Have you ever heard of a heater exploding????

[crpeck]

Fortunately it was in my saltwater in the rubber maid tub I was planning to do a water change with and not any of the tanks.

I heard a loud POP!!!! Came in to find the heater in pieces. The out shell had fired off the body and the insides were kind of twisted at the end. There was a REALLY bad electrical smell like it would have liked to catch on fire but all the pieces were immersed in the water.

What if that had been in my main tank and no one had been home? Would it have fried fish? Could it have started an electrical fire? Has anyone heard of this happening?

[Rendos]

Originally posted by crpeck
What if that had been in my main tank and no one had been home?

Would it still have made a sound?

Would it have fried fish?
No, more likely to have boiled them.

Could it have started an electrical fire?
Yes.

Has anyone heard of this happening?
Yes.

[sperry]

Doesn't this usually happen when you take a hot heater out of water and then put it back in cool water? I have read where heaters doing this release copper into the water also.

GFI outlets on all permanent tank power circuits and power strips with breakers on temp circuits such as the salt mix bucket. It would suck to loose a tank because the GFI tripped but at least your house wouldn't burn down.

[wjhuie]

Wow cathy that could have been bad!! I sure am glad to hear that no one was hurt and you fish are Ok.

[crpeck]

Originally posted by Rendos
[B]Would it still have made a sound?[B]

HAHA!!! Very funny.

I do know not to take a heater out of the water while it's plugged in so that didn't do it. The heater was in the water.

Can regular outlets be converted easily to GFI outlets or does it take extensive rewiring? I don't know how you'd get to that outlet since it's already behind my tank. I do have power strips that everything for my tank is plugged into, but they're standard computer equipment type strips so I don't know if there is any protection.

I saw pictures on RC a few years back of someone's house after their tank caused a fire. It was really scary.

I'm pretty sure I've seen GFI power strips. Do those exist and wouldn't those be the next best thing if I can't rewire my outlets at this point?

This heater thing is kind of a wake up call for me. I'm pretty sure I have the same brand heater in my Aquapod.

[Zann]

Can regular outlets be converted easily to GFI outlets or does it take extensive rewiring?

yes it can be replaced and the wiring is the same .

they do make Gfi strips for computers and other stuff.

[sperry]

You can get GFI outlets at any of the hardware stores. The wiring is the same. All you need is a screwdriver and MAKE SURE THE POWER IS OFF ON THE OUTLET. The standard power strip generally has a breaker on it which is better than nothing but you can also get the GFI power strips. A little more expensive but could keep you from getting the shock of your life. I also keep the titanium ground probes in all my tanks. It will ground any low voltage leak and cause the GFI to trip if there is an open power circuit BEFORE you stick your hand in the water and become the ground path.

[scarson61]

I would put in the GFI outlet. In most cases you can do it yourself and have it done in about 15 min. I read where the GFI strips trip more than normal so you are more likely to come home to a shut down tank

[MyFishHaveTat2s]

Don't they also have GFI circuit breakers, that go into the breaker box also? I think all my circuits that have outside outlets have them. Couldn't you protect the whole circuit that way, easier then you could do individual outlets? <------- NOT AN ELECTRICIAN -------- Asking not telling. I really need to revamp the wiring on my 300 at my buisness...... Spaghetti farm! I've got extention cords, power strips, amd every combo of the two you could imagine. Sooo, with that said, If any electricians need need some tat work done....

[joubentwin]

Originally posted by sperry
You can get GFI outlets at any of the hardware stores. The wiring is the same. All you need is a screwdriver and MAKE SURE THE POWER IS OFF ON THE OUTLET. The standard power strip generally has a breaker on it which is better than nothing but you can also get the GFI power strips. A little more expensive but could keep you from getting the shock of your life. I also keep the titanium ground probes in all my tanks. It will ground any low voltage leak and cause the GFI to trip if there is an open power circuit BEFORE you stick your hand in the water and become the ground path.

How do you go about grounding your tank?

[crpeck]

Sperry mentioned ground probes you can put into the tank. I actually bought one but have never put it in.

It sounds like the GFI outlet is the easiest and least expensive practical way. It will take a little skinny electrician with long arms to get back to the outlet for my larger tank. Next time I need an electrician out here I think I'm going to have them take care of the outlets running both tanks.

I do think if things are bad enough it will throw a whole breaker on anyone's house made after a certain time. But this thing with the heater hadn't thrown it. Just glad I had the sense to unplug the heater before I stuck my hands in the water to pull the pieces of it our. EEEEEK

[cateyes]

i've never had it happen before but i've often worried about it.
in some of my tanks i have a Finnex Titanium Heater so i don't have to worry about glass shattering. they also have the temp dial on the cord so you don't have to stick your hand in the tank or sump to change the setting.

[sperry]

Originally posted by joubentwin
How do you go about grounding your tank?

I use this to ground the tank. The wire is designed to attached to the ground screw on the outlet but I put a 3 prong end on it minus the blades and plug it into the outlet. Theoretically you can put it in your sump and still protect both tanks since the column of water from the return pump completes the circuit. Of course it the pump is off.........

They do make GFI breakers but I have a good bit of stuff on the circuits the tanks are on and worried some other load would trip the breaker when I was away.

[Reefdiver77]

This is what I have in mine too!

[just dave]

Some things to consider.

Fish don’t like electrical current to flow through their bodies. When higher electrical current levels flow through the water, fish will orient their bodies to minimize the potential (voltage) across their bodies, thereby minimizing the electrical current flowing through their bodies. At very low levels, the fish may only act strangely or seek areas of the aquarium where electrical current is not flowing. It is doubtful that continuous current flow through a fish’s body is beneficial, and may in fact be the source of anecdotal reports of Hole in the Head disease and Lateral Line Erosion. If your tank is at a different potential from the “ground” in your house, no electrical current may exist in your tank based on this static voltage. However as soon as you ground your tank by inserting a “grounding probe”, you will be guaranteed to have electrical current flowing even if the voltage drops.

In conclusion, the addition of a “grounding probes” will guarantee an electrical current flow in your aquarium and may induce erratic behavior or disease in your fish. If you have defective aquarium appliances that are creating a current path in your aquarium by using the salt water as a conductive medium, then the solution is to repair the appliances or replace them... not divert a portion of the current into a “grounding probe”.

Read more here and here .

[crpeck]

Wow! Well I guess it might not be such a bad thing now that I never got around to putting that probe in tank.

Nothing is ever simple in this hobby, that's for sure.