Three letters that can save your life, your house---GFI

Sk8r

Sk8r

Staff member
RC Mod
aka GFIC.
ALL electrical connections involving water or potential shock should be on a GFI (ground fault interrupt) outlet. This is very cheap: it's a socket with a button that pops out and breaks the connection faster than you can react to let go. Modern code insists on them in the bathroom, and in the kitchen. Add to those---any involving your tank equipment.

I've had some experiences with electricity enough to numb my arm for an hour---and I did not question the GFI requirement. Witness I have one on my outdoor connections, too, to the koi pond. And when I reached down, kneeling on wet soil, to adjust the malfunctioning (again!) UV in the skimmer box---I got an unpleasant shock, but ONLY unpleasant---before the GFI button popped and I was safe. [I am no longer using uv, nasty piece of uselessness anyway.] But the GFI is a keeper.

There will be times in your career you have to reach for something in your tank---and if there has been a leak and you are standing on wet floor---you need GFI. It's easy to install. It can stop a short that could burn your house down, or ruin your tank, or YOU.

Very simple precaution. Very cheap. In use, priceless. Literally.
 
Perhaps an electrician can chime in here...
I believe you can replace the existing electrical outlet (after turning off the breaker of course) with a GFI outlet which can be purchased at most hardware stores.
This has an added benefit of causing any outlets that are on the same circuit to also be GFI protected.
 
Dale_M said:
Perhaps an electrician can chime in here...
I believe you can replace the existing electrical outlet (after turning off the breaker of course) with a GFI outlet which can be purchased at most hardware stores.
This has an added benefit of causing any outlets that are on the same circuit to also be GFI protected.
Click to expand...

Yes you can certainly replace the outlet with a GFCI one and utilize the "load" connections on the GFCI to also protect anything downstream..
Depending on where that outlet is in the circuit there may not be anything downstream though..
 
mcgyvr said:
Yes you can certainly replace the outlet with a GFCI one and utilize the "load" connections on the GFCI to also protect anything downstream..
Depending on where that outlet is in the circuit there may not be anything downstream though..
Click to expand...

Yes, this.

It takes a little knowledge and a voltmeter, or at least a voltage tester. Also don't load side anything you don't want tripping, like lights. I could always tell that an electrician didn't do the bathroom remodel when the GFCI tripped and the lights went off.
 
You may want certain items on 2 different GFIs---and you may even, in a large system, want certain things on separate breakers. And if you are having a GFI pop often---you need to take a close look at how much it's loaded and at the integrity and safety of the item you have on that GFI.
 
Sk8r said:
You may want certain items on 2 different GFIs---and you may even, in a large system, want certain things on separate breakers. And if you are having a GFI pop often---you need to take a close look at how much it's loaded and at the integrity and safety of the item you have on that GFI.
Click to expand...

Yes I would recommend this for larger tanks for sure and even smaller ones..
Splitting the loads (equipment) across two so that in the event of one of the GFCI's tripping your whole tank does not loose all equipment and may still have a powerhead,etc... for circulation..

FWIW... A GFCI does NOT offer any sort of overcurrent protection.. Thats the branch circuit breakers job.. If the GFCI is tripping it is NOT overloaded but rather a piece of equipment is either faulty or leaking too much current to ground..

Also.. I recommend GFCI's for submerged line (AC) powered equipment only. And that is where 120V (or whatever is your line voltage in your country) goes directly into the tank..
Devices that run off DC power and feature an AC/DC adapter that is kept well away from the water do not need to be on GFCI circuits..
The same applies to MH fixtures,etc... in which the lighting side is isolated from mains via a transformer,etc... A GFCI will not trip at all should a metal halide fall into your tank (unless the actual ballast itself falls in).. The primary side of a transformer (the side plugged into the wall) cannot see whats happening on the secondary side and thus the GFCI will not operate should the light fall into the water..
Can you put those devices on a GFCI... You most certainly can though.. Its not going to harm them to be on a GFCI but there is little to no benefit in having them on that GFCI device..
 
nereefpat said:
Yes, this.

It takes a little knowledge and a voltmeter, or at least a voltage tester. Also don't load side anything you don't want tripping, like lights. I could always tell that an electrician didn't do the bathroom remodel when the GFCI tripped and the lights went off.
Click to expand...

Having some of my lights go out because of a tripped GFCI would seem to be a bonus warning if you ask me.
 
GFCI saved my kids this week. One of them, probably the 3 year old, pulled my sump light off and threw it in the sump. I got home and the tank was dark. I asked my wife and she said it was like that all day. I opened the door under the cabinet and saw the light sitting in the sump. Without the GFCI outlet I would probably have a dead or injured child right now. The truly scary part is that I only replaced that outlet 3 weeks ago when I swapped tanks. I thought my kids knew better to stay out of there. I will NEVER have a tank without a GFCI outlet anymore. It's too cheap and easy to do and there is no comparison to losing a loved one.
 
mcgyvr said:
FWIW... A GFCI does NOT offer any sort of overcurrent protection.. Thats the branch circuit breakers job.. If the GFCI is tripping it is NOT overloaded but rather a piece of equipment is either faulty or leaking too much current to ground..

Also.. I recommend GFCI's for submerged line (AC) powered equipment only. And that is where 120V (or whatever is your line voltage in your country) goes directly into the tank..
Devices that run off DC power and feature an AC/DC adapter that is kept well away from the water do not need to be on GFCI circuits..
The same applies to MH fixtures,etc... in which the lighting side is isolated from mains via a transformer,etc... A GFCI will not trip at all should a metal halide fall into your tank (unless the actual ballast itself falls in).. The primary side of a transformer (the side plugged into the wall) cannot see whats happening on the secondary side and thus the GFCI will not operate should the light fall into the water..
Can you put those devices on a GFCI... You most certainly can though.. Its not going to harm them to be on a GFCI but there is little to no benefit in having them on that GFCI device..
Click to expand...

Since I'm already known as the resident idiot plumber, I may as well expose my electrical stupidity as well. Does this mean that if all of my equipment is DC (eg pumps, lights, etc.) that a GFCI isn't doing me much good. The only AC equipment in my tank is the heaters.
 
Oh yes, this is such an important part of a tank setup! Safety first! First part of my 90 set up was having an electrician come in and install GFI with new wiring so the tank is on it's own 20 amp breaker. I sleep better at night. (I lost everything in a house fire a few years ago)
 
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