IPX8 and fishies

[blacksheep]

Whats your guys opinion on IPX8, got 4 fish tanks and one is open topped. They all got IPX8 pump and heater in both of which are 240v.

What if a heater got a crack (its in a glass housing)?? Would it just short out the L&N and blow the fuse?

Pump is protected by 3A fuse.

Just wondering how safe this stuff really is in the off chance something failed?

 

[tim west]

Any equipment with a rating will have been tested rigourously for the purpose its intended for, thats the key thing, for the purpose, if installed properly and protected against accidental damage as described in the instructions then you should have no worries of its suitability.

 

[blacksheep]

Pump looks quite safe and would be hard to break.

Not sure if you seen one but the Heater is like a giant test tube. Not hard to crack one of these and not realise. It has a rubber bung type seal at the end you can move it too. Not sure if they are internally sealed

 

[Spark123]

They are pretty well sealed, power heads are usually potted with some sort of epoxy resin so would be really difficult to have them come into contact with the water.
As for the heater, yes, cracking the glass wont do that or the fishes any good! As for wether or not they will go short circuit depends on things like the conductance of the water, however you will tend to hear a strange noise as the water is subject to 230v (had this happen in the oldern days when you had a separate thermostat and heater).

 

[Steve]

I have a mains voltage pond pump, submerged 3 foot under.

It is very heavy. This is because the innards of the electrical side are sealed with resin. So even if you crack the case, the electrical bits are still sealed, but the pump must be discarded. The pump is designed so that all the moving parts can be serviced and cleaned without ever exposing the electrical connections or windings of the motor. All that is sealed for life.

 

[blacksheep]

It is hard to weigh up any potential risk but I got some £6 plug in rcd's (they are BSxxx and CE and look ok so hopefully quality) and my 3rd tank I wont bother with. I was only really concerned about the 2 the kids can get too, plus one (only one) of my aquarium tank leaflets recommends it.

 

[Spark123]

I purposely avoid using a stand alone RCD for aquariums as if it trips out, your fishes will get cold
Does your house have RCD protection? If you can plug them into this at least if it does trip you will realise quite quickly.
One of the plug in devices I have (which I use when working on the tank) can trip with the heater clicking on and off - the heater is double insulated.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

your fishes will get cold

Nothing that a bit of wasabe, some soy sauce and a small sliver of pickled ginger won't fix...

 

[blacksheep]

No, my house has got no RCD whatsoever. Just an old Wylex fuse box.

The CU is in the pipeline to do as I have a new shower to put in, I dissed the old one as it just buzzed and was only protected by a 30A mcb.

First thing that gets it in a typical central heating house wont be the water temperature, its the oxygen in the water which has effect on things. I wont go into that here