Aquarium fire

Tuan’s Reef · May 23, 2023

Sorry to hear about your dog. Glad to hear everyone is ok.

I'll be installing wifi cameras on all my tanks after reading this.

fodsod · May 23, 2023

What a devastating situation. Great attitude about it though. So sorry for your losses.

The tank was incredible by the way. I'm a dog owner and that hits home hard also. Hope you get it all sorted with insurance and can return to reefing as soon as the situation allows.

C4ctus99 · May 23, 2023

tmRoth said:
I agree, but GFCI will only protect against electrocution. A better option might be to replace the circuit breakers for the outlets around the tank with dual AFCI/GFCI breakers. The arc fault breaker is designed to protect against fires by shutting off power to the circuit if it detects arcing, (like could occur from corroded wiring around a tank), which can create enough heat to start a fire. They run about $60, but replacing circuit breakers isn't a DIY project for many people (and probably shouldn't be for most people). According to my electrician, AFCI breakers have been required in new construction for most living area circuits for a couple of decades.

I have State Farm insurance and they sent me a Ting device, which monitors all the circuits to detect arcing and other problems that could cause a fire. They pay for the monitoring the first 3 years, I think it is.

Kinda, GFCI tests the inbound current against the outbound current, if there’s any difference it trips. So if an arc either causes a difference in current on the hot and neutral or actually arcs to ground, I will still trip.

Arc fault is specifically for this, but they have really bad nuisance tripping which could kill everything in your tank way sooner, but keep your house intact. I installed an dimmer switch in a guys house for him and had to replace the breaker because the switch kept tripping it due to something in the phase dimming mechanism. I’d be concerned about putting heaters and switches motor loads on it as the internal arcing and power draw could create a similar situation on an AFCI

ReefDreamz · May 23, 2023

C4ctus99 said:
Kinda, GFCI tests the inbound current against the outbound current, if there’s any difference it trips. So if an arc either causes a difference in current on the hot and neutral or actually arcs to ground, I will still trip.

Arc fault is specifically for this, but they have really bad nuisance tripping which could kill everything in your tank way sooner, but keep your house intact. I installed an dimmer switch in a guys house for him and had to replace the breaker because the switch kept tripping it due to something in the phase dimming mechanism. I’d be concerned about putting heaters and switches motor loads on it as the internal arcing and power draw could create a similar situation on an AFCI

Do EDP breakers protect against fires?

harrylarry · May 23, 2023

Troylee · May 23, 2023

Sorry for your losses! That really sucks! I just saw not to long ago locally the same thing happened and a eb832 caught fire and burned his whole set up down..

areefer01 · May 23, 2023

Troylee said:
Sorry for your losses! That really sucks! I just saw not to long ago locally the same thing happened and a eb832 caught fire and burned his whole set up down..

Unless there has been an update Terrence didn't say what caused his fire nor did he say it was related to the controller equipment.

Ann Enomy · May 23, 2023

wjm6449 said:
Also GFCI those outlet kids.

I agree, Unfortunately I had a tank crash due to a GFCI tripping and it was recommended by a few to remove the GFCI. Seeing this post makes me think the hassle I went through is nothing and at least I did't loose my business (waiting room tank) due to a fire.

C4ctus99 · May 23, 2023

ReefDreamz said:
Do EDP breakers protect against fires?

That works the same way as a GFCI, just not as fast. The GFI will trip at 5 or 6mA, EDPs trip at a greater current like 30mA.

Neither are fire protection, only ground fault protection, but if a ground fault is what started the fire, or something in the arcing causes symptoms similar to a ground fault, then it will trip and kill power.

AFCI breakers are specifically to protect against arcing (the primary source of fires) but there are a lot of downsides and nuisance tripping with them, I personally would not trust my tank on one…

C4ctus99 · May 23, 2023

Ann Enomy said:
I agree, Unfortunately I had a tank crash due to a GFCI tripping and it was recommended by a few to remove the GFCI. Seeing this post makes me think the hassle I went through is nothing and at least I did't loose my business (waiting room tank) due to a fire.

I think GFCIs are only good for 5-10 years, then they can have nuisance tripping issues. Also, high motor loads can sometimes cause symptoms similar to a ground fault, causing it to trip

areefer01 · May 23, 2023

C4ctus99 said:
AFCI breakers are specifically to protect against arcing (the primary source of fires) but there are a lot of downsides and nuisance tripping with them, I personally would not trust my tank on one…

There are a few downsides for sure. Rapid on/off or similar turn on inrush. I've personally seen my display heater(s) doing this. Also my home stereo / amplifier.

wjm6449 · May 23, 2023

C4ctus99 said:
I think GFCIs are only good for 5-10 years, then they can have nuisance tripping issues. Also, high motor loads can sometimes cause symptoms similar to a ground fault, causing it to tr

even if. If my fellows here are doing plumbing replacing a gfci outlet is as easy as you get for electrical work.

wjm6449 · May 23, 2023

So you don’t have to hunt and because I know you have enough on your plate. You NEED to read this thread.

Ctownjlo · May 23, 2023

wjm6449 said:
So you don’t have to hunt and because I know you have enough on your plate. You NEED to read this thread.

Much appreciated

workhz · May 23, 2023

Sorry for your loss. So lesson here is put a smoke detector right by the tank, with wireless notifications? Not sure that’s a huge help when you are away but might buy enough time to call 911.

wjm6449 · May 23, 2023

wjm6449 said:
So you don’t have to hunt and because I know you have enough on your plate. You NEED to read this thread.

That said. There was more to this thread. Pretty sure it wasn’t the original but it was the original topic.

Ctownjlo · May 23, 2023

workhz said:
Sorry for your loss. So less here is put a smoke detector right by the tank, with wireless notifications? Not sure that’s a huge help when you are away but might buy enough time to call 911.

Someone on another post showed me these grenades used in kitchen that fires in kitchens. He was a firefighter and said he's seen them knock down fires.

wjm6449 · May 23, 2023

Ctownjlo said:
Much appreciated

No problem. Be smart. Claim the corals, down to the tubing itself. You have the photos. You need to be the biggest son of a ***** ever. Good luck buddy.

workhz · May 23, 2023

Ctownjlo said:
Someone on another post showed me these grenades used in kitchen that fires in kitchens. He was a firefighter and said he's seen them knock down fires.

Interesting, I just looked them up. I feel like I need to buy about 50 of them. Wonder what kind of testing has been done on them. Wouldn't hurt to have a few of them here and there.