# Fish tank mishaps (electrical or not)



## Darksome

Couldn't decide whether to post it here or on another subsection, please move it if it's not in the right place...anyway, I have always been wondering about how fires get started with people's fish tanks, either water got into the sockets or a lamp just exploded, or maybe it didn't even start with electrical wires, maybe your CO2 tank exploded...I'm curious to hear other peoples' stories.


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## Seattle_Aquarist

Hi Darksome,

Over 50 years in the hobby and no fires or explosions, it is a pretty safe hobby in my opinion. I did crack the glass tube of a heater once and got a small shock when I reached in the tank.


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## Darksome

50 years and nothing serious has ever happened? I think I might be a little too paranoid. I've been in the hobby for most of my life, 19 now...but it isn't until recently that I have given safety a thought. 

I've heard about fires but they never go into full detail as to how it usually happens...I guess I just want to learn from people's mistakes...better take preemptive steps.


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## TAB

the chance of a fire starting from a socket getting wet are very, very low. about the only way I can even think of happening is if it cuased a short that cuaght the wires in the wall on fire. 

now something like a ballest( it could happen with a external pump, but thats even more remote) getting too hot, and either catching fire or catching something else on fire, can and has happend.


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## Zapins

Well, the most common way that electrical fires happen is when the main house electricity fuse is replaced with an incorrectly rated fuse and a socket is overloaded with too many devices.

The fire happens because most houses are wired to use a max of about 10 amps. The reason a fire happens is because the thickness of the wire used in the walls for 10 amp systems is relatively thin and when a lot of current is passed through a thin wire it heats up (like a tungsten light bulb). A lot of devices plugged into one or two outlets on the same electrical wing of the house will draw more current through the wire feeding those sockets then if the devices were spaced out throughout the house on different wires.

Now ordinarily the main fuse would trip if it sensed that more then 10 amps were flowing to one area of the house preventing electricity from flowing that way and thus overheating the wires/fire. The real danger happens when someone replaces the fuse with a larger capacity one, say a 20 amp fuse and puts a lot of devices on one socket. The main fuse doesn't trip until it reaches 20 amps and by this time the wires in the walls have heated up so much they melt through the rubber coating and can catch things in the wall on fire.

If the main fuse is the correct capacity for the system, then there should be a very low risk of fire even if one socket is overloaded. I really doubt there would be any sort of problem with a fish tank on its own. The lights/heater/filter/etc... don't draw that much current (amps). But if there were several other heavy power using appliances on the same set of wires leading to the electrical mains (like refrigerators, TV's, washers/driers) and the main fuse was of too large a capacity then you might have a problem.

I suppose there is also a small risk that the wiring of the tank lights or the ballast might be of very poor quality and could spark/light the plastic trim or casing on fire. But I doubt it. I heard of one APC member who bought Jebo (Odyssey) lights and they short circuited and caused a lot of smoke, but no flames.


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## Newt

Replace all of your electrical outlets used for the tank to GFIC receptical outlets.


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## Karebear

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"Over 50 years in the hobby and no fires or explosions, it is a pretty safe hobby in my opinion. I did crack the glass tube of a heater once and got a small shock when I reached in the tank."

Fifty years Roy? Wow, you don't look that old. 

I have smelled lots of smoke from water getting in fixtures at the store and some sparks, lots of low voltage zaps especially when you touch the metal ladder when your hand is in the water, but that is all. This is with some suprises with bare wires that have broken off.


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## Seattle_Aquarist

Hi Karebear,

Suffice to say I started in the hobby b4 I was 10 YO. (BTW, thanks I don't feel my age either; except some days!) Glad you are back from AK.


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## benjavan

I had a major fire in my shop as a result of a certain brand of fixture. The fire started at the switch when the fixture was off. The fixture was a duel 96w power pc. I think these fixtures just produce too much heat.


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## Tex Gal

I've had multiple tanks for almost 3.5 decades. Never any problems. I did have a tingling when I'd reach into my plant grow out tank. Finally read about this being a shorting heater. Replaced it and had no issues after that. I did take the precaution to install GFI's where each tank is located since I went high tech with everything. It's a small price to pay for peace of mind.


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## Darksome

Wow, zapins...good info as always.

I'm usually careful not to have anything that might cause an accident and take preventative measures like drip loops, prevent outlets touching carpet, wattage, etc. 
I was thinking about the GFI, since I live in an apartment the only places that have these are the bathrooms and the kitchen...not in the living room, where I keep my tanks. But if there's ever an accident the only way to stop electrical currents is to go into my room's closet where there's a box to shut down the electricity in any of the rooms. I might have to invest on a GFI then.


