Fire!!!!!

[inkblue]

i maY be oVerLy cautioUs but i haVE a smoKe aLarm/carbon monoXide near mY tank just in caSe :happysad:

betteR to eRR on the sidE of caution...

 

[momof6kids]

Aaron, glad to hear you are ok and got everything under control. It could have been much worse. I had the same thing happen to me earlier this year. I had run out to the store when my 15 year old called me up to say that I better get right home because my tank was on fire. It was actually the GFI power strip that was shooting out flames under my tank. I thought it was safe hanging on the wall "out of harms way". She reached under and pulled the plug to the strip out of the wall and the fire died down just as I walked in. It totally melted my plug to my pump, had to get a new one. Had to be the most expensive thing plugged in to ruin. Murphy's law at work.

 

[masterswimmer]

momof6, the most important things were saved....you and your family. The expense of replacing ANYTHING in our tanks can't be compared to that. I'm glad you're all ok.

swimmer

 

[Aqua Pro Builder]

OK here's the deal, I installed a GFIC on the outlet which "popped" one night for no aparent reason, when i tried to install a new one i couldnt get it to test OK so i had to plug everything on that circuit into a non protected circuit just to keep the tank running.

That's sound like something in your system is shorting out-kind of like my tank having intermittant stray current. I would check each and every single electrical EQ in your system especially the ones in contact with water.

We do need some electricians or fire safety guys to provide some tips here.

 

[jhale]

We do need some electricians or fire safety guys to provide some tips here.

how about install, test, and uses gfci outlets and do not use strip plugs sitting under the stand or anywhere they can possibly get water on them.

THINK , if it can happen them Mr. Murphy will pay you a visit someday,
aaron case in point. (sorry aaron ;P )

 

[aaron]

No worries, there's a million other things that could go wrong with a tank, even a well planned one. Its just that mine was on the more spectacular end of the scale.
There is no leaking current in the tank, I installed a second GFCI and it wont test OK with nothing conncetd meaning there is a problem with the circuit somewhere between the breaker box and the outlet - a bit beyond my electrical experience.

 

[FRY]

aaron
"LINE IN" on the back of the GFCI receptacle indicates that the wires from the power source are to be connected at this location. The "LOAD" area on the GFCI receptacle is for wiring connections that enable outlets further down the circuit to be protected by this GFCI. If the "LINE" connections (wires coming in from the power source) are attached at the wrong location on the GFCI, it can possibly destroy the GFCI, and will not provide protection.make sure you have the live wire on the line side of gfci and the neutral allso test the hot leg and the neutral black wire sopose to be hot and white wire neutral i have many times they were reverse allso make sure you have a good ground,

frank

 

[PalmTree]

Man I'm really glad everything worked out. You are so lucky that you were home. Imagine what could have happened!

 

[carpediem212]

I am glad that all is well and nothing serious came from the electrical fire. I guess we all should double check that our own setup is wired so that to prevent this from happening to another member.