How to Fireproof Powerbars

marcingo · #1 02-01-2011, 06:11 PM

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 · #2 02-01-2011, 06:23 PM

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 · #3 02-01-2011, 06:38 PM

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 · #4 02-01-2011, 06:44 PM

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 · #5 02-01-2011, 08:06 PM

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 · #6 02-01-2011, 08:11 PM

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! · #7 02-01-2011, 08:13 PM

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/sho...&postcount=103

phi delt reefer · #8 02-01-2011, 08:19 PM

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 · #9 02-01-2011, 09:29 PM

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

Install one as soon as you can.

Lampshade · #10 02-01-2011, 09:41 PM

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).