[xquisit]

My aquarium has two outlets directly behind it.

They are not the waterproof type which has me worried (the type that shuts itself off when water is detected to avoid a fire I believe).

Is there a workaround for this?

What do you folks suggest?

(to use another outlet farther away?)

 

[OVT]

I don't think you have much to worry about.
If you still do then GFIC outlets are ~$10 and are easy to install. And always set drip loop with any power cord next to water.

 

[xquisit]

So don't buy the adapter for the outlet, right?

I should actually get an electrician to do the change?

(doing it myself seems easy but safety first)

 

[Say Car Ramrod]

You can swap out the outlet to a GFCI yourself but if you're not comfortable with doing it yourself I'd highly recommend hiring an electrician. There are also power strips with a GFCI built into the strip so there's no wiring involved. I'd suggest mounting the strip to the wall so you still have a drip loop.

 

[theatermusic87]

You can swap out the outlet to a GFCI yourself but if you're not comfortable with doing it yourself I'd highly recommend hiring an electrician. There are also power strips with a GFCI built into the strip so there's no wiring involved. I'd suggest mounting the strip to the wall so you still have a drip loop.

They also sell gfci setups that plug directly into the socket with 5 or 6, similar to a power step but less cords. I use one since I'm in an apartment and want to take it with me

 

[xquisit]

They also sell gfci setups that plug directly into the socket with 5 or 6, similar to a power step but less cords. I use one since I'm in an apartment and want to take it with me

Any links on this I am extremely interested to see what you use.

Thanks in advance, and to everyone who has posted I appreciate you.

 

[Nordic]

Hang a dropsheet against the back wall with the lip high enough to prevent water getting behind it

 

[PlantedRich]

I would not suggest having an electrician. One big point is that they would need to move the tank!!!!
So look for easy?
This is a simple plug in type but then there are several more types. This only has one outlet but there are others with more outlets. Good luck and good thinking on safety. You do not have a high risk but then it only needs one chance to kill you!
Tower Manufacturing Corporation 3 Wire GFCI Outlet Adapter-30439005 - The Home Depot

Point of info? The GFCI is nore designed to cut off power when it senses current flow in the wrong way. Like if there is something wrong and electrical current is in the water so that sticking a hand in might jolt you? There is a newer, less well known item called arc fault which is ore designed to prevent fires. But fires near the tank are less hazard than shocking from water and electricity.

 

[Nordic]

A properly functioning ground loop fuse on the switchboard should take care of things like that. Plug in a multiplug adapter with a test button on, and press it, the power should trip if it is working correctly.
Then go reset all your digital clocks.

 

[PlantedRich]

A properly functioning ground loop fuse on the switchboard should take care of things like that. Plug in a multiplug adapter with a test button on, and press it, the power should trip if it is working correctly.
Then go reset all your digital clocks.

This may be a regional or language problem? We would be hard pressed to find a "ground loop fuse " where I shop and would likely never find a "switchboard" in any house. It sounds like we might be speaking of the same items but not using the same terms can add lots of confusion.

 

[gbb0330]

I don't see surge protectors on the floor so thats good.
seems pretty safe to me, the outlet is 12 -16 inches away from the floor, there is no way the water level is going to get that high, unless you have like a 1000 gallon tank.


even if the tank explodes and some water splashes on the outlet its not going to do anything except blow a fuse (worse case).

Water damage is going to be something you should worry about, not electrical issues.

 

[xquisit]

I have read all your posts and have to say I will most likely need to google a drip loop again (setting up the wire so water does not droop the extension?)

So am I just buying a adapter or a surge protector to mount to my wall?

 

[Nlewis]

I'm an electrician and don't worry about this at all. You should be fine with just a drip loop. You just need to make sure your cords aren't tight to where if water ran down them it wouldn't drain right into the electrical socket.

 

[Mikeygmzmg]

I just put pieces of tin foil over mine to keep the water from getting in.

 

[xquisit]

Super thankful to be here

So how about this product below and I setup a drip loop and call it a day?

Tower Manufacturing Corporation GFCI 5 Outlet Adapter-30339015-13 - The Home Depot


My only concern is if I unplug my canister filter won't my tank overflow if water is pretty high up in my tank?

 

[Nlewis]

Super thankful to be here

So how about this product below and I setup a drip loop and call it a day?

Tower Manufacturing Corporation GFCI 5 Outlet Adapter-30339015-13 - The Home Depot


My only concern is if I unplug my canister filter won't my tank overflow if water is pretty high up in my tank?

Your tank will not overflow by unplugging the filter.

 

[PlantedRich]

Super thankful to be here

So how about this product below and I setup a drip loop and call it a day?

Tower Manufacturing Corporation GFCI 5 Outlet Adapter-30339015-13 - The Home Depot


My only concern is if I unplug my canister filter won't my tank overflow if water is pretty high up in my tank?

I would think we are getting several different things in the discussion so that it sounds complicated. One is the danger of being shocked/electrocuted when something in the electrical equipment goes wrong. This can be something like a wire on a light getting damaged and making contact with the water. That can give you a real bad surprise when you then touch the water. Lots of small things can change how bad the shock may be. Like how if you are holding something that leads to ground? But since I don't like to risk things like dying, I like to add the cheap protection of a GFCI. The one you show is good and does give several outlets. Only four dollars more than the one I referred to makes it look good. It is designed so that if there is a sudden surge of electricity like through your body to ground, it cuts the power off almost instantly so that you are not harmed. Worth at least $20 to me!!~!
Then there is the drip loop. It is like the diagram shows. Just a simple way to make water that runs down a cord, drip off before it runs on into the outlet. Good thinking and always recommended for all power equipment. Just simple step one type advise like don't lay a surge protector face up on the floor where you may drop water in it. The surge protector? It can help in a few cases if there is some surge of electricity like during a thunderstorm. The surge protector should burn out inside before passing the power surge on to the equipment. I use them on the more expensive stuff like computers and TV's but not on fish equipment. My thinking is that the surge is likely to go the easy path and burn out lots of other stuff like small integrated circuits in the TV, dishwasher and microwave before it gets around to my fish stuff. Not so much a body hazard but it could get expensive to replace stuff but also covered by insurance.

No harm on power going off to canisters as they should not leak or fail to restart when power comes back. We are sure it is a canister, not a sump tank? Canisters are fine but a sump MIGHT not be well set for power failures. They should be but some designs are not that good.

 

[xquisit]

Such great info on here, I love going back in my threads and re-readings posts by the users just to get a better grasp of what's being recommended.

Thank you for sticking it through with me until I felt comfortable with my tank and it's future setup.

 

[theatermusic87]

Super thankful to be here

So how about this product below and I setup a drip loop and call it a day?

Tower Manufacturing Corporation GFCI 5 Outlet Adapter-30339015-13 - The Home Depot


My only concern is if I unplug my canister filter won't my tank overflow if water is pretty high up in my tank?

I use this exact one, sometimes it tripod when u unplug something from it, but it's just doing is job

Also to clarify on an earlier post by someone else arc fault devices are designed to protect against intermittent shirts or bad connections, such as a plug that isn't inserted all the way and sparks inside the outlet where you can't see it

 

[xquisit]

Would the arc fault device hook up to the new outlet in buying?