Are you scared of getting a shock from water?

[Cabinetman]

Am I the only one who always thinks about if I will get a shock when I stick my hand in my tank for something?

 

[Reefltx]

I have replaced both of the outlets where my tank is now with GFCI outlets. So, nope.

 

[GlassMunky]

I have replaced both of the outlets where my tank is now with GFCI outlets. So, nope.

And I specifically told my electrician that I DIDNT want GFCI for the tank. I’d rather a tiny bit of stray voltage in the tank than my return pump turn off and kill my tank

 

[andrewkw]

And I specifically told my electrician that I DIDNT want GFCI for the tank. I’d rather a tiny bit of stray voltage in the tank than my return pump turn off and kill my tank

The solution to this is to run your return off a non gfci. Not enough current to kill you (most likely) but you can still protect yourself from everything else. My return runs on a different breaker then everything else.

 

[TheHarold]

Not scared whatsoever.


Are you scared when you are in a vehicle?

When swimming in the ocean?

When eating food?

 

[GlassMunky]

The solution to this is to run your return off a non gfci. Not enough current to kill you (most likely) but you can still protect yourself from everything else. My return runs on a different breaker then everything else.

I already had a dedicated line run just for my tank. I’m not running another for the return pump.
Personally I run everything off a controller and keep an eye on how much power everything is using. No issues, no worries. Much cheaper than a second line

 

[Reefltx]

And I specifically told my electrician that I DIDNT want GFCI for the tank. I’d rather a tiny bit of stray voltage in the tank than my return pump turn off and kill my tank

I’m not worried about that. The return can run on battery back up and I have my apex setup to send me alerts if one of my eb8’s loses power.

 

[GlassMunky]

I’m not worried about that. The return can run on battery back up and I have my apex setup to send me alerts if one of my eb8’s loses power.

Exactly. But if you plug the apex into a GFCI it can turn the whole apex off making it useless

 

[crusso1993]

The well written article, by @Brew12 , covers this topic wonderfully! It's more than worth the time to read it.

https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/using-ground-probes-in-aquariums.596/

 

[Reefltx]

Exactly. But if you plug the apex into a GFCI it can turn the whole apex off making it useless

Forgot to mention the main board is on back up as well. I have the apex classic and run them on a separate back up system.

 

[Mariette]

I’ve never been scared. Should I be?

 

[steveb]

I think not running GFCI is a fools folly.

I was recently treated to the joy of being the ground path for mains voltage on one of my frag systems. Thankfully the GFCI tripped and shut down power to my EB8. My whole arm was hurting afterwards.

I am so very thankful I have GFCI on all my systems.

This was the culprit.

 

[lapin]

Scared? No. Do I like it? Not really. I have 4 separate circuits. GFI's and a ground probe. If the probe circuit trips, it will not shut off the return pump. Just the lights. I have only 3 / 120v wires going into the sump. That is for the water change pump and 2 heaters.

 

[Victoria M]

I always wear tennis shoes or crocks when working in my basement fishroom. I had my hands on a pump in a bucket I was cleaning and moved the faucet and holy moly did I get a shock. Another time I had a heater going bad and put my arm in three times before I realized it was electricity I was feeling, not hot water! Duh! I am now much more careful. I don't worry, I just have an awareness of the risk, and don't assume the equipment is working perfectly.

 

[Brew12]

Exactly. But if you plug the apex into a GFCI it can turn the whole apex off making it useless

When I used an Apex with a single controllable power bar I made 4 units like the ones I have here. Two were for heaters, one for the skimmer, one for the return pump.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/diy-gfci-installation.342874/

Plug the GFCI outlet into the power bar and then the device into the outlet.
You can see what are effectively 4 controllable GFCI outlet pairs that I used to use here.

 

[GlassMunky]

When I used an Apex with a single controllable power bar I made 4 units like the ones I have here. Two were for heaters, one for the skimmer, one for the return pump.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/diy-gfci-installation.342874/

Plug the GFCI outlet into the power bar and then the device into the outlet.
You can see what are effectively 4 controllable GFCI outlet pairs that I used to use here.

This is interesting and I didn’t know you could do that. So you basically just added a GFCI in the middle of the line from the apex to the device?
Do you only run specific devices which are more likely to fail (like heater) on the GFCI or do you run everything for the tank off of them and the apex?

I knew a guy locally who installed all new GFCI outlets in his house and then a few weeks later had his tank crash cause they tripped and he didn’t get any notice for a couple days till he came home to find nothing running, which is my big fear.

 

[Brew12]

This is interesting and I didn’t know you could do that. So you basically just added a GFCI in the middle of the line from the apex to the device?
Do you only run specific devices which are more likely to fail (like heater) on the GFCI or do you run everything for the tank off of them and the apex?

I knew a guy locally who installed all new GFCI outlets in his house and then a few weeks later had his tank crash cause they tripped and he didn’t get any notice for a couple days till he came home to find nothing running, which is my big fear.

I would never let a single GFCI risk crashing my system but I wouldn't run without a GFCI either. I've seen someone have a failed pump that leached so much copper into his system that it killed all his coral and he had to do a complete reset. So for me, if it is in the tank, it gets on GFCI. The reason I only needed the 4 of them is because I used MP-40's and the motor is outside the tank.
Now, I have a GHL controller with 3 power bars. Each power bar plugs into it's own GFCI and I have the loads split so a single bar won't crash my tank. For instance, my heaters are on a different power bar than my return pump since they are the most likely to fail. My Gyre's are on a different GFCI than my return pump so a single trip won't cause me to lose all flow.

 

[ca1ore]

I've been on a mission to get as many voltage/current sources out of my tank and sump as I can. I generally don't submerge the heater heads and have moved mostly to vortechs. External magnet driven pumps help too. Still have a few sicce synchra buried on the sump.

 

[reaper0268]

Grounding probes for 12$ work well and will keep stray voltages from harming you and your fish.