Wiring advice/help needed (voltage in tank)

[Wildechild_01]

I still dont think there is an issue with the devices actually leaking power into the tank I will admit the induced levels seem a little hight but depending on the quality of the equipment and the materials used induced voltages can be pretty high, i will check my tank when i get home and see what my results are like. It is worth double checking the GFCI hookups to make sure your white and black are in the right place, even if they are without the ground probe in the tank the gfci will likely not trip since all of the power going out will eventually make its way back through that same gfci assuming all of the equipment is run through it.

[gregzz4]

Those low voltages on your power bar are definitely messed up

[CM125]

I would try a different plug (even on a different circuit if you can) see what the results are

[Wildechild_01]

I just read the post about the voltages on the power strip. They seem to be way out to lunch there. What were you measuring between to get those? Also could try plugging individual items into gfci see how it reacts with those power bar readings there could be an issue internally there that messes with stuff in the tank but the bar as a whole still shows balanced to the gfci hence the not tripping. I am just heading home will go through all this again and probably post some more ideas


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[Wildechild_01]

http://theaquariumwiki.com/Stray_current hopefully that link works its a fairly good write up actually. My guess is we are dealing with the Magnetic Induction my tank reads at 60 volts but i get no real current flow reading. As a point of interest though i am going to keep an eye on this phenomenon in my tank for a while mostly as an academic exercise for myself.

The strange voltages on your power bar are still baffling, did you have your equipment still plugged into it when you tested it? Was the reading hot to neutral, the 2 slots of the plug, or were the measurements to the ground spot?

[GoFish]

So just finished doing some tests. Followed THIS link checking my GFCI, and got the same results so it must be installed correctly.

Not sure what i was doing wrong last night but i tested the Coralife powerbar again with a lot less clutter around and was able to get proper readings, no issue with the powerbar. SORRY for the confusion, it puts out 120v 'ish. it has these turning child protectors on it and is real pain in the a$$ to get these little voltmeter probes in there/ got 40 a few more times and figured out the angle

First, with nothing plugged in. Positive probe in tank and negative probe of voltmeter in ground on socket still reads 2.7v, I put the ground probe in the water and it drops to 0, i figure with the probe it would release any stray voltage from the water, but nope, no matter how many times the rid-volt goes into the water it jumps back to 2.7, still with nothing plugged in. Tank water will not read 0 without Rid-volt

TEST #1
So + in tank, - in ground on GFCI (This time i plug in each device and then unplug and move to the next one)
2.7v w/nothing
T5 Lights = 4.6
Koralia = 15
Aquaclear = 9.5
Skimmer = 20.6
Heater = 22.0

Test #2
This time, same as above but the Rid-volt is now plugged in and in the tank.
0.0 w/ nothing
T5 Lights = 0.0
Koralia = 0.0
Aquaclear = 0.0
Skimmer = 0.0
Heater = 0.0

Now i try i different circuit from the kitchen via an extension cord

Test #3
So + in tank, - in ground on powerbar plugged into extension cord ( I only used the powerbar on this test cause i needed a ground from that circuit to use. Theres a 50 foot power cord being used now so that may explain the lower numbers from test #1
0.7v w/nothing
T5 Lights = 2.7
Koralia = 10.7
Aquaclear = 7.1
Skimmer = 18.2
Heater = 20.4

Test #4
Same as test #3 bu this time on the other circuit
0.0 w/ nothing
T5 Lights = 0.0
Koralia = 0.0
Aquaclear = 0.0
Skimmer = 0.0
Heater = 0.0

hmmm, all my equipment appears to be faulty now?? Is it at all possible that my un-grounded T5 issue from 2 weeks ago could have caused other equipment to slowly break down the ability to not release stray voltage?

[GoFish]

Going out for drinks with some friends pretty quick, just had a glance at that article and you may have discovered the issue with one of Cardinal fish! HLLE?! I posted a while ago about it but never figured it out

Seen HERE

And just tested for current, 0

Thanks again for help, i'll reply when i have more time later on

Cheers

[gregzz4]

Originally Posted by Vancity

Going out for drinks with some friends pretty quick, just had a glance at that article and you may have discovered the issue with one of Cardinal fish! HLLE?! I posted a while ago about it but never figured it out

Seen HERE

And just tested for current, 0

Thanks again for help, i'll reply when i have more time later on

Cheers

Gather this post was meant for a different site ? ...

[gregzz4]

Originally Posted by Vancity

So just finished doing some tests

I'd say you're good to go now using the grounding probe, but only because your results are below 20VAC

As I posted previously, I have no voltage in my tank, so I'm comfortable using a grounding probe as I know my fish are not being subjected to a constant voltage

I've read (probably just in humor) that if your fish start swimming in one east/west or north/south direction you should check your voltage

So, again, I'd say you're good to go with the grounding probe, but it's too bad you can't get your numbers down to near single decimals

[gregzz4]

Oops, wait a minute ...

Sorry, I'm reading too fast and not absorbing your info
I forgot to add up all your numbers

If it were me, I'd like to see the total voltage below 20ish

Inspect all your hardware cords for damage/salt intrusion etc and go from there