Electrical fire with my fish tank last night

[Reef Frog]

I'm all worried now. I use power strips under cabinet & one on the wall outlet. I employ every safety measure available but a major leak might be a different story.

So power strips are inherently dangerous in this application? Hmm, even the Apex power bar is just a glorified power strip right? Is that a risk under tank?

I have 11 plugs. Sometimes I use a few more for various reasons. So what's the alternative? Install 3 or 4 quad plug outlets? I think I may install a smoke detector under the cabinet & review my homeowners insurance policy.

I would have thought even a standard breaker would have tripped the OP's breaker(s).

 

[johnc99]

There was a thread on here a couple of years ago that showed the effects of water dripping onto an outlet on a standard power strip. The issue is that the outlets are not independent enough (sorry I don't know the technical term). The pictures compared the inside of a Coralife Day/Night strip with the inside of a Tripp Lite. In the Tripp Lite the outlets were separate sockets. After reading that thread, both power strips were changed out to Tripp Lites and screwed to the inside of the cabinet as high as they would go. This forces drip loops on all of the cables. And both are into a 20A GFCI (the circuit they are on is 20A). I'm a firm believer that putting all of the equipment that at least comes in contact with the tank/sump water needs to be in a GFCI protected outlet. Also I placed the aquarium between wall outlets. The GFCI outlet is about 18 inches from the LHS of the stand and the LHS outlet is about 3 feet away.

 

[tyleratl]

I had a little incident today with a used Red Sea Max 250 that I bought about a week ago. Circulation pump #2 was not the original Red Sea supplied pump. The previous owner had replaced it with an off brand that I've never heard of. Anyway, I'm just in the tank cycling phase and no livestock is in the tank yet. I left my home for about an hour and a half today and when I came back, the aquarium lights were off. The circuit breaker for that area had been tripped and there was a strong burning smell. Almost the entire length of cord going from the Red Sea Max built-in power compartment to pump #2 was burned, even the part that was submerged! Everything else appears to be okay.

 

[Reef Frog]

Wow what a terrifying story. Very glad all was OK in the end.

I have an AIO with rear chamber sump so my under cabinet areas are relatively uncluttered and dry. When I look at tank set ups on line, I'm often quite skeptical about safety when I see big sumps/refugiums in a tight space with pumps, dosers, reactors, controllers etc stuffed in there like sardines in the can and all their associated wiring. It seems one leak, drip or misplaced wire....and kaboom! Your life is changed forever. My next build will have an under cabinet sumo but I plan to keep it as free of a wire jungle as I possibly can. Having a smoke detector down there is a great idea (thanks) and may save life, but not necessarily property when away from home.

I have 3 Sicce pumps in my tank that are 6+ years old now. They've run flawlessly all that time but I'm thinking now that everything wears out eventually so maybe it's wise to replace them now as a precaution. Anybody else ever go this route or do you think that's overkill? I did have a MJ1200 (junk IMO) cord wear out super early. I used it to mix SW in a plastic can next to my tank using the tank's outlet. The cord partially melted but the circuit breakers
worked as they should & my ECOTECH MP40 battery back up kicked in and saved the tank.

As you can see this post has prompted me and probably a few others to do a safety review. So thanks for posting an account of your experience OP!

 

[tyleratl]

Reef Frog - I'm glad to hear that you have had good experiences with Sicce pumps. It just so happens that the pump that I ordered to replace the pump that burned up is built by Sicce for Red Sea.

I'm certainly doing my own safety check after yesterday's little scare!

 

[oldpaddy]

I recently quit a part time marine aquarium cleaning job. I was always complaining to the owner about his wire management. All his systems were a mess. One time a power strip fell into a sump, and I was always blowing breakers at his 3000gal holding system due to water getting on the cords on his floor. He wasn't bothered by it, but it drove me crazy. Especially when I'd get zapped shutting off power strips.
I use a DJ power strip in my system and keep all the cords off the floor. I've been debating adding a battery operated photoelectric smoke detector to my stand.

 

[HippieSmell]

It's a good idea to check the contacts of electrical plugs and outlets, as well. They can become corroded and arc, causing a fire.

It's now code to install arc fault circuit breakers where I live. Something to think about.

Glad you're OK, OP.

 

[jml1149]

It's a good idea to check the contacts of electrical plugs and outlets, as well. They can become corroded and arc, causing a fire.

It's now code to install arc fault circuit breakers where I live. Something to think about.

Glad you're OK, OP.

Does it make sense to install an arc fault CB and a GFCI downstream?

 

[CindyK]

Man, I'm glad you are ok. Very scary.

I'm not an electrical expert, but it sounds like your canister filter was drawing enough amps to heat the extension cord and cause it to catch fire. Maybe the motor is/was going bad or some debris lodged in the impeller, etc..

I would, at a minimum, run power strip that has circuit over load protection. And I believe GFCI protected wall outlets has the same overload circuit protection as well. You could replace the standard wall outlet or have an electrician do it for some added protection.

+1, except GFCIs do NOT inherently provide overload protection. That is the job of your circuit breaker. I'm not an expert by anyone's definition but it worries me that your circuit breaker didn't trip. You should probably have your electrician take a look at it too.

Here's a super boring, but informative read on what GCFIs will and won't do

http://www.stephstuff.com/esafe/bulletins/gfci.htm

 

[HippieSmell]

Does it make sense to install an arc fault CB and a GFCI downstream?

Yes.