what do yall use to plug in all your aquariums?

[allaboutfish]

i have a stand (built) to fit my 10 on the bottom and 29 and 5 on top. i have one outlet with a 6 plug power cord thing . so what would yall do considering each tank has 3 plugs?

 

[mfdrookie516]

A separate GFCI for each tank... either built in to a power strip or with a power strip plugged in to one.

 

[mfdrookie516]

Also... Moved to General Hardware/Equipment Discussion

 

[roydooms]

It depends what youhave running. I think one outlet can handle up to 1000W. I'm not sure what the limit though. Go from there. With my tank, I use one outlet for the lights alone. I always use power surge protectors.

 

[Crepe]

GFCI plug. They're really easy to install. Just make sure you shut off the right breaker.

 

[allaboutfish]

whats a gcfi plug

 

[adadkins1]

It stands for Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter. They are designed to trip the circuit if there is a problem detected in order to prevent shocks, fires, etc.

I use a standard surge-protected power strip for my 10 gallon and 1.5 gallon.

 

[allaboutfish]

ok so im 14 and have no idea what you just said.... haha what do you recomend for a 29 gallon 5 gallon and 10 gallon they all have three power cords (heater filter and lights)?

 

[adadkins1]

Here is a nice 9 outlet power strip at Walmart. A bit expensive, but there are probably some cheaper ones out there. This is just an example.

 

[Crepe]

I really suggest you ask your mom or dad to install a grounded outlet for saftey's sake. It's not hard. All it takes is some wire cutters, pliers and screw drivers and an outlet you can get at home depot for less than 5 bucks. Don't try to do this on your own though.

 

[Mr.Micro]

Well... since you're 14... you're going to have to 'man-up' for this... and learn something....

Your house outlets can handle only so many watts per circuit...for example.. your bedroom maybe one circuit and if your tanks are in your room, they will use watts along with everything else in your room, eg; PLaystation, xbox, tv, computer, lights. As a frame of reference if your room is on a 15amp circuit breaker, it can handle 1800 watts total... if the house wire is sized properly at 14gauge. A 20amp breaker can handle 2400w.

With that being said... you don't have to concern yourself with changing house wiring or breaker... i just want you to understand the concept. But you should concern yourself with overloading a circuit and simply changing to a GFI will not allow you to operate your equipment. It would just provide additional safety if the circuit got overloaded. If that happened the breaker would keep tripping and your tanks would experience constant power outages.

Keep in mind all your tanks pumps, filters and lights even your PS, Xbox, or computer will have their total wattage listed on a rating plate somewhere in them... if you wanted to add them all up just to see where you are at.. That would be a smart, responsible thing to do.

Chances are you're not using anywhere close to 1800 watts... but safety first. PLugging extension cords into powerstrips or powerstrips into powerstrips is just asking for trouble...without knowing your total power consumption...

Also, ask your mom, dad or a responsible adult to tell you what size breaker the room your tank is going to be in has. I'm sure they will be impressed by your professional attitude.

If all turns up well.. and your consumption is below the rated.. using 2 heavy duty powerstrips would be fine... that would give you 12 outlets.

Just please be responsible when doing this...house fires happen for this very reason... and an overloaded circuit, with the potential for water is about as dangerous as it gets.

P.S. You asked what we do... this is it...

 

[allaboutfish]

ok so ill be looking for wattages my power strip does about 1800 watts with 6 plugs how many watts do you think a 10 5 and 29 gallon do (ill check but want an opinion)

 

[Mr.Micro]

well...I would guess +/- 500w. With the heating taking up about 200 of those watts..

It's hard to say not knowing the type of lighting or filtration you're using...

Remember also, everything else in the tank room is on that circuit too.. So if it happened to be a kitchen circuit, the microwave, toaster and coffee maker are all on that circuit too... so you might trip alot of breakers in the morning. lol!! (just an example)

 

[Crepe]

We're talking about the breaker box of your house. It's normally a big box on the wall with a bunch of switches in it and some warning labels no one bothers to read (just btw don't mess with the box lol). Anyways, ask your mom or dad about which breaker goes to your room and what it can hold. Generally you'll be alright but as for much wattage you're going to pull that's a tough one. I pull ~ 400 watts on my 20 gallon but I have a high light planted tank so you'll definitely be significantly less. But we're talking about your whole room's circuit. Your lights, computer, tv or whatever are all drawing off the same circuit (probably).

 

[allaboutfish]

haha... no this is my room and im only on the computer and tv with the light on for about 6 hors a day give or take so really it shouldnt be a problem... but there is a problem my one power strip does my 10 and 5 bt not my 29 so ill need somewhere to plug three other plugs in arg the closet outlet is a cople feet away from where the stand is... well nvmd the new stand will be as big as that wall so it'll reach so ill by one of those three plug ins in 1 things

 

[JBsDad]

Since I don't know much about fish, I can't usually offer advice. However, I am a licensed electrician, and this is what I do for a living, so I can help here.

First, anytime you have electricity and water in close proximity, you MUST use a GFCI (Ground Fault Circuit Interupter) outlet. Not doing so puts your life at risk every time you mess with your tank. If you happened to knock your light or pump into the tank you could suffer a fatal electrical shock. The breaker protecting the circuit would be of no help because breakers are not designed to protect people, but rather to protect property.

Here is the difference: Breakers protect the wiring in your home from current overload conditions by energizing an eletro-magnet when the power is on. If a short circuit occures, current in the circuit skyrockets. The higher current through the magnet makes it strong enough to pull the switch inside the breaker open. This system works very well, but it is not fast enough to always prevent an electrical shock.
On the other hand, GFCI outlets measure the current flow between the hot and neutral legs of the outlet. The current should always be the same. If an imballance is detected (ie, more current on the hot leg than the neutral leg) something must be wrong and the GFCI opens the circuit. It is a very fast response, usually within just a few milliseconds.

The point is, NEVER trust a breaker or fuse to do the job of a GFCI.

Being that you are only 14, ask your parents to install a GFCI where the tanks will be, or have one installed by a qualified electrician.

As for the original question, two surge suppressing plug strips can be plugged into the GFCI for a total of 12 outlets, as someone else mentioned. The outlet should be rated for 20A depending on when the home was built, so I doubt you will have an overload condition unless you also have a window air conditioner on the same circuit. Again, not knowing how the home is wired, I can't gaurantee that.

 

[allaboutfish]

ok so how cold i get a GCFI? this house is pretty new it was built in around 2004. (it's a rental so i cant really instal anything if it goes in the wall or something.

 

[JBsDad]

A GFCI is nothing more than a special outlet that replaces the outlet currently in the wall. If your parents landlord is a nice person, they may have it put in for you.

 

[mfdrookie516]

you've seen them before I'm sure... All outlets within so many feet of a faucet have to have them. They have the red and black buttons in the middle. You don't have to get an actual outlet though. I just have power strips with GFCI built in. You can buy just a regular GFCI and plug your current power strip in to it though, they don't cost very much at all.

 

[allaboutfish]

cn you send me a site that has them or a pic so i know what they look like?