Shocking!

[buy_baff]

Last night I noticed a little STN on the base of a few of my large SPS colonys. My water quality is spot on color and growth are excelent. So what's happening? I have a mp4 wetside that I noticed a little rust on the magnet last time I cleaned it. So I thought this might be it. I got my spare wetside and shut down my pumps and went to change ot the wetside ( had to shut down both pumps didn't know which one had the rusty magnet) I stuck my arm in the water and BAM ZAP POW I got seriously fried! I mean SERIOUSLY I have been zaped with a cattle prod in the past and I would compair this to that! So what the crap was letting loose the stray volts? A MJ1200 in my sump. Swaped it out and slowly hesatently stuck my fried arm back into the tank to see if it was ok now and it was. So them I proceded to swap ot the wetside anyway and it was nice and rusty. So I'm fairly sure one of the two was causing the STN probably both. Anyhoo I'm getting a grounding probe!
-Bill

 

[fcmatt]

i am very thankful i have never been shocked yet but i am well aware of the wet side problem
of vortech gear. My first gen MP40 had the same exact problem and that upset me on how
quickly it happened. Now that they are on the gen3... i decided to try two mp10w ES on
my small living room tank. Hopefully the wet side lasts for a couple of years instead...

Ground probes though.. will it just hide the problem next time? as in you will not get shocked
next time but you will not notice the problem until you test for stray voltage once in a while?

 

[buy_baff]

True never thought about it like that. I just don't want to get fried again lol. I'm going to contact ecotech and see if they will replace the wetside.

 

[kduen]

If the probe is hooked up to a GFCI like its supposed to be (not through a power strip) it should trip the GFCI instead of letting it go on. But once it trips then yes you will get shocked again. You could even put a little night light into the other outlet so when the light goes off you will know to look for the broken equipment and not get shocked at the same time.

 

[buy_baff]

If the probe is hooked up to a GFCI like its supposed to be (not through a power strip) it should trip the GFCI instead of letting it go on. But once it trips then yes you will get shocked again. You could even put a little night light into the other outlet so when the light goes off you will know to look for the broken equipment and not get shocked at the same time.

Great Idea thanks! I will be setting it up like this.

 

[madkeenreefer]

I just put my grounding probe back in the tank timly call thanks , hope ya SPS come round

 

[buy_baff]

They'll be fine just slight stn at the base should heal out in a week or two. Glad I caught it early.
-Bill

 

[Dustin1300]

I had the same thing happen but was with a K4 Koralia. Actually is the one piece of equipment I plan on upgrading next. I was thinking of purchasing 2 new MP40w ES powerheads....Do you guys happen to know whether the rust problem still happens on the newest generation?

 

[buy_baff]

Don't know mine are the older ones not ES. But The rust is only on one of 3 wetsides I own.

 

[sowellj]

Just an FYI ... if your tank had a voltage leak but is not grounded, your corals would not have felt anyting. They would just be sitting at a higher potential relative to ground.

 

[kduen]

Just an FYI ... if your tank had a voltage leak but is not grounded, your corals would not have felt anyting. They would just be sitting at a higher potential relative to ground.

You do obviously know then that electricity works because of the difference of potential between two points then right.