electrical shock

[Wheel of Time]

Got a bit of a surprise from my sump y'day. Put my hand in to move one of the mangroves and got a tiny electrical shock. Freaked me out. Not a big one -- just a slight buzz...but still.

Needless to say I started unplugging everythign one piece at a time to isolate. Figured out it was a from a power strip....it was hung inside my cabinet. had been there for severl months. But this was the first shock -- Im assuming the heat when I was out of town led to more evaporation than usual which condensed or somehow a splash..not sure. Regardless -- moved the whole thing to outside and to the back of the cabinet

-- Seth

 

[TellyFish]

Scary. Be careful and use a GFCI!

 

[tank o tang]

+2

 

[scolley]

I'm good for +3, but I'm fuzzy on what happened. How does a splash on a power strip translate into loose current in the water?

Glad you're OK though.

 

[Gooch79]

I don't know if I had a similar thing happen or not. I was messing around in my tank and when I would pull my hand up towards the surface I would get a tingeling sensation that would force me to rip my hand out of the water. This only happened a few times on one day and never again. I thought it was my mind playing tricks on me... and I hope it was.


There was a period of time where my RO/DI unit was actually charging the water and making the buckets and the water give me a nasty shock. It was so bad to the point I called an electrician over and it stumped them because the water wasnt carrying a current but when they went near it the water would shock them. He just set up a basic grounding probe and that went away, now I don't need to even use the probe anymore. Funny how this stuff works.

 

[Wheel of Time]

Scolley -- I dont know how a splash would make that happen eitehr... I honestly dont know what charged the water in the sump. I only know that it went away when I unplugged the strip that was hung on the inside wall of the cabinet.
Since then Ive swapped it out and have it on the outside back of the tank ...no more current / issue. Still not sure what happened.

Gooch -- the ground probe sounds like a good idea! Im still not sure what happened -- but that tingling you felt -- I had the same thing only very very minor -- but it was certainly electrcity. Just wish I knew why it happened all of a sudden after I was out of town for so long -- Im glad its fixed, but still wish I understood what went wrong?

-- Seth

 

[scolley]

Seth - I have no doubt you are correct. Electo does work in mysterious ways, especially in wet, humid environments. Sounds like it happened to you. And Brett.

I have always been troubled by the apparent "habit" in reef keeping to put electricity in close proximity to - or immersed in - water. For instance, though I do it, even in the freshwater environment my sensibilities rail against submerging electronics... heaters as an example. Consequently on my main tank I have a bank of (recently leaking) partially submerged heaters, keeping all the really nasty stuff (like wires) out of the water column.

But in reef keeping you see common practice of not only fully submerged heaters, but filtration pumps, circulation pumps (powerheads), and even (God forbid!) float switches with 120V running through them, being advocated by high profile members of this forum. It REALLY gives me pause.

All that said, I've succumbed myself, and against better judgment, due to space constraints in my stand, have opted for a submerged return pump vs. the far safer, dry, external alternative. So for all my intellectual objections, I'm just as guilty. But I don't have to like it.

Sorry for the rant, and sorry for the hi-jack. But it did seem a unique POV. And it surprises me not to learn of experience reef keepers like yourself and Brett encountering issues. Seems inevitable.

Glad you and Brett are OK!

 

[Brad413]

I don't know if I had a similar thing happen or not. I was messing around in my tank and when I would pull my hand up towards the surface I would get a tingeling sensation that would force me to rip my hand out of the water. This only happened a few times on one day and never again. I thought it was my mind playing tricks on me... and I hope it was.


There was a period of time where my RO/DI unit was actually charging the water and making the buckets and the water give me a nasty shock. It was so bad to the point I called an electrician over and it stumped them because the water wasnt carrying a current but when they went near it the water would shock them. He just set up a basic grounding probe and that went away, now I don't need to even use the probe anymore. Funny how this stuff works.

Hey Gooch79, just set up my 4 Stage RO/DI system today and reached into the reservoir to grab floating white plastic and got a huge shock, not even a small one. Refugium also gets shock. Any idea what this is from? I have auto top off going to refugium.

 

[Rob N Gab]

can i ask a question, dont know if this thread is still alive. but when you guys get a shock on your fingers. would you all happen to have minor cuts on your fingers. ??

cause it happens to me as well with the shock in my tank, it baffles me cause i thought it was my pumps so i replaced them with new ones, then i thought my powerheads, i replaced them then still small shock turned off my skimmer and left pumps on to make sure current will still go to the tank, still getting a small charge. im so confused. my outlit is not grounded. and im using 2 4 foot powerstrips to plug everything in , its all located outside the tank.

 

[Paulywalnuts]

Rob, I have had the same sensation. I think the sting is the salt water contacting cuts on you cuticle etc cut on your finger. I have go though unplugging, taking off my shoes. I even try to touch metal stands etc. I have had others stick their hand in and they feel nothing. IMO, it's the cut that is sensitive to the water chemistry.

 

[Rob N Gab]

Rob, I have had the same sensation. I think the sting is the salt water contacting cuts on you cuticle etc cut on your finger. I have go though unplugging, taking off my shoes. I even try to touch metal stands etc. I have had others stick their hand in and they feel nothing. IMO, it's the cut that is sensitive to the water chemistry.

Thank you very much for that.