Best Aquarium Power Strip Surge Protectors ( Top Picks and Guide )

Power strips are a fairly common sight in the average household. Anyone that uses electronics in their daily lives knows that there can never be enough outlets around to plug into. They can even be found in professional environments like offices and data centers. But just because it has a wide range of applications does not necessarily mean all power strips are equal. In fact, the reality is quite the opposite.


You’ll find that there are different kinds of power strips available for you to buy. They are meant to be used for a range of different purposes so it stands to reason that they would be built differently. It can be tempting to just go down to your local hardware store and pick up the cheapest option available. But while most power strips can handle every day household use without much consequence, it’s a whole other situation when you start to use it for other things.

Aquarium users know this well and getting the right aquarium power strip is crucial. There’s no shortage of power strips out there but there is a shortage of information on them. This guide will make sure you’re up to date with your aquarium power strip.

Top Aquarium Power Strip Surge Protectors

Kill A Watt Power Strip Surge Protector

Kill A Watt power strip and surge protector is perfect for the tech savvy tropical fish hobbyist. If you want to know how much power your equipment is using, Kill A Watt will help you track it and monitor electrical use ( max/min volts, amps, watts, leakage current). Plus, Kill A Watt will protect your equipment from power surges and voltage spikes. With a total of ten outlets and six foot cord, Kill A Watt offers a solid power strip for your fish room.

Zoo Med Aquarium Controller Timer and Power Strip

Zoo Med created a power strip to help with specific aquarium needs. Built in timers enable you to power on and off lights at certain times of the day. Multiple outlets are great for canister filters and heaters. You get eight grounded outlets, four controlled by the timer and four standard.

Coralife Digital Power Center Day Night Timer Strip

Coralife to the aquarium power strip to the next level by enabling you to recreate a complete day and night cycle for your fish tank. You get eight total grounded outlets, four standard outlets and four controlled by the timer. Coralife further splits the outlets on the timer to enable day time and night time powered lights or equipment. Pretty cool when you think about the combinations of lights and equipment you can run during the day and during the night.

Why Do You Need a Good Aquarium Power Strip?

If you just use a power strip to power your TV and other electronics, you don’t give it another thought. But any aquarium hobbyist will instantly know the importance of having a decent power strip. Part of it is realizing just what it’s going to be used for. You could argue that every power strip is functionally the same in that it just increases the number of outlets you can plug into. However, in real life circumstances it’s never that simple.

When you’re powering up an aquarium, you’re not just plugging in a few disparate electronics. You are actually plugging in components of a living and breathing system. Each aquarium can only function thanks to its various parts like the filter, air pump, heater, and the lighting system. These components need a serious draw of power without fail or interruption. Any fluctuation in power could result in catastrophe not only ruining your aquarium system but also putting your aquarium life in grave danger.

This is why you can’t compromise on something like a power strip. It is arguably the one thing that holds your aquarium system together. You need something that is not only sturdy and powerful but also safe enough to use. At the end of the day, you’re using electricity to power up something that comes in contact with water, and you can never be too careful about that.

What to Look For In an Aquarium Power Strip

Let’s face it, there are a ton of different aquarium power strips on the market and not all of them are necessarily great. In fact, a lot can be subpar in terms of quality. But with a myriad of brands and products out there, how do you make an informed purchasing decision? Well, we’ll looking at some aspects you can use to judge a decent aquarium power supply.

Number of Outlets

Probably the major reason why you would get a power strip in the first place is to increase the number of outlets. But the real question is just how many. There are many power strips with options ranging from two outlets to four, eight, ten and even twelve. Make sure you base your choice on your existing requirement and leave a few more just in case you get more equipment in the future. You might even have to get a bigger power strip if some of your bulkier plugs cover up more than one socket space.

Compatibility

Different countries will have different outlets for their homes and appliances. There’s no point getting a power strip if it only supports half of your equipment. This is why it’s important to make sure you have a power strip with universal sockets to accommodate your equipment plugs. This way you can mix and match parts from around the world without any hesitation. Some power strips will even come with USB ports if you want to plug in a small led or charge your phone.

Mounting

Having your aquarium power strip sit on the floor with wires dangling from it is a recipe for disaster. All it takes is one trip on the power strip to damage your equipment or worse, topple your aquarium over. This is why you need to get a power strip with decent mounting capability that can hang on the walls safe and sound. You also want to make sure you have enough cord length to safely place the power strip without pulling the cord.

Safety

High level aquarium equipment is highly susceptible to electrical faults more so than other electronics. All it takes is a power surge or storm and you’re looking at a fried system. For most people this isn’t an issue since they have surge protection in their homes. But every so often you might not have that opportunity especially living on rent. This is when it’s important to have surge protection and proper grounding in your aquarium power strip.

GFCI Protection

While surge protection can help keep your equipment from frying, the same can’t be said for the safety of your aquarium life. GFCI (Ground Fault Circuit interrupter) is a safety mechanism designed to help prevent outlets from giving out electric shocks. Some outlets already have this built in but chances are that you might not have one. Having an aquarium strip with GFCI will help cut down unintended pathways of electrical flow. This will keep you and aquarium life from getting electrocuted by any faults.

Final Thoughts

This should give you all the information you need to get the right power strip for your aquarium. That way you’ll be able to enjoy the convenience of more outlets without the fear of any major mishaps messing up your equipment. Remember, the power strip connects all your devices, it is the central piece that literally powers it all. Always be careful when dealing with electricity around water, plan ahead, mount your power strip away from direct water contact and never overload your outlets. Contact a professional if you are not sure what you are doing or require another outlet versus overloading an outlet.