omg the worst thing just happened

reefreak29

reefreak29

Active Member
i went downstairs for a sec and my light wouldnt turn on so i went in the basement and reset my breaker . well when i went upstairs i noticed the pump for the skimmer smoking i unpluged it and found all my fish upside down and some corals spewin stringy stuff. my fish are all breathing but there not moving do u think everything in my tank is dead.
:scared: :scared: :scared:
 
divetroop

divetroop

Member
Do you think you might have fried (electricuted) them? That really sucks. Sorry for your loss. Make sure you unplug all of your electrical equipment before placing your hands in your tank. You probably had live/open current going into your tank, that why your circuit breaker probably trip and after resetting it cause a flux of current to zap the creatures. I'm sorry again. Be careful.
 
reefreak29

reefreak29

Active Member
yes everything got electricuted i found my skimmer pump smoking that was the culprit, im now taking my dead fish out of the tank i hope my corals dont die cause i think i would just start breaking the tank down
 
murph145

murph145

Active Member
wow that really sucks!!!
i run a grounding probe in my tank i wonder if this woulda helped the situation??
thats just the craziest thing so all ur fish died?
 
reefreak29

reefreak29

Active Member
it looks like all my inverts are still alive except for my seahorse and my fire red shrimp, my starfish were starting to get ride of my fish they took my clown and i flushed my horse and 2 tangs
 
reefreak29

reefreak29

Active Member
i guess if my corals all open up tomarrow id feal alittle better but i bet i just lost about 90 for the pump and 145 for the fish. i sounds weird but i was really attached to those fish i never lost one.
 
murph145

murph145

Active Member
yeah i hear yah its never fun to lose anything especially due to a shortage!
im sure u can get everything back together sorry for ur loss!
 
jbrinker

jbrinker

New Member
Just curious - were you running everyting off a ground-fault outlet???
I NEVER and I mean NEVER plug anything in thats even NEAR my tank unless its in a properly installed and tested ground fault outlet. For my safety and my fish.
You can hardly beat the peace of mind for $10 it costs to get a decent one at Home Depot.
Oh, and the grounding probe would not probably have helped. The fish were part of the circuit, and still would have been (perhaps even more so). The only thing that would have at all helped would be a fast-acting ground fault breaker or outlet.
Im really sorry for your loss, I know how it feels... I lost one fish a few weeks ago and my youngest daughter cried all day. Made me feel horrible.
Jeff
 
sarwiz100

sarwiz100

Member
See this link: https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/199076/saved-by-a-gfci
It happened saturday. The 1700 on the skimmer went bad, and we didn't have a ground probe in the tank yet and she got zapped lightly but I firmly believe her life was saved by the gfci. jbrinker has it correct, NOTHING gets plugged in near the tank without it being on a gfci. And if you have a large external pump that trips it, get a different one!! Gfci's are there for our protection as well as the livestock. Just thank GOD that your arm wasn't in the tank when that pump blew. And yes, gfi is the same as gfci. always use a good brand and preferably a 20 amp. and have your main pump on a different one than your lights.
 
ctgretzky9

ctgretzky9

Member
A GFCI is a MUST for a fish tank. As well, a grounding probe for any low stray voltage.
However, there is something I just read in Coral magazine about proper gfci/grounding probes that opened my eyes. I will get the article and bring it in tomorrow and post what it says. There is an improper way of using a gfci and a grounding probe that is actually more dangerous than none of the above. Mine was set up correctly, so I didnt absorb the written word as I should have.
Post tomorrow..... :thinking:
 
reefreak29

reefreak29

Active Member
i did have everything plugged into a surge surpressor strip outlit
and it did kick out but it still killed everything?
 
ctgretzky9

ctgretzky9

Member
Originally Posted by reefreak29
i did have everything plugged into a surge surpressor strip outlit
and it did kick out but it still killed everything?

Yes, the surge protectors are useless. They are good for some applications, but are useless for aquariums or computers. The surge has already passed the strip by the time it shuts down.
 
seahorse11

seahorse11

Member
CTGretsky,
Did you find that article about grounding probes? I am really interested in reading it. I am setting up a 90 gallon and I bought a GFCI but dont really know what a grounding probe is or where to put it. Thanks.
 
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