Peppie's 180 Reef-Room

[Peppie]

Peppie, looks amazing, also looks like a lot of fun. Makes me want to redo my sump room.

Thanks tat,

After doing this type of work for the past 20+years The fun factor has long past.
Although, the years of experience is a plus knowing it will be done right, and wont take forever.

The fun part for me is seeing it come together. The thinking,planning, and the adapting. The turning it on and it working as it was planned. "Hopefully"

 

[mercenary-grunt]

dave you dont want the power draw to be the same as the amp load. because the load is after power on. when stuff powers up it takes a higher power to start it. tuink of a room that has a lot of power things plugged in and when you turn something on you get dim everything then it comes back fully. the other thing is that if you need an outlet for any reason then you can use it without worrie.

Sent from my Galaxy S3 using Tapatalk 2.

 

[Ichthys]

Water changes will be done with gravity.

Will you be using standard gravity or have you figured out how to speed up water changes by using differential phasic gravity?

 

[Peppie]

dave you dont want the power draw to be the same as the amp load. because the load is after power on. when stuff powers up it takes a higher power to start it. tuink of a room that has a lot of power things plugged in and when you turn something on you get dim everything then it comes back fully. the other thing is that if you need an outlet for any reason then you can use it without worrie.

Sent from my Galaxy S3 using Tapatalk 2.

So if I add up all the things that are on that 15amp circ. and say they total 12amps. Then I am OK? And if it adds up to over 15amps I'm looking for trouble?
I dont have a problem using 20amp breakers, as long as they are available in single pole.
I just thought if I used a 20 amp it was over kill.

 

[Peppie]

Will you be using standard gravity or have you figured out how to speed up water changes by using differential phasic gravity?

LOL,
All Standard.
I have seen a lot of people use pumps to move their water from one place to another. I am lucky enough to have height and space on my side. I may as well use it, instead of something that I have to maintain, or pay for power, or worry about burning up a pump, or overflowing water.

 

[mfinn]

So if I add up all the things that are on that 15amp circ. and say they total 12amps. Then I am OK? And if it adds up to over 15amps I'm looking for trouble?
I dont have a problem using 20amp breakers, as long as they are available in single pole.
I just thought if I used a 20 amp it was over kill.

I would say go for the 20 amp breakers, if you can find the ones for your box. Having a little extra,( safety margine) can't hurt.

 

[stylaster]

wow that is quite the water change station! Wish mine was like that. I opted for the concrete floor of the garage

 

[kpiotrowski]

dave you dont want the power draw to be the same as the amp load. because the load is after power on. when stuff powers up it takes a higher power to start it. tuink of a room that has a lot of power things plugged in and when you turn something on you get dim everything then it comes back fully. the other thing is that if you need an outlet for any reason then you can use it without worrie.

Sent from my Galaxy S3 using Tapatalk 2.

ok, so why not use a couple 50 amp circuits?

 

[Peppie]

I would say go for the 20 amp breakers, if you can find the ones for your box. Having a little extra,( safety margine) can't hurt.

Agreed, i always like a little more than not enough.

 

[Peppie]

wow that is quite the water change station! Wish mine was like that. I opted for the concrete floor of the garage

I have concrete on my garage floor - fishroom also. LOL It is screaming at me to paint it.

 

[Peppie]

ok, so why not use a couple 50 amp circuits?

Kind of a good question, a bit overkill.
But what would be the problem if I ran 30amp breakers instead of the 15amp

 

[kpiotrowski]

Kind of a good question, a bit overkill.
But what would be the problem if I ran 30amp breakers instead of the 15amp

My point of posing the question of the 50amps circuit is what happens when something shorts out....and/or YOU are the ground.

hmmm, makes me wonder what amp breakers they use for the electric chair?

 

[TheKraken]

ok, so why not use a couple 50 amp circuits?

The breaker is half of the equation with the wiring the other half. The risk is overloading and causing an electrical fire in the wall. This however never seems to stop people from asking... The cost of 7 gauge wire (for electric car chargers) will let you know why running oversized wire for a small breaker is not popular.

 

[kpiotrowski]

The breaker is half of the equation with the wiring the other half. The risk is overloading and causing an electrical fire in the wall. This however never seems to stop people from asking... The cost of 7 gauge wire (for electric car chargers) will let you know why running oversized wire for a small breaker is not popular.

the opposite is true where you don't want undersize wire on a oversized breaker. I don't want my wire to cook before the breaker trips!

