Stray voltage found questions?

[ccLansman]

So i hooked my fairly expensive DMM into the wall sockets ground and the other end into the tank and to my surprise found a solid 37V Ac sitting in there. So i went through and started unplugging things to identify the problem. It seems like a lot of things are adding a little voltage like 2-5V Ac when plugged in, one of the main culprits was a header adding about 17V.

I have been reading a lot about grounding probes and am a bit concerned, if i add it will it just give a path to ground and kill everything?

I tested for current flow and it was 0 so there is just a voltage sitting in the water...

What is the best plan of attack? And are grounding probes safe to use?

Thanks!

 

[tkeracer619]

Your heater seems like it is toast.

Ever submerged electronic device will add 2-5v. It is induced and is harmless (debatable). Its the rouge devices that create more that you should worry about.

Ground probes do work but you should also have a GFCI in tandem with them.

I got zapped pretty hardcore last year. Decided to remove every cord from the tank. The only think I have now is a askoll skimmer pump and two heaters that are not fully submerged. It gives me about 4.5v total compared to when I had koralias and 50v of leaked voltage.

 

[ccLansman]

Thanks for the heads up, i did see the 2V avg from some of the items when they were plugged in. I already tossed the heater and stuck and old glass one in there for now.