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## Newt

You dont need to buy the outlet that goes in the wall. They have units that plug into your normal outlet that is a GFIC device and have the outlets in this - sort of like a power strip.


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## benjavan

Many ballasts will trip a GFI. Metal Hallides are pretty much useless on one.


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## Newt

benjavan said:


> Many ballasts will trip a GFI. Metal Hallides are pretty much useless on one.


Why's that?
Unless there is a fault to ground (current going to ground) then there shouldnt be an issue.


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## TAB

the plug in GFCIs are garbage. most ballest will trip GFCI, has to do with the way they start up I forget the details.


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## Newt

Maybe the ballast is garbage.
I've used a number of ballast types and never had an issue.


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## JERP

A low quality GFCI can trip with a ballast, a low quality ballast can trip a GFCI. There are GFCI plug in's targeting the aquarium market that should be ok. Some of them are very nice power strips with separate programmable timers for each outlet.

My biggest mishaps.
1. Leaking tank. I had a tank that was evaporating a lot of water and I was constantly filling it. It turns out there was a slow leak in one of the seals. It ruined my dresser that I was using as a stand. I've since learned to check around the base of the tank for dampness when I notice an unusual amount of evaporation. This was ~1985. Mom was not pleased about the ruined dresser.

2. Melted air pump. My cheap air pump was noisy and keeping me up at night. I decided to cover it in a heavy sweater and stack books on top of it. I woke up to the smell of burning plastic. The pump melted and ruined my sweater. I bought a new pump the next day. There were no fish fatalities. Mom was not pleased about the ruined sweater

3. Open hood. I ran my tank without a glass lid for awhile. I bought a water dog (Axolotl) salamander for my tank because it was the coolest thing I'd ever seen. My mom stepped on the water dog at 3 in the morning when it decided to go for a walk. Mom was not pleased about anything. 

My mother was very patient about my hobbies. My mother was cool like that. I wont get into my lizard tank adventures.

That was all 20+ years ago. 

The mrs isn't nearly as patient, so I have a sturdy stand for my tank, a quiet, high quality filter, and a tight lid on my tank.


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## WLP74

What do you guys think about this? Last 4 photos mainly (overloaded cords on floor photos). Last 3 photos entail conglomeration of cords in **1** room. 11 medium to very large fish tanks are in here. Among the assortment: 1 3-stack custom built 6 ft x 2 ft x 18" and another large 3-stack...55g maybe. Running a microwave blew out the electrical power to the wall sockets there. What you see was the solution to keep the tanks running. Older 1930s wood frame home with known DIY electrical work performed. And, finally, there is a crawling baby visiting this home. Concerning?

ETA: Apologies for photo posting glitch...included direct link below.



































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https://flic.kr/p/29176683903

Scroll to the right on arrow.


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## Michael

Welcome to APC!

You might consider having a licensed electrician add a new circuit sized to serve all the tanks, with many new wall outlets so you don't have to use so many power strips. Yes, it is expensive, but not as expensive as a fire or a trip to the emergency room.


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## ObiQuiet

At least raise the plugs off the floor to create drip loops.


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## TAB

1st thing you need to do is take the max number of watts of all your gear( some things like pumps and lights can have a starting usage vs sustained usage) and divide by your voltage( you don't list a location so it could be 110 or 220) that will give you your amp draw.( don't for get was also on that circuit) now something things do have their amp draw listed on them or you can google them, but for the most part every thing will have watts listed.


so for example 2x 300 watt heaters, 2 x 50 watt pumps 2x 100 watt lights

would be 300+300+50+50+100+100=900 watts


900 watts/ 110 volts= 8.18 amps

now in the us( and most of Europe ) you are allowed to have 80% load on a given circuit. for example a 15 amp breaking can have have 12 amps.


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## WLP74

Thanks for your feedback everyone. This is my husband's set up (and I have not hassled him on his fish breeding and he has gone from zero to ~50 tanks in less than 3 years). 

With this electrical short/occurrence & "fix", I am drawing the line, but he seems to think that this is/has been perfectly acceptable and that he's the expert on electrical. The hubs has performed a lot of (now suspect) DIY electrical work on the home prior. We have a now crawling baby who puts stuff in his mouth all the time as well so I want this taken care of ASAP. I figured if he won't listen to me he will listen to those with experience as well as actual electricians (the next step). Continuing with DIY electrical repairs just not seem like a good idea at this point.


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