URGENT PLEASE HELP ! Shock everytime I put my hand in the tank

[mtlreeffreak]

I cant figure it out.. Yesterday every time i put my hand in the sump I got shocked I unplugged everything one by one until i figured out it was my old auto top of system..today my wife put her hand in the main tank and she says she felt a shock.. So i tried putting my hand in and I only get choked every so often ..

I have a vertex grounding probe in the display tank. is there any way to Test if something is leaking or if I have higher voltage than average?

please someone help me im worried i will lose all my clams and corals..

thank you.

[mtlreeffreak]

its really odd.. I keep trying to put my hand in the tank but only my wife gets shocked not me..?

[gregzz4]

If you own or have access to a multimeter, set it to Volts AC, put the positive in the water and the negative in an outlet ground. Ideally you want to see nearly 0 volts

Is your wife touching anything around the tank when she gets shocked ? Such as the light fixture ?

[mtlreeffreak]

Originally Posted by gregzz4

If you own or have access to a multimeter, set it to Volts AC, put the positive in the water and the negative in an outlet ground. Ideally you want to see nearly 0 volts

Is your wife touching anything around the tank when she gets shocked ? Such as the light fixture ?

dont even know where to get a multimeter.?

She is putting her hand directly in

[gregzz4]

Originally Posted by mtlreeffreak

dont even know where to get a multimeter.?

Something like this, from any tool or hardware store
Sometimes you can get them on sale for as little as $10
Analog will work fine, but the digital ones are easier to read and most are autoranging which makes them easier to use
Don't forget to buy batteries for it

If you plan on testing it in an outlet, read the instructions well before you use it for the first time, so you don't cook it or yourself

Originally Posted by mtlreeffreak

She is putting her hand directly in

So your wife is not touching anything near the tank, just the water ?
Is she wearing shoes, or barefoot ?

[mtlreeffreak]

Originally Posted by gregzz4

Something like this, from any tool or hardware store
Sometimes you can get them on sale for as little as $10
Analog will work fine, but the digital ones are easier to read and most are autoranging which makes them easier to use
Don't forget to buy batteries for it

If you plan on testing it in an outlet, read the instructions well before you use it for the first time, so you don't cook it or yourself


So your wife is not touching anything near the tank, just the water ?
Is she wearing shoes, or barefoot ?

thanks.. hopefully i wont lose anything till tomorrow the stores re closed now

shes wearing socks..

[Reef_Geek]

I've been shocked a few times. Work long enough with aquariums, it's a matter of time before you realize why all the fuss about being careful around water and electricity.

Culprits have been...
1) most commonly, broken heater tubes
2) seals eventually broken on submersible pumps
3) salt creep or a bit of salt water bridging electrical contact points, such as on light bulbs or along your cords to the plug, to the rest of the system

Lessons learned
1) don't forget to unplug your heaters when draining
2) make sure you install a drip loop. if you don't know what this is... look it up
3) keep salt creep away from electrical contact points, ie don't rest your light on the tank and clean up the splashing
4) ideally, ground your system.

In your mystery of selective shocking... I've found that a weak current can be felt more readily where the skin is thinner... such as where I've chewed my finger nail cuticles or through a cut. (yup). Also, electricity will flow through your body, so if you're bare foot vs not, makes difference... as well as touching another contact point as gregzz4 pointed out... something else metal.

[mtlreeffreak]

Originally Posted by gregzz4

Something like this, from any tool or hardware store
Sometimes you can get them on sale for as little as $10
Analog will work fine, but the digital ones are easier to read and most are autoranging which makes them easier to use
Don't forget to buy batteries for it

If you plan on testing it in an outlet, read the instructions well before you use it for the first time, so you don't cook it or yourself


So your wife is not touching anything near the tank, just the water ?
Is she wearing shoes, or barefoot ?

can you post the link again.. it just shows a bunch of search results..

[Wheelman76]

From what I remember reading a while ago , and I may be completely wrong but here goes.

Stray voltage if too high in the water can affect the fish , but won't give you a shock if you put your hand in the water. Stray voltage usually comes from powerheads and other pumps that use magnets. I have about 25volts right now when I test with a multi meter and if I add a grounding probe it will drop to 0. I'm not using the grounding probe right now because from what I've read like gregzzz wrote earlier , is that using a grounding probe with no gfci is very dangerous. I'm in the process of installing a gfci and then I will start using my grounding probe.

Stray current doesn't bother the fish but this is what will give you a shock. Stray current comes from things like a faulty heater.

