A Cautionary Tale

[BeanAnimal]

A GFCI measures current on the hot wire and compares it to current returned on the neutral wire. If there is a difference (current leaking to 'ground') it trips.

An AFCI measures frequency (in layman's terms) and trips when it see the signature response of "arcing" (sparking). It is more complex than that because brushed motors, switches and other devices "arc" when they make contact or are running.

In most cases an AFCI is also a GFCI but a GFCI is not an AFCI. I hope that makes sense.

 

[slythy]

A GFCI measures current on the hot wire and compares it to current returned on the neutral wire. If there is a difference (current leaking to 'ground') it trips.

An AFCI measures frequency (in layman's terms) and trips when it see the signature response of "arcing" (sparking). It is more complex than that because brushed motors, switches and other devices "arc" when they make contact or are running.

In most cases an AFCI is also a GFCI but a GFCI is not an AFCI. I hope that makes sense.

Is it worth it to go AFCI over GFCI? I do travel a lot for work which is why I have always been afraid to have a GFCI outlet, Also why i am afraid to not have one lol. If it trips and I am gone that might be pretty sad.

 

[victoria casella]

This reminded me why I got ecotech power heads …there is a lot I would have done different 15 yrs ago but don’t regret them at all! I have always hated the cords in the tank! Been zapped in the past! Best purchase of the whole build!

 

[dwarfseahorse]

Hi Jay - I would also HIGHLY advise against the use of that style "plug strip".

You want to use plug-strips that have REAL individual receptacles with traditional contact leafs inside.
This is what is inside of that

Compare that to this

You want plug strips like this:

or this

But don't be fooled by ones that look like this

Yes to the GFCI. I suggest having (2) or more installed on the same circuit or have your electrician (if you don't want to) build you some power snakes like this

With GFCI receptacles and even outdoor bubble covers if you want.

That way the whole tank is not on a single GFCI

I wrote an article about this years ago... but still as relevant today as it was then.

Power Strip Safety | BeanAnimal's Reef

Why most outlet strips (plug strips, outlet bars) are not suitable for aquariums and can cause injury or death. What to look for in a suitable and safe product.

beananimal.com

Great power strip information you did in 2011. Thanks for telling us about it.

 

[dwarfseahorse]

I wanted to let folks know about a safety issue I had with my office aquarium yesterday. I have a Biocube 16 with a Hydor Koralia Nano 240 circulating pump. It has been in operation since 2019. I normally inspect/clean/adjust all equipment attached to it with each monthly water change. However, I was really busy, so for the last two months, I just did the water change.

I had noticed that the power cord for the Hydor pump had gotten "stiff", but that often happens with submerged cords.

Yesterday, I smelled a "hot" electrical smell. I soon found that the cord on the Hydor had split and shorted out, frying the plug due to current draw. See attached image.

I had just been feeding the tank and moving some things around two hours prior - luckily I didn't get shocked.

I'm going to have my electrician son install a GFCI on the circuit (should have done that before) and I'm going to be more proactive regarding equipment inspections!

Don't be like I was!

Jay

 

[dwarfseahorse]

I wanted to let folks know about a safety issue I had with my office aquarium yesterday. I have a Biocube 16 with a Hydor Koralia Nano 240 circulating pump. It has been in operation since 2019. I normally inspect/clean/adjust all equipment attached to it with each monthly water change. However, I was really busy, so for the last two months, I just did the water change.

I had noticed that the power cord for the Hydor pump had gotten "stiff", but that often happens with submerged cords.

Yesterday, I smelled a "hot" electrical smell. I soon found that the cord on the Hydor had split and shorted out, frying the plug due to current draw. See attached image.

I had just been feeding the tank and moving some things around two hours prior - luckily I didn't get shocked.

I'm going to have my electrician son install a GFCI on the circuit (should have done that before) and I'm going to be more proactive regarding equipment inspections!

Don't be like I was!

