Gfci??

sruiz,
It is a long wire with one end pluged into the "grounding" connection which is the bigger hole in your electrical outlet on top. The other end has a little metal rod with suction cup and it goes into the aquarium water and is stuck in the glass. If there is a short circuit the electricity will go down to the grounding socker.
 
TREXRC,

You are talking about a grounding wire.

A GFCI, as said above, is a ground fault circuit interruptor. They are elecrical outlets designe to trip a breaker if there is a short circuit, and can save your live. They can be a bit finnicky, tripping when you don't want them to, but the added safety is worth it.

You should have one in your bathroom already, and have the little red reset button in them, usually.

You can get them at hardware stores, or electrical supply. But unless you are handy with electricty, I'd call an elcetrician and have him install one for you.
 
sruiz,
It is a long wire with one end pluged into the "grounding" connection which is the bigger hole in your electrical outlet on top. The other end has a little metal rod with suction cup and it goes into the aquarium water and is stuck in the glass. If there is a short circuit the electricity will go down to the grounding socker.
 
You can also get a GFCI that plugs into an existing outlet without being hard wired. I've used them and have unfortunately had an opportunity to see it work. So I can say it does work. HD and Lowes has them where the extension cords are. I believe they're used mostly for job sites where tools are plugged in outdoors.
 
It is simply a smart circuit. As current enters the circuit the same about should come out on the other side. If the current flows to ground for some reason part of it is lost. The GFCI "sees" that this is happening and trips the circuit. If your body is the reason for the ground fault it keeps the juice form entering the ground through you. Here's the full story GFCI.
 
I'll add one note that I think is important. A tank should be protected by multiple GFCIs, so that if one trips, the tank doesn't go without at least circulation. I divide up my load between multiple GFCIs for this reason. They can trip accidentally, and one bad pump or heater shouldn't take down the entire setup.
 
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