavoisier]

It can be expensive but weigh the costs of a mature tank crash and losing all your livestock with the up front dollars for a sound electric set up.

 

[JCTReefer]

If using GFCIs, as stated above, be aware that if tripped, they don’t reset by themselves. I’ve had multiple problems with them in my house. Brand new, right out the box. Lighting storm rolls through and they would trip. The last one that was installed, I couldn’t get to reset at all. I finally got tired of replacing them and did away with them. I’m not suggesting you do this. This is the Only downside to them. Maybe have your return pump and heater on a non gfci temporarily until returning from a long trip. Just a suggestion. All good advice above. I installed dedicated 20 amp circuits for my new tank. I did all the main work. Outlet installation, drilling headers to run wires through attic, all that good stuff. I did hire an electrician to do the actual wiring to the breaker box. That part took about 20 minutes to do. The breaker box is hot all the time on the backside and I wasn’t comfortable doing that part. If you’re handy you can save a lot of money by doing the hard part yourself.

 

[Biff0rz]

You don't have to do it now, but it's easier to plan it out now and do it vs later. I have a finished basement which is rarely used. I have a non dedicated 15a circuit I'm using to run my whole setup (233g). Now, I'm home all the time because of Corona so I'm less worried. If I was at work all the time I'd just run a new circuit and be done with it, but I wouldn't run a 15a nor a 30a, I'd run a 20a. The 15 may trip easier and the 30 may never trip (unless gfci). A 20a is a good balance for what you want to run. One way to know for sure is add up all the amps of each item you want to run then add 20% headroom.

I think the more important thing to focus on is what happens when the power does go out - battery backup(s) and / or a generator plan.

If you've never installed a new circuit I'd hire someone if the room is finished, it's not a super hard job but it helps to have experience. I've ran plenty of new circuits so for me it's less worry. You're probably looking at $250-$500 for the work.

 

[Shawn_epicurious]

Hey everyone,

I'm planning a 250 gallon aquarium build. Dimensions will be something like 72x32x24 or 84x32x24. I am thinking about the electrical demands of a tank this size and would like to get some opinions. Do you guys think i need a separate circuit installed to run a tank of this size. Below is the list of parts I'm intending to use. The room that the aquarium will be going in is on its own circuit and will also have a tv, gaming console, lights and eventually a gaming pc. The circuit that is in this room is rated for 15 amps.


10 ecotech xr15 pro blue
4 ecotech mp 40
2 ecotech vectra m2
kessil a360x fuge light
nyos quantum skimmer 220
2 300w titanium heaters
Neptune Apex
Neptune trident
Neptune DOS x2

I think this is all the equipment that I will be running. Let me know if you guys think adding a circuit will be necessary.

Thanks!

When I was installing my 200 gallon tank, I had 4 double plug-in sockets installed in the wall behind the tank. It has worked out nice for me.

 

[Rhoads238]

Thank you for the feedback everyone!

 

[Dr. Jim]

I know only an electrician would be able to give a quote. But is this something that would be very expensive to do? My circuit breaker has empty space for at least two 30 amp circuits. Its located is in the garage. The tank will be on the same floor, about 50 feet away. Wires would have to be run through the ceiling, which is between two floors. If anyone has a similar setup and doesn't mind sharing what the spent on this I would appreciate it. DM me if you don't want to post publicly.

Thanks again for the input!

Also this is the mockup of the tank. It’s going to be awesome!

I had an electrician install two 20amp outlets in my den (fish room). He had to pass wires from garage, up into attic, across house, then outside to "grey electrical pvc pipe", down the side of the house (hidden behind rain downspout) and into the room: $600. (Then my neighbor complained and I got in trouble because I violated the Association guidelines about having a pipe on outside of house!)

 

[lefkonj]

I would run two GFCI circuits so that you can have an energy bar on each circuit. Additionally I would plan on having a UPS on each circuit so that you can survive power failures (which here in NJ are just too often). It won't be that expensive and you can have confidence they are done properly and providing enough juice to the tank.

If you are doing that I would also consider having the electrician install a full panel surge protection system. We did this years ago

 

[Paul B]

I am a Master Electrician 50 years and I agree with Brew. A separate circuit is not "needed' for that load but advisable for the reasons provided and will avoid many headaches later. No one would give you a cost from that picture as the panel maybe in the next room or in another county.