How to Fireproof Powerbars

[marcingo]

So I have set up a tank and am looking for a way to waterproof and in turn fireproof the power bar and power supply. I never really thought of this until one day my 10 gallon tank cracked along the entire front pane seemingly out of nowhere and water ended up on the power bar which had a trip switch but did not trip. My girlfriend got home in time to notice the aquarium half empty the floor soaked and everything running waterless (powerheads, filter, heater, lights). When I got home I inspected the power bar and it was burnt black.

Anyway now I consider these things. I have read option likes putting the power bar above the tank to ensure water drips off the cords but this is not an option for me since it is in the living room and she wouldnt be too happy having a powerbar mounted to the wall. I have put the bar and all the cords into the storage under the stand. I plan on putting the cords through some plastic poly taping the poly to the exterior of the hole where the cords are entering the stand and trying to seal the cords from any potential water.

Any better ideas? I know its unlikely a tank would burst for no reason but I do not want to chance it again.

Thanks for the suggestions.

[jorjef]

Power bar doesn't need to be "above" the tank, just keep it off the floor enough to create a loop with the power cords. Any moisture would drip from the bottom of the loop onto the floor not the powerbar. I guess you could fasten the powerbar the the back wall of your stand to create the loop.

[toxic111]

Do you have a GFI plug in the wall?? the breaker on teh bar, won't always trip with water. A GFI would.

For my tank I added a electrical box inside the stand above everything with a switch & GFI outlet. Any water or a broken heater will trip the GFI.

[marcingo]

I read about GFI outlets however some of the negatives were that they are sometimes overly sensitive and any stray current will set them off (heater keeps going on and off, powerheads, etc)
Have you had this problem before?

[Binare]

If the equipment is poorly made or not functioning correctly itll trip it sure. Just like a poorly made or not functioning gfci may trip. I always use em on my tanks and never have an issue.

[globaldesigns]

You can't really fireproof, but you can do the following:

- keep powerbars off the floor
- make sure cords are looped so water cannot travel down and enter the electrical appliance
- Don't plug it in.... Just kidding here, but that is the only sure fire way of fireproofing
- use GFI outlets

[FishyFishy!]

I've had great luck with my GFCI. I made it myself, and has truely saved me a number of times. I don't find mine overly sensitive at all. I hooked mine to a plywood board, and mounted the board to the side of my stand for a clean look. I recommend it to anyone.

If you'd like a good step by step to building one, Kein has one in his build thread - http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=440146&postcount=103

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c38/bilmaga/DSCN1767.jpg
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c38/bilmaga/DSCN1769.jpg

[reefwars]

not good to have it all on one powerbar anyways i too had a fire from a hob filter that cracked and leaked water on to the powerbar.the only thing that saved my tank was i split everything into 2 on two seperate plugs on two seperate breakers so when that one died another was still going.i know its not always an option but i was some glad i did.

[FishyFishy!]

not good to have it all on one powerbar anyways i too had a fire from a hob filter that cracked and leaked water on to the powerbar.the only thing that saved my tank was i split everything into 2 on two seperate plugs on two seperate breakers so when that one died another was still going.i know its not always an option but i was some glad i did.

This is what I did on my 187 build. I had two of the above GFCI setups, plugged into two different house circuits. It worked awesome.

[phi delt reefer]

if you have a solid top on your stand that tank sits on screw teh power bottom to the underside of that. If the tank breaks water will gush down the sides and soak anything attached to those walls.

if you have a reef controller you can rig up some float switches to automatically kill power to the return pump and power heads and heaters if the water level drops to far in the sump or display. Redundancies should be in place for a system like this and it should be tested monthly.

[cwatkins]

GFCI will keep you alive. Period. You cannot rely on a power bar to do this.

Install one as soon as you can.

[Lampshade]

GFCI's are very good, they trip when there is an imbalance between the line and neutral, meaning that power is going elsewhere(ground). They will not trip if you have current flowing from the 'line' to 'neutral' prongs. This is where you can have issues with them, especially since lots of plugs for our aquariums only have 2 prongs. Use a grounding probe in your tank to pick up stray voltage, it will still trip the GFCI because of imbalance, but it won't be in your tank. I've only had issues with one pump before, and took awhile to find what was tripping the GFCI, turned out that i was flowing water through the pump faster than it could pump it (it was for a canister filter that was flowing from the Display down to the sump).