To test stray voltage with a multimeter set it to volts.

To test stray current set it to amps or milliamps.

[gregzz4]

Originally Posted by Wheelman76

From what I remember reading a while ago , and I may be completely wrong but here goes.

Stray voltage if too high in the water can affect the fish , but won't give you a shock if you put your hand in the water. Stray voltage usually comes from powerheads and other pumps that use magnets. I have about 25volts right now when I test with a multi meter and if I add a grounding probe it will drop to 0. I'm not using the grounding probe right now because from what I've read like gregzzz wrote earlier , is that using a grounding probe with no gfci is very dangerous. I'm in the process of installing a gfci and then I will start using my grounding probe.

Stray current doesn't bother the fish but this is what will give you a shock. Stray current comes from things like a faulty heater.

To test stray voltage with a multimeter set it to volts.

To test stray current set it to amps or milliamps.

You're correct, but need to keep some things in mind
It doesn't matter whether we are talking about volts or amps .. either is bad in saltwater
Ungrounded stray voltage, in most cases, will not affect in-tank critters visually. This is why we see nothing wrong and get shocked when we touch the water, creating a ground loop, and hurting ourselves and them. Only when the circuit is completed do we see problems with our critters, and by then we are able to easily be shocked
There are many different ways electricity can be in our tanks, and many outcomes
Have a read through this, taken from Bean Animals Bar and Grille http://www.beananimal.com/articles/e...he-reefer.aspx

This shows pretty much every instance that can occur, and I should have linked it for the OP to start with

GROUND PROBES

A grounding probe is a piece of metal (silver or titanium, to be reef safe) that connects the system's water to the home's electrical grounding conductor. Grounding probes are somewhat controversial in the hobby. The probe adds a degree of protection against electrical shock but at the same time may allow current to flow through the aquarium and its inhabitants. The following examples will help to illustrate the concepts presented here. When a person comes in contact with the water AND the ground

Example #1: A powerhead in the tank develops a hole in the insulation of the HOT wire. The powerhead is not plugged into a GFCI and there is no grounding probe. Because there is no path for current to flow, the powerhead operates normally. Nothing in the aquarium is exposed to current flow. When a person comes in contact with the water AND the ground, then current will start to flow through that person. Because there is no GFCI to sense the imbalance, the person will receive a serious electrical shock and possibly be electrocuted! It should be very clear that a GFCI is a MUST HAVE piece of safety equipment!

Example #2: A powerhead in the tank develops a hole in the insulation of the HOT wire. The powerhead is not plugged into a GFCI and there is a ground probe. Because there is a path for current to flow, the inhabitants of the tank are exposed to electric current. Furthermore, when a person comes in contact with the water AND the ground, then current will start to flow through that person. Because there is no GFCI to sense the imbalance, the person will receive a serious electrical shock and possibly be electrocuted! It should be very clear that a grounding probe used WITHOUT a GFCI is very dangerous proposition.

Example #3: A powerhead in the tank develops a hole in the insulation of the HOT wire. The powerhead is plugged into a GFCI but there is no grounding probe. Because there is no path for the current to take, no current flows and the pump operates normally. Nothing in the aquarium is exposed to current flow. When a person comes in contact with the water AND the ground, then current will start flow through that person. The GFCI will sense the leak and trip, preventing serious electric shock.

Example #4: A powerhead in the tank develops a hole in the insulation of the HOT wire. The powerhead is plugged into a GFCI and there IS a grounding probe. As soon as the HOT wire is exposed, current will begin to flow through the tank water to the grounding probe. The GFCI will register this leak and trip.

There are plenty of other scenarios to look at. What happens when both the HOT and NEUTRAL (or ground) of a piece of equipment are both exposed underwater? With or without a GFCI, current will flow locally from the HOT to the NEUTRAL (or ground). The GFCI (if in place) will NOT trip because there is no current imbalance. The tanks inhabitants will not likely be aware of the current flow either. Placing a hand in the tank could provide a nasty shock! A grounding probe in conjunction with a GFCI would prevent this by causing the current to flow to the probe, and thus tripping the GFCI. The same holds true if two different pieces of equipment develop small leaks, one HOT and the other Neutral. The probe and GFCI combination would allow current to flow to the probe, subsequently causing the GFCI to trip.
Using a ground probe without GFCI protection on all of the submerged (or exposed) equipment creates a dangerous situation for the tank's inhabitants and humans exposed to that tank. A ground probe must always be used with GFCI protection!