Do you use GFCI?

[Detri]

Now this is my opinion, Yes I use them. Around a consant water/high humidity source, you would be crazy not to. Its so easy to start a fire. Its really easy to hold your hand on a tank (not realizing it is wet) and get a good zap fro pulling a plug or plugging something in.

I hear alot of agruements about using them and still value my life and my family more than the down sides to useing them. Arguements like.

They trip all the time on me.

Well, in that case you may have a few reasons why they would. Like, faulty outlet. Not properly grounded gear. Electrical gear/lighting isn't wired properly or not enclosed properly for moister. You have overloaded that curciut. Or worst case, your house isn't grounded properly.

I would take the risk rather than have my sump overflow/tank overflow, or my lights not come on due to it tripping.

There are several things you can do to prevent things not working all at the same time.

Set up your tank on its own curciut. (only feesable if you live in your own house or Condo) Have you Ballast run straight off the curcuit without the GFCI. But plug the Lights in into a GFCI. (aslong as your ballast isn't enclosed in your Cabinet.) Run your lights on a seperate GFCI than your pumps.

You can go farther than seperating them. You can add your VHO, PC, or T5's on one GFCI with one pump. And the MH Lights on another with another pump. This will reduce the chances that you loose Flow or filtration. And, reduces the chances that you don't have any lights come on if it does trip.

We all worry about our tanks, rightfully so. We spend alot of time creating, careing for and money on the hobby. But, saftey is a huge issue, and in the long run can save your fish and livestock too. If for what ever reason an electric device should fault or fall into the water. You have less chance of loosing your livestock to electicution.

This brought to you by me I wanted to add something usefull to the site. I have taken alot from all of you and have been very helpful. Here is my 2 cents.

I'd like to see opinions, whether negitive to mine or supported.

 

[LakeEd]

I use a simple "Shock Buster" GFCI.

http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem.asp?idproduct=TW39013

All of my electronics come off this main unit... so my entire tank is protected via the GFCI. I can see where ideally, I should have a separate GFCI for my lights, one for my pumps... then one for everything else... but for now, this one is better than nothing!

 

[Detri]

Definately! You have to stay within your budget, thats for sure. But atleast you are protecting yourself.

 

[mattseattle]

I have 2 - 20 amp dedicated circuits for my tank. Both circuits are wired with GFCI plugs. It works well since I have 2 x 250w HQI ballast, a 1/4 hp chiller and several other high use amp pumps. So far neither GFI has tripped.

 

[mungus]

I am a firm believer in GFCI outlets. I not only installed them for my aquarium but I installed them throughout my entire house. Gives me a little piece of mind with 2 small children in the house. You never know when they will stick something in an outlet. I know I was zapped a few times as a kid :lol:

 

[Detri]

Psst! Child proof covers. hehe kidding. Yea my kids have done it already. I don't think my oldest will do it again anytime soon hehe

 

[mungus]

Yeah I use child proof covers too. I just know the times I got zapped as a kid I was old enough remove the covers no problem. I had this obsession with electricity for some reason.

 

[Scooterman]

AFCI are also a good plus, & ground probes to add safety. I would more so use the AFCI's for fluorescents because of the end caps as compared to MH ceramic bases.

 

[steve-s]

& ground probes to add safety.

You would have to confirm this with the more electronically knowledgable than I but as far as I know, the use of grounding probes are not safer. They help complete a circuit and cause electrocution if something in the tank is faulty and you place your hand in there. Without it, there is no complete circuit.

Anyone: yes, no, mabye

Cheers
Steve

 

[Scooterman]

You would have to confirm this with the more electronically knowledgable than I but as far as I know, the use of grounding probes are not safer. They help complete a circuit and cause electrocution if something in the tank is faulty and you place your hand in there. Without it, there is no complete circuit.

Anyone: yes, no, mabye

Cheers
Steve

Read up the links in my signature line, good information.

 

[acrylic_300]

I'm not sure what GFCI stands for, something to do with grounding from what I gather reading.

I knocked a light into my tank this weekend and fished it out with my bare hands It tingled pretty good but I was standing on a wooden chair. Not nearly as bad as when my skimmer went hay wire and I was standing in water

You would think it would blow a breaker but it dont--just keeps on shocking.

I would invest in a GFCI maybe if I knew what it was. Im sure its common vernacular iv'e just never seen it before.

 

[Detri]

Sorry my bad! GFCI=Ground fault Curciut Interrupter, Its basically an oulet with a built in breaker. If you get a power surge or a simular reaction it will break the curciut. You should have them in your Bathroom and Kitchen, as far as I know it is building code to have them in the US. Unless you are living in an older home. Which might explain the breaker not popping at the pannel. Old homes aren't always kept up to date.

 

[steve-s]

I think I might be missing something in regards to the probes specifically. The link's in your tag line don't address my comment/question that I can see.

Aquarium Grounding Probes

http://ozreef.org/diy/grounding_probe.html ... doesn't link to an article but there are several DIY pages?

Cheers
Steve

 

[spongebob lover]

hmm i believe we have them.
i guess i gotta learn more about them since i'm not the electrician around the house hehe.

 

[Scooterman]

Yep steve-s that is it, I need to go update my threads.

 

[Detri]

Here is a link to some info on GFCI (Ground Fault Curcuit Interrupter)

 

[Scooterman]

A few more links:

http://www.codecheck.com/gfci_principal.htm

http://doityourself.com/electric/gfci.htm

Why AFCI?

1) Suppose a lamp cord (as an example) has been pinched, so that part of the hot conductor is cut. It starts arcing between the strands upstream of the cut and the strands downstream of the cut. The current associated with the arcs flow along the wire, so the current on the hot wire always equals the current on the neutral. Therefore, a GFCI would not detect the event. The arcs are of high currents, but of low durations. Therefore, the branch circuit breaker would not detect the event. Continued arcing could lead to overheating, and to a fire. The AFCI device is designed to detect currents that display the signature of this type of arcing, and to trip before a fire could start.

(2) The code says to put AFCIs in bedrooms primarily because the industry would never accept an immediate change that required them everywhere. As a starting point, it was an easy enough sell. If time shows them to be effective, and if mass-production makes them cheap, you might see them as the one and only type of breaker in any new dwelling unit’s power panel

 

[NaH2O]

I have AFCI breakers and GFCI outlets.

 

[spongebob lover]

you know guys, now that i'm reading this i'm definetly getting one of those GFCI AND a canopy .

 

[steve-s]

Yep steve-s that is it, I need to go update my threads.

I think I might be a little thick headed on this one so bear with me. The article I linked to suggests against the use of grounding probes, not for them.

Salt water is a conductor, but not a perfect conductor, so there is penetration by 60 Hz emissions. These induced voltages are small in magnitude. On the other hand, shorted pumps can develop large currents through the water, but typically between the “short” and some “ground” like your ground probe. This means that the inclusion of a ground probe could make things worse. If a pump were shorting within itself, the currents flowing through the water would remain local to the pump and should not be a problem. You would have to have two shorting pumps, or a pump and a ground probe, or some other current path to get electrical current to flow through your tank............In conclusion, the addition of a “grounding probes” will guarantee an electrical current flow in your aquarium and may induce erratic behavior or disease in your fish. If you have defective aquarium appliances that are creating a current path in your aquarium by using the salt water as a conductive medium, then the solution is to repair the appliances or replace them... not divert a portion of the current into a “grounding probe”.

Cheers
Steve