How much amperage is your tank drawing?

[element291]

Using the amp monitoring on the Apex I can see my 280 gallon averages around 4.5 amps with lights on in daytime. 6 amps with heaters on full.

Tank draws around 3 amps when the lights are off at night time.


I was wondering what others are seeing on their systems also wanted to compare how much I am forking out on my hydro bill each month to have my tank compared to others and their aquarium sizes.

I have around 100 gallon sump, external skimmer and mangrove tank so my entire system is approx 400 gallons total. I have 4 or 5 smaller heaters and 2 800W on backorder.

Lets see what kind of current or wattage you guys are seeing!

[whatcaneyedo]

Yours is a far more energy efficient system than mine. With three MH pendants, a 300cfm cooling fan plus same size exhaust fan, and three relatively large circulation pumps I'm easily sitting around 15 amps for 8 hours during the day and perhaps 10 amps the rest of the time. Only one of my two Neptune power bars monitors amp draw so I have to estimate. 240gal display and 100gal sump/frag tank. There is a heater there too... but I don't think its come on in months.

[e46er]

2.2-7 or so
I don't have my LEDs going through the apex but 2-300watt fixtures peak st 55% for 3 hours . So at total max load maybe 9.5 amps
250 gal display 75 gal sump and it's in my shop which is colder than a typical house so I have 4-200 watt heaters running at peak.

[element291]

How much does the hobby run you on your hydro bill do you think compared to if you didnt have a tank?

[whatcaneyedo]

In our case I think my tank doubles the electricity bill. I built a spread sheet a few years ago and figured it all out and that is what it was.

[Simons]

my average Enmax bill (minus gas) was ~$280 a month. That includes power, water, recycling etc. After I stood up my 250 Gal tank (80 Gal sump) it went to $300 a month on average.

I have a large AC return pump (Tunze) but run Radions x 3, Mp60's x2 a 230 Cone skimmer (internal) plus I have 2 x 800 W heaters in the sump with my ATO and I run my Apex and a wifi adapter, combined with 2 x reactors with the MJ1200 pumps for GFO/Carbon.

Right now, my Apex is telling my that my tank is drawing 5.2 Amps. I have ALL my tank gear plugged into the Apex, there is nothing (even my ATO) that isn't plug into the Apex. When both my sump heaters kick in, that goes up to 10.6 Amps but it's usually only for a few minutes an hour. 5.2 Amps is my average running load on my Saltwater tank. 2.3 Amps is the average load on my Freshwater tank, that spikes to 5.2 Amps when the heater is on (also running Radion x 3 and a Vectra L1 DC return pump, and the same two MJ1200 reactor pumps for GFO and carbon).

So both my tanks cost ~$30/month in electricity usage ($20 for saltwater tank and $10 for my freshwater tank).

[element291]

In our case I think my tank doubles the electricity bill. I built a spread sheet a few years ago and figured it all out and that is what it was.

oh man this is what I am hoping doesn't happen in my case!

my average Enmax bill (minus gas) was ~$280 a month. That includes power, water, recycling etc. After I stood up my 250 Gal tank (80 Gal sump) it went to $300 a month on average.

I have a large AC return pump (Tunze) but run Radions x 3, Mp60's x2 a 230 Cone skimmer (internal) plus I have 2 x 800 W heaters in the sump with my ATO and I run my Apex and a wifi adapter, combined with 2 x reactors with the MJ1200 pumps for GFO/Carbon.

Right now, my Apex is telling my that my tank is drawing 5.2 Amps. I have ALL my tank gear plugged into the Apex, there is nothing (even my ATO) that isn't plug into the Apex. When both my sump heaters kick in, that goes up to 10.6 Amps but it's usually only for a few minutes an hour. 5.2 Amps is my average running load on my Saltwater tank. 2.3 Amps is the average load on my Freshwater tank, that spikes to 5.2 Amps when the heater is on (also running Radion x 3 and a Vectra L1 DC return pump, and the same two MJ1200 reactor pumps for GFO and carbon).

So both my tanks cost ~$30/month in electricity usage ($20 for saltwater tank and $10 for my freshwater tank).

Now this is more like what I hope my bill will be like! But I doubt it will be that cheap for me. Our setup sounds similar. I have 2 800W heaters, reeflo hammerhead pump 265watts 3 AI Hydra 52 LED fixtures on at 40%, DC7000 powering a reef octopus regal 300 ext that also has a 85w pump on it for the bubbles, RW15 for flow, 25W fuge light all going into apex.

I have signed up for "myaccount" on Hydro One's website since I moved in and it shows on the offpeak rate sunday I used $6.50 of hydro and then yesterday onpeak shows $10.90 for the day. So just or 2 days I am already almost up to your saltwaters $20 usage cost... Hmm your electricity rates must be far superior!

[warriorcookie]

I have signed up for "myaccount" on Hydro One's website since I moved in and it shows on the offpeak rate sunday I used $6.50 of hydro and then yesterday onpeak shows $10.90 for the day. So just or 2 days I am already almost up to your saltwaters $20 usage cost... Hmm your electricity rates must be far superior!

