Ground Fault Outlet Problem

[Instar]

I had an experience with a ground fault that might be worth mentioning. During the power storm on Saturday I have many lightning strikes nearby. One was on top of me and I could hear the sizzle after the strike as whatever it hit burned. As it turned out, it hit my phone again as well as tripped one of my ground faults that runs a small tank. This is not the first time the ground faults have tripped, shutting off everything, during a thunderstorm. So, I pose this question: What if there is a fierce thunderstorm at your place while you're out of town and it trips the ground faults to your reef? Can your tank handle that with the ground faults you have, if you have them?

Possible solution: My other ground fault, not an outlet, but a breaker in the panel box, does not trip during thunderstorms. It costs a lot more than the outlet kind, but, well worth the expense is seems from this experience. Still, if it does trip and I'm not home, the tanks are without power till I get back.

What experiences have others had in this regard?

[BA]

my big tank has 3...i think they are a life saver..

[RobertG]

My whole tankroom was wired with GFI's, good thing cause I had a Powerhead with a cut wire. It zapped me lightly & tripped. Instantaneously , I felt barely anything. I wont not have this protection.

[JimD]

The GFI I use never trips during a power outage, it only trips when a ground fault is detected. Ive tried the ones that are portable and have found that they will in fact trip during an outage and will NOT reset once power is restored...

[Instar]

I agree, they are life savers for people and pets combined. And, considering this, its worth the cost for the better ones IMO. The portable ones must be lightweight like the one wall outlet I have. I really like the one in the panel box better as it completely protects both lines and all outlets attached to it from real faults and doesn't trip on dips and surges from a storm.

[garagebrian]

I installed some GFCI outlets I got from HD and our power occasionally goes out for 30secs - a few minutes(still complaining to power company about this, no luck so far) about once a month. After the power comes back on the GFCI is still fine and everything starts up again no problem.

B.

[alton]

Be careful with GFCI's some brands fail on! That's why they have a test button and you need to check them once a week. I have had regular breakers trip in lightning storms.

[captexas]

GFI outlets and breakers are just like anything else, they are made of different qualities. This affects their performace. Another issue is they are rated for different amounts of amps. Some are 20amps like a normal breaker load, while others are only rated for 15amps. I would suspect some of the cheaper ones are even less than that. And like most things, you can have one out of a batch of them that doesn't perform correctly. I have a electrical outlet panel for my 75g with about 8 sets of outlets, all GFI. There is one set that always trips whenever I plug in something. The reason I installed so many GFI outlets instead of just one breaker or one GFI at the beginning of the circuit is that they will trip independently. That way if while I'm out of town or away at work for the day and one piece of equipment trips the outlet, it will shut off while the rest of my equipment will stay on.

[Shark_Bait]

I have a UPS pluged into a surge protector. What the surge protector doesn't stop the UPS does, not to mention if it's big enough hit to kill the breaker the pumps still run for about 1/2 hour

[captexas]

A surge protector is not the same as a GFI. Surge protectors simply have a small fuse in them that will trip if a surge/spike comes through the line towards whatever you have plugged into it. Most UPS's have surge protectors built into them, part of being an "uninterupted power supply". If it is plugged into a GFI, I would be leary of the UPS affecting the GFI's ability to sense a fault.