Water is shocking me?

R

rick4him

New member
Sometimes when I put my hand in one of my tanks to do something I feel a slight "shock." Tonight it is really bad. I can't tell if it is the salt doing something to me, or if there is some sort of current getting into my water. Of course I have heaters, pumps, mp10, etc so there are a lot of electronics in the tank.

I'm curious if this is just in my head (I"m pulling my hand out VERY quick just in case it is electric. I'm nervous to put my hand back into the tank now. If someone could give me some feedback on this it'd be very helpful.)

Thanks!
 
Is everything hooked to a GFCI?
Do you have a grounding probe?

If not I would install a GFCI ASAP for your safety, the safety of the livestock, and for the sake of anyone else that lives with you.

You can measure voltage between the water and the ground of your wall outlet and see if there is any stray voltage.

If something is leaking enough voltage in to the water for you to feel it needs to removed and replaced.
 
You should be able to determine if it is electric with a multimeter on voltage scale, one probe in the water and the other to a ground outlet. Maybe one of those simple screwdrivers with 'little light/led voltage sensor' would work too. But i doubt it.

Don't put your hands in there until you find out, it is too dangerous to take that risk...

Snorkeler

Sent from Tapatalk
 
There is another super easy way to find out if it is electric.... just unplug from your power outlets everything electric, but really everything, then touch the water.

If you don't feel the shock, well... you have something leaking electricity.

Snorkeler (Fabio Paoli)

Sent from Tapatalk
 
I had the same thing a couple days ago. I thought like it felt funny, and then I hit a small cut on my hand and I jumped, I had to stick my hand back down deeper for a second time to be sure it was electric and not just salt water on the tender area. Turned out it was one of my power heads, isolated it and removed it. No more problem.
 
I have had it happen about 3 or 4 times over the years. I usually turn off every power stripe stick my hand in, (Not the safest way) if i feel nothing i turn each on one at a time til i figure out which power stripe is causing the shock, I then unplug everything on that power stripe and plug each in one at a time til i figure out what is shocking me. Worked every time, Again not very safe but I'm not the safest person lol.
 
Id go with the muit meter. Or if you dont have one then go the power strip way.

You might want to lookinto a grounding rod. Cheap and will take care of future problems with this.
 
while doing the "shock" test on the surface of the water, use the back of your hand/fingers. a significant electrical impulse will make your arm muscle flex and pull it back.
 
Here's a super easy, and safe way that any monkey can do. Use a multimeter. Set it to AC voltage, put one probe in the tank water, put the other probe to a nice solid ground. Make sure it holds itself in place in a way you can watch the display... Now start unplugging each of your items that are in the water until you notice which one has the largest change in the voltage on your meter.... Oh, and it's safe to say your mp10 is not the problem since it has nothing electrical submerged in your water. After this has been rectified, go buy a titanium ground probe and stick it in the tank.
 
Unplug everything. Then test water with the back of your hand, (NOT STANDING IN WATER AND DEFINITELY WEARING RUBBER SOLED SHOES). If you get shocked it will contract your muscles, so using the back of your hand will pull your arm away, instead of using the front which will make you clench your fist.

Plug in main return pump and check again.
Then go powerhead to powerhead and you will most likely find the powerhead that is gettin' ya!
 
You wouldn't happen to have a Stealth heater would you? If so unplug it and retest with a multimeter as described above.
 
I agree you should check with a multimeter but here is something to think about. I had measurable current, about 20-25 VAC and everything was hooked up to an ungrounded receptacle (older house wiring). When I pugged the equipment into a grounded outlet the multimeter read zero. Turned out that my return pump was creating a ground from the water, like a probe would do. This could not happen until the pump itself was grounded. Took a while for me to figure this out, but with the help of another reefer on another thread it became apparent. Also, remember some current in the water is normal and is the result of induction. I have as much as 5 VAC from each pump. A GFI is a must in this hobby. Yesterday a friend of mine had his tank overflow while he was messing with it. Water ran into the powerstrip and triggered the GFI. He just put the GFI in last week after I told him he was crazy not to have one. That $12 may have saved his life.
 
I agree

I agree

Zestay said:
9 times outta 10 its your heater
Click to expand...

Usually a heater. Sometimes a pump. Rarely a leaky lighting fixture ballast, (if there is lots of metallic contact with the tank).

FWIW I nearly was electrocuted with an Azoo heater. I have had three leaky stealths. I have no interest, but consider Jaeger and Eheim heaters as better safety risks. (My two cents. 20yrs experience. Stick with the European heaters...)

Tip, when working in the sump, wear crocks or some insulating sole on your shoes... never poke around your sump in the basement in bare feet; this to avoid a 'hard grounding' where **your body** becomes the path of least resistance.
 
Last edited:
Is there an acceptable amount of electric current in an aquarium? I've been getting slight electric shocks (usually only noticable on the cutticles or in small cuts on the hand) for years now. I wouldn't even call it a shock, more like a tingle but it's def electric, not sting from the salt, as when I unplug everything it's gone. I've always just ignored it, and never had any issues that I noticed. I measured it tonight with an analog multimeter as described above and came up with about 1.2 AC V (pretty sure I'm reading it right). As I unplugged my two Stealth heaters, maxi jet, and Sicce pump (skimmer), it dropped bit by bit to 0. Do I need to replace all 4 pieces of equipment!?!? The two heaters are less then 3 months old, and the MJ about 6. Do grounding probes solve this problem? Not according to this article and several others similar to it I have read... http://freshaquarium.about.com/od/problemsolving/a/grounding.htm

What about buying equipment with a grounded cord? Will that eliminate the problem?

I have been trying to find a solution to this for a long time now. Honestly I can't say that it's been a real problem as my tanks have for the most part looked fine, but I would like the peace of mind seeing a 0 on that multimeter when I stick the probe in the water. Any more info would be great, thanks.
 
Hate that! I recall putting my arm in the tank and my neck and arm tightning up and twitching like and idiot until I got my arm out. Pump had a short, sorta sucked figuring it out. Unplugging one thing and putting my hand in, twitched and unplugged another. Took a while but figured it out. Sucked I tell you, hate electricity.
 
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