Protein skimmer try to kill everyone again

[Jeremy Brito]

So.. the title pretty much says it straight my protein skimmer for the second time has gone screwy and decided to flood... water traveled the desk the tank sits on and slowly started to pour on to the floor it eventually found its way to the surge protector.. Setting 232 AM every one sleeping soundly - wife jolts up in bed and hits me in the face in a panic.... half asleep and iritated I jolt up immediately greeted by a smell that is similar to burnt matches and my eyes are burning **brain kicks on** I am a fire fighter I know this smell I jump out of bed telling the wife go quickly to the child's room open the windows and don't wait for me.. I'm in the main hallway that runs the stretch of our ranch home nearly parrel to my bedroom door is the guest room slash studie aka the tank room the odor of smoke is strong the room is filled with a haze and I hear a sizzling poping my mind tells me this is the source and I have a strong idea of what's burning.. now this room at night is lite red by a heat lamp for a reptile tank so my eyes are adjusting I don't see flames I can see smoke I can't see water but I can hear the drip and I've noticed the power to the room is still on and I'm bare foot . It occurs to me that both the surge protector and the circuit panel have not tripped at this point and I'm stepping blindly into a room with a actively burning electrical fire that I'm pretty sure has to do with water shorting out something.. just as my wife reach the room.with a flash light I see sparks shooting out from under the desk then darkness as the circuit panel finally trips, the wife shines the flash light into the room and I can now see the large pool of water on the floor and a smoldering surge protector.. to wrap this event up I quickly unplug everything incase the breaker didn't trip fully or the power comes back on.. as I have seen happen first hand in structure fires I have fought over the years mop up the floor the stand the wires remove surge protector Which I now know completely fAiled to work like designed and trip it's breaker and open windows to vent the house.. I'm now wide awake debating wether or not the house is safe.. wife is now telling me how she just saved the day and our lives and that I would slept threw it had she not woken me up... so tomorrow I'll be reworking the layout of the electric for the tank then trying to solve the protein skimmers murderous nature but in the mean time any one have a spare surge protector and live near Howell

 

[art13]

Is it a hang on back or in sump? My hang on back one I had leak onto an outlet before, I moved it to the other side. In sump you should be able to control any overflow, mine has done it a few times in the past.

 

[Trio91]

Can you mount the power strip in the desk under the tank?

 

[njtiger24 aquariums]

My suggestion is as follow - I would mount power stripes off the ground. I would then try and find a leak detector system that you could use to kill your skimmer if it leaks again

 

[njtiger24 aquariums]

But most important glad to hear you and your family are safe.

 

[Mark_C]

Surge protector is something I don't go cheap on, though I do try to get the smallest I need plus one or two additional outlets for future use, plus I mount them a few inches off the ground (my current ones are sitting on top of a small section of 2x4). I also use grounded wiring/trip sockets wherever I plug tank in. With my big tank, before becoming a nano guy, I even installed a waterproof box over the safety socket.
I had a few heavy backsplashes and a minor ATO flood with no problem.
I have a couple strips/protecters, cheap ones, that you're welcome to, though I'd be wary to use them for a tank long term.