[DiverDude]

Doug,

You have to keep in mind what GFI's are meant for. They are intended to protect humans from electrocution. To that end, when they detect a difference in current between hot and neutral, they trip and cut power. If you were holding a hair dryer with a bad cord while standing on a wet floor, it possibly saved your life.

For our purposes with aquaria, it still saves livestock in certain circumstances but it's still primarilly to save YOUR butt if something leaks current to the tank and you stick your hand in there.

The GFI did what it was supposed to but the catch is that it has to be manually reset and as you've pointed out, there are pitfalls to that when all your aquarium gear is plugged into it.