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View Full Version : Electricity current in my tank HELP!!


imac
04/19/2006, 12:04 AM
Anyone is getting shock from their tank? Big problem? Will electricty current kill my fish, clam or corals?

CarmieJo
04/19/2006, 12:10 AM
You need to get a grounding probe ASAP! Stray current isn't good for your tank or you. Lots of places carry them. Here is a link to a manufacture. http://www.ultralifedirect.com/grounding_probes.htm

:fish1:

XeniaMania
04/19/2006, 12:14 AM
Personally I'd try to get rid of the source. I had a turtle once bite through the cord of the tank filter and when I dropped in the grounding probe, it completed the circuit which electrocuted the turtle. You should have seen it, it went nuts..:lol:

sidd129
04/19/2006, 12:23 AM
If you get a grounding probe I think you need to get a gfci. Or is it the other way around?

CarmieJo
04/19/2006, 12:26 AM
Poor turtle. :(

I agree that eliminating the source is the best solution. IME tracking the source down can sometimes be a problem, especially when it is intermittent. If it is constant you can check by unplugging the cords one at a time.

:fish1:

Billy1234
04/19/2006, 12:27 AM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7204493#post7204493 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by XeniaMania
Personally I'd try to get rid of the source. I had a turtle once bite through the cord of the tank filter and when I dropped in the grounding probe, it completed the circuit which electrocuted the turtle. You should have seen it, it went nuts..:lol:

:lol: :lol:

I have the mental image

:D

imac
04/19/2006, 12:31 AM
what do a grounding probe do?

bertoni
04/19/2006, 12:33 AM
I'd worry about my personal safety. Are you getting shocked?

A GFCI and a grounding probe are a good idea, IMO, but some piece of equipment might need to go. The grounding probe connects the tank to ground, and provides a place for stray current to flow. The GFCI will detect the flow, and turn off the tank. If you put these in place, you can find the defective piece of equipment by plugging in items one at a time.

XeniaMania
04/19/2006, 12:46 AM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7204519#post7204519 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by CarmieJo
Poor turtle. :(

I agree that eliminating the source is the best solution. IME tracking the source down can sometimes be a problem, especially when it is intermittent. If it is constant you can check by unplugging the cords one at a time.

:fish1:

It didn't die though, I was just surprised to see it doing laps all of a sudden when normally it was very chill..:lol: I actually stuck my hand into the tank to grab him and got shocked myself which is how I knew what happened..:lol:

Oh yea, but afterwards I was a bit miffed at the turtle for chewing through the corded, so I did dip the probe back into the tank a few times like a teabag...:lol:

MCary
04/19/2006, 09:33 AM
What a grounding probe does is complete the circuit. If a heater broke in your tank for instance and the tank wasn't grounded everybody would go on their merry way like nothing happened. Then if you reached into the tank, and you were grounded, you and all the fish would get electricuted or at least shocked. If you have electric current in your tank, you need to first, find out where its coming from and second fix or replace the faulty equipment. Then before it happens again, you need to get a GFCI. As for grounding probes, they're basically worthless, but if it gives you peace of mind go ahead and get one.

Mike

XeniaMania
04/19/2006, 09:38 AM
yeah..I've stopped using them after my shocking experience :lol:

bertoni
04/19/2006, 12:08 PM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7205995#post7205995 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MCary
As for grounding probes, they're basically worthless, but if it gives you peace of mind go ahead and get one.


I disagree with this point. Better that the grounding probe complete the circuit than me. GFCIs don't always work. In addition, if a heater starts leaking and shorting internally, a GFCI would likely trip and shut down the current, rather than letting the heater burn, a problem reported more than once in this forum.

Earl111
04/19/2006, 12:12 PM
get a volt meter and uplug everything and plug it back one at a time. I had a queen with major lateral line disease because of this. It was my skimmer pump leaking 9 volts into the tank. I got a new pump and a grounding probe and he has since healed up. It will wear on angels or tangs if you have them. Like everyone said above, find the source

imac
04/19/2006, 03:37 PM
I don't get a shock all the time. Only 4 times in the past week and I been touch the water more that. How can I find the source? Thanks

Ti
04/19/2006, 03:48 PM
Definately try to isoloate the source.
Plug things back in one by one and see which one is the culprit.

bertoni
04/19/2006, 04:41 PM
You could also buy a number of GFCIs and put each component or a subset of components onto individual GFCIs and see which one trips. I wouldn't be putting my hand into that tank until the problem's been solved. That sounds dangerous.

imac
04/19/2006, 05:05 PM
So just change the outlet to a GFCI right?