As many people have said, drip loops are good, and keep the powerbars out of anywhere that will get them wet, water evaporates, salt doesn't :S. I have one powerbar mounted right under mt DT for all my sump equipment, and another on the side of the canopy for lights/powerheads. Good quality equipment is good too, there's someone here who had a house fire caused by a cheap timer powerbar(can't find the thread, it's here somewhere).

[sunoka]

GFCI's are very good, they trip when there is an imbalance between the line and neutral, meaning that power is going elsewhere(ground). They will not trip if you have current flowing from the 'line' to 'neutral' prongs. This is where you can have issues with them, especially since lots of plugs for our aquariums only have 2 prongs. Use a grounding probe in your tank to pick up stray voltage, it will still trip the GFCI because of imbalance, but it won't be in your tank. I've only had issues with one pump before, and took awhile to find what was tripping the GFCI, turned out that i was flowing water through the pump faster than it could pump it (it was for a canister filter that was flowing from the Display down to the sump).

As many people have said, drip loops are good, and keep the powerbars out of anywhere that will get them wet, water evaporates, salt doesn't :S. I have one powerbar mounted right under mt DT for all my sump equipment, and another on the side of the canopy for lights/powerheads. Good quality equipment is good too, there's someone here who had a house fire caused by a cheap timer powerbar(can't find the thread, it's here somewhere).

You nailed it...the best thing to do is designate the one or two circutes you are going to use for your equipment and GFI protect them at the panel with a GFI breaker this will eliminate some of the GFCI outlet trips.

[marcingo]

Thanks for all the suggestions.

[PoonTang]

I had a complete tank crash last year because of a failed powerbar. The warm humid air in the stand eventually corroded and shorted the bar out and this tripped the GFI. I will never have any kind of plug or electrical connection inside my stand again. The subsequent upgrade and rebuild included 2 dedicated Gfi circuits to the tank and I custom built a small cabinet to go beside the tank to house all of the electrical connections etc. There are pictures in my build thread if your interested.

[reefwars]

I had a complete tank crash last year because of a failed powerbar. The warm humid air in the stand eventually corroded and shorted the bar out and this tripped the GFI. I will never have any kind of plug or electrical connection inside my stand again. The subsequent upgrade and rebuild included 2 dedicated Gfi circuits to the tank and I custom built a small cabinet to go beside the tank to house all of the electrical connections etc. There are pictures in my build thread if your interested.



yup we all learn eventually through storys like this and in the end even if its not likely to happen we should prepare the what if's.......for me no more power in my stand period and i dont believe screwing the bar to the top of the inside of the stand is a good idea in my mind if its beneathe your tank in anyway in your stand then there possibilit for a flood.


for the person who mentioned it earlier it was me who had the fire when my hob filter cracked i had came home to a smokey house after work i didnt even notice the smoke i sat on the couch and looked at my zoa tank and noticed barely any flow happening then when i went there the back of my tank and wall were burned black the bar was a melted heap and all the plugs had been burned down to nothing.....was almost a very serious diaster.

the only things that saved my tank and all my rare zoas were the fact i had powerheads and heaters on seperate plugs and on seperate breakers.


my power bar was a gfci but it doesnt matter if water lands on it and finds its way inside it can spark before it trips. you need to have the gfci away from water for it to work properly ie. in your wall.

ill never ever run power in my stand anymore all my bars gop on the walls with the cords hanging low and all recepticles are swapped out with gfci.

having a dedicated breaker goes along way as alot of them are tied together in your house anyways so theres alot more plugged into then whats on our powerbar:):)

[mike31154]

Outside of and a distance away from your stand if at all possible. Use a GFCI device. Make it so. Also a good idea to mount them upside down and let gravity help you keep them dry. Drip loop on the cords. If you insist on keeping them in your stand, especially with a sump in there, look around for outdoor, weatherproof boxes, conduit etc.