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Aquarium safety should be a major concern for all aquarists, especially those with small children or other types of pets.  The combination of water and electricity can be lethal.  The Consumer Council reported aquarium equipment as a fire hazard in their 249th issue and showed the results of tests on 8 water pumps, 6 air pumps and 5 fluorescent lamps.  Only 5 passed.  We must take on the responsibility of making our aquariums safe.

General Safety Tips

Make sure the aquarium is placed on a secure stand that cannot easily be knocked over.

Assure the hood is firmly in place.  If the aquarium will be in a child's room or your children can easily touch the hood, consider using fluorescent lighting rather than incandescent lighting.  The fluorescent lighting is much cooler and the resulting hood temperature is much lower, avoiding a possible burn from touching the hood.

Aquariums in children's rooms should have tops between the hood and the aquarium to avoid prying hands from entering the water.

Two common chemicals used by the aquarist are ammonia and bleach.  Ammonia can be used for cleaning and fishless cycling and bleach for disinfecting.  These two chemicals, or chemicals that contain these two components should never be mixed together as they form chlorine gas.  Chlorine gas is a pulmonary irritant and causes acute damage to the upper and lower respiratory tract.  Was actually used as a chemical weapon during the first world war.

Assure there is nothing attached to the wall around the aquarium that can fall and crack the glass or damage the hood.

Wash Your Hands after handling fish or working on the aquarium.  This is pretty basic but worth stating.Aquariums have some of the same sorts of bacteria and other pathogens that other animals have.

Electrical Safety

Electrical threats from heaters, power filters, air pumps, etc are real and should not be taken lightly.  Heaters can be especially dangerous considering that their only protection is the glass wall around the electrical heating element.  Cracking the glass from moving decorations, etc. while your hands are in the water can mean instant electrocution.

If you are like most aquarists, there are never enough outlets for your aquarium.  While most aquarium equipment has low energy consumption, the maze of wires extension cords etc. pose an additional threat.

Here are some electrical safety tips that should be followed:

Never remove the ground plug from electrical cords.  All electrical components should be grounded!  I cannot over emphasize this point, ground all equipment.

Use only GFI (Ground Fault Interrupter) sockets or extension cords with GFI protection.  These devices sense when you are drawing current to ground and immediately shut off the electricity.  Many homes have these installed in the kitchen or bathroom.  Some homes have them installed in the main circuit box to protect the entire home, however it is much safer to have the GFI socket where your aquarium equipment will be plugged in.  They are not expensive, easily installed and found readily available at the local hardware store.  GFI devices that plug into your conventional socket are also available for those who don't feel handy.  Cheap insurance for those little hands (or big ones for that matter) that may be tempted to enter the water.

Route all electrical cords and secure them to the stand.  Keep loose electrical cords and airline tubing off of the floor and away from children or pets feet.

Don't touch electrical equipment while your hands are in the water (Lamps, electrical switches, etc.).  If the aquarium is in your child's room, make sure that lamps, wall switches, etc. are not within reach.

Use a UL approved strip connector or multi-plug extension cords to plug in all of your electrical components.  You will then be able to shut off the electricity by pulling one plug.  Secure all power cords and air lines to the stand rather than just keeping the whole tangled mess under or behind the stand.

Make sure all electrical cords coming out of the aquarium have drip loops.  This means to make sure that the cord hangs down below the electrical outlet before running back up again(See pic).  This will assure that any water running down the cord will fall to the floor rather than travel up the cord and enter the electrical outlet.  I have even tied a small string at the lowest part to help.  If you are using an extension cord make sure it also has a drip loop.  Even airline tubes should have a drip loop to avoid water entering the air pump.

Following these safety tips, will help assure your and others safety while your enjoy this beautiful hobby.