couple ampmaster questions

organicreefer · 10-09-2001, 08:36 AM

what kind of wire do you use to ground them?where did you get it?what did you hook it to?
also ,do you turn youre ampmaster off when you feed youre fish?
it handles an on/ off everyday ,no problems?and finally this wont be a problem even though im using "u "tubes will it?tia

**golfish** · 10-09-2001, 09:30 AM

Organicreefer,

1- I seem to remember the number 18

I think that was the size wire I used. I know the Amp Master comes with instructions that tell you what size wire to use.

2- I hooked my ground wire to one of the screws that hold my GFCI into the electrical box.

3- I don't turn anything off when I feed my tank. Why would you want to?

**scubadude** · 10-09-2001, 02:41 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by golfish
Organicreefer,

1- I seem to remember the number 18 I think that was the size wire I used. I know the Amp Master comes with instructions that tell you what size wire to use.

2- I hooked my ground wire to one of the screws that hold my GFCI into the electrical box.

I agree 100% with golfish on this

Quote:

Originally posted by golfish

3- I don't turn anything off when I feed my tank. Why would you want to?

This however i disagree with :P turning off (temporarily) strong flow during feeding has been proved by many to be recognized through corals to repsond

IMO organic im thinking about putting my closed loop on a timer so that I can feed in the AM (just b4 it comes on) and in the PM (just after it goes off) this is just a thought right now....but alot of the wave strips that control intermittent powerheads have a feed button on them that will shut off the majority if not all the flow it controls. It gives the fish/corals a better chance of getting the food and it not getting stuck in a dead spot and decaying....Im even thinking of putting my skimmer (if i have one in my new tank) on a timer as well!

Ltspd · 10-09-2001, 03:48 PM

Hmmmm, Mine came with a plug attached.

Go to HD and get a good medium duty or better plug/cord and you will be fine. 18ga will handle a good bit of amps (25 I think) and with the AM only drawing 1ish thats easy for it to handle. The thing to remember is that you want a cord heavy enough to handle a overload and casue the fuse box to blow and not have the cord heat up and melt

**golfish** · 10-09-2001, 06:18 PM

Quote:

This however i disagree with :P turning off (temporarily) strong flow during feeding has been proved by many to be recognized through corals to repsond

Hmmm, I'm not sure about this one. It kind of reminds me of the guy who wants to slow down flow at night. The ocean doesn't slow down at night and I don't think it slows down during feeding time.

**scubadude** · 10-09-2001, 08:09 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by golfish

Hmmm, I'm not sure about this one. It kind of reminds me of the guy who wants to slow down flow at night. The ocean doesn't slow down at night and I don't think it slows down during feeding time.

While I agree that we cannot in any way simulate the ocean, yes the ocean does slow down at times....slack tide is a perfect example and it happens every day at a certain time....some times we have high seas...some times its perfectly calm. I think the fish/corals take advantage of both situations. just my opinion though

organicreefer · 10-10-2001, 07:43 AM

golfish,you dont turn off the pumps when you feed?what about when you feed youre corals?i always do,so food doesnt "get lost" in the current.as for less flow at night,i beleive i have read that in many cases seas will be calmer at night

ltspd,the ampmaster needs to be grounded via a wire as golfish described ,not just the power cord.

**golfish** · 10-10-2001, 09:41 AM

organicreefer,
Didn't your pump come with instuctions? They tell you it has to be gounded.

Quote:

golfish,you dont turn off the pumps when you feed?what about when you feed youre corals?i always do,so food doesnt "get lost" in the current.

I feed my fish not my corals. IMO, the water flow moves the food around the tank and has a better chance reaching more corals and critters. I have mostly SPS and clams anyway. I do feed some DT's evey now and then.

npaden · 10-10-2001, 10:00 AM

Okay - I guess I didn't read my instructions either! My ampmaster came with a 3 prong power cord already installed. Your saying that it needs to have a seperate wire running from the case to a ground? Seems odd for a pump to require this, especially one drawing only 1 amp. I ground the enclosure box on my MH ballasts, but I use the ground wire to do so. I wonder what the ground wire is connected to coming from the plug?

