Don't blow a fuse

[nalah]

3 tanks running at present,all with heaters,filters,light,etc. i have extension cords,multi-boards,etc with only one power point doing all the work.... not really safe. and if other large appliances are run (washer or dryer) a fuse always blows.
what can i do to prevent this

[Discusgeo]

You really need to have them running on there own circut. If that's no posible try changing where your extension cord is plugged into.
George

[Fish_Fin-atic]

Next time your fuse blows, check to see what parts of the house are "blacked out" and then plug in your extension cord to a part of the house which still has lights. This will spread the electrical load to another circuit (hopefully one without too many large appliances on it ;)) Sometimes if you're lucky, one half of the room is run off of one fuse, and the other has another fuse. If you really want to prevent this from happening, call in an electrician, and have him wire a separate circuit with its own fuse just for your tanks. This may be a bit costly though. Good luck! 8)

[Denny]

like george says,

the only way to truely fix the problem is to add another dedicated circuit for the tanks.it may cost a few bucks but it is far cheaper than losing 3 tanks of fish due to what captain caveman calls a "bad time for a power failure" ;D

and if you add a few circuits, then you can get even more tanks!

denny

Pascale,
I agree 100% with Denny and Geroge on this. That is the sure fire way to stop fuses from blowing.

Miles

you'd be surprised the kind of deals you can get on electrical work and plumbing work if you take the time to look...I own a rental property, and when I have any electrical/plumbing that is beyond my abilities I've got a retired plumber and a retired electrician that do all my work...they charge me a fraction of what it would regularly cost because a: it's cash, and b: they don't have overhead like employees, a building, etc...
I recently got the electrician to clean up my electrical panel and put a couple more circuits in my fish room for $40...
ask around, maybe one of your friends has a father or uncle that's a retired electrician....then your problem is solved...

[Top_Bhoy]

Thinking back to your earlier filter problem Pascale, if you were to go down the road of having other outlets installed, you could also think about having your own dedicated power circuit for your aquariums installed which would have 115V using a more permanent transformer thus allowing you to buy all your equipment from the US/Canada. Any 230V equipment used after that would probably be minimal and your 'normal' supply could cope with that.

Best still discussing the options with an electrician on the ground though as I've seen many a weird electrical installation because of amateur DIY types doing add-ons.

[korbi_doc]

:bounce: :bounce: Hi Pascale, I did what these guys suggested. Put in 3 separate circuit breakers just for the 90g & 125g tanks & the r/o. One, in between the tanks carries just the lights & 1 heater, & the other 2 are each devoted to 1 tank. Was lucky to have enough amperage coming into the house to do this, & all the breakers for tanks are GFIC, I think a necessary protection. There are many different ways to accomplish this, but you need to divide the current draw equally somehow. Davids & TopBhoys proposals sounds good to me!! good luck, Dottie ::) ::)

[brewmaster15]

Hi Pascale,
I'd get an electrician to run you a separate breaker. I bought a house with an electrical nightmare in it, and I have been slowly rewiring it. I'm not an electrician but The probelm you are having is serious. A breaker that trips often, is prone to failure, and its purpose is defeated.
A good electrician or handy peson could probably tap into an under utilized supply and you'd be all set.

hth,
al

[brewmaster15]

Hey DJ...

cavy-wavy ;D

--haven't heardcaptain caveman in a long time!


-al

[April]

got a better idea.....move pascale. lol
no sense getting an electrician if your gonna move.
do what they say ., no appliances on the same circuit

[Denny]

al

it was a tossup between cavey wavey and speed buggy . cavey won by a hair.

denny

Yikes.. Use Ground Fault Interrupters!!! All my fishroom electric supply goes through GFI breakers. Within the last 6 months I have tripped them while working with my hands in water. About 2 weeks ago a heater broke in my hand while I was trying to get the suction cups unstuck. The only thing I knew was that I had water bubbling in my hand suddenly and half my fishroom lights went out. Back in the summer I was working with my arm way down in a tank and touched a reflector from a power compact light I had installed. I got a very slight tingle then, again, lights went out. I believe in them. Water, electricity, standing on wet concrete floors. Danger Danger Danger ( imagine voice of the crocodile man, Steve I think)

[nalah]

thanks everyone..again
i have a better idea of what needs doing.
thank you.