Jay

Reminds me of when I had a tank heater that said that it automatically shuts off if there was low or no water. I thought that was great, something I didn't have to shut off when making water changes. Worked great for about a month and then all of a sudden it started smoking. Luckily, only damage was it melted some of the plastic casing around the heater. After that, i don't care what the heaters say, I unplug everything when making water changes. I do have GFCI Industrial strips and I don't think it tripped then, but may be because the second I saw smoke I shut everything off.

 

[shutterspeed1000]

A GFCI measures current on the hot wire and compares it to current returned on the neutral wire. If there is a difference (current leaking to 'ground') it trips.

An AFCI measures frequency (in layman's terms) and trips when it see the signature response of "arcing" (sparking). It is more complex than that because brushed motors, switches and other devices "arc" when they make contact or are running.

In most cases an AFCI is also a GFCI but a GFCI is not an AFCI. I hope that makes sense.

Yes, I talked about this today with my friend. Older switches and AC motors could trip the AFCI. Going to try one here and see how it goes. My GFI for the tank is in the garage so it is easy to swap with a combo outlet. Don't forget to test your GFI outlet every once in a while if you have one.

 

[WizardOfAAAHHHs]

I wanted to let folks know about a safety issue I had with my office aquarium yesterday. I have a Biocube 16 with a Hydor Koralia Nano 240 circulating pump. It has been in operation since 2019. I normally inspect/clean/adjust all equipment attached to it with each monthly water change. However, I was really busy, so for the last two months, I just did the water change.

I had noticed that the power cord for the Hydor pump had gotten "stiff", but that often happens with submerged cords.

Yesterday, I smelled a "hot" electrical smell. I soon found that the cord on the Hydor had split and shorted out, frying the plug due to current draw. See attached image.

I had just been feeding the tank and moving some things around two hours prior - luckily I didn't get shocked.

I'm going to have my electrician son install a GFCI on the circuit (should have done that before) and I'm going to be more proactive regarding equipment inspections!

Don't be like I was!

Jay

That should have thrown a breaker & I'd be concerned as to WHY it didn't , including the breaker built into that power strip ! I have some of those too & have had them flip off when the power wasn't right!

 

[Jay Hemdal]

That should have thrown a breaker & I'd be concerned as to WHY it didn't , including the breaker built into that power strip ! I have some of those too & have had them flip off when the power wasn't right!

I know! My current hypothesis is that the current draw was not quite enough to pop the 20 amp breaker in the box, but enough to scorch the cheap plastic power strip. The house is older, but the main was replaced about 20 years ago. I can have my son check the breaker when he installs the GFCI.

 

[BeanAnimal]

I know! My current hypothesis is that the current draw was not quite enough to pop the 20 amp breaker in the box, but enough to scorch the cheap plastic power strip. The house is older, but the main was replaced about 20 years ago. I can have my son check the breaker when he installs the GFCI.

Breakers typically do not fail to trip. The normal failure mode is repeated trips causing them to not be able to stay set.

Your branch circuit breakers trip based on thermal heating where the trip threshold is measured in Current and Time. So the higher the current, the shorter the trip time.

Three things to take away from reading an TCC curve.
1 - running a breaker near its maximum current heats the breaker, meaning an surges (a motor starting) can easily push the breaker into tripping.

2 - direct shorts cause near instantaneous high current draw that will trip a breaker (typically) in less than a second.

3 - partial shorts may push a breaker well pasts its rating but could take seconds (or minutes) to trip based on how far past the nominal rating the current climbs.

See a typical TCC curve below (This if for GE Q line breakers). You will notice that minimum clearing time for a 20A breaker loaded to 30A is 40 seconds (and could be up to 300 seconds).

The circuit breakers ONLY job is to protect the branch circuit wiring itself, not the utilization equipment (or you) from damage.


If you look at the TCC curve for a typical push to reset type circuit breaker in a power strip you will find a different curve. So we have a 20A branch circuit with a 15A power strip plugged in. We take the same scenario as above (30A of current). That is 200% of the 15A push-to-reset breaker rating. So it will trip in a minimum of 4 seconds and a maximum of 40 seconds.

Takeaway - you want that little breaker on your power strip! In fact, it would be better to have even smaller breakers per device (not something common in this hobby).