 

[trido]

Yes, If you used 14AWG romex (white) then you cant, or dont want to use 20 amp breakers. 20 amp breakers require 12AWG wire (yellow) in order to handle the amount of electricity the breakers allow through. Using an oversized breaker will heat up the undersized wire and possibly cause it to short out and potentially cause a fire inside the wall.

Running a CL pump or chiller can take up to 12 amps when running. During start up, a 12 amp unit (like those two) will surge up to 15 amps and might cause the breaker to trip. I have seen (one time on a system i set up) a breaker trip without being overloaded simply because it was to hot due to its location in the breaker box. It was a chronic problem until I rearranged a bunch of breakers in the box.

When I had my 500G system running last time, my breaker box would hum like a street transformer when the halides were on. Electricity isn't to be messed with...........

 

[kpiotrowski]

Hey trido, when you commin down to help me and peppie with our electrics!!!

I have two 20amp and one 15 amp available to run this 300g with aprox 450g total water volume and equiptment in the garage , 1/3hp chiller, barracuda cl, perhaps another 2500gph cl for frag tank,....and all the rest you would figure would be involved, prob halides and vho untill can afford LED's. the garage faces west and gets HOT in the higher dg days....so yeah I'm counting on using some power. not to take over peppies thread here but we bounce many ideas back and and forth and am hoping to learn along with him.

 

[Peppie]

Yes, If you used 14AWG romex (white) then you cant, or dont want to use 20 amp breakers. 20 amp breakers require 12AWG wire (yellow) in order to handle the amount of electricity the breakers allow through. Using an oversized breaker will heat up the undersized wire and possibly cause it to short out and potentially cause a fire inside the wall.

Running a CL pump or chiller can take up to 12 amps when running. During start up, a 12 amp unit (like those two) will surge up to 15 amps and might cause the breaker to trip. I have seen (one time on a system i set up) a breaker trip without being overloaded simply because it was to hot due to its location in the breaker box. It was a chronic problem until I rearranged a bunch of breakers in the box.

When I had my 500G system running last time, my breaker box would hum like a street transformer when the halides were on. Electricity isn't to be messed with...........

Well yesterday I ran some 12-2. So I am good there. I can install 2 20amp breakers, and one 15amp.
Thanks for the skinny on the hammerhead drawing that many amps to startup

 

[Peppie]

Hey trido, when you commin down to help me and peppie with our electrics!!!

I have two 20amp and one 15 amp available to run this 300g with aprox 450g total water volume and equiptment in the garage , 1/3hp chiller, barracuda cl, perhaps another 2500gph cl for frag tank,....and all the rest you would figure would be involved, prob halides and vho untill can afford LED's. the garage faces west and gets HOT in the higher dg days....so yeah I'm counting on using some power. not to take over peppies thread here but we bounce many ideas back and and forth and am hoping to learn along with him.

Your going to have to get a bigger panel!! LOL

 

[TheKraken]

the opposite is true where you don't want undersize wire on a oversized breaker. I don't want my wire to cook before the breaker trips!

Peppe has a great build going and no need to change as the system with two 15 circuits is definitely more than I have to work with. But I get nervious with electricity and spout PSAs.

Yes. The wire and the breaker (and the load) need to be right sized. I was thrown off by the 50A question. The harm in building a 50A (or even 20A) loop with the correct wire (edit:AND THE CORRECT RECPTICALS) and an undersized breaker is that a correctly sized load (from the receptical shape) will trip the breaker.

Any outlet in a wet location (outside, garage, tank) needs to be GFI. Now GFI outlets are expensive at ~$14 each but one outlet can protect multiple outlets downstream.

GFI are known to trip. Having two circuits can be a help by reducing points of failure.

If in doubt please check with an electrician.

Edit: I see that the right wire was used so no limitations there.

 

[TheKraken]

It is late. Please use the services or a qualified electrician. I did have a situation with a 32A tool that needed a 50A plug for safely and yet a 40A breaker so that the breaker is able to protect the tool. There are rules (if not laws) concerning these things.

I know a little bit because I want to have a pair or 20A circuits installed when we redo the facade of the house.

Fun fact: one way to contribute to domestic bliss is to elimate the problem of the coffee maker AND the microwave blowing the circuit is to ask for hot/hot/neutral/ground (3 phase) and then use one hot for the top receptical and the other for the bottom.

If I had such an arrangement I would be using a 220V espresso machine.