Are grounding probes necessary?

mskvarenina

mskvarenina

Member
Someone recently recommended that I get a grounding probe saying that it may reduce stress on my fish.

Marine Depot says: "Stray voltage in the aquarium can be attributed to causing various problems. Problems such as: finrot, hole-in-the-head disease and numerous others. A grounding probe can help eliminate these distressing problems."

What do you think?
 
My fish and corals are fine without one. If you have stray voltage in your tank treat the cause not the symptom.
 
Scorpius said:
My fish and corals are fine without one. If you have stray voltage in your tank treat the cause not the symptom.
Click to expand...

Do you test with a Voltmeter on a daily basis? :confused:

Not all stray voltage can be felt when you stick your hand in the water, and a pump that was OK today may be bad tomorrow...
 
Scorpius said:
My fish and corals are fine without one. If you have stray voltage in your tank fix the cause not the symptom.
Click to expand...

The problem is that the stray voltage can start quickly and do extensive damage before you realize you have a problem and correct it.
 
HumbleFish said:
Do you test with a ground probe on a daily basis? :confused:

Not all stray voltage can be felt when you stick your hand in the water, and a pump that was OK today may be bad tomorrow...
Click to expand...

Maybe I should wear a tinfoil hat to keep the stray radio signals from bombarding my head too. :D
 
The real question though that I'm asking is is there any truth to stray voltages causing stress to fish or is it just a marketing ploy to sell grounding probes?
 
mskvarenina said:
The real question though that I'm asking is is there any truth to stray voltages causing stress to fish or is it just a marketing ploy to sell grounding probes?
Click to expand...

To be totally honest with you, no one knows for sure what causes HLLE. Cheap carbon, stray voltage, poor nutrition are all considered likely culprits - and should be avoided anyway for obvious reasons.

Like so many things in our hobby, HLLE isn't considered "important enough" to study thoroughly. So in a lot of cases you have to rely on anecdotal evidence provided by people on this forum (search "stray voltage HLLE"). You have to remember that at the end of the day, we don't benefit one way or the other whether or not you buy a grounding probe.
 
If you have stray voltage, and the grounding probe effectively grounds and removes the charge from your water, how do you ever know? If a pump has exposed internal wires that is leaking power into your sump, and that power is returned to your home circuit through the ground, what would ever tip you off that the pump is bad?
 
leveldrummer said:
If you have stray voltage, and the grounding probe effectively grounds and removes the charge from your water, how do you ever know? If a pump has exposed internal wires that is leaking power into your sump, and that power is returned to your home circuit through the ground, what would ever tip you off that the pump is bad?
Click to expand...

This is my logic for not having one. Might not be correct, but I've had no issues running without one. (*AND* I've had a powerhead "leak" voltage in my tank.)

Do some searching on "ground probe" here and you'll find many debates pro/con. It's one of those questions like "what's the best salt" or "which LED is best".
 
I keep one in my tank and one in the sump. I think they are inexpensive insurance.
Click to expand...

I keep my life insurance policy tightly wrapped around my grounding probe for extra insurance. :facepalm:
 
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