Grounding Probe with GFCI - Worth it?

[cryingrn]

So my tanks are all GFCI protected (I even replaced the outlet a few months ago). I had the misfortune of sticking my hand into my softie tank and getting quite the shock maybe 6 weeks ago, and the entire experience frustrated me.

I am not an electrical engineer. I was under the impression that the GFCI would trip if this were to happen, and despite being plugged directly into a new GFCI outlet, nothing ever tripped. It was the return pump in my AIO, and my working theory is that because the pump did not have a ground prong (it was two prong), the GFCI could not detect the short and didn't trip.

I know it is generally unsafe to have a grounding probe without a GFCI, but would it be safe with a GFCI? I am unsure how to prevent this from happening in the future. Picture is for attention (and from the tank in question)

 

[Reefer Matt]

A ground probe WITH a working gfci is better protection. It will trip the gfci if a short occurs. Without a ground probe, YOU are the probe when you reach in the tank. However, I would buy a gfci tester to make sure your gfci is working. They can go bad or be wired incorrectly and provide no protection in those cases.

 

[cryingrn]

A ground probe WITH a working gfci is better protection. It will trip the gfci if a short occurs. Without a ground probe, YOU are the probe when you reach in the tank. However, I would buy a gfci tester to make sure your gfci is working. They can go bad or be wired incorrectly and provide no protection in those cases.

Thank you! Ive ordered the GFCI tester and it will be here this weekend. So assuming that the GFCI outlet trips as expected with the tester, it will be safe to use a grounding probe with it? Is there an interval you would use to retest the GFCI outlet to make sure it continues working?

 

[Reefer Matt]

Thank you! Ive ordered the GFCI tester and it will be here this weekend. So assuming that the GFCI outlet trips as expected with the tester, it will be safe to use a grounding probe with it? Is there an interval you would use to retest the GFCI outlet to make sure it continues working?

The external tester should tell you if the wiring is correct, and should trip the gfci when the button is pressed. Plug it into the same socket the tank is plugged into. As long as you put the wires on the correct side of the outlet, it should trip. The test button on the outlet tests the trip function of the outlet.

Note that I am not an electrician, I’ve just wired a few gfci outlets for tanks with ground probes before. There are a few electricians here that can give you specific details, hopefully they’ll respond.