Stray Electrical

[quonnie]

I put my hand in my sump today to retrive an item and recieved a healthy shock. While I am not worried about myself does this have an impact on the criters in the sump and in the display tank connected to it? I am wondering if thios might be the problem with my corals not looking so good. It was a very healthy shock I could not keep my hand in the tank at all. :eek2:

 

[James404]

Yes this is definitely an issue and can cause serious problems for your inhabitants. You should unplug all equipment, use a multimeter that is grounded and measuring the voltage, plug items in one by one to determine what is leaking voltage and replace it.

 

[mcgyvr]

ALL tanks should have a titanium ground probe. (and be protected by a GFCI circuit)

 

[mcoomer]

A shock that is strong enough to prevent you from sticking your hand in the tank makes me think that you have a heater or pump that has failed. You need to get to the bottom of this before you go from shocking experience to a trip to the ER, if you're alive to call 911. Unplug everything in the tank and add items back one at a time to find out what is causing the problem and replace it. Use a multimeter to measure the difference in potential between your tanks water and ground. Whatever causes that potential to spike should be removed from service. Post up your results.

Mike