Everyone please be careful

[triga22]

Thank god I was in the room at the time. I almost burnt my house down. My o ring on the skimmer fell off and water driped down the cords into the power outlet. Anyways be sure to check everyday to make sure everything is working properly. Please dont skip this thinking big deal itll never happen. You should think when will it happen. Also use drip loops to stop the water from getting into the socket. So please be cautious, I dont want something worse then this happening to you.

 

[socal57che]

FYI for people reading this thread.
Installing a GFI outlet should be part of initial tank set up.
Glad you caught it in time.

 

[bruder]

Glad everything is ok Triga. Also, mounting outlets and power strips upside down in your stand is an easy way to avoid some basic dripping problems.

 

[triga22]

Yea my dad is going to mount it in my stand.

 

[bruder]

How did the aquascaping work out for you?

 

[triga22]

Well I went to the LFS today and he showed me a good way. Right now its just a wall. Im going to make some changes when I buy the rest.

 

[daredevil]

how much do GFIs cost?

 

[bruder]

I picked up a GFI outlet at one of those overly large home improvement stores for 15 bucks. I would say it is worth saving your life.

 

[socal57che]

Amperage ratings vary, but $15 will buy a 15 amp anywhere in the country. Walmart = $10
http://www.smarthome.com/42701w.html

 

[cjason3041]

I can feel your scare!!! about 6 monts ago i was messing in the tank and i said oh i don't need to unplug anything, knowing that i was going to be pulling rock out and across the area where plugs were...i have dripped freshwater on plugs before and no real big deal....man does saltwater give you on heck of a scare though...smoked and zapped like crazy...i now use GFI and drip loops and keep the plugs as far away as i can

 

[cjml]

So glad nothing bad happened! I always worry about something like that happening! It scares me !So my husband works days-I work evenings or nights just so someone can be here with all our critters! Fish,horses,goats,dogs,chickens....on and on!! :happyfish

 

[psusocr1]

no offense to anyone but int his hobby you have to be INSANE to not have GFCI outles on anythign around and or part of your tank!!!
i mean think about it there water everywhere along with plugs , outlets, timers etc. etc.. not only can you burn your house down but your lucky you didnt get schocked to death either..
these are the first things anyone should have when thinking about messing with aquariums

 

[bronco300]

yea...that happened to me...but it was just my collection cup overflowing slowly...now i have a metal paint holder...where you use paints rollers to get paint on the roller...now if it goes over i hear 'ping ping'--also use drip loops so if water travels down the cord it ends before getting to the outlet--in addition to the GFCI's

 

[xnikki118x]

What does GFCI stand for? :x I'm not really knowledgeable about the electrical stuff.
I have two power strips plugged into an outlet behind/to the side of my tank, and the strips are next to the tank and off the floor. All the cords have drip loops before they're plugged into the power strips.
Is this a good setup or am I asking for trouble somehow? One power strip is pretty new, and one is only a month or so old.

 

[cowfishrule]

gfi is a ground fault interupter or something like that.
basicaly, it detects a short-to-ground and it shuts down the power in like, milliseconds.

 

[cowfishrule]

What does GFCI stand for? :x I'm not really knowledgeable about the electrical stuff.
QUOTE]
go to your bathroom or your kitchen- they should be in the outlets by your sinks.

 

[triga22]

Just bumping this thread so everyone can see the little problems that should be thought of more.

 

[catawaba]

Grounding probes are also an inexpensive way to increase safety.

 

[bs21]

just for everyone to know if you dont want to install a GFCI outlet or don't allready have one you can buy a portable one from LOWEs for around $10. it just plugs in to a regular outlet.

 

[fallnhorse]

Originally Posted by TriGa22
Thank god I was in the room at the time. I almost burnt my house down. My o ring on the skimmer fell off and water driped down the cords into the power outlet. Anyways be sure to check everyday to make sure everything is working properly. Please dont skip this thinking big deal itll never happen. You should think when will it happen. Also use drip loops to stop the water from getting into the socket. So please be cautious, I dont want something worse then this happening to you.

I've ground out a surge protector with saltwater getting it before cause of the darn creep. But didn't do nothing but make every conductive and give me a good zap

. So i had to re route some cords. Oh well...mind over matter, it don't matter if you don't mind. Plus it blew the safety light in my surge protect rendering it useless so i had to get a new one.