Rev's 400+ Gallon Basement Inwall

[dbrewsky]

This is really something that your electrician would be able to address for you if he is worth his salt. Luckily for you, you have the breaker panel close by and that should make the job much easier/cheaper. One great thing about have two or more dedicated circuits directly feeding the life support for the reef is redundancy. If for whatever reason the breaker flips or a gfci outlet trips, you can spread the life support between the different circuits and help reduce the chance that the whole tank looses life support.

Each circuit can feed multiple outlets that can be routed to multiple locations through out the tank. The beauty of this is you can place your power outlets where they are needed instead of working around them. Example you can put outlets above the tank where water would never reach to power controller equipment and lights or near the sump making cable routing simple. You can even have gfci outlets wired so that only the equipment on indivual outlets loose power rather than the whole circuit.

This is really something that needs to be addressed by professionals and I agree that you should be able to get a good idea of the Amps your intended equipment will pull based on the manufacturer info!

 

[reefmania59]

I am in the middle of a 400g build and I am adding three 20 amp lines. I want to put a subpanel in just for the tank.

I am using MH, T5 (8 x 54w bulbs and Reefbrite LEDs). The total wattage, just for lights, is 1700. I need a 20amp line just for lights.

I live in a cold climate and will be using 1200 to 1500 watts for heating. (no chiller required though).

I also run a reeflo dart gold and a hammerhead that use 500w combined.

Then there are all the little things like powerheads, ca reacter solinoids, etc.

The best thing you can do, as someone else said, is figure out the wattage of your main conponents and talk to a pro. I have an elecrrician coming this week.

 

[kateater]

circuit breakers Should only be sized for 80% of their trip capacity. You also have to figure inrush current for all the AC pumps. For this reason I would run a minimum of 4 20a circuits on a build this size. Not sure where you live but in Chattanooga you cannot run 15a circuits on any new loads. Your electrician should be familiar with local code. If you take a looks at Ohm's Law it's very easy to determine your power needs. For example to find amps when watts (p) and voltage (v) is known you simply divide P/V. A 1500W heater would draw 13.6 amps; 1500/110=13.63.

 

[Davek]

Rev- Man, I hope you can handle the pressure, like a gazillion people are following your build thread!!!! ( LOL), personally I think you can pull it off.

 

[GXPKY]

I agree on having 2 seperate breakers. For example, return pump on one, powerheads on the other, this way you still have circulation even if a gfi or breaker flips.
3 or 4 as stated would be best obviously.

You'll never look back and say you overdid it, but if you underdo it you'll have regrets.

 

[chefjpaul]

The tank is 96" x 36" x 24" tall.

Perfect dimensions.

 

[Reefahholic]

Man, If I had the room you do- I wouldn't know what to do with myself!!

 

[foxt]

Do you need to plan for backup power? If so, you can ask your electrician to wire everything to a generator transfer switch. You don't need to buy or install the generator right away, but if the time comes when you need it, you'll be much better prepared ...

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

Do you need to plan for backup power? If so, you can ask your electrician to wire everything to a generator transfer switch. You don't need to buy or install the generator right away, but if the time comes when you need it, you'll be much better prepared ...

Great idea! I am thinking about a permanent generator for the future. I have a portable one now.

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

Thanks everyone for the electrical info! I am trying to learn and I appreciate all of your comments!

 

[Lionfish Lair]

The permanent ones weren't as pricey as I thought they would be. We needed one when we turned our garage into a store and were going to get the Generac. We have to replace the portable one we have now, because since my back surgery I can't seem to get it started. It's time for an electric start, I guess..... a.k.a. Old People Switch.

 

[Zero Nitrates]

+1 on multiple circuits and wiring for generator hook up

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

Just day dreaming today and got a "not so perfect" outline of the tank including the height from the floor.

Hard to tell how big that outline really is!

 

[Afishionado]

Love it!! Keep bringing those updates @revhtree

 

[chefjpaul]

I may have missed it, but are doing recessed or flush

 

[reefwiser]

Need a dillo image in the square some how.

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

I may have missed it, but are doing recessed or flush

Not so sure! What would you recommend?

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

Love it!! Keep bringing those updates @revhtree

I'm trying man but progress is slow to nada!

 

[Afishionado]

ha! tell me about it!!

my build has been on snail mode since day 1.

 

[Cyclist]

I'm trying man but progress is slow to nada!

Was gonna hit the like button. But then I realized that slow builds suck because so much life happens between that we get easily distracted especially with a half nakid wife walking around. (She always in swim suit dragging me and kids to the beach )