Halides and GFCI outlets

[DeMarcusR]

I was about to install digital timers & gfci outlets in my stand however I've read nothing but issues with people having problems with the circuit tripping when the halides come on. Does anyone know of a fix for this or would it just be best if I went with standard plugs for the halides? (the plugs will be well above the sump; not too much worried about splashing water but just wanted to be safe. )

Thanks

 

[mfrost]

My MH lights are plugged into an inline GFCI protector and I've had no issues with the breaker tripping.

 

[Jacob]

@mfrost wrote:

Same here. No issues with MH tripping GFCI. I had never heard that before. Of course, if they fall in the water the GFCI will trip, but that is what it is suppose to do.

 

[HSLee]

no prob for me. i'm using the new style electronic icecap ballasts. i suspect that the probs people are having, are with older non-electronic ballasts. i think those ballast pull a surge current upon startup, enough to cause the gfci to trip.

 

[tdapple]

I wouldn't keep my GFCI in my stand, their is to much moisture, bound to trip allot....how are you plugged in? If you are using a surge protector and a GFCI the GFCI will tend to trip. Or maybe your circuit is overloaded..there are quite a few options.

 

[melev]

I'm not having any problems either with MH plugged into a GFCI circuit. And when my tangs splash the lights, I'm glad the circuit trips.

 

[Serk]

I've got a GFCI outlet, with a surge protector plugged into it, with 4 old fashioned big heavy 175 watt MH ballasts plugged into it, and my GFCI has never tripped without a darn good reason (Spill somewhere)...

(As well as everything else in my tank, it's all plugged into a single GFCI outlet. Nice to have an electrician father-in-law, he ran a dedicated 20 AMP GFCI circuit just for the reef)

 

[Jacob]

@HSLee wrote:

My ballast is non electronic with no GFCI issues.

 

[kwl1763]

I been using old magnetic ballasts connected to GFCIs for almost 3 years now with no issues.

 

[DeMarcusR]

I had read a couple of threads on RC a while back about the gfcis...
I haven't started the setup yet, I was just interested to see what you guys experiences were. I've got 2x175 watt halides right now that are running on two seperate icecap ballasts. Right now all the lights are plugged into a power strip which is plugged into the surge side of the APC batter backup. When I switch all the lights on the battery backup trips; only for a few seconds before it resets itself. The power strip powers 2x175w halides, 1x72w pc, 2x 36" actinic vhos, and one of those 7" clip on fans from walmart

 

[melev]

I think you have too much stuff on that UPS. The only thing I had plugged into my UPS on the 29g was a Mag 5. And on the 55g it was just the Tunze Turbelle pump for in-tank circulation.

 

[DeMarcusR]

@Marc wrote:

In my apartment, I'm lacking electrical outlets so I've just plugged the two powerstrips into it. Only lights and two powerheads. They are on the surged side not the backup side. (I dont mind loosing the powerheads and lights as long as the return pump keeps running). I'm actually shopping for my first house; first project I'm gonna take on is a fish room and a lot larger tank.

 

[mwolek]

Pull the lighting off the APC, its going to do you no good what so ever. 2, 250w halides will suck the power out of that APC pretty darn quick. You'd be better off putting the filters and pumps on the APC. Remember the APC is there to run the tank when the power goes out, the less you have plugged into it, the longer its going to last.

Those small home sized UPS's are not meant to run things very long, thier meant to give you time to properly shut down your PC if the power goes out. They typically only last for about 10 minutes anyways, great for shutting down your pc and not losing data, but pretty useless when power to your tank has been out for 2 hours

Have you test ran it yet? Theres a good chance its old and the battery isn't very good as well. I belive APC recommends the batterys in thier UPS's be replaced every 2 years? not sure its been awhile...

 

[Serk]

Mark,
He states in his previous post that only the return pump is on the battery side of the UPS, the other stuff, including the MH lights, are only on the non-battery backed up ports on the UPS...

 

[waterbeing]

Two thoughts:
1. The current inrush on the startup of an icecap ballast can be very large...MUCH larger than the normal draw of current when it's running normally. A recent posting on RC from Icecap gave some figures and it was much larger than I ever thought possible. I won't repost here for fear of getting it wrong, but I wondered how any of the electronic switches/controllers could stand up to it over the long haul. It may not apply in your situation, but I think the issue was with the VHO ballasts and not the MH ballasts. Can't remember for sure. It does not draw the maximum everytime, but it is possible to get the large inrush occasionally. Having said that, the electronics in the UPS are not designed to handle that possible current draw momentarily and I suspect it will eventually cause problems with the 'surge-only' sockets too. I'm not sure I would want to subject even the surge-only sockets on the UPS for that purpose.
edit: I found the link on RC-- http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=598762&highlight=amp+and+start
YMMV
2. The GFCI tripping is mostly limited to the electronic ballastics (can't remember for sure if its more common on the MH or VHO...I think it was MH)....(unless it's a real situation that it's supposed to trip on....ie. water on the ballast,etc,etc). There have also been several posts about that and almost always it is due to inadequate/improper wiring And/Or improper grounding of the ballasts and the light sockets and the house outlet. It can however be the GFCI itself (although in theory it shouldn't be). I've personally had several identical GFCI's purchased from the same source that function and test out properly, yet a few would trip when I started the lights/equipment and a few wouldn't. I suspect there is/was a very fine current leak that was just at the threshold of tripping and would trip some and not others. Having said that, I would try a different GFCI if you experience problems.
In short, you may have some problems with it, but the likelihood is that it will work properly.
Check Icecaps forum on ReefCentral and search for GFCI and you may find a bunch more info....but maybe that's where you got the info orginally... :lol:
Here's a good discussion about GFCI tripping with MH ballasts:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=607487&highlight=amp+and+start
HTH

 

[GraviT]

I run a pair of CoralVue, 250w, electronic ballasts on a GFCI outlet and haven't had any problems. They blow their internal fuses from time to time when we get a good power surge, but have never tripped the outlet.