stray voltage

[Spartanman22]

Today while cleaning my skimmer collection cup I shocked myself while putting the cup back on the body. I touched part of the body and got a shock, so I removed the skimmer for obvious reasons. My question is do I have to get a new pump or is there a way to fix it? Also I had thought the other day that I felt a shock while my hand was in the tank, but I only felt it when my fingers with cuts where in the water and didnt feel it any other time. So I just figured it was the salt on the cut. But if there was electricity running through my tanks water, how come I didnt notice any issues with the livestock. The fish looked fine, clams and anemones looked fine, and all corals where open up normaly.

 

[emmann]

I just give my shelf a good shock the other day. One of my pumps housing was cracked. I'm getting a probe that you put in the tank and plug it in and it takes care of the stray volts. All my fish are fine. I don't have to many corals in there and they are all fine, also.

 

[sra_chipmunk]

How does the probe work? I sometime put my hand in the tank and it feels like I get shocked but I get lots of small cuts on my hands from working and I keep thinking its the salt getting in to them. It always feels like a shock though.

 

[Spartanman22]

Thats whats been happening to me, but do I need to replace the pump on my skimmer. Should I call the company that made my skimmer and see if they will replace it? Or maybe this is a sign that I should get a newer better skimmer.

 

[emmann]

I vote for get a new better skimmer.

The probe works by putting it in the water and then you plug it into an outlet. Outlet has to be grounded. I think it works kind of like a lighting rod would work. I'm still waiting for the probe to get here when I get it I will know more. I'm just going by what my husband says.

 

[BC Sparky]

#1- Everything electrical in water should be connected to a GFCI receptacle. This will automatically trip if their is stray voltage going to ground (IE through you). Don't cheap out on your own safety. They go for about $15 at Home Depot. PM me and I can talk you throught the replacement of a regular receptacle.

#2- When insulation fails and you have electrical exposed to the water. It has no where to go. It just "sits there" waiting for a path. There is no "current flowing" until you give it a path by reaching into the tank. The ground probe you talk about will give this somewhere to go other then through your body- Basically back on the ground wire back to it's source. It may trip the breaker if it's a large enough fault. Either way- hopefully it's an easier route then through you (electricity, like water will follow the path of least resistence) thus lowering the amount of current that flows through you. Remember it only takes milliamps to kill if you get it just right!

#3- The fish etc are unaffected because the water all around them is at the same potential voltage. Like a bird on a wire- nothing flows through them. As per above however the water has a difference then whatever else you are touching while screwing with your tank so away it goes right through you.

Bottom line- without all the "mumbo jumbo"- get a GFCI receptacle or two. It's a great hobby but you don't want it to kill you.... just your pocket book.

 

[jayk198030]

BC Sparky is right on!

 

[sra_chipmunk]

I got 2 new GCFI plugs at home depot the other day. Going to instal them at the end of next month when I replace the tank. Frankly, I am tired of getting shocked. Its kinda ****ing me off.

 

[bubbly]

Just make sure that the GFCI plugs will not trip on a power surge. I got some GFCIs (the big yellow outdoors kind) from Home Depot, and there was a power surge on the weekend (or a brown out of some kind) and they tripped, and so the tank was without power for 2 days and I had a big crash -- lost 3 fish, a bunch of corals, etc.

 

[bubbly]

Just to clarify, I now have GFCI-protected power strips that work just fine, don't trip on a hair trigger, and make sure that the house does not burn down from a tank electrical problem.

It's a good thing, b/c I had a pump go bad and kept tripping the GFCI -- whichever one I plug it into trips immediately. If I didn't have the GFCIs I may not have known until the problem showed itself in a much more nasty way.

 

[BC Sparky]

The beauty of using several GFCI's- if one trips it doesn't take out several pieces of equipment.

If you can split your equipment evenly between the strips IE- Power head #1 on strip one/ power head #2 of strip two- same with heaters/ pumps etc. That way when one strip trips you still have things running at half capacity until you get things rectified.