mtglore
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Hey everyone,
I know this is probably more of a home improvement question, but it is related to aquarium use. I hope y'all can understand what I'm talking about, since I know nothing about electrical work.
Basically, I'm moving into a "new" house in the city of St. Louis. It's a pretty old building, probably built around 1920 or so. Anyhow, I'll be moving my aquarium there and I am a little concerned about the electrical wiring. It's passed city inspections just fine (or so I'm told...), and my girlfriend has been living there for nearly four years and has not had any problems associated with the house's wiring itself (i.e., power outages and "flickering" have been the fault of the local electricity provider). Then again, she's never plugged 3 powerheads, 384 watt lighting, a 250 watt heater, etc. into the same wall. I do know that none of the electrical outlets are grounded. Moreover, the outlets themselves are only double-pronged (probably not the right terminology…). You know, just the little face with two vertical eyes, NOT the face with two vertical eyes a dot for the nose (and no mouth).
Is there anything I can do external to the wall to make sure everything will be safe? Will a GFI alone do the trick? Or, how hard is it to ground one outlet internally? The room where I want to set up the aquarium and where the power source is just above the basement. Couldn’t I just run more modern cable to the outlet and down to the basement to the electrical box? I'd just ground the appropriate wire to the water pipes or something. Is this even necessary, though? Is it inappropriate?
Any help would be greatly appreciated and I understand if no one has an answer for this. I could direct my question elsewhere. And, finally, I apologize once again for my lack of electrician knowledge. How embarrassing… I will not give-up the tank, however. If worse comes to worse, I'll just set-up some kind of remote power supply, like a few hamsters on a wheel or some neighborhood kid on a treadmill…: "Welcome to MY neighborhood, Punk!"
Best,
Michael
I know this is probably more of a home improvement question, but it is related to aquarium use. I hope y'all can understand what I'm talking about, since I know nothing about electrical work.
Basically, I'm moving into a "new" house in the city of St. Louis. It's a pretty old building, probably built around 1920 or so. Anyhow, I'll be moving my aquarium there and I am a little concerned about the electrical wiring. It's passed city inspections just fine (or so I'm told...), and my girlfriend has been living there for nearly four years and has not had any problems associated with the house's wiring itself (i.e., power outages and "flickering" have been the fault of the local electricity provider). Then again, she's never plugged 3 powerheads, 384 watt lighting, a 250 watt heater, etc. into the same wall. I do know that none of the electrical outlets are grounded. Moreover, the outlets themselves are only double-pronged (probably not the right terminology…). You know, just the little face with two vertical eyes, NOT the face with two vertical eyes a dot for the nose (and no mouth).
Is there anything I can do external to the wall to make sure everything will be safe? Will a GFI alone do the trick? Or, how hard is it to ground one outlet internally? The room where I want to set up the aquarium and where the power source is just above the basement. Couldn’t I just run more modern cable to the outlet and down to the basement to the electrical box? I'd just ground the appropriate wire to the water pipes or something. Is this even necessary, though? Is it inappropriate?
Any help would be greatly appreciated and I understand if no one has an answer for this. I could direct my question elsewhere. And, finally, I apologize once again for my lack of electrician knowledge. How embarrassing… I will not give-up the tank, however. If worse comes to worse, I'll just set-up some kind of remote power supply, like a few hamsters on a wheel or some neighborhood kid on a treadmill…: "Welcome to MY neighborhood, Punk!"
Best,
Michael