ZZAAPPed Again!! (Shocked by Tank)
- Thread starter Oddball
- Start date
Hello; I installed a GFCI outlet near my tanks. I have noted that from time to time the GFCI being tripped. Sometimes I know why, such as a power outage or flicker during a storm. Other times I do not know why. So far I have only had to hit the reset button and perhaps adjust the timer for the lights.
I do understand from reading the instructions that the units do fail and will have to be replaced.
One thing I have done to protect my tanks is to have an air pump on a different electrical outlet. This way there are always bubblers going and the fish will survive. Over the decades air bubblers have saved many tanks. Back a few decades it was the early HOB's that were prone to lose siphon and stop flowing any water. Now it is the safety device, a GFCI, that is prone to unexpected outages.
In the past when my equipment was plugged in to a standard socket and the power went off, the equipment would come back on when the power was restored. I now have to pay more attention to my tanks when such things happen. My biggest concern being if I were away for a while. I stay home mostly now, but in the past was away for days at a time. I may go back to a standard outlet to avoid the outage issues.
My systems requiring priming to start/restart are on UPS so they continue running during power failures.
In my last hatchery I had a GFCI that was prone to tripping where I had a large pump plugged in. I replaced the GFCI and the trips started up again soon after. I put a power meter between the pump and socket and found that the pump motor was drawing down on the circuit. I replaced the pump and the GFCI never tripped again.
In my last hatchery I had a GFCI that was prone to tripping where I had a large pump plugged in. I replaced the GFCI and the trips started up again soon after. I put a power meter between the pump and socket and found that the pump motor was drawing down on the circuit. I replaced the pump and the GFCI never tripped again.
When we moved into our new house, the basement wasn't finished. My GF's brother is a certified electrician. I had him install 1 outlet per tank with GFCI outlets and had them moved up the wall about 4 feet and then covered with outlet covers in case of a splash. Also did this so I won't ever run into an issue with running too many items at once and blowing all the tanks, if it did happen or anything happened, only that one tank will be off. All tanks are on a separate line to the box 
I've never been shocked so far. Hope it never happens. My new house has GFCI throughout the whole place. I also use a surge protector on all my electronics and tank. The only problem that I have is if I use too much electricity in the basement where my tank is setup, like turning on all the lights and tv plus dehumidifier and vacuum than the power goes out. I then just flip the breaker and everythings back on.
Hello; Not that I can diagnose an issue from a remote location, but this does not sound right. If it is simply too much load for the circuits you can perhaps find a way to lessen the load. If the circuits are supposed to be able to handle the load then perhaps the circuits and/or some of the equipment are out of spec.
I may be over cautious about this, but my take is that circuits running that close to an overload can get very hot. Might be worth it to have someone who knows electricity to check it out??
Might be possible either the Gfi outlet either malfunctions or is super sensitives causing the random trips. there is always the possibility of equipment on your tank tripping it but I highly doubt that is the case.
Hello; The GFCI trips rarely, less than once a month or few. Not enough to be a concern for now. Were I to need to be away for a few days in the cold season, then I might have a concern as the heaters are on the same circuits. I am generally a homebody anymore.
