I have a combination of GFCI circuit breakers, receptacles and even power bars that are now available. Recently purchased a small single plug-in GFCI adapter and that is the only one that has ever 'nuisance' tripped so I no longer use it on my tank related equipment. I was using it with a timer for two of my T5HO lamps and it would trip every time the lights came on. Used a GFCI power bar for the same equipment and it was fine. Maybe the single plug in GFCI adapter is faulty, didn't like the timer, dunno, haven't bothered to try another. The only other thing to be mindful of with GFCI power bars is that they may not power up again after a power loss. I do believe that the GFCI receptacles do not need to be manually reset if there is a power loss to your home which is subseqently restored. Pretty sure most of the portable GFCI devices need to be physically reset after being unplugged or if there is a momentary power interruption.
The only drawback (besides price) to using a GFCI circuit breaker is just that, every device on that circuit is GFCI protected and a trip will take out everything. A GFCI receptacle may be installed anywhere downstream of a normal circuit breaker and will protect only devices downstream of that receptacle. So if it trips, everything upstream still functions until the circuit breaker itself trips. The only GFCI breaker I currently use, supplies my bathroom circuit.
Most of my tank equipment is on one GFCI and the remainder is on a GFCI power bar, no nuisance trips so far. Count me in on the pro GFCI camp. For those who fear a nuisance trip will cost them their livestock, what is your contingency plan for a power outage when you're not around? That will cost you your investment just as easily as a tripped GFCI. Therefore the rationale for not installing a GFCI on your tank equipment for fear that a nuisance trip will cause the loss of your livestock eludes me.
I have a cheapo PennPlax Silent Air air pump which senses power loss and bubbles away until power is restored. I'm planning on a somewhat more sophisticated backup power setup in the future, but for now, the PennPlax with it's D cell batteries will at least provide some oxygenation in the event of power loss and/or GFCI trip. I should probably have two of these on my 75. I'm also planning on wiring up a battery backup for my VorTech MP40W using a deep cycle battery. That will keep it running for quite a while, might even hook two batteries up in series for 24 volts, so it runs at normal speed vice the half speed mode provided by the manufacturer's battery backup.
I worked on aircraft instrument electrical systems for many years, and having read some of the reasoning and opinions on this thread, definitely know who NOT to call to do any of my house wiring. When you're up in the air, there are no second chances, when stuff goes wrong, you're coming down, so redundancy and emergency back up systems are the order of the day.
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