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#1
05-13-2012, 03:28 AM
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A AFI would offer more protection, but I think one needs both?. A GFI will only trip if it senses current going to ground, not back on the neutral. One can have a short on a GFI, between the hot and the Neutral and it not trip. Conversly, a AFI only trips when it senses an arc. Be it to ground or neutral. Most cases a AFI would work. Not on halide lights, I'm not sure. But say a pump leaks some to the tank, a AFI won't pick that up, a GFI will. AFI's can also trip by just switching or unpluging components. Heaters can sometimes trip them as well.
Like everything in this hobby, nothing is foolproof
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Dan Pesonen Umm, a tank or 5 
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#2
05-13-2012, 02:22 PM
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My office/fishroom, has that receptacle plus I installed a separate dedicated 15a line with its own GFI.
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Doug
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#3
05-13-2012, 02:27 PM
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An arch fault breaker is esentualy useless on a fish tank unless you have an animal that chewes cords, especialy if you have MH lights, and I recomend against having them on anything important as they frequently have false positive trips. they are still trying to design a more reliable arc fault. It does pee me off that they made a misfunctioning componant code, hopefully they will come out with a more reliable version soon. basicly if you have an electric motor, MH lighting, or any old school relays don't use Arc fault.. Steve
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 *everything said above is just my opinion, and may or may not reflect the views of this BBS, its Operators, and its Members. If cornered on any “opinion” I post I will totally deny having ever said this in a Court of Law…Unless I am the right one*Some strive to be perfect.... I just strive.
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#4
05-13-2012, 03:17 PM
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I mighta worded it a little funky, but by sensing the current to ground, it uses the imbalance of the H-N wires And yes, in all new construction or wiring reno's, AFI is code in BC for bedrooms and bathrooms.
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Dan Pesonen Umm, a tank or 5 Last edited by banditpowdercoat; 05-13-2012 at 03:19 PM.
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#5
05-13-2012, 04:18 PM
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Being electrician, I would not bother with the arc fault. The gfi will be your first line and the breaker will trip if you short something.
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#6
05-13-2012, 04:48 PM
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I read somewhere, probably here on canreef, that if you have gfci's then you need to have a grounding probe in the tank as well. What about the question I asked about the gfci preventing fires in the situation like what happened to the op. I don't think they are intended for that sort of protection more for personal protection when working around water with electricity. By the way I not arguing anything here. Since we have some electrician's posting I would like to get the information from those who would know more about these things than me.
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#7
05-13-2012, 04:55 PM
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In most all cases, yes a GFI will trip and prevent fires. As a water leak onto the plug most times will short out the ground too. I was just stating that it's not foolproof. It has to short between hot and ground to work. And yes, to have the GFI protect tank water, the water should be grounded with a probe.
Plug placement and drip loops still are best practice too. never have powerbar just lying on floor or shelf plugs up. If it must sit on floor or shelf, lay it on its side atleast so water can't drip directly into it
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Dan Pesonen Umm, a tank or 5
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#8
05-13-2012, 04:57 PM
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#9
05-13-2012, 04:59 PM
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Like was said above, an arc fault would technically be best to prevent the fire like the OP had, but arc faults aren't perfect. You can "trick" them by accident when motors start up, etc. So while they do what we want, they also do what we don't want.
I myself would go with multiple breakers/ circuits for a big tank, surge protection (to protect a lot of valueble stuff), and multiple GFCIs.
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