Salt drip is a real danger...REALLY!

[Congaken]

This is a warning for new and old reefers alike...Don't forget that salt water is an incredible conductor of electricity...IT CAN BURN YOUR HOUSE DOWN!...A friend of mine, member of our Catskill Reef and a pet store reef person professionally, smelled smoke at night and found that all of her electrical equipment had been fried and she feels that it may have BURNED HER HOUSE DOWN if she had not noticed it in time...all of us must be very serious in controlling salt creep...MUCHO DANGEROUS!

 

[Jlobes]

i take it very seriously! I wont even keep anything electric under the sump, aside from the aqualifter at the moment, but that might change. Definitely no power strips, ballasts, etc. my power center is on the side of the stand, and will hopefully be fully enclosed within a few more months.

Ive seen what sort of corrosion can happen in the sump area. its a very humid, salty environment and will corrode most metals. I had a power strip mounted under tank, and saw it spark/smoke one day while doing a WC. woulda burnded my house down if I wasnt there at that moment. after that, I redid all electrical and will never put anything in there again. all the screws/hardware gets corroded and it doesnt even have direct exposure/splashing. Also, id say sumps with more splashing/velocity/surface movement, will have more humid/salty air as well.

 

[shollis2814]

Agreed. I had my surge protector on the floor next to my stand. A tiny bit of water dripped on it from my hand after a rock move and started smoking and sparking. It is now mounted on the wall behind with drip loops in the cords.

 

[saltyhog]

All my E8s, vortech drivers and other controls are hanging on the back of the stand. The only things electrial under the stand are the submersible return pump and fuge light.

 

[Brandon Chi]

Is this ok how I have it set up?

 

[Congaken]

Looks great to me...mine is a mess...now I know that I've got to make some changes...

 

[KingTriton]

I've read that cheap power strips are likely to create these types of issues as well. Less likely with a brand of quality like Tripp Lite.

 

[maroun.c]

Thanks for sharing. Guess it makes sense to inspect power strips or connections in a humid salty room periodically. And yes cheap power strips loose good contact after time and start causing sparks and overheating which will eventually cause a fire.

 

[Jlobes]

any power strip will experience these issues. "cheap" ones possibly sooner.

 

[Newb73]

All of my power stuff is mounted and not in the stand, though I do have an octopus of wires and power bricks behind the tank..i left a foot of space back there so I can access it if it needs cleaning. In the stand I have dosing pumps and reactors but all the pumps are submerged and a fuge light. I do have one power strip in there but its over two feet from the sump with an ATO resovoir in between and its a trip lite, made of plastic and sits on a rubber waterproofing liner...all that is designed to be shut off first if any of my leak detectors sense water and I have a float valve in the stand that will activate a sunk pump if the water level gets over 1 inch (stand has been water proofed).... If the tank itself busted however, all the power bricks on the floor behind the tank would almost definitely go up in smoke before the leak detectors could cut the power..if a slow leak developed I think the leak detectors would save it. I can't think of how to fire proof it any better though, my tank is too long to get the power bricks from back in behind the tank (cords are not long enough)

 

[Zacco]

If you are using plugs in your sump cabinet, make sure they are GFI protected and above the water level of your sump and above any type of equipment that water passes through. ( reactors, UV Sterilizers, ect. ) Also steer away from power strips because most of them are made with inferior material. Also spend a little extra and buy Weather-Resistant Duplex Receptacles and GFI's. They're made with stainless steel parts and hold up to corrosion better. They will be stamped with a WR on the face of the Receptacle. These are acually a code requirement now on all out door plugs and wet locations in new construction. Section 406.8* of the 2008 NEC Code as well as noted in section 406.9 B* of the 2011 NEC Code. Also make sure you are using pvc electrical boxes and not the metal ones to house your plugs. It also helps to have a exhaust fan move humid air out of an enclosed sump cabinet.