current leaking into tank

[DiscoReefRover]

Anyone????I am having a issue with current in my tank and am not sure what to do i get about 32 volts from my water and get down to about 6volts when I unplug my tunzes anyone know if thats normal or should I be concerned ...and second should i contact tunze ????

Sean

 

[MeVsTheWorld]

Not sure, but I would definitely contact them. How do you test for current in your water?

 

[DiscoReefRover]

i ground one side of my multimeter and put the hot side in the water .... usually i figure it out when i get a shock but i only noticed it tonight cause i got a cut on my hand and it stung more t5han usual so I decicied to test ...

 

[MeVsTheWorld]

What do you set your meter to? Ground to what? I have a iron hand rail close by, would that work? Sorry for the laymen questions, but how would I ever find out..

 

[MeVsTheWorld]

http://www.reefs.org/library/aquarium_net/996/996_5.html
http://saltaquarium.about.com/library/weekly/aa101602.htm
http://www.farmertodd.com/library/rkessentials/electricity.asp

 

[DiscoReefRover]

i use the box my ballasts are in for a ground and and set my meter to 200v ac

 

[MeVsTheWorld]

http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewItem~idproduct~TA1111~idCartRow~14730243~isKit~0.html

Salty probably has them, there website does not.

this website has some diy temp fixes till you get a good one


http://www.farmertodd.com/library/r...electricity.asp

 

[DiscoReefRover]

yeah Ill get one here tom prob thanks for the links ..

 

[GROWSZOAS]

i had that problem with a heater before, i just replaced the heater. i know thats not that easy with a tunze lol. Go to salty and get a grounding plug, it might be a patch for the problem. i think they are like 15 bucks

 

[MMOORE0324]

Well you could contact Tunze. The issue with any in-tank powerhead is there is the potential for stray current. One of the reasons Vortech is so popular. I think 32v though is really high. When using grounding probes, I think that you need one in your sump and in the DT. Goodluck

 

[dogpound]

I hade a problem a long time ago it was a heater to. also look at your power heads that can be a problem when water gets inside them. start unpluging your stuff you will find the problem when it stops shocking u.

 

[chuggy]

sean are your outlets grounded, my house was built in 59 and although they ran 3 prong outlets in the basement there was no ground wire inside them(duh). I had a bad light that almost electrocuted me. I had to ground all my outlets to cold water pipes. It may not stop the stray voltage but at least it gives it somewhere to go instead of through your arm. I would contact tunze asap especially for the price they charge for those pumps they shouldn't leak voltage anywhere. And thanks for the info on the test equipment im a retard with a multimeter and had to have my electrician come over to figure out what was going on here.

 

[rbd0331]

I would definitely contact tunze and get that fixed. That's a good bit of voltage. I just measured mine and got barely over 1 mV (millivolt....not volt).
Hopefully they're still under warranty.

 

[Paul B]

32 volts is very low and is completely normal.
It is just induced currect which basically means that if you put an electrical appliance near water it will induce some slight voltage.
You also do that when you rub your feet on a rug. Don't worry about it, perfectly normal.
If you ever get 110 volts or you get a shock when you put your hand in there,
Get someone else to put their hand in there for you.
Then change the pump, heater or whatever else is causing it.

 

[Gallan56]

IMO. Using A GFCI ?.ground fault circuit interrupter.
can save your life. You can add one in line or as a wall outlet,
or, replace the circuit braker that supplys your tank.
Google GFCI and read all about it.

 

[serpentman]

Definitely agree that GFCIs are a necessity. However, I doubt the low voltage described would come close to tripping one.

 

[Paul B]

You should be using a GFI anyway (or GFCI as you guys call them)
But that induced voltage will not trip it and it should not.

(electrician 40 years)

 

[DiscoReefRover]

my breakers are gfi and all my circuits are grounded at the panel with all updated wiring ... I understand that some inducted voltage will always be there I was just curiuos if the reading I got was typical for such alarge system I have over 20 things that could be causing it ...it took me over an hour of testing to figure out that my tunzes are the cause of over 26 volts of it ..thanks for all the tips and fixes I will be contacting tunze and getting a grounding probe on this thing ASAP ...should have been one of the first things installed {dummy}

Sean

 

[Kingpin616]

do research on grounding probe. I just looked into one because i was curious when i saw one for sale and a couple sites said it can makes the problem worse. Stated it helped complete a direct ciruit between device and probe and you and fish would not want to be in the middle. I didn't have to look far to find a lot of negative info on them.

 

[holfishbay]

I checked my sump today and im at about 11 volts. Running the lights, 2 heaters, my mag 36 return pump and a mag 9.5 skimmer pump. Not bad than i guess...