Lots of people are running reverse lighting schedules because of night shift work, etc. Maybe you could try that so you'd max out during off peak hours.

I have a feeling Alberta will be just as bad as Ontario pretty soon for energy costs....

[Simons]

oh man this is what I am hoping doesn't happen in my case!



Now this is more like what I hope my bill will be like! But I doubt it will be that cheap for me. Our setup sounds similar. I have 2 800W heaters, reeflo hammerhead pump 265watts 3 AI Hydra 52 LED fixtures on at 40%, DC7000 powering a reef octopus regal 300 ext that also has a 85w pump on it for the bubbles, RW15 for flow, 25W fuge light all going into apex.

I have signed up for "myaccount" on Hydro One's website since I moved in and it shows on the offpeak rate sunday I used $6.50 of hydro and then yesterday onpeak shows $10.90 for the day. So just or 2 days I am already almost up to your saltwaters $20 usage cost... Hmm your electricity rates must be far superior!


Well, your in Ontario, ask me again in about 9 months what my bill is. Alberta is following the same failed energy policy of Ont so I wouldn't hold me breath that this $30 tank cost would hold out for much longer.

I am bracing myself for a %100 increase in my utility bills by end of next summer, once the Alberta 'rip you off and do nothing carbon' tax starts eating away at our economy. Then when the feds get a share in another year or so..I will be lucky if my Enmax bill will be under $700/month. People say I am crazy and it won't happen here in Alberta, but they said the same thing in Ontario. Look at your rates now! > %150 increase in less than 2 years, and that isn't just on generation or actual usage of power, your transmission, distribution fees etc tripled!

[smokinreefer]

im guessing the trend is less power consumption with the masses using LEDs and with the influx of energy efficient powerheads and DCpumps...

is it still recommended to have 2 dedicated circuits for a system? I want to prepare for my upcoming 300g display.

[element291]

Well, your in Ontario, ask me again in about 9 months what my bill is. Alberta is following the same failed energy policy of Ont so I wouldn't hold me breath that this $30 tank cost would hold out for much longer.

I am bracing myself for a %100 increase in my utility bills by end of next summer, once the Alberta 'rip you off and do nothing carbon' tax starts eating away at our economy. Then when the feds get a share in another year or so..I will be lucky if my Enmax bill will be under $700/month. People say I am crazy and it won't happen here in Alberta, but they said the same thing in Ontario. Look at your rates now! > %150 increase in less than 2 years, and that isn't just on generation or actual usage of power, your transmission, distribution fees etc tripled!

Oh yes, just the distribution before any energy costs the bill is $60

im guessing the trend is less power consumption with the masses using LEDs and with the influx of energy efficient powerheads and DCpumps...

is it still recommended to have 2 dedicated circuits for a system? I want to prepare for my upcoming 300g display.

The hydras I have still run quite a bit of juice although not as bad as MH or T5 of course.
I would say get yourself 2 circuits for sure as I just got one of my 800 watt heaters plugged into my apex and alone it runs my amperage from 7 to 13 amps.

[e46er]

im guessing the trend is less power consumption with the masses using LEDs and with the influx of energy efficient powerheads and DCpumps...

is it still recommended to have 2 dedicated circuits for a system? I want to prepare for my upcoming 300g display.

i would run min 2 just to be safe. have a heater and a powerhead plugged into each circuit so if something trips one you still have a backup plan.
for a system that big 2x20amp or 3x15 amp isnt a bad idea
you dont want to run circuits near full load anyways and at worst case senario a tank that big will need over 15 amps you will probably need 1200 watts of heaters which is 10 amps for alone if the power goes out and it drops when it comes back on all your heaters will run.
the 2nd and 3rd circuits would give you the ability to run 3 MH or 10-16 T5 bulbs if you decide LED isnt for you, and still have powerheads and return pumps and skimmers on all 1/2 load circuits.
breakers and wire are cheep, no point to skimp

return pump 150-200 watts
heaters 1200 watts
powerheads 100-200 watts
LED lights 500 watts MH 750-1200 T5 400-800
skimmer 75 watts
with those rough numbers with LED not even running full your MAX with a single 20Amp circuit its not smart putting all your eggs in 1 basket.
spend the $$ and run atleast 2.
I ran 2-15 amp for my 250 but its in my shop so ill ALWAYS be able to add another circuit if i needed it

[Tom R]

I use a Blue Planet Energy Meter purchased from Canadian Tire for about $20.00 to monitor the electrical load placed on a circuit and estimate the monthly cost incurred by an electrical item.

I originally bought it to monitor the electrical draw of my MH lights on a circuit as I was always concerned about over loading the circuit. We have all seen the the back of peoples tanks with 8 or 10 items plugged into a single wall circuit.

These thinks are really handy for the price.

Tom R

[Simons]

I have my saltwater tank on a dedicated 12 Amp circuit. Not sure 'two' separate ones are needed, if your power is out for example, it's out. I don't think your total load 'should' be more than 12 amps!

