Young Frankenstein
New member
A GFI circuit breaker feeding all the receptacles in your tank is way better than using a GFI outlet. In my field we install GFI breakers as an upgrade to a GFI receptacle they tend to work better.
GFI Circuit breakers
- Thread starter Young Frankenstein
- Start date
Young Frankenstein
New member
In that perspective I would have to agree with you Icefire. But as far as life protection I would recomend a GFI breaker.
Icefire
Seasoned reefer
I don't have herd many death from auarium tank.
If someone doesn't trust a gfi outlet and would prefer to loose 5000$ worth of fish/corals, he better pack the stuff and change hobby lol.
If you get shocked, it's the tip of the finger touching the water and you aren't gounded (floor/carpet aren't grounded), so chance of death is almost inexistant.
It's not the same as a bathtub which is grounded by the piping.
If someone doesn't trust a gfi outlet and would prefer to loose 5000$ worth of fish/corals, he better pack the stuff and change hobby lol.
If you get shocked, it's the tip of the finger touching the water and you aren't gounded (floor/carpet aren't grounded), so chance of death is almost inexistant.
It's not the same as a bathtub which is grounded by the piping.
Young Frankenstein
New member
Electrical paths and saltwater are more dangerous than a bathtub, since saltwater is conductive.
chrisstie
Premium Member
There was a great thread and darn me for not being able to find it fast but you can turn your normal outlet itno a GFI protected one relatively easily...
GFI boxes - in my experience anyhow- tend to be sensative and trip for the wrong reasons which is great since they'll trip for the right reasons too- but when you have your return, skimmer, powerheads plugged into one thing and it trips while you're away for a 3 day vacation when you come back it may be an ugly sight..
Oh here's a great walkthrough I did bookmark it yay! on how to convert your wall into GFI
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=802223
GFI boxes - in my experience anyhow- tend to be sensative and trip for the wrong reasons which is great since they'll trip for the right reasons too- but when you have your return, skimmer, powerheads plugged into one thing and it trips while you're away for a 3 day vacation when you come back it may be an ugly sight..
Oh here's a great walkthrough I did bookmark it yay! on how to convert your wall into GFI
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=802223
Outlet or breaker type GFCI's work just as well. The only thing is that many reefers run an extension cord to an upstream outlet not protected by the wall receptacle type. They are an accident waiting to happen.
Icefire,
We would like to keep you Newbies around (well not me
) so taking the simple step of using a GFCI is a must for any SW tank.
chrisstie
Reefugee needs to work on his lock out tag out procedures
A good link thanks.
Icefire,
We would like to keep you Newbies around (well not me
) so taking the simple step of using a GFCI is a must for any SW tank.chrisstie
Reefugee needs to work on his lock out tag out procedures
A good link thanks.
tropicalraspberry gu
New member
I agree that GFI should be used, but chances of life threatening incident is pretty remote, unless you have one hand in the water and your other hand is holding a metal bucket or something.... there is almost zero path to ground to complete the circuit.
But again definitely recommended.
But again definitely recommended.
It is not worth betting your life, or those of you family, to find out how good a ground your floor provides. True, in many cases it may not be sufficiently a good enough conductor to create a critical electrical path. But what if it is?
tropicalraspberry gu
New member
I agree, just call me anal, but I don't like accepting something 'as fact' when I disagree. But you are correct in your statement. 
I'm so not in the know when it comes to electricity.
My house is being built right now, and I've asked them to put in a pair of GFCI outlets, a couple of feet apart, each on a dedicated circuit. I'm going to assume I did the right thing both in terms of safety and as far as supplying enough power to the tank area.
My house is being built right now, and I've asked them to put in a pair of GFCI outlets, a couple of feet apart, each on a dedicated circuit. I'm going to assume I did the right thing both in terms of safety and as far as supplying enough power to the tank area.
Oh, wise Aristotle-that's the best way to do it.
It is just a few bucks extra to buy pease of mind.
It is just a few bucks extra to buy pease of mind.
Any Home Depot or Lowes will have the breakers as well as strips and outlets.
bsaastad
New member
Speaking of electricity, here's a sobering thread from our local club forum: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1070647
Yeah, I saw that. This is especially true when a MH bulb is first ignited as the voltage is raised to strike the arc. I'm not so sure Pico knew that a MH bulb doesn't fire immediately when the voltage is high but he learned a lesson the hard way.
silverwolf72
New member
Would a GFI done anything in this instance? your on the load side of the ballast for as far as the AC is concerned your just a light bulb.
silverwolf72
New member
Yeah, GFI only help if there is an issue on the AC side of the equipment. So just a warning that it won't help you much if you get shocked with something with a transformer.