Earl111
04/19/2006, 05:33 PM
dude,
read my post I explained how to do it. Get a volt meter at home depot. Put the lead in the water and it will read the voltage. unplug everything, plug one thing in one by one until you isolate what is bad. It could be the heater, pump anything. If you only get shocked some of the time, there is still a problem. A gfci will just trip once whatever is causing the problem shorts. Then you'll go out for the day and everything will be off.

imac
04/20/2006, 12:06 AM
Ok I got one. do I put both lead - and + into the water? Do I set it to 200V? 20V? 2v? or 200mV? I got a lot of reading on 200mV like 80 or 90. Help, thanks!!

seamist
04/20/2006, 12:24 AM
I used to have the same problem, my dad cut out a wire, cut both ends to exposed the metal part he stick one end into the sump and the other end he tight it into the screw that located between your outlet plug on the wall, never have that problem again. If it is a outside pond, he would stick the other end into the ground. Hope this help.

Earl111
04/20/2006, 09:51 AM
I just checked the one I have, if yours is like mine there are two V readings, on the left there is 600,200,20,2000m, and 200m. On the right there are 500V and 200v. use the 200 v on the right. To test it, go to an outlet, put the black lead on the screw in the center of the outlet(ground) and the red one inside the outlet on the right. It should read somewhere between 120 and 140. That's a normal outlet. That's the setting you should use. Then, put the red lead into your water and the black one on a screw, you may have one on your lighting system. Mine now reads .1 but before I figured out that my pump was bad it was reding like 9-11 volts. Then unplug everything in your tank, plug them back in one by one and measure it. This will tell you what's leaking

XeniaMania
04/20/2006, 10:17 AM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7211630#post7211630 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by seamist
I used to have the same problem, my dad cut out a wire, cut both ends to exposed the metal part he stick one end into the sump and the other end he tight it into the screw that located between your outlet plug on the wall, never have that problem again. If it is a outside pond, he would stick the other end into the ground. Hope this help.

wah? Aren't wires copper on the inside? :eek2:

bertoni
04/20/2006, 04:47 PM
I wouldn't stick a wire in my tank. I buy titanium grounding probes because they are more inert in saltwater.

imac
04/21/2006, 01:01 AM
Help!! When I set to 200v or 20v or 2v, I am getting 0.00. I only get reading when I set to 200mV. The reading is about (-80.0 to -150). Sometimes 1.0. if I turn on everything, powerheads, heaters. The shock I am getting is very little, like needle pinch on the thumb. When I put my whole hand in the water I don't get a shock. I have 4 powerheads in a 55g. I wonder the shock I am getting is from the powerhead turning. The only time I get 0.0 reading is to turn everything off, when set to 200mV. Any ideas? Is normal for equirments to leak a little current into the water. Isn't the 200mV with minus readings is very low? Thanks

XeniaMania
04/21/2006, 01:06 AM
I think our point is that there shouldn't be any. Set it to 200mV, turn on 1 item at a time and see which one gives you a slight reading, and then you'll know which item to remove. After you remove it, turn everything back on and test again to see if there are any more readings. If there are, continue to test. The items that don't give you a reading you can pretty much leave alone since you've verified that it's not leaking. Make sense?

imac
04/21/2006, 01:30 AM
humm... the only time I get 0.0 is everything off.....

XeniaMania
04/21/2006, 01:45 AM
So if you turn on everything but 1 pump, what do you get then?

imac
04/21/2006, 12:20 PM
I get 4-10 reading using 200mV setting. If set to 2v,20v or 200v zero reading. Could it be something other than current leaking? Even I get a little(very little, but enough to notice) shock, I can still put my hand into the water...I also got an GFCI and it did not turn the outlet off even after the shock.