Ground Probes?

[pbukow]

What is everyone's experiance on these? My LFS always tries to sell these to me when i go there, but my tank doesn't seem to be affected by the 2 water pumps, protein skimmer, heater, and canister filter that are producing electrical discharge (I assume) into the water. Here's the link to an example of one.

http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/ridvolt.jpg

If these are important, is there one that is built better or what would be the best one to have?

 

[gstuman]

I want to know too!

 

[uhuru]

I have one along with a GFCI outlet. I've been told it can also prevent YOU from getting shocked, so I figured it's worth it. I don't think it matters what kind you get, though I noticed coralife makes some short ones if space is limited.

 

[silverwolf72]

There just a wire to ground so there all going to be pretty much the same. Use one with a GFCI. If a pump or other equipment shorts out to the tank this will help insure the GFCI trips.

 

[andydavis141]

i hear their not good. your completeing a circut to allow electricity to flow freely. i've never used one because of this and other reasons related. good luck

 

[xtra-salty]

i hear their not good. your completeing a circut to allow electricity to flow freely. i've never used one because of this and other reasons related. good luck

I would think if you were on a GFCI then completing the circuit to ground would give you your ground fault which should trip the GFCI, right? In that case they would be good...save you from having to complete the circuit yourself to trip the GFCI.

If you dont have a GFCI.......then I would recommend getting one, its a good diea all around, just make sure your equipment is split up between more than one. (so you dont lose all your equipment if it trips.)

 

[markas]

If you use the in tank electrode, wont this cause current to flow continuously from the tank to earth, causing problems with the fish and corals? It'd be like swimming aorund inside a battery.

 

[pbukow]

GFCI? Sorry if this is stupid, don't know much about electricity. Thats kinda why i started this thread?

 

[rcgates]

GFCI - Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter

You can install a GFCI along with a probe and if there is a short, the GFCI will trip and the power will shut off of the GFCI protected circuit.

Do a google search for GFCI for more information, I hope this helps.

 

[pbukow]

Thanks for the input everyone, i will do a search on it to learn more

 

[Steve_Aquarius]

If i have wet carpet in my basement, that has my 260 tank, and I stand on the wet carpet and put my hands in the tank, I get a nice numbing shock, nothing to knock you back, but it is there. I have found this to be coming from my Hamilton ballast box that house the ballast for 3 175w MH and 320 VHO's.

Now my system is on a GFCI circuit and unless I put in the Gounding Probe, it will not stop until the carpet is dry and there is little dampness(which doesn't happen much in a basement)left in the carpet. So this current from the ballast box I figure is tring to find the path of lest resistants, and that is the water.

By using the Grounding probe, the juice is directed to the place it should be going. Until this happened, I didn't believe in Grounding Probes either. I do now, and I also know now it isn't always something IN the tank that can give you a shock.

 

[andydavis141]

steve - are your fish healthy. what kind of corals do you keep? do you think the current all goes to the probe and no current get to your display i'm confused on that. why not fix the ballast or move to a dryer place?

 

[Steve_Aquarius]

As far as the corals and fish, they are all healthy, most are all softies. This only happens when the floor is really damp or wet, and I will one day take the ballast apart. It seems like the grounding in the unit is not correct somehow.

I have tried to measure the current in the tank using a "Tester" but with or without the grounding probe I get nothing, which just adds to the weirdness of it all.

 

[andydavis141]

sounds puzzeling to me also not that i whould understand if explained anyway. i was just intrested. i'm still on the fence weather or not i'm going to experiment with one or not. thanks for the info.