Ouch man.... my heart felt feelings go out to you. Dont worry though; like said before in this thread, work on making your new tank even better. Were the things you didnt like in the tank? Well, now's the time to fix'em.
Btw, i'd like to offer you some advice. I think you should run atleast a powerhead or your circulation pump off the wall socket. That way, if the power bars die, your tanks lifeline is still going.
Thats probably why your power bars shorted. You know how "they" tell you never to plug a series of extension cords together? Same principle. As the bars ran everything, they would have heated up. What do you mean by "everything"? Heat raises resistance through the wiring, which in turn draws more ampereage, telling your GFCI to shut it all down. But you said you runs the lights separately? Thats weird.
