Power use and safety

Something I always worry about with my tank is how much power is being used from one outlet.  Is this an issue?  Is there something I can do to make my tank and home safer?

Actually there is a good reason not to use a GFCI. When, not if, it trips accidentally, animals may die from suffocation due to circulation pumps being off for a day. (See * below for a good discussion) I have never used a GFCI and never plan to, preferring instead to be smart and safety conscious with how I use the electricity. This has been discussed here many times. Feel free to look it up.

Each electrical device usually lists how many Amps it draws. Do the math and see. My bet is that the total is around 5 Amps, totally okay. The house circuit breaker can probably handle ~15 Amps. That's usually more than enough for all the items you listed. The problem comes when the house wiring to an individual wall outlet cannot handle the amperage when it's adding up close to 15 Amps. The best suggestion, what I do, is split the items among 2 or more outlets.

Sometimes the wiring inside a wall outlet is not solid/tight. In this case, heat builds up which can melt insulation allowing sparking/arcing which may cause a small fire. It's rare but can happen. It's not that difficult to check if you are comfortable with opening wall outlets.

The most common problem by far, over the years we've had this club and forum, is when saltwater accidentally runs or drips into an electrical connection. Since salt water is a good electrical conductor, the electricity arcs, leading to fried connections, but rarely a fire because the hobbyist notices the problem by it's smell or buzzing/crackling sound before it becomes a major problem.

A good way to avoid this is to never leave connecting points hanging where salt water could accidentally flow or where power wires lead down to an outlet. Loop them down first, then back up to the outlet. 

I use cheap power strips all the time, to extend the reach of a wall outlet. I always attach power strips upside down or sideways on the back of the stand or inside on a leg with zip ties or upside down on the ceiling of the stand with grabber screws. I drill through two opposite corners of a plastic power strip, after removing the 2 screws, of course.  It's nice because when the power strip is firmly secured, unplugging a device is a one handed movement.

Along the same lines as this discussion, you may be interested in this, copied here from the Reefkeeping Tips.

* What if the electrical power goes out at my house? http://utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=69359

That's my 2 cents.

Aloha,

Mark 

Edited by Mark Peterson - April 13 2016 at 5:13pm

I guess it has to do with how comfortable you are with your understanding of electrical safety. I've been buzzed by electricity many times, done a lot of my own electrical work on houses, aquarium light fixtures and other devices. but the buzz was never more than just a quick inconvenience. #1 rule: Don't do things barefoot on a cement floor, like I did as a kid.

If you feel that you must have a GFI, do your tank a favor, bypass the GFI on one or more of the circulation/return pumps. That way an accidental circuit disconnect won't bring unnecessary stress to the animals.

Oh yeah! Organization of electrical cords is one thing that can really help in an emergency. It's so easy to make and use cord support points using screws, zip ties and cord bundles on the way to the plug.

Aloha,

Mark 

P.S.

One more thing, if a grounding probe is used, the GFI/GFCI may never trip, even when it should have. Neither do I use grounding probes. They disguise electrical problems that need to be noticed and fixed.

Edited by Mark Peterson - April 13 2016 at 5:46pm

I would recommend that you consider putting the power heads on a separate circuit from the main pump. That way if one trips the GFI or breaker the other can cover for you.

It's not the power used by single outlet that can cause a GFI or breaker to trip, it's the amps used on the entire line of breakers on that string that can cause the trip. While you can add up the listed amps required for each item you place on the line to see what you are using remember that motors and other such devices surge when started so the amps used go substantially up. If you are starting a large pump, someone turns on a hair dryer and the washer at the same time (if they are on the same circuit) you may trip the GFI or breaker.

I like the use of a GFI, but I try to split my equipment across two or three breakers to avoid overload or having all the eggs in a single basket. Doing that (unless you're running some very large equipment) will allow you to use a 15 amp circuit. 20 amps is better.

Fat