BTW, I'm a believer in full water flow 24/7 - I think some studies have been done which actually show waterflow is higher during the night on average than during the day (storms, etc.) If you are worried about turning the pump on and off you could always put a ball valve on the output and just throttle it down if you wanted to lessen the water movement during feeding time.

FWIW, Nathan

**golfish** · 10-10-2001, 04:37 PM

Nathan, Organic,
My Amp Master is about 8 months old so it maybe a little different but. On top of the motor towards the pump end there is a place to connect the ground wire to the pump motor. Its pretty obvious whats it for so this makes me think your pumps may be different.....?

Ltspd · 10-10-2001, 05:26 PM

If you have a 3 prong plug installed from the factory as mine did there is no reason to add another wire to ground the chasis. The ground prong does that for you. Now if you have a 3 prong plug and only a 2 prong outlet as some old houses do then you should ground the 3rd wire OR the chasis.

organicreefer · 10-10-2001, 06:40 PM

golfish,i know it has to be grounded ,and yes it has the little screw to attach a wire,hence my question.
ltspd,the instructions say to ground it with another wire,are you sure i dont have to?
npaden ,just throttling back at feeding time might do it ,good idea.

**golfish** · 10-10-2001, 07:28 PM

Organic, mis-read on my part, your right, the instructuions still say to ground it.

organicreefer · 10-10-2001, 09:28 PM

npaden,you said you read that flow will be stronger at night,im pretty sure i read it would be calmer........

..where did you read that?i cant even site my source right now i cant remember,but i think it was julian sprung,in reefnotes,or tra(1????2????)ill browse tonight and see if i can find it.im wondering because i have thought of doing something similar to scubas idea,and im sure i got the idea because i read it.just trying to learn

Ltspd · 10-11-2001, 06:26 AM

Well I cant say I read the instructions, but I question why a double ground? I have that screw but it is NOT green.

All the ground screws I have ever seen are green. That screw on top of the motor isnt. Exactly what does it do? Is it for static disapation from water movement? The armeture ground and the way the motor is wired internally would handle that I am pretty sure. The pump head is plastic so there is no transmittion from that to the motor except thru the shaft.

Think of a dust collector. You have aire flowing thru it at a high rate of speed. That air creates static elec and you typically run a wire and inside the duct pipes and ground them to the metal fittings. I cant remember seeing any ground back to a "plug"

I deal with a lot of industrial motors and I have never seen one ground outside the housing, of course I am mechanical not electrical.

This is new to me.

10-09-2001, 08:36 AM	#1
organicreefer Governor Join Date: May 2001 Location: Northern CA Posts: 2,171	couple ampmaster questions what kind of wire do you use to ground them?where did you get it?what did you hook it to? also ,do you turn youre ampmaster off when you feed youre fish? it handles an on/ off everyday ,no problems?and finally this wont be a problem even though im using "u "tubes will it?tia

10-09-2001, 03:48 PM	#4
Ltspd Governor Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Arden, NC USA Posts: 2,767	Hmmmm, Mine came with a plug attached. Go to HD and get a good medium duty or better plug/cord and you will be fine. 18ga will handle a good bit of amps (25 I think) and with the AM only drawing 1ish thats easy for it to handle. The thing to remember is that you want a cord heavy enough to handle a overload and casue the fuse box to blow and not have the cord heat up and melt __________________ Paul C Timing has an awful lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance.

