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View Full Version : A interesting tale of electric shock.


Obliduty
12/23/2009, 08:46 PM
I rarely post here and that's mainly due to the fact that my tank is exactly where I want it to be and has been running smoothly for a while now. I wanted to share a recent experience though that I couldn't find much info on.

So here goes:

Due to the recent snowstorms on the east coast I was basically "snowed in" at another house for 4 days and in this stretch my sump nearly dried out. So obviously, I frantically batch up some RO water and start to fill it up. In my haste I even poured some into my overflow(my sump is hard to reach so I can only get so much water in there directly.). When I did this it cause my siphon to go fritzo and my display started its best impression of a tidal fjord by spilling over to my carpet. Luckily the house I rent has a slight incline so all the water flowed away from my electrical outlets/cords etc(I set it up this way purposely just for this reason). A half-hour later I get everything back to normal and just as I'm done adding some more salt I go to test the salinity and get the nastiest electric shock when I put the hydrometer in the water.

This is interesting for the fact that I was touching the water for the previous 30 minutes while leveling the sump back out--with all equipment running mind you. I figure that its either the return pump or heater(since they were only in 2 inches of water when I got to the sump). As not to tempt fate I turn off everything for the night except for a decent powerhead to at least provide some flow/oxygenation.

Then today determined to figure this out, I buy a cheap voltmeter and test cord-by-cord all of my equipment to find out where this stray electrical leak is coming from. I am almost sure it will be the heater but to my surprise it ends up being my light(NovaExtreme, though I forget the model). I don't see how this is possible considering it has legs to attach to the tank and shouldn't even be contacting the water at any point. I quadruple tested everything to make sure and it definitely all points to the lights. I'll clean it off tomorrow and try again.

Be careful, we sometimes forget electricity and water do not mix.

-this is all on a 55gal with sump; strangely the fish are fine.

mtbiker41
12/23/2009, 09:03 PM
I can relate as I was stirring up my chaeto in my refugium one night when I accidently knocked the light off it legs into the refugium with my arm up to the elbow in water.I have been shocked many times and usually it doesn't really bother me but this time it lit me up like a christmas tree.I could feel the current all the way to my toes.kinda wished I would've left that gfi hooked up .but I survived and learned to turn off power to anything that could possibly fall in the water.I always believed that if anything electrical fell in water with you in it you were dead meat.who knows maybe I just used up another of my nine lives.mtbiker41:spin2::spin2:

dead beat reef
12/23/2009, 09:15 PM
With the wet floor and your hands in the tank you are now the
ground. Ele. will now pass through you. Do you use a GFI outlet?
Please be safe. Electricity will seek the path of least resistance
that is you. Look out. Really. Be very careful. Reef on. dbr

jayk198030
12/23/2009, 10:28 PM
With the wet floor and your hands in the tank you are now the
ground. Ele. will now pass through you. Do you use a GFI outlet?
Please be safe. Electricity will seek the path of least resistance
that is you. Look out. Really. Be very careful. Reef on. dbr

+1
use a gfi for your safety. some people dont like them because they do sometimes trip. but they are there for your safety.

luv4paws2
12/24/2009, 12:15 AM
I just had to unplug my heater b/c of elec in the sump. I have a extremely high pain tolerance, so I couldnt tell if I was getting a shock or not. Asked the wife to put her finger in the sump and WHAM, she jerks her hand out so fast she banged her head on the cabinet. Laughing hysterically, I made my way to the doghouse once again.

hk855
12/24/2009, 12:50 AM
Despite the dangers of electricity it doesn't scare me nearly as much as it did 10 years ago and I have been shocked a great many times since I was five(very currious kid and never learned my lesson). A few years ago I bridged two c battery sized capacitors on a running computer power supply, by far the worst I've ever had. Had to sit down for 10 minutes afterward from the shock, took an hour or so for the addrenaline to wear off. I just stoped that project and scrapped it, didn't mess with electricity period for about a year. I don't know if I'll ever mess with DC again, I dont trust anything with a transformer in it, and my lights hang so I can't accidentaly shock myself with 1000w of HQI.

FranktheTankTx
12/24/2009, 09:28 AM
I just had to unplug my heater b/c of elec in the sump. I have a extremely high pain tolerance, so I couldnt tell if I was getting a shock or not. Asked the wife to put her finger in the sump and WHAM, she jerks her hand out so fast she banged her head on the cabinet. Laughing hysterically, I made my way to the doghouse once again.

That would totally be me. :lmao:

slowmethinks
12/24/2009, 09:43 AM
i just recently sumped my 20H and was testing used pumps. first pump i placed into a 5gal bucket and it wasnt running. i put my hand in there to try and jolt the impellar to move... and WHAM! it shocked the fire outta my arm! ive been shocked by standard current outside of water, but inside, it feels completely different... so needless to say, that pump was scrapped.

a few days later, i was rearranging stuff in my sump and tank, adjusting the koralias and live rock to better my flow. while tinkering in the sump, i noticed that tingly feeling again. something had gone bad. after a few unplugs i found out it was my koralia 1 that ive had for about two years. makes me all sad inside. :-(

but yes, be careful everyone! shock can be very bad and if anything, painful.