Long term effects of Electricity on the Chemistry of Water?

MammothReefer

Active member
History:
About a year ago, I had some stray volts in my tank for about a month or so. One of my heaters went bad and was leaking electricity into the tank. Alot of things died before I was able to figure out what was wrong, then the source, and replace it. Over the course of that month or so, my tank was getting zapped with 1000w heater (who knows how often).. Since then.. I have had constant troubles with my system. Some stuff is coming back around but I still get random STN, ect.

While my parameters are perfect on paper (i do have nitrate down to 20ppm from off the chart) I have been trying to keep up with regular weekly water changes ect but to no avail.

Question:
I'm starting to wonder if there is the possibility of any long term effect of my tank being zapped for so long? Depletion of specific elements? Bindings to rock or sand of the by product toxins that may have been introduced by the electrocution of my system ect, or am I looking in the wrong direction all together?

Symptoms:
I seem to have no issues with LPS, Anenomes, fish, ect

Acros are hit or miss they will be doing fine growing and then poof the base STN's and the coral dies slowly after (despite efforts to glue, cut ect). Montipora I can keep Red Variety, and most encrusting with the except of "sunset monti", green montipora caps turn grey and die, but Green monti plateformis (sp) (ie the pink polyp green "cap" which isn't a cap) does fine. Stylos, and Porccilpora seem to do fine as well.

While I have turned things around quite a bit.. (switch from Calc to 2 part) Which really stabled out my calc and alk (9.5alk, 380 calc) I also had (not sure atm) High Mag due to a bad test kit.

Most acro's are brown, while tricolours, validas, and deep waters do exhbit colour, (even right before STN) Very little PE (although I did see increased PE after last nites 20% WC).

Algie:
I can't seem to keep Macro algae alive even in my frag tank (which houses no algae eaters), but I do still have diatoms in my sand, cyano in a small pocket, alot of very deep purple Coraline (not the pink stuff) as well as green Coraline growing on the glass

Tank Specifics:
500gallon
Salinity 35ppm
Nitrates 20ppm
Phosphates (undetectable < .25)
Mag < 1590 (have not dosed, or tested in 4 water changes)
Calc 380
Alk 9-9.5
PH 8-8.15
Temp 77-78.5
Lighting 2x400w SE 20k
2x80w T5
Skimmer BM250 + AS3 g3*
Flow: 4x Tunzees (randomized), and 2000gph Return pump
Sand: 5"-6"
Tank is a mixed reef, several large BTA's, LPS (bubble coral), and 3 leathers, and a very large 14"+ clam other smaller misc corals (sps, enchinos, acans ect ect)

Husbandry,

Currently weekly WC 20% (prior, 10%) w/Hw Marinemix (switched from RC)
Bi Weekly Filter Sock Change
Weekly Carbon replacement (1.5-2cups in sock)
Ozone 100mg if ORP < 400
Feeding Mysis bi daily, pellets dailys, Cyclops Weeky, nori daily.
Top off automated (Ro/DI dripping into sump)
Calc & Alk (2part bulk reef on a couple of dosers)
GFO (currently removed due to Vodka introduction)
Vodka (1-2months now up to 40ml a day)

Well I hope I gave enough Info.. Thanks for your input!
 
I don't think the electricity itself would have much lasting effect, b ut the tank might have gotten metal introduced from the heater. I might try running a PolyFilter to see.
 
Re: Long term effects of Electricity on the Chemistry of Water?

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12861001#post12861001 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MammothReefer
History:
About a year ago, I had some stray volts in my tank for about a month or so. One of my heaters went bad and was leaking electricity into the tank. Alot of things died before I was able to figure out what was wrong, then the source, and replace it. Over the course of that month or so, my tank was getting zapped with 1000w heater (who knows how often).. Since then.. I have had constant troubles with my system. Some stuff is coming back around but I still get random STN, ect.


Sorry MammothReefer if I am highjacking this thread, but I suspect the same thing in my 180-gallon reef tank. I think I have stray voltage as well and have been noticing the same thing where my SPS's and similar corals just do not seem to be thriving even though most all my parameters are spot on.

My question to you is: how do you test for stray voltage? I.E. I have a meter, but need to know how to exactly test for it?

Any help would be greatly appreciated,
TeGee
 
stick one lead of your meter in your tank and the other lead into the ground terminal in your outlet. the induced voltages observed will be higher than you expect them to be.
 
Well, I found out a rather unpleasant way when aquascaping with my hand in the water my wet elbow touched my halide pendant giving me a good solid zap. I tried to do the whole Multimeter, ground/water but I kept getting very strange results even when I powered down the entire tank I would should voltage. I then tried something I don't recommend, or want to promote... (which was a failure and just caused me unnecessary pain lol) Eventually I ended up just pulling out one by one every piece of equipment I had in my tank that was plugged in, and careful inspecting them, wiggling wires to check seals ect.. That is how I found out seal to one of my heaters had falling apart and the water was in direct contact with the electricity. Another thing, at least for me is I found over time I ended up with alot of unnecessary electronic devices in my tank. .So I weined everything down to the basics, daisy chained Phosreactors together, ect. To reduce the total amount of pumps, heaters and what not I had in the water.

I've always ran things on GFCI, so that was never an issue, but now I run 1 ground probe per tank (since I have 3 plumbed together). Oh and I also bought a ground outlet tester to make sure my outlets were grounding correctly.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12865804#post12865804 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Billybeau1
Unless you have a ground probe. :D

You can pull your ground probe and stick one lead in the tank, and the second to the probe as well.
 
Yes :D Very true.

I've always contended that keeping stray voltage to zero is for the protection of us....... not the fish.

I am not one of those who believe stray voltage harms fish. The correlation between stray voltage and HLLE has always amazed me.

But this is a discussion for another thread in another forum. There have been many.

:)
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12866066#post12866066 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Billybeau1
Yes :D Very true.

I've always contended that keeping stray voltage to zero is for the protection of us....... not the fish.

I am not one of those who believe stray voltage harms fish. The correlation between stray voltage and HLLE has always amazed me.

But this is a discussion for another thread in another forum. There have been many.

:)

Fish-smish... they never had issues when my tank was getting zapped... I lost alot of SPS (especially monitpora) very sensitive, and LPS (acanthaestras) Anenomes, and Euphylia didn't seem to care much.
 
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