Fishroom electrical question

[iloveyouDIE]

My spouse and I are making ourselves a mini fish room in our basement. This weekend we cleaned out the corner and we have a nice area to work with.

We will have to build ourselves some stands, but first we are worried about the electrical. The corner has it's own dedicated outlet on it's own breaker... but our friend who will be moving the outlet up the wall for us, was wondering how much wattage we'll be using. I have no idea!

So what sort of wattage am I looking at?

Tanks will be: 2 55 gal, 1 90 gal, 1 125 gal

You'd have to assume.. heaters, filters, lights, etc.

 

[iloveyouDIE]

Trying to look up online about a fish room's electrical needs. Having a hard time, plus I am uneducated in the ways of electrical work.

Would the one dedicated outlet be enough for the 4 tanks?

Any helpful input is appreciated.

 

[Pharaoh]

You just need to figure out to totals.

1. Watts for each heater
2. Watts per filter
3. Watts per light

Then add it all up. Its hard to say what your consumption will be without knowing anything about your setup.

I have my fish room running on two dedicated circuits.

 

[bubbles123]

Personally, I would go with at least 2 outlets on separate breakers. If you're building a fish room, you'll probably need more power someday. It'll be easier to add the extra wiring now, before the tanks are all set up.

The heaters alone would be about 1000 watts. Sure, having them all on at the same time is unlikely but, I think it should be taken into consideration. Then when you add the filters (using AC 110 - 14W), and the lights (using 2X54 watt T5) you're around 1500 watts. There won't be a lot of room for extra stuff running off that circuit. A typical circuit is rated for 15amps, or 1800 watts.

 

[iloveyouDIE]

Ok thanks guys.

Our friend estimated using 20amp circuit.. I'll tell him it's a good idea to add in an extra one.

 

[Clay]

Along with wattage, you'll want to know amps. The reason being that the electrical load on the circuit can trip the breaker. It may be as simple as changing a breaker (in accordance with the wiring - never do anything unsafe) For instance, I ran 2 dedicated 20amp breakers into my basement for my fish area. That gives me enough to play around with and keep things on different circuits.

If you see what you have/need (probably 2 wire romex 12 or 14 guage), it can be run easily if it's open, or it can be a difficult job if it's behind drywall. You need to make sure that the wiring can support the amps rating on the breaker or you run the risk of electrical fire. I can't stress this enough. So, if you can see the wiring, great! You can probably read it on the side of the jacket. But if it's older wiring or behind drywall, it may take some more investigation (probably at the breaker)