My near tank disaster...

[tfp]

thought i'd share a story for everyone to benefit from...

a couple weeks ago, my wife and i went to a margarita party for a few hours. in-laws watched over the kiddos while we were away.

upon returning, from a distance, the tank seemed extremely quiet but was still lit up and had circulation. as i approached down the hallway my socks quickly soaked up water! i knew something was wrong and immediately grabbed as many towels as possible to begin cleanup. the stand had about 1/4" of standing water and i couldn't figure out what the heck happened.

granted, i was half *ahem* drunk (and no, i didn't drive) troubleshooting was difficult and pretty much every bad word i know was used

turns out that our 2yr old unclipped the CA reactor drip effluent from the sump while we were away and about 4 gallons of water dripped into the stand until tripping one of the GFCI's. very unlike her to do something like that, but its also my fault for leaving the stand doors off during our absence. thank God i put in GFCI outlets about 2 months ago - who knows what coulda happened...

all this happened the night before our 5yr olds birthday party at 11am!

 

[Justin74]

Wet socks goin down the hallway, ya we both know what coulda happened and thank God it didnt . Thanks for sharing a very real possibility.

At the very least for any who dont have a GFI get one, and or in the meanting make sure all your strips are off the ground and you keep drip loops on any thing hanging from or on any body of water before being plugged into power!

-Justin

 

[Sk8r]

Children and pets will continually amaze you.

 

[duec22]

Glad to hear that you have the GFCI's and that no one got hurt. So were you able to stay awake for the B-day party?

 

[xinumaster]

Glad everything is okay now. That happened to me too. I accidentally removed my top-off line from my sump when I pulled a rock and guess what happen my carpet was soaked in water and I didn't know until the following morning.

 

[Reefugee]

Tim - glad everything turned out ok. If it wasn't for the GFCI - you may have more than just a "tank" diaster. I know my GFCI has save my butt at least once.

If there is any interest, I can do a 30 minute presentation on installing a GFCI outlet. It's very simple. I think some people have not installed a GFCI out of fear of the unknown.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=802223

Minh

 

[Fragmented]

Two words of advice for all with small children--child locks.

Those little plastic things saved me from many disasters!

 

[cwegescheide]

Ummm I know this sounds really stupid but..... GFCI? Ground Fault something-a-ruther... How do you know if you have them? I'm in an apartment...

 

[Underwaterparadise]

I had to put the magnet locks on my doors to keep my son out! Glad everything worked out!

 

[MandM]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7467452#post7467452 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by cwegescheide
Ummm I know this sounds really stupid but..... GFCI? Ground Fault something-a-ruther... How do you know if you have them? I'm in an apartment...

Chances are you don't have them in an apartment where you would probably plug in your tank equipment. In CA they are code for outside and anywhere withing 6' of a water source like a sink. You can get a simple plug-in one from Home Depot for around $15 or you can get power strips that have a built-in GFCI. (ground fault circute interrupter) An absolute must for a fish tank.

gfci info

 

[Reefugee]

I agree with MandM. Chances are you don't have a GFCI outlet. You can purchase a little tester that will test for GFCI. Basically - the tester has a little button that you push that will trip the GFCI. It also has little lights that will help you determine if you have wired it correct. I have a picture on my post regarding GFCI. It's the little red device that plugs into the wall. Note that there are also wiring testers that do not test for GFCI. They look very similar except they do not have the little button to push.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=802223

Honestly - I would never consider a tank without a GFCI outlet or at least minimal a GFCI adapter. You can also get surge suppressor with GFCI built in, but they are a little pricey.

Minh

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7468243#post7468243 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MandM
Chances are you don't have them in an apartment where you would probably plug in your tank equipment. In CA they are code for outside and anywhere withing 6' of a water source like a sink. You can get a simple plug-in one from Home Depot for around $15 or you can get power strips that have a built-in GFCI. (ground fault circute interrupter) An absolute must for a fish tank.

gfci info

 

[Wee-Reef Master]

Hey Tim,

Very glad to hear that it wasn't something more serious. Thank heaven for the GFCI's. Minh and I have been pushing them every chance that we get, but there always seems to be lukewarm response, if any response at all. I hope folks are listening, purchasing and installing immediately. I think that a 30 minute presentation is a great idea Minh. I also renew my call for including in the meeting raffles.

Again, great thinking Tim and great to have you with us Bro. BTW, I checked out the Scott TT bike....it's insane! I gotta tell you all about it.

 

[Unarce]

Glad you're okay, Tim. I sure wish I had thought of putting a GFCI outlet before I set-up the tank. Now, I can't reach it

 

[Reefugee]

Karl -

How hard is it for you to get back behind the tank? I been known to be able to fit into pretty tight spaces (ever tried to wire behind a server rack with only 14" of space?), so if you need help, give me a holler.

Minh

PS - for those of you in the republic of Davis - you need a freakin permit to change your regular outlet out to a GFCI.

 

[cwegescheide]

Thanks for the info. Sorry about the tank mishap. Sounds like your going to make it thru pretty well all things considered though.

On a side note, have you thought about sending your children to boarding school until they are old enough to know better than to play with your reef tank???? :lol:

 

[tacocat]

Re: My near tank disaster...

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7465920#post7465920 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tfp
turns out that our 2yr old unclipped the CA reactor drip effluent from the sump while we were away and about 4 gallons of water dripped into the stand

That sucks, That's why I have switched over to these for all of my return lines back to the sump (CA reactor, top off, etc).

http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem.asp?idproduct=RO4151

 

[Unarce]

by Reefugee
Karl -

How hard is it for you to get back behind the tank? I been known to be able to fit into pretty tight spaces (ever tried to wire behind a server rack with only 14" of space?), so if you need help, give me a holler.

Minh

It would be pretty hard. There's only 4" of space between the wall and stand, and the outlet is 10" into it.

 

[boviac]

Tim,

So glad you caught it when you did inebriated or not. I don't have child safety latches on my stand doors and so far my one year old has stayed away. I should finally install the latches. Afterall they're only 10 feet away... I simply just have to do it. Glad everything worked out ok and thanks for the motivation!!!

Chris

 

[tfp]

biggest lesson learned...GFCI outlets or plug-ins (like me) are mandatory around water! my stand doors are velcro'd on so child locks wouldn't work - but i won't leave them off again.

tacocat, those fittings are a great idea for securing lines

mike, did you get to see the plasma ltd? OMG!

 

[Unarce]

What are the plug-ins, Tim?