Aquariums

Should an aquarium be protected by RCD/RCBO?

No idea, got no experiance of them.

well its fish tanks with water and 230-240v equipment submerged in water

I say no I quite like fried fish.

:coat @ batty! :^O

Manufactures instructions anyone?????????? :C

Actually would fish be harmed if there was a fault bit like birds sitting on 33kv power cables. Now if the owner touched the water then that may be different.

Wet Fish

pump is SELV fed via tranny, heater is 230V in a glass tube immersed in the water. Lights can be SELV or somethimes 230V. Cant see why you wouldnt feed from RCD

I dont think its got anything to do with it being an aquarium, its to do with the circuit design, anything could be plugged in the socket at some point.

I can't see a case for not rcd protecting an aquarium.

I suppose if you went on holiday and the rcd tripped and you didn't spot it for a week you could loose less hardy fish.

But your no more likely to loose the fish then if the heater failed. A week without lights/air/filter wouldn't bother a cycled tank of any appreciatable size.

I was very heavely into marine aquariums for many years, I did a talk at Chester Zoo regarding this subject and have had a paper published on propogation of soft corals.

Water and the risk of shock should always be limited, some are of the opinion that a RCD could trip without the owner knowing and the loss of thousands of pounds of stock frightens them more than the possibility of a shock or even death.

I have put my hands into tanks and felt a belt similar to those you get with static, and yet the fish and corals are or appear to be ok. Heating filtration and anything else can actually be done outside the tank, which is the preferred method for most marine set ups.

On a personal note I would RCD.