I think my tank killed the power

[Bifferwine]

On Saturday, all the outlets on the circuit that my tank is hooked up to (3 outlets total on 2 walls) lost power. I tried turning off the breaker, resetting the GCFIs, turning off the main breaker, unplugging everything, start all over again, etc. Still couldn't get power to those two walls (the tank's equipment is the only stuff that is plugged into those 3 outlets).

I used extension cords to get my pumps and powerheads going from another room, but didn't have enough cordage to hook up my lights, so my tank's been without lights for 3 days now.

An electrician is coming tomorrow afternoon to take a look at it. My fish and corals are probably PISSED right now.

Since I don't use heaters (my lights heat the water up more than sufficiently), the tank temperature has been dropping only by about 2 degrees a day! I find that amazing, I thought it'd lose heat a lot quicker. (It started at around 82, was 80 yesterday and was 78 today). But the good news is, I'm only having to top off 2 gallons a day vs. the usual 10!

 

[yote]

Sounds like you could have burned out a breaker.
And look on the bright side,your killing off algae now:mrgreen:

 

[sen5241b]

Did you have surge protectors for everything? I had a Belkin protector begin to melt and almost burn my house down.

 

[Bifferwine]

I have surge protectors for my lights, pumps and powerheads.

 

[daugherty]

i had an outlet that did the same thing but it was a loose wire in the attic.

 

[JBReef]

I know this isn't about the electrical but you top off 10 gallons PER DAY??? GD thats alot! I was bull about haveing to put in about a cup and a half in my 20 gal a day.

 

[RyanG]

I know this isn't about the electrical but you top off 10 gallons PER DAY??? GD thats alot! I was bull about haveing to put in about a cup and a half in my 20 gal a day.

Thats what happens when you put an ocean in the desert. Think of the Bonneville Salt flats.

Biff sorry for Hijacking I hope you get your electrical problem fixed. If it is a breaker see if you can have him replace it with a 25 or 30 amp typically domestic breakers are 20.

 

[OurFishies]

Oooh, I will have to grab you guys a picture of the salt flats next time I drive by (one of the strangest places on earth I swear!).

We had a net that accidentally sat on our surge protector under our tank, it melted into it, and blew the fuse to that part of the house. The surge protector didn't even flip off! It was scary. Sorry to hear about that Biff.

 

[sen5241b]

I auto top off 5 Gallons a week in my 29G biocube. I love the auto top off! Money well spent!

 

[Fastlight]

Oooh, I will have to grab you guys a picture of the salt flats next time I drive by (one of the strangest places on earth I swear!).

We had a net that accidentally sat on our surge protector under our tank, it melted into it, and blew the fuse to that part of the house. The surge protector didn't even flip off! It was scary. Sorry to hear about that Biff.

Thats because its a surge protector...they wont unless there was a surge. Then again any and all equipment should be GFCI protected. Was the surge protector Gfci protected?

Biffer how big are your metal halides? A typical 15amp circuit can only 1500 watts. 20amp 2000w. If anything id be concerned that a wire isnt overheating in your wall. Especially u saying no breaker has blown. By the way are you sure that u didnt trip a breaker. If a breaker is tripped you have to turn it off first and then turned back on. A tripped breaker cant just be turned back on just by pushing it back on.
But like i said, if you arent Gfci protected on your outlets you really should be. And the fact three plugs are out could be a breaker or loose wire. If a wire is loose and they were "piggy tailed" together it could explain why more than 1 receptical are out.

oops i c you are on Gfci..my bad. Gfci go bad too.

 

[Bifferwine]

My lights are 1400 something watts. But I also have all my other tank equipment plugged in the same circuit.

The breaker didn't trip. I've turned it on, off, over and over again. Nothing.

As far as I know, I only have GFCI in the bathrooms, not where my tank is. I tried resetting those anyways, to no avail.

The electrician should be here any minute now (actually... According to their timeline, two hours ago :(). I'll check and see what he recommends.

 

[Fastlight]

yea 1400 on a single circuit along with your other equipment may be pushing the limit. especially you haveing equipment for 240galllons(lucky) im guessing you burned out something. And imo get your self gfci proteced. Its a little more but worth it. If they say there may be nuicanse tripping that is outdated info. That is not a common problem much anymore. Let me know what they say. Being an electrician i am naturally curious

 

[yote]

I wouldnt have my tank without the GFCIs.Its just not worth the risk to me.However I did make up my own GFCI drop cords so that if they trip it dont kill the electricity in the whole bedroom.
1 for the lights,1 for my return pump,and 2 for my power heads.

 

[OurFishies]

Sadly I can't say what the surge protector was. :( We are very careful with nets now though, and got a much nicer surge protector.

 

[Piggy]

yea 1400 on a single circuit along with your other equipment may be pushing the limit. especially you haveing equipment for 240galllons(lucky) im guessing you burned out something. And imo get your self gfci proteced. Its a little more but worth it. If they say there may be nuicanse tripping that is outdated info. That is not a common problem much anymore. Let me know what they say. Being an electrician i am naturally curious

Been trying to figure this out. Sometimes when we flip the bathroom light off it will trip the GFCI on the tank. Any idea why? I was thinking of adding up everything on the circuit to see if it's overloaded.
Biff hope you get your problem solved.

 

[Melonbob]

I can add this, apparantly if your outlet is gfci protected, DO NOT use a GFCI surge bar. Adding a second GFCI to a circuit that already has one negates the effect......apparantly

 

[lightcs4]

Been trying to figure this out. Sometimes when we flip the bathroom light off it will trip the GFCI on the tank. Any idea why? I was thinking of adding up everything on the circuit to see if it's overloaded.
Biff hope you get your problem solved.

Have you checked the grounding on the outlet? There are simple testers you can get for around $5 that will check for the correct wiring on an outlet. It has three prongs to fit the outlet and three lights. You just match the light with the guide on the tester to see if it is wired correctly, has a ground fault, or reverse wired.

And I always heard something similar about GFCI outlets. I was always told you only need one at the beginning of the circuit to protect the whole line. I'm not an electrician though.

 

[Bifferwine]

Well, the electrician never showed yesterday... waiting for 4 hours after our scheduled appointment, and kept being told he was on his way. Finally he called and said sorry, he was sick. So someone else is supposed to be coming over this afternoon instead. :cry:

 

[yote]

Tell em to hurry up.

 

[dolphins8426]

That sucks. I love looking at my fish tank with the light on. It's very relaxing. Hopefully you will get everything fixed today and you can have everything back up and running.