Oh My! FIRE!

Discussion in 'General Reef Topics' started by kcbrad, Apr 20, 2010.

to remove this notice and enjoy 3reef content with less ads. 3reef membership is free.

  1. kcbrad

    kcbrad Giant Squid

    Joined:
    Aug 28, 2009
    Messages:
    9,550
    Location:
    Seattle, WA
    ReefSparky, that looks great. I'll see if my hardware store has a couple of those. Thanks!

    And thank you everyone else for your comments! This is a very important topic.
     
  2. Click Here!

  3. Ultraner

    Ultraner Purple Spiny Lobster

    Joined:
    Jul 30, 2009
    Messages:
    469
    Location:
    On Land
    Wow Kacy, I'm glad everything's ok!
     
    1 person likes this.
  4. NU-2reef

    NU-2reef Montipora Digitata

    Joined:
    Jan 27, 2008
    Messages:
    1,099
    Location:
    vancouver, canada
    wow thats frightening. thank god for the timing, could have been worse. glad to hear all is well and lessons learned(the hard way)
     
    1 person likes this.
  5. SkyFire

    SkyFire Clown Trigger

    Joined:
    Jan 31, 2010
    Messages:
    2,009
    Location:
    Sacramento CA
    Glad to hear everything turned out well for you & yours + critters. Could have been much worse. Also as a reminder from my own experience, when dealing with things not meant to be immersed in water...unplug it 1st (I dropped my light fixture into the tank while readjusting it, gave me quite a shock). Two seconds to unplug a cord or twenty min. to put in a GFCI recepticle is worth the time to procect you, your family, home and livestock.
     
    1 person likes this.
  6. the fisherman

    the fisherman Vlamingii Tang

    Joined:
    May 1, 2009
    Messages:
    1,888
    Location:
    new jersey
    It was great that you was up at the time of the accident. Glad that your ok, by the way did you get that GFCI.
     
    1 person likes this.
  7. schackmel

    schackmel Giant Squid

    Joined:
    Jun 4, 2008
    Messages:
    3,153
    Location:
    St. Louis
    glad everything worked out well. I had the same thing happen a couple years ago....scared the crap out of me.
    I ran carbon in my tank just to be safe after my fire....just in case any soot or ash got into the sump (fire was right next to the sump).
    For the burnt plastic smell that seems to linger....go to the hardware store and buy a product called odoban. It is the best thing to help with smells, especially burned plastic!'
     
    1 person likes this.
  8. Click Here!

  9. ZachB

    ZachB Giant Squid

    Joined:
    Oct 12, 2008
    Messages:
    3,111
    Location:
    Earth
    I tried one of those and for no good reason it would trip periodically. Typically when a MH was starting up, but sometimes it would suddenly pop for no reason after running for many hours. Nothing shorting, nothing dripping, no issues at all. You could reset it and it would run fine again for 8+ hours. I never had any problems / fires / smoking / shorting / etc. without it. Of course you should have a GFCI, but there are no problems with my current setup and that GFCI just wouldn't work for me.
     
  10. schackmel

    schackmel Giant Squid

    Joined:
    Jun 4, 2008
    Messages:
    3,153
    Location:
    St. Louis
    i had the same problem with that particular plug. My predator tank popped for no reason very frequently and i have since stopped using that plug. I have a powerstrip that has GFCI on it.
     
  11. kcbrad

    kcbrad Giant Squid

    Joined:
    Aug 28, 2009
    Messages:
    9,550
    Location:
    Seattle, WA
    Well I just got back from the hardware store. I bought a portable GFCI outlet. It's not the same brand as what is pictured above, maybe this one won't trip all the time. But I'll see how it goes. Better than nothing!

    I also bought some adhesive to mount my power strips to the wall. That should help as well!
     
    1 person likes this.
  12. Telgar

    Telgar Snowflake Eel

    Joined:
    Jun 20, 2009
    Messages:
    2,390
    Location:
    Ft Washington, MD
    WOW! How did I miss this thread?
    I'm so glad you were awake to catch this before it got out of hand!

    Another commonly overlooked safety measure is a Drip Loop. Hang your powerstrips on your wall or tank frame so water cannot directly drip on it, then make sure each cord hangs below the plug on the strip so any water dripping down the cord will go to the lowest point and drip to the floor instead of into your outlet.