But now you can see why I built my power center (no longer in use) with individual breakers (1A, 3A, 5A) for each controlled device.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Breakers typically do not fail to trip. The normal failure mode is repeated trips causing them to not be able to stay set.

Your branch circuit breakers trip based on thermal heating where the trip threshold is measured in Current and Time. So the higher the current, the shorter the trip time.

Three things to take away from reading an TCC curve.
1 - running a breaker near its maximum current heats the breaker, meaning an surges (a motor starting) can easily push the breaker into tripping.

2 - direct shorts cause near instantaneous high current draw that will trip a breaker (typically) in less than a second.

3 - partial shorts may push a breaker well pasts its rating but could take seconds (or minutes) to trip based on how far past the nominal rating the current climbs.

See a typical TCC curve below (This if for GE Q line breakers). You will notice that minimum clearing time for a 20A breaker loaded to 30A is 40 seconds (and could be up to 300 seconds).

The circuit breakers ONLY job is to protect the branch circuit wiring itself, not the utilization equipment (or you) from damage.


If you look at the TCC curve for a typical push to reset type circuit breaker in a power strip you will find a different curve. So we have a 20A branch circuit with a 15A power strip plugged in. We take the same scenario as above (30A of current). That is 200% of the 15A push-to-reset breaker rating. So it will trip in a minimum of 4 seconds and a maximum of 40 seconds.

Takeaway - you want that little breaker on your power strip! In fact, it would be better to have even smaller breakers per device (not something common in this hobby).

But now you can see why I built my power center (no longer in use) with individual breakers (1A, 3A, 5A) for each controlled device.

Thanks, that's above my pay grade. I'll have my electrician son review all that for me (grin).

I bought a "metal power strip with individual plugs and switches for each outlet". What Amazon sent me was a cheap all PLASTIC strip from China, with no CE or UL listing, in fact, no marks of any kind showing any safety review. I'm returning that, and will buy a US made, UL listed product!

Jay

 

[BeanAnimal]

The big thing is to use quality power strips with integrated 15A breakers. The rest was just the why.

The tripp-lite stuff used to be quality. I assume it still is, but who know anymore.

 

[Badblackdog]

Thanks, that's above my pay grade. I'll have my electrician son review all that for me (grin).

I bought a "metal power strip with individual plugs and switches for each outlet". What Amazon sent me was a cheap all PLASTIC strip from China, with no CE or UL listing, in fact, no marks of any kind showing any safety review. I'm returning that, and will buy a US made, UL listed product!

Jay

Get a computer UPS. You can get a good one for around $100-150. I keep my return pump, power head, skimmer and heater on the battery back up side which can run for over an hour. It will run much longer if I turn off the return pump and skimmer The surge protection side has 2-LED90s, cabinet light and Reefmat. It is great if the power flickers or for short outages because of its own internal battery and circuit protection.

 

[reefinglife]

I wanted to let folks know about a safety issue I had with my office aquarium yesterday. I have a Biocube 16 with a Hydor Koralia Nano 240 circulating pump. It has been in operation since 2019. I normally inspect/clean/adjust all equipment attached to it with each monthly water change. However, I was really busy, so for the last two months, I just did the water change.

I had noticed that the power cord for the Hydor pump had gotten "stiff", but that often happens with submerged cords.

Yesterday, I smelled a "hot" electrical smell. I soon found that the cord on the Hydor had split and shorted out, frying the plug due to current draw. See attached image.

I had just been feeding the tank and moving some things around two hours prior - luckily I didn't get shocked.

I'm going to have my electrician son install a GFCI on the circuit (should have done that before) and I'm going to be more proactive regarding equipment inspections!

Don't be like I was!

Jay

I just had something similar to me happen. Skimmer was leaking 100 volts in tank. Found out by sticking my hand in tank a getting shocked. All the years I’ve bin reefing never had a gfi on the tank. Learned that it is a smart move to have a gfi and surprisingly all live stock is okay

 

[blecki]

I have one of those probes in the tank. The fish keep trying to eat it.