[whatcaneyedo]

I have my saltwater tank on a dedicated 12 Amp circuit. Not sure 'two' separate ones are needed, if your power is out for example, it's out. I don't think your total load 'should' be more than 12 amps!

My logic is that its a good idea (building code) to have electrical devices that are exposed to water/moisture plugged into a GFCI receptacle. Unlike a regular breaker or fuse its pretty easy to trip a GFCI. So by splitting my water circulation pumps between two circuits I reduce the risk of my tank completely shutting down by 50% if there is some minor issue.

[mike31154]

Haven't done any measurements recently, but the spreadsheet I use to track items on my tank does include one on electrical. Here's a link should anyone be interested in doing the same. This has not been updated in a long time & some of the equipment is no longer in use, replaced by different gear. Fortunately hydro rates & service in my part of the country are still a bargain & reliable. Still looking at getting more self sufficient with utilities though, that includes solar, wind & collecting rain water, possibly setting up a grey water system in my home. Water rates are what kill me here. Vernon/NORD officials can't seem to figure out how to keep those rates reasonable. Ours are among the highest in the Okanagan.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1I7ChYlyVQftnhdUjbHd7_iu6us_TTabPWOCAnVoyyIc/edit?usp=sharing

If the goal here is to calculate cost, watts would be a better starting point than amps, since rates from the utilities are generally billed using kilowatt hours. If your power monitoring equipment provides the option to display watts, you save one step. Not long after they installed the smart meter on my house, I purchased a monitoring device that reports whole house usage. I used a plug in device to individually measure the power use of the items on the spreadsheet.

[mike31154]

I have my saltwater tank on a dedicated 12 Amp circuit. Not sure 'two' separate ones are needed, if your power is out for example, it's out. I don't think your total load 'should' be more than 12 amps!
12 amp circuit? Don't recall seeing a circuit breaker in my Load Panel with a 12 on it. Aside from the mains (100 amp or larger) I have 15 & 30 amp breakers. 20 amp is another commonly available size. You may be confusing the generally accepted safe 12 amp limit (80%) on a 15 amp circuit with actual circuit breaker rating.

My logic is that its a good idea (building code) to have electrical devices that are exposed to water/moisture plugged into a GFCI receptacle. Unlike a regular breaker or fuse its pretty easy to trip a GFCI. So by splitting my water circulation pumps between two circuits I reduce the risk of my tank completely shutting down by 50% if there is some minor issue.
This, right here^^^^^. Having all your tank equipment on a single circuit, regardless of whether it can easily handle your load is a recipe for grief. Might not be sooner, but sooner or later it's bound to happen. Plenty of examples of reef tank horror stories related to tripped circuits. Backup power source in case of troubles is also highly advisable.

[untamed]

is it still recommended to have 2 dedicated circuits for a system? I want to prepare for my upcoming 300g display.

Absolutely recommend 2 dedicated circuits for a tank of that size. Split everything in half...lighting, heaters, pumps... when one circuit blows the tank won't be in trouble. Saved my *ss more than once. GFIs on both.

As for power use, I can pretty safely assume I'm more than 10A. My system uses 4 dedicated circuits.

[Simons]

12 amp circuit? Don't recall seeing a circuit breaker in my Load Panel with a 12 on it. Aside from the mains (100 amp or larger) I have 15 & 30 amp breakers. 20 amp is another commonly available size. You may be confusing the generally accepted safe 12 amp limit (80%) on a 15 amp circuit with actual circuit breaker rating.


This, right here^^^^^. Having all your tank equipment on a single circuit, regardless of whether it can easily handle your load is a recipe for grief. Might not be sooner, but sooner or later it's bound to happen. Plenty of examples of reef tank horror stories related to tripped circuits. Backup power source in case of troubles is also highly advisable.

I think your correct, it is a 15 AMP breaker not a 12. Thanks for the correction.

[e46er]

I have my saltwater tank on a dedicated 12 Amp circuit. Not sure 'two' separate ones are needed, if your power is out for example, it's out. I don't think your total load 'should' be more than 12 amps!

day to day no thats a lot of juice.
but after a power outage on a tank that big he will probably have 1200W of heaters and if the tank temp drops 5-6 degrees after a good outage, when power comes back on all the heater kick in pumps lights ect hes well over the 15A a regular circuit will handle.

split everything evenly or at least have a powerhead and heater on a second circuit.

My 250 I have both LED light fixtures a heater and a power head on one and then the apex on the other running everything else.
the LED have their own controllers and they throw nothing for heat so I couldnt see using 2 apex outlets for them and i could care less if that circuit trips for any reason that the fish are in the dark until I could get there but if the 2nd circuit running EVERYTHING else blows I still have some heat ( not enough but it will probably give me hours and hours of extra time before the tank drops toooooo much in temp.) and circulation

its not only about the power draw its also redundancy becuase anyone with any time invested in this hobby will testify bad sh*t never happens when your home its middle of the night or 10 min after you walk out the door to go to work.

not ragging on you at all just food for thought!