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Don't die - use GFCI outlets for your aquarium power (1 Viewer)

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OceansX

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Last week the cord going into my mixing pump must have cracked open. When I turned it on, it would consistently trip the GFCI. Previously I felt some electrical leakage but wrote it off as salt getting into micro-cuts in my hands. This pump was probably over 10 years old, constantly lifting it by the cord and cleaning it in vinegar over the years made the cord brittle, and it was just old.

PLEASE make sure all your aquarium power is through a GFCI outlet as electrical code requires. No aquarium is worth your life or your families' lives.

Inevitably, I expect someone to chime in, "My brother-in-laws uncle's cousin is a master electrician and he said I don't need one." Umm okay? Yes, you risk a nuisance trip if you have devices that draw a lot of current quickly e.g. metal halide ballasts or chillers, but one should be able to minimize that risk by planning your electrical draw better i.e. across different circuits.
 
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I love them, but I started having problems with them tripping all the time. Probably because I need more power for all the equipment I’m running.

Now I really don’t know what to do. How hard is it to run another electrical line with another breaker?

I need to figure something out. I’m not trying to kill myself. Being in an apartment it’s kinda difficult.
 

RR-MAN

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And invest a little more than $2 on surge protectors please :)

I bought some that are rated for 2500/watts 10 gauge wire and it was only $20.
 

steveb

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And invest a little more than $2 on surge protectors please :)

I bought some that are rated for 2500/watts 10 gauge wire and it was only $20.

So no dollar store surge strips? lol.

I agree 100% with your sentiment. Over loading surge strips is one of the chief causes of electrical fires, I think using poor quality ones exacerbates the problem.
 

Cody

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I love them, but I started having problems with them tripping all the time. Probably because I need more power for all the equipment I’m running.

Now I really don’t know what to do. How hard is it to run another electrical line with another breaker?

I need to figure something out. I’m not trying to kill myself. Being in an apartment it’s kinda difficult.

You’re not going to be able to run a new circuit at the apartment, however, try replacing the GFCI outlets. Maybe they’re old and worn out. That, or try running an extension chord from another circuit to help lighten the load. Just use white extension chords and run it along the trim.
 
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Does anybody have a suggestion on where to grab a decent one? Lowe’s?

Reeftopia, mine always kick off during weather events. Or sometimes for no reason at all.

I’d hate for that to happen, but if one piece of equipment is left unplugged, that may be the one to potentially kill you. Not really sure what to do.

I think it goes back to what RR-MAN said, we need to do a trial run with some rated for much higher watts than the standard bathroom GFCI for $2. I’ll go look tomorrow and see what I can find. I’ll report back here after I run them for a few months.
 

Cody

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Does anybody have a suggestion on where to grab a decent one? Lowe’s?

Reeftopia, mine always kick off during weather events. Or sometimes for no reason at all.

I’d hate for that to happen, but if one piece of equipment is left unplugged, that may be the one to potentially kill you. Not really sure what to do.

I think it goes back to what RR-MAN said, we need to do a trial run with some rated for much higher watts than the standard bathroom GFCI for $2. I’ll go look tomorrow and see what I can find. I’ll report back here after I run them for a few months.
Yeah any of the big box ones will have them. You'll want to get one that's rated for the same amperage as the breaker.
 

RR-MAN

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Does anybody have a suggestion on where to grab a decent one? Lowe’s?

Reeftopia, mine always kick off during weather events. Or sometimes for no reason at all.

I’d hate for that to happen, but if one piece of equipment is left unplugged, that may be the one to potentially kill you. Not really sure what to do.

I think it goes back to what RR-MAN said, we need to do a trial run with some rated for much higher watts than the standard bathroom GFCI for $2. I’ll go look tomorrow and see what I can find. I’ll report back here after I run them for a few months.

Most of my items are plugged in Apex but for misc items I used this. This is heavy duty mostly used for power tools/15 amps:

https://www.harborfreight.com/6-outlet-heavy-duty-power-strip-with-metal-housing-62437.html
 

Tangs

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I used to have a bad set up lots of plugs and nothing really grounded I even had live ungrounded stuff in my aquarium cabinet just waiting for a fire to start. Amazing and luckily it did not happen. I hired someone to upgrade the electrical in my house around 13 years ago. While he was at it I got him to put in extra plugs for my aquarium. He put in gfi's while he was at it. What I am saying is play safe and live another day.
 

Tenny

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Matyas

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I plug in powerheads to regular outlet, everything else goes through GFCI.
 

mittens

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Using an apex with Tripp single surge protector that heaters attach to before plugging in to eb4. Had a heater surge and blow out an outlet in eb8. Apex warranty will cover to repair but it’s a pain in the rear having to ship it and wait two weeks, etc.

5d4fad5dc9beac58f52400c8539bc4f6.jpg


Grounding probes in sump and in dt.

dd85b9de7d156515bd69f8728595f95e.jpg


Tripp industrial grade surge protector for everything else not on the apex.

2223e80ac86a477b071838595a7bca0a.jpg


Separate circuit dedicated for fish room.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Tenny

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Also a big fan of using grounding probes.

I had a UV Filter that had a short a few years back. Killed all my shrimp, many other inverts, a few corals. It was strong enough it'd give me a shock if I stuck my hand in it. So from then on I always used some sort of grounding probe. On my current tank I actually have one in the sump and one in the tank so that the current "hopefully" won't go far.
 
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Also a big fan of using grounding probes.

I had a UV Filter that had a short a few years back. Killed all my shrimp, many other inverts, a few corals. It was strong enough it'd give me a shock if I stuck my hand in it. So from then on I always used some sort of grounding probe. On my current tank I actually have one in the sump and one in the tank so that the current "hopefully" won't go far.

How do you set up a grounding probe? I may need to look into that.
 
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