Random SHOCK!

[lorenz0]

So today I realized I am getting random voltage in my tank. was about to feed the fish and was shocked the second my hand hit the water. First I thought it was my koralia because I heard they have had this issue, switched out my 425gph nano to the 250gph and still the same issue. Now I have the maxijet unpluged (if I wait 30min I will get shocked again). Besides those 2 the only other power supplied equipment is the heater.

Anyone been in this situation?

[Myka]

Lights?

Getting shocked is revitalizing. Not a bad experience really. I got shocked a couple months ago. It was the lights on one of my holding tanks.

[Zoaelite]

Lights?

Getting shocked is revitalizing. Not a bad experience really. I got shocked a couple months ago. It was the lights on one of my holding tanks.

Who doesn't enjoy a nice revitalizing cardiac arrest :lol::lol::lol:. Unplug them one at a time then "revitalize" yourself until you find the culprit.

A cut on your finger feels VERY similar to the zing you get from a stray current, you sure its not that?

[lorenz0]

Yep, just got shocked again checking if the maxijet was the issue.

how can it be the light myka? I have a jbj viper and the base is made of plastic, which touches plastic and plastic isn't very conductive

And no levi, no cuts and i have tried with different fingers. aww it wakes me up every time.

But my rainbow monti isn't showing very good PE compared to my acro's

[Myka]

how can it be the light myka? I have a jbj viper and the base is made of plastic, which touches plastic and plastic isn't very conductive

It was the on/off switch causing the shock. I think the switch was touching the glass, but I didn't think glass was conductive...? I don't really know. All I know is that if the light is plugged in when I stick my hand in the water I will get zapped. Unplug light, and no shock. I usually leave it plugged in though because it really ain't that bad, and the plug in is hard to reach on that tank. :lol:

[lorenz0]

umm interesting. I will have to see if it zaps me once the lights turn off.

[Triggz]

Ive had this happen with a faulty heater.. Pull it out and check the water.

[Binare]

Its current that kills, not voltage and I promise ya any heater or light your running draws enough current to kill ya, fix those issues before ya guys go stickin your hands in the tank ;)

On a side note, water is actually a very good insulator doesn't conduct electricity very well at all, the minerals in water do though.

[daniella3d]

Yes I would unplug the heater and test again if you get shocked. This is serious so unplug first.

Ive had this happen with a faulty heater.. Pull it out and check the water.

[mark]

wondering, stuff on a GFI?

[Delphinus]

Good grief Charlie Brown .. don't be testing for stray current with your finger. No multimeter in the house?? No GFCI?? If I had nothing to work with I would unplug everything and check each item over one by one, usually you can see a little crack or something if it has let go.

As you surmised it's probably not your lights unless there is a conductive path from the lights to the water. It's one of your pumps or your heater, gotta be.

[Myka]

Its current that kills, not voltage and I promise ya any heater or light your running draws enough current to kill ya, fix those issues before ya guys go stickin your hands in the tank ;)

If I had a dollar for every time my tanks zapped me in the last 20 years I would be able to build that 8' FOWLR I really want. :mrgreen: The lights that zap me on a regular basis these days are a set of 2x54w T5s. It's just a tickle. I've been zapped by heaters too, and they seem to pack more punch. :twised: I imagine getting zapped by halides would be concerning. I've been zapped by baseboard heaters too, and random 110v wires in houses when the electrician assured me they were off, and I cut the wires. Damn Sparky (the electrician). I was zapped by 240v once...I highly recommend avoiding that. Hindsight doesn't even make that one funny!

[Zoaelite]

If I had a dollar for every time my tank zapped me in the last 20 years I would be able to build that 8' FOWLR I really want. :mrgreen: The lights that zap me on a regular basis these days are a set of 2x54w T5s. It's just a tickle. I've been zapped by heaters too, and they seem to pack more punch. :twised: I imagine getting zapped by halides would be concerning.

+1 *Knocks on wood*

Who ever has died after getting electrocuted from there fish tank please post now:

[jorjef]

Since we are talking about testing equipment try this test on for giggles....Need to know if the stove is grounded correct

Step one ..... use a metal pot to make some pudding ( flavor optional)

Step two....... stir said pudding with a full metal spoon... like a teaspoon

Step three...... reach over to the kitchen sink (stainless steel) WHILE at the same time stirring the pudding in the metal pot with your metal spoon and see what happens..


Happened to a girl friend many years ago and try to figure out what happened after you hear the scream and run into the kitchen to find her laid out on her back with pudding dripping from the ceiling.

[Ron99]

I would say the heater is a likely culprit as it will only shock you when the heater comes on. So test it by turning up the thermostat and making sure it on then unplug it and see if the shock goes away.

I had a faulty heater that did in a bunch of stuff in my tank and also found a faulty heater in the LED tank at Oceanic that killed a couple of clams.

[lorenz0]

Good grief Charlie Brown .. don't be testing for stray current with your finger.

I live a dangerous lifestyle

But I didn't even think about using my multimeter. But I need help, whats the best way to test water? more or less what is a decent ground to use.

[Binare]

If I had a dollar for every time my tanks zapped me in the last 20 years I would be able to build that 8' FOWLR I really want. :mrgreen: The lights that zap me on a regular basis these days are a set of 2x54w T5s. It's just a tickle. I've been zapped by heaters too, and they seem to pack more punch. :twised: I imagine getting zapped by halides would be concerning. I've been zapped by baseboard heaters too, and random 110v wires in houses when the electrician assured me they were off, and I cut the wires. Damn Sparky (the electrician). I was zapped by 240v once...I highly recommend avoiding that. Hindsight doesn't even make that one funny!

I could go on forever about this subject, but hey, what do I know :p

[mike31154]

Don't dismiss the lights, particularly flourescents, as the cause for your tickles. Fluorescents in particular can induce a fair amount of voltage into your water via the electromagnetic fields produced by them. If you have clip on individual reflectors such as on a T5HO retro set up, make sure you ground them as well. I used to get a good tingle when brushing up against them with my hand in the water. Grounding the reflectors helped mitigate this, but there will still be some voltage induced into the water by the EMF produced by the light tube.

Here's a link with a little more in depth info. Talks about GFCIs as well and has some thoughts regarding grounding probes.

http://angel-strike.com/aquarium/GFI&TechnicalDetails.html