• Folks, if you've recently upgraded or renewed your annual club membership but it's still not active, please reach out to the BOD or a moderator. The PayPal system has a slight bug which it doesn't allow it to activate the account on it's own.

GFI outlet or not? Help please.

Mark_C

Mark_C

Staff member
Officer Emeritus
NJRC Member
Moderator
So, in a store and encountered an electrician as I was searching for a GFI outlet.
Discussed the setup of the tank and that I wanted protection in case the outlet got wet.
He suggested that a GFI was a bad idea. If there is any type of power surge, the GFI will kick out, all fish dead.
He suggests to simply run a normal outlet and take a chance that equipment will be OK in a surge situation and will restart when power returns, keeping tank alive.
He suggested a simple waterproof cover over the outlet will protect it from splashes.
Thoughts?
 
jgraz

jgraz

If the GFI kicks, it should be instant, and no voltage should get in tank. Plus everything in tank is sealed and usable underwater. So unless that surge, that shouldn't happen unless the GFI is not working properly, happens to severely damage a pump or heater for instance, no voltage should get in tank.

That said, I'm not an electrician, but I stayed in a Holiday Express once.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk
 
Mark_C

Mark_C

Staff member
Officer Emeritus
NJRC Member
Moderator
Graz,
HE wasn't talking about voltage getting in tank.
He meant that if there is a surge, and the GFI trips, all equipment will be off until I reset the outlet.
If I'm at work or away, that could be 10 hours to days without pumps.
His suggestion was to avoid the GFI so if a surge happens equipment can continue operating
 
jgraz

jgraz

Mark_C said:
Graz,
HE wasn't talking about voltage getting in tank.
He meant that if there is a surge, and the GFI trips, all equipment will be off until I reset the outlet.
If I'm at work or away, that could be 10 hours to days without pumps.
His suggestion was to avoid the GFI so if a surge happens equipment can continue operating
Click to expand...
Gotcha
That Apex your selling would go a long way to help you know if something happens. Just gotta keep the brain plugged into a EB that's on a separate circuit so you can get an alert.
Most tanks can go a while powered down. During sandy my well overstocked 90 was down for about 13hrs without issue.
A waterproof cover is still a good idea, double protection is always good.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk
 
Mark_C

Mark_C

Staff member
Officer Emeritus
NJRC Member
Moderator
Not selling the Apex at this point, decided to hook it up but unfortunately the controller is bad.
Think you and Dave are right though. GFI with waterproof and if Apex situation resolved, keep it in another outlet.
 
Sponge

Sponge

My view is simpler. Yes a GFI is more sensitive and can trip with a surge. However. We are talking salt water. For those who don’t know. Pure water is non conductive. It’s the minerals we add to the salt that makes it highly conductive. With that said, A GFI is there to protect your life and house YES you should have one. However. If you are seriously worried about a surge trip (and you shouldn’t) simply install a standard outlet. Plug in a surge protector. And then a GFI
 
Jeremy Brito

Jeremy Brito

Mark_C said:
Not selling the Apex at this point, decided to hook it up but unfortunately the controller is bad.
Think you and Dave are right though. GFI with waterproof and if Apex situation resolved, keep it in another outlet.
Click to expand...
Hey I know I'm late to this conversation but I thought I'd share an experience similar to this question. A while back I posted about how my tank almost set my house on,fire back when I had my 40 gallon.
The water overflowed the hob skimmer and dripped down the wire to the surger protector and inside it and fryed the hole thing . the power never kicked off. Scared the wife to death and really made me think about the hole hobby and my set up.
My first thought was GFI outlets I have them in my house where ever water is kitchen bathroom ECT.. So why not on my tank? The thing is the GFI only trips when the circuit makes a connection or short interrupting the natural flow of electricity and grounding. So in theory it woulda triggered but at that point woulda have shut everything down no pumps no circulation = dead fish but a safe house.
In a different situation my house was struck by lighting twice Nd both times fried my expensive fully automated fridge which was connected to the only outlet with out GFI. about 800 dollars each repair. The repairman stated the issue was an,electrical surge not a short. So in this case a GFI probably wouldnt have worked.

Thinking about your fish tank of go with both a surger protector and a GFI as well as hanging,it up off the floor and putting drip loops on your wires. The GFI will trip as a last resort the surge protector will protect your equipment and the drip loops and keeping,them outlets up high will keep them dry and safe. A cover will be helpful too.
 
Mark_C

Mark_C

Staff member
Officer Emeritus
NJRC Member
Moderator
Sweet.
Thanks for the input. Was just curious on thoughts after that convo earlier.
My previous big tank had the GFI/waterproof combo, this one will as well.
 
amado

amado

Dal
Staff member
Board of Directors
NJRC Member
I have two GFI outlets in my fish room.
I connect my apex eb8 and eb32 to each outlet.
I rather have dead fish than a fire in my home.
My apex will tell me if I lose power.
 
Paul B

Paul B

NJRC Member
diana a said:
@Paul B
Click to expand...

Forget about a surge. I have been an electrician for 900 years and I have never seen a surge. Unless you live in Bangladeshi, or the planet Ork, forget about it. If that really concerns you, get a surge protector. I wouldn't unless your house regularly gets hit by lightning or you drink White Lightning near your tank.

You need a GFCI or as we call them in the trade a GFI. (we save a lot of time by not having to write that "C".) The GFI if to save your life unless your fishes life is worth more than your life. The sea gets hit by lightning every .200 seconds (I made that up) that lightning travels all over the world and unless the lightning actually hits the fish or a few yards near it, the fish just go off to do the mashed potatoes or the Macarana.

What I do is use a GFI on anything in the water like powerheads, heaters etc. My lights are not on a GFI nor are my pumps that are not in the water. This way, if the stupid thing trips because your cat peed on it, only the stuff in the tank would go off but any outside pumps stay on. And I don't have a cat. :rolleyes:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top