Its electric!

[scotty37]

If I have my tank located between 2 regular receptacles, and am expecting 17 things to be plugged in, what is the best way to safely do this?

 

[trippkid]

Power strips, make sure all of this equipment doesn't blow circuit though. I use a dedicated 20amp line for my tank. No problems

 

[earlybird]

Okay serious question. Who read the title and then instantly in their haid sang "boogie woogie." Now I've got the Electric Slide stuck in my head.
Make sure your powerstrips are attached to GFCI's (Ground Fault Circuit Interruptor). It is a must in this hobby and don't forget the grounding probe. Can't have one without the other though.

 

[scotty37]

Are these the ones that are yellow at lowes and home depot? Are they sold separately? What about if I took out both receptacles and replaced them with the GF receptacles? Sorry about the music!

 

[murph]

Well the last thing I like to do in the new hobbyist section is give a lot of "spend more money" advice but when it comes to electricity "spend more money".
I would consider having an electrician dedicate and GFI right at the breaker box. This will greatly reduce fire risk and pretty much eliminate any chance of electrocution. Make it vary clear to the electrician that you intend to mix a lot of highly mineralized water with a lot of electrical components.

 

[trippkid]

Agree with murph, I was going to suggest having an electrician come by do it up right for you.

 

[npage]

Originally Posted by Murph
I would consider having an electrician dedicate and GFI right at the breaker box.
Agreed.

If you want to save some money, run the conduit/wires yourself from the outlet (or as close as you feel comfortable getting) to the breaker box and have the electrician only do the connections. Usually they're paid by the hour and running the wires is the the most time consuming part of the process.

 

[halcyon_diver]

I agree..ground probe and GFCI a must....the breakers cost a bit more than the gfci outlet,,i have 3 dedicated circuts with regular breakers and the outlets are GFCI...saved a couple bucks that way

 

[earlybird]

The problem I had with a GFCI breaker or outlet is if one powerhead trips it everything would shut down. I have 2 power strips each attached to a GFCI. I've mixed powerheads, pumps, heaters, etc so that I can still run at 50% or so if one GFCI trips. I had a problem in the beginning with my lights tripping my GFCI and I'd come home hours later to find a tank with no circulation.

 

[1journeyman]

I had to put my aquarium on a 30 amp breaker circuit.
I also suggest the GFI.

 

[scotty37]

My brother in law is a master electrician, but unfortunately, hes in rehab for several more months

 

[jonthefishguy]

I installed 3 x 20 amp breakers to handle my aquariums electric demand. It is required in most states if not all (building codes) that GFI's be installed on any plug that is near water. I would assume even more so, since SW is very conductive and has very scary outcomes when mixed with electricity.

 

[scotty37]

How hard is it to replace that breaker? Im far from an electrician, hence the post. Would replacing my current receptacles with GFCI receptacles be the safest thing I can do until I can get my brother in law to work on it?