stray voltage problem

zheka757 · 12/11/2018, 09:15 PM

I being experiencing once in a while some small shock when I was touching the surface of the water. the problem is it was intermittent and everytime I was trying to figure it out, valtage was no longer there. so finally got it today. it was one of my submersible pump.
anyways my question is could that be a reason why almost all of my zoas closed up one day? and I have like 12 frags. they still havent fully opened up. I do have 2 dwarf angels in the tank but never seing them touch corals. also my 8 inch naso tang jump out of the tank last month.
tried to search about effect of stay voltage but got nothing. any one had any experience with stray voltage in the past? what you noticed with corals, fish?

Tastee · 12/12/2018, 12:29 AM

Stray voltage means something is failing or has failed. I have a ground probe in my sump connected to the house ground for this so that in this situation my GFCI will trip and cut power to the tank. As I run a UPS that will keep the tank alive long enough for me to be alerted to the problem by my Apex and fix the issue.

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mcgyvr · 12/12/2018, 05:43 AM

All submersible line (AC powered) equipment MUST be protected by a GFCI device (RCD in other countries)..
One can purchase a power strip with built in GFCI protection or swap out the wall outlet for a GFCI outlet or even change the breaker for that branch circuit to one that features GFCI protection..

That device is there to protect YOU from shock and/or death by electrocution should a device in your tank fail and you stick your hand in the tank..

Without a path to ground however....there is no flow of current.
An aquarium without a ground probe has no path to ground..
A ground probe should NEVER be used on a tank without proper GFCI protection..
The sole purpose of that ground probe is to trip the GFCI device the instant a fault develops in excess of the safety trip point of the GFCI device..
A ground probe is creating a path to ground so that the GFCI device will operate before you stick your hand in the tank and become that path to ground it needs..

Now...
Fish do jump out of the tank..
Zoas do close up..
All without having "stray voltage" issues..
Its unlikely that those are related to this stray voltage problem you think you have..

I HIGHLY recommend purchasing some sort of GFCI protection for your tank (it can be had for under $25 and can save your life) if you don't already have it..

mann1139 · 12/22/2018, 05:33 AM

Is the submersible pump in the DT, or in the sump?

If sump, and you feel the voltage in the DT, I find that very strange, since there shouldn't be a continuous path from your sump to your DT.

As others said, if the voltage doesn't have a path to ground, it shouldn't affect anything (it's like a buildup of static shock. It won't hurt anything until it discharges).

nereefpat · 12/26/2018, 09:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mann1139

If sump, and you feel the voltage in the DT, I find that very strange, since there shouldn't be a continuous path from your sump to your DT.

Huh? Saltwater conducts electricity just fine.

zheka757 · 03/01/2020, 02:40 PM

hello, im reviving my own old post. SO today i was bored and got my multi meter and start checking stay voltage in my tank. with everything running. i got 28 ac volt. i kind of freaked out at first. then i started to disconnect everything one by one. and almost every pump i disconnected it was dropping by 1-2 v. with one Chinese power head actually creating 11v. and the other 2 jebao pump producing 6v together. the intresting thing is when i disconnected my lights i also have a drop of 3v. and when absolutlety everything was disconnected i still had 3v coming out from my display tank and sump.

my thoughts are: does any of this means anything to life in tank? should 28v be high enough to cause some problems? Im still trying to figure why my sps corals wont open polyps

12/11/2018, 09:15 PM	#1
zheka757 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2017 Location: North Port Florida Posts: 283	stray voltage problem I being experiencing once in a while some small shock when I was touching the surface of the water. the problem is it was intermittent and everytime I was trying to figure it out, valtage was no longer there. so finally got it today. it was one of my submersible pump. anyways my question is could that be a reason why almost all of my zoas closed up one day? and I have like 12 frags. they still havent fully opened up. I do have 2 dwarf angels in the tank but never seing them touch corals. also my 8 inch naso tang jump out of the tank last month. tried to search about effect of stay voltage but got nothing. any one had any experience with stray voltage in the past? what you noticed with corals, fish?

12/12/2018, 05:43 AM	#3
mcgyvr Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: North Carolina Posts: 20,050	All submersible line (AC powered) equipment MUST be protected by a GFCI device (RCD in other countries).. One can purchase a power strip with built in GFCI protection or swap out the wall outlet for a GFCI outlet or even change the breaker for that branch circuit to one that features GFCI protection.. That device is there to protect YOU from shock and/or death by electrocution should a device in your tank fail and you stick your hand in the tank.. Without a path to ground however....there is no flow of current. An aquarium without a ground probe has no path to ground.. A ground probe should NEVER be used on a tank without proper GFCI protection.. The sole purpose of that ground probe is to trip the GFCI device the instant a fault develops in excess of the safety trip point of the GFCI device.. A ground probe is creating a path to ground so that the GFCI device will operate before you stick your hand in the tank and become that path to ground it needs.. Now... Fish do jump out of the tank.. Zoas do close up.. All without having "stray voltage" issues.. Its unlikely that those are related to this stray voltage problem you think you have.. I HIGHLY recommend purchasing some sort of GFCI protection for your tank (it can be had for under $25 and can save your life) if you don't already have it.. __________________ Who me?

12/12/2018, 12:29 AM	#2
Tastee Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2017 Location: Sydney Australia Posts: 277	Stray voltage means something is failing or has failed. I have a ground probe in my sump connected to the house ground for this so that in this situation my GFCI will trip and cut power to the tank. As I run a UPS that will keep the tank alive long enough for me to be alerted to the problem by my Apex and fix the issue. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

12/22/2018, 05:33 AM	#4
mann1139 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Jersey Posts: 178	Is the submersible pump in the DT, or in the sump? If sump, and you feel the voltage in the DT, I find that very strange, since there shouldn't be a continuous path from your sump to your DT. As others said, if the voltage doesn't have a path to ground, it shouldn't affect anything (it's like a buildup of static shock. It won't hurt anything until it discharges).

03/01/2020, 02:40 PM	#6
zheka757 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2017 Location: North Port Florida Posts: 283	hello, im reviving my own old post. SO today i was bored and got my multi meter and start checking stay voltage in my tank. with everything running. i got 28 ac volt. i kind of freaked out at first. then i started to disconnect everything one by one. and almost every pump i disconnected it was dropping by 1-2 v. with one Chinese power head actually creating 11v. and the other 2 jebao pump producing 6v together. the intresting thing is when i disconnected my lights i also have a drop of 3v. and when absolutlety everything was disconnected i still had 3v coming out from my display tank and sump. my thoughts are: does any of this means anything to life in tank? should 28v be high enough to cause some problems? Im still trying to figure why my sps corals wont open polyps