10-10-2001, 10:00 AM	#9
npaden Citizen Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: Lubbock, Texas Posts: 198	Okay - I guess I didn't read my instructions either! My ampmaster came with a 3 prong power cord already installed. Your saying that it needs to have a seperate wire running from the case to a ground? Seems odd for a pump to require this, especially one drawing only 1 amp. I ground the enclosure box on my MH ballasts, but I use the ground wire to do so. I wonder what the ground wire is connected to coming from the plug? BTW, I'm a believer in full water flow 24/7 - I think some studies have been done which actually show waterflow is higher during the night on average than during the day (storms, etc.) If you are worried about turning the pump on and off you could always put a ball valve on the output and just throttle it down if you wanted to lessen the water movement during feeding time. FWIW, Nathan __________________ Always get a 2nd opinion. (and a 3rd, 4th, etc...) Check out my Homepage

10-10-2001, 05:26 PM	#11
Ltspd Governor Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Arden, NC USA Posts: 2,767	If you have a 3 prong plug installed from the factory as mine did there is no reason to add another wire to ground the chasis. The ground prong does that for you. Now if you have a 3 prong plug and only a 2 prong outlet as some old houses do then you should ground the 3rd wire OR the chasis. __________________ Paul C Timing has an awful lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance.

10-11-2001, 06:26 AM	#15
Ltspd Governor Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Arden, NC USA Posts: 2,767	Well I cant say I read the instructions, but I question why a double ground? I have that screw but it is NOT green. All the ground screws I have ever seen are green. That screw on top of the motor isnt. Exactly what does it do? Is it for static disapation from water movement? The armeture ground and the way the motor is wired internally would handle that I am pretty sure. The pump head is plastic so there is no transmittion from that to the motor except thru the shaft. Think of a dust collector. You have aire flowing thru it at a high rate of speed. That air creates static elec and you typically run a wire and inside the duct pipes and ground them to the metal fittings. I cant remember seeing any ground back to a "plug" I deal with a lot of industrial motors and I have never seen one ground outside the housing, of course I am mechanical not electrical. This is new to me. __________________ Paul C Timing has an awful lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance.

10-09-2001, 09:30 AM	#2
golfish Moderator Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Alta Loma,Ca Posts: 2,925	Organicreefer, 1- I seem to remember the number 18 I think that was the size wire I used. I know the Amp Master comes with instructions that tell you what size wire to use. 2- I hooked my ground wire to one of the screws that hold my GFCI into the electrical box. 3- I don't turn anything off when I feed my tank. Why would you want to?

10-10-2001, 07:43 AM	#7
organicreefer Governor Join Date: May 2001 Location: Northern CA Posts: 2,171	golfish,you dont turn off the pumps when you feed?what about when you feed youre corals?i always do,so food doesnt "get lost" in the current.as for less flow at night,i beleive i have read that in many cases seas will be calmer at night ltspd,the ampmaster needs to be grounded via a wire as golfish described ,not just the power cord.

10-10-2001, 04:37 PM	#10
golfish Moderator Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Alta Loma,Ca Posts: 2,925	Nathan, Organic, My Amp Master is about 8 months old so it maybe a little different but. On top of the motor towards the pump end there is a place to connect the ground wire to the pump motor. Its pretty obvious whats it for so this makes me think your pumps may be different.....?

10-10-2001, 06:40 PM	#12
organicreefer Governor Join Date: May 2001 Location: Northern CA Posts: 2,171	golfish,i know it has to be grounded ,and yes it has the little screw to attach a wire,hence my question. ltspd,the instructions say to ground it with another wire,are you sure i dont have to? npaden ,just throttling back at feeding time might do it ,good idea.

10-10-2001, 07:28 PM	#13
golfish Moderator Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Alta Loma,Ca Posts: 2,925	Organic, mis-read on my part, your right, the instructuions still say to ground it.

10-10-2001, 09:28 PM	#14
organicreefer Governor Join Date: May 2001 Location: Northern CA Posts: 2,171	npaden,you said you read that flow will be stronger at night,im pretty sure i read it would be calmer........ ..where did you read that?i cant even site my source right now i cant remember,but i think it was julian sprung,in reefnotes,or tra(1????2????)ill browse tonight and see if i can find it.im wondering because i have thought of doing something similar to scubas idea,and im sure i got the idea because i read it.just trying to learn

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