Surge protector went bad... how could I had planned different?

[Fwdmotion]

Came home last night my tank had been off for around 3 hours... Luckily it looks like everything is back to normal today.

My extension cord / surge protector that connects everything to the wall must have gotten surged but for some reason the apex and other low wattage devices were still running but not my powerheads/lights/etc.

Is there anything I could have done to set up alerts on my Apex or had a backup plan that would have saved for this in the future?

 

[ihavecrabs]

To make sure I understand properly, is this how you have it set up? Or are you calling the Apex Energy Bar the power strip?

Wall -> extension cord -> power strip -> Apex energy bar -> Equipment

If this is how you have it set up, it is likely that your Apex and equipment were pulling too much amperage through the power strip and killed it. Check what the rating is on the power strip.

 

[Billldg]

Agreed with above, Apex power bar should be on its own outlet. Thankfully you were able to catch it and no harm was done.

 

[Fwdmotion]

I have multiple extension cords running the system with all the lights/powerheads etc that all are homerunning to the surge protector (non powerbar)

You are correct I was Wall > Surge protector/extension cord(non powerbar) > Power Bars / Other Devices

So if I went Wall > Power Bar > Power Bar it should be better I'm thinking bc it can sense a drop in voltage in any of the devices connected to each port?

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

I've read that some people recommend trashing all surge protectors used on their aquariums once a year. They're cheaply made so they're not going to last forever to begin with, plus operating in a salty environment can be pretty hard on them. At only a few bucks each, it wouldn't be expensive to replace them all once a year. Personally I don't do this. But it's certainly an option.

 

[ihavecrabs]

I have multiple extension cords running the system with all the lights/powerheads etc that all are homerunning to the surge protector (non powerbar)

You are correct I was Wall > Surge protector/extension cord(non powerbar) > Power Bars / Other Devices

So if I went Wall > Power Bar > Power Bar it should be better I'm thinking bc it can sense a drop in voltage in any of the devices connected to each port?

Yup, my guess is it burnt out. Again check the rating on them amp on the power strip. It is likely a lot less than the energy bar.

I'd go straight from the extension cord to the EB

 

[Billldg]

Think of it like this, every time you plug something into an outlet it is a controlled short, and every short causes a power drop, your amperage will go up and your voltage will go down. Perfect example is check your voltage in the morning and then check it at the peak of the day, your voltage will be higher and amperage lower in the morning, but as people wake up and start to use power the voltage drop drops and as a result your amperage goes up, dirty voltage as we call it can cause all types of problems overloads for powerstrips, not to mention electtonics, apex, hate dirty voltage

 

[Fwdmotion]

Very good thoughts/ideas overall, I appreciate everyone's help on this!

My other thought was to get 2 900w UPS backups and plug the power bars into there which should regulate voltage and provide a guard against our flickers that happen multiple times a month here

 

[Terence]

My only comment, and not saying this is the case here, is that if anyone is entrusting your entire tank to a $8 point of sale power strip, you need to make changing this out your number one aquarium priority, right now. Power strips or surge protectors are not all bad. But this is a place where money will just about tell. You all you need to know. Copper and other metals cost money - that means the cheap ones use the least possible - and metal is what makes the contacts connect and the juice flow. When the contacts wear or make bad contact, then the minimally thin wire and or traces become the next issue. If you have to use one, get something like a Tripp lite with the aluminum enclosure. It’s going to probably set you back at least $40-50.

 

[Neo Jeo]

I have one surge protector with heater and lights only. The other is a switch system I use for everything else. All plugged into a GFI wall outlet .

 

[Fwdmotion]

Thank you guys again - I eliminated the end surge protector and hooked it all up to the Cyberpower CP1500AVRLCD which I just ordered a second one so it would be able to handle the chiller.

The whole system at full blast runs about 1450w with the chiller on so I think two of the UPS systems will be a good multi solution.

Upon inspecting the back of the original surge protector when I pulled it last night I realized it had a nasty surge or went bad from wattage like you guys had mentioned (actual pic).

My new setup is the other pic - I am adding battery backup diy project this weekend for my ecotech fans

 

[Sleepydoc]

Yikes! I like how it melted through right where they had printed "made in China."

I'm betting it wasn't a surge that went through but rather to much wattage/amperage. A surge likely would have shut down the whole thing. What you described - some of the outlets working afterwards but some not combined with the melted plastic tells me that part of the power strip either shorted and/or overheated, knocking out a couple of the outlets. You're lucky you didn't have a fire.

+1 to @Terence's comment about not using cheap electrical gear. Beananimal wrote a nice article showing the difference... http://www.beananimal.com/articles/outlet-strips.aspx