One wall outlet - power entire setup?

[iwishtofish]

Not knowing anything about household electricity, my mind has formulated this question: Can just one wall outlet power an entire 75g fish tank setup? I would plug a GFCI adapter into the outlet, then a large power strip into that. I will be theoretically powering:

* 6-bulb 36" T5 HO Tek fixture
* Single 150w MH DE pendant
* Mag 9 return pump
* 300w heater
* Estimated quivalent of four Koralia 4 powerheads
* ATO system
* Sump light
* Protein skimmer

 

[djkms]

Should be fine. I have more than that plugged into 1 outlet (2 sockets).

 

[jlawson382]

I'm running my entire 120 off of one outlet, but that outlet is on a dedicated circuit from the breaker box. The number of outlets isn't the main limiting factor - the load on the circuit is.

 

[aculross]

Seems a little much to me - you need to find the wattage rattings on all the stuff you want to plug in and add it up. Next you need to find out if the outlet you are going to use is a 15 or 20 amp circut. A 15 amp circut supplies 15 x 120 = 1800 watts. A 20 amp circut supplies 20 x 120 = 2400 watts.

 

[jimsplace]

You can add up all the watts and divide by 120 to get an approximate number of amps and check that against your breaker size, most house receptical circuits are rated at 15 amps although they may not handle that much all the time. The other thing to consider is what else is plugged into that circuit somewhere else in the house. Example, you may be fine until you plug in your vacuum cleaner to vacuum the carpet.

 

[iwishtofish]

Ok, thank you, everyone! I think I get the picture. I'll do some investigating.

 

[iwishtofish]

Ok, "investigated," sort of :

All the outlets in the room are on a single breaker with a "20" on it. Should I then assume this is a 20 amp circuit?

I added things up, and I believe I'll easily use no more than 1000 watts of devices on the aquarium.

Only issue, I imagine, would be if my wife fired up one or two of her sewing machines and the iron at the same time?

 

[FranktheTankTx]

Most rooms are on one circuit. A 20A circuit is more than capable of handling an aquarium set up such as yours.

If you're concerned about the sewing machine or iron... Just turn off the Tank lights when you fire it up. Though, I don't think you'd have to worry about it.

 

[NoIdeaWhatToDo]

I have a 75g w/ even more equipment running off of one switch in my living room. I have it all plugged into a GFI surge protector thing. No idea if my tv/stereo/surround sound stuff is on the same circuit or not, but have not had any problems FWIW.

 

[RVANANO]

I'm running my entire 120 off of one outlet, but that outlet is on a dedicated circuit from the breaker box. The number of outlets isn't the main limiting factor - the load on the circuit is.

What he said. Which is what I did as well. You should be ok. Just don't plug a hairdryer in any of the outlets in that room.

 

[vegastyle]

I had to use 2 separate circuits to run my 125 with 2 K4 powerheads, Skimmer pump, gfo pump, return pump, 2 heaters, and 4-48" T5 bulbs. With 1 circuit, it would blow the breaker each time the lights turned on.

 

[RVANANO]

I have 2-250W MH's, 4 T5's, 2- 250W Jager heaters, Octopus 200 skimmer, small carbon reactor, Coralife 1290 GPH return pump, Quiet one return pump for fuge, 1- Vortech MP40, Apex controller and a wireless modem all on a single 20 amp breaker.

 

[Liquid Hobby]

You can put it all on a single circuit, the question really is is that a best practice?

For my 200 G total system, I just had 3 dedicated 20 amp lines run in the garage. 2 will power the entire system with a third for growth needs. I wanted plenty of 'head room' on the circuits....

Overkill - yup, but it comes with a ton of piece of mind.

 

[iwishtofish]

Thanks again to everyone for the info - I feel now that there will likely be no problem!

 

[RVANANO]

I looked at my Apex graphs and my system hits 7.8 Amps for a short period when the heaters are still on and the MH's kick on in the afternoon. At that time, the Apex is controlling the 2-250W heaters, 2-250W MH's, 4-54W T5's & the Vortech MP40. On avg, it shows about 6.5.

I have the return pump for the main system, return pump for fuge and skimmer hooked up to another power strip on that same 20 amp circuit the Apex is plugged into.

This will sort of give you an idea. You could do the math to see what the amps are on your other equipment if you have Volts & Watts I believe. You can get any figure as long as you have 2 of the numbers (Amps, Volts & Watts). I did mine a while back and I think everything was about 12 at most for a short period.

 

[iwishtofish]

I looked at my Apex graphs and my system hits 7.8 Amps for a short period when the heaters are still on and the MH's kick on in the afternoon. At that time, the Apex is controlling the 2-250W heaters, 2-250W MH's, 4-54W T5's & the Vortech MP40. On avg, it shows about 6.5.

I have the return pump for the main system, return pump for fuge and skimmer hooked up to another power strip on that same 20 amp circuit the Apex is plugged into.

This will sort of give you an idea. You could do the math to see what the amps are on your other equipment if you have Volts & Watts I believe. You can get any figure as long as you have 2 of the numbers (Amps, Volts & Watts). I did mine a while back and I think everything was about 12 at most for a short period.

That does give me a good idea - thanks. I imagine if I start having trouble when the tanks at peak power, I could research the draw of my wife's machines via the user manuals. At least if something blows the circuit, we'll most likely be home when it happens to immediately reset the breaker.

 

[rdmcgraw]

i only have a problem if my wife uses the blender.....go figure...luckily since im coupled onto one side of the kitchen circuit, there is a GF reset button right in the kitchen. It doesnt ever blow the main circuit

 

[agreeive?fish]

Example, you may be fine until you plug in your vacuum cleaner to vacuum the carpet.


get rid of the carpet, problem solved, carpet is the nastiest thing in a house if you have ever removed carpet and seen all the gunk under it you know what iam talking about....lol

 

[iwishtofish]

Example, you may be fine until you plug in your vacuum cleaner to vacuum the carpet.


get rid of the carpet, problem solved, carpet is the nastiest thing in a house if you have ever removed carpet and seen all the gunk under it you know what iam talking about....lol

I'm afraid the carpet stays - we payed too much for it, and I like it better than bare concrete!

The plugs in the bathroom are on a different circuit, I believe. I can plug that troublesome vacuum into one of them. Might have to use an extension cord, though...

 

[RocketSurgeon]

I'm afraid the carpet stays - we payed too much for it, and I like it better than bare concrete!

The plugs in the bathroom are on a different circuit, I believe. I can plug that troublesome vacuum into one of them. Might have to use an extension cord, though...

Try it out one time. Usually an iron, or hair dryer will do the trick. Plug one into the same outlet or outlet on both sides of the aquarium and see if it trips. If it trips, make an adjustment. If you rely on your wife or child not to plug something into an available outlet, you are asking for trouble.

Everything in my entire gameroom is on one circuit, from computer to xbox, surround sound and the aquarium.