My apex just saved my tank! Without it my tank would be toast

[FishOkay]

I'm away on holiday and my house sitter hadn't even realised the tank had lost power! My apex and to be fair my reefdose app both sent me notifications. I called the house sitter and asked if the power had gone out she said no I still have power but the washing machine isn't working she hadn't even realised that everything in the kitchen both tanks included had no power! Basically out of three circuits the kitchen (where my tank is and the utility room where the washing machine is had tripped) easy fix but dang if i hadn't of had notifications noone would have realised! Well untill she'd gone to use the cooker lol not for a few hours at least.
Just a close call I thought I'd share!

 

[Miami Reef]

Nice!

 

[FishOkay]

I've got a problem I'm away and for some reason the Rcd keeps tripping every few hours! It's just done it for the third time! I don't think it's water anywhere in the circuit it should shut off immediately every time if it was surely!
Any electricians on here able to help? Nothing new is being turned on or anything.

 

[DeniseAndy]

When mine tripped, I had to unplug everything and plug in one at a time to find what was tripping. Cannot do if not home though. Hopefully someone else has a suggestion.

 

[ZombieEngineer]

I've got a problem I'm away and for some reason the Rcd keeps tripping every few hours! It's just done it for the third time! I don't think it's water anywhere in the circuit it should shut off immediately every time if it was surely!
Any electricians on here able to help? Nothing new is being turned on or anything.

If it's tripping intermittently like that, I would suspect it's a failed heater. Turn one on manually and see if it trips, then repeat for any others.

If it's not your heater, start looking at other devices that are intermittent in nature.

 

[FishOkay]

Don't think it's the heater did what you said and it didn't go off only thing I did leave off was the ozone generator last night and it didn't trip. Trouble is I also don't know what the house sitter is doing lol she said she wasn't doing anything when it happend but I'm not sure I don't think she realises it could literally be anything connected to the sockets.

 

[HBtank]

 

[DeniseAndy]

Been there. My mother was watching our dogs and tanks once while we were out of town. A mess when one pump hose came loose. Explaining all the plugs and equipment to a non-literate fish person was exhausting. I came home to my protein skimmer plugged into the wrong slot and another piece forgotten, but all survived, so no real harm done. Very mature tank.

 

[DarthSimon]

Awesome!

 

[Duncan62]

I'm away on holiday and my house sitter hadn't even realised the tank had lost power! My apex and to be fair my reefdose app both sent me notifications. I called the house sitter and asked if the power had gone out she said no I still have power but the washing machine isn't working she hadn't even realised that everything in the kitchen both tanks included had no power! Basically out of three circuits the kitchen (where my tank is and the utility room where the washing machine is had tripped) easy fix but dang if i hadn't of had notifications noone would have realised! Well untill she'd gone to use the cooker lol not for a few hours at least.
Just a close call I thought I'd share!

Is the circuit maxed out? If you start adding up the total load even a smaller tank can max out a 15 amp breaker. Tripping intermittently could coincide with your heater turning on along with another gadget that's the straw that breaks the camels back. I added a small air pump to aerate my sump and expected the thing to blow up when I plugged it in. Lol. Good luck with it.

 

[Cell]

"Is the power out?"

"No, but the lights won't turn on for some reason".

 

[Tamberav]

If you can’t afford Apex. You can also buy a 20 dollar camera off Amazon to steam to your phone when away. It’s pretty easy to tell when power heads are not rippling the surface or lights are not on. That’s how I do it since I have a few tanks and they definitely don’t all need apexes.

Pretty quick to check the cams every so often. Fun way to watch the cats too.

 

[AKL1950]

If your system is on the same circuit as your frig and or freezer, when they kick on with everything on you reef system running, that might just be enough to trip the circuit. Long shot, but when a frig compressor turns on, it pulls more amperage as it starts.

Jetson

 

[FishOkay]

It hasn't done it since which is good only thing I have left off is the ozone, so it could possibly have been that, it is an ebay jobby. But il see when I get back. But its been fine for the months I've had it, its funny it would happen when we are. I reckon she was doing something, I know she was using the washing machine all day so maybe that being on while something else came on caused it.