Electricity in the water??

fdokinawa · 03/28/2006, 06:02 AM

What happens if there is an electrical current in the water? I have a cut on one of my fingers and when that finger hits the water I get a nice shock.. any other finger and I cant feel it. Thought it might just be the salt in the water.. nope, took a cup of water out of the tank and stuck my finger in that.. nothing. Im sure its probably one of my pumps, just need to figure out witch one. But everything look healthy, especially the damn alaege

will anything be hurt by this??

iCam · 03/28/2006, 06:21 AM

The stray voltage really shouldn't pose any problems to the inhabitants since the inside of the tank isn't grounded (think of birds on a powerline), but when you stick your hand in the tank, you are creating a ground.

Either way, you should definitely try to find a voltage meter and get it figured out.

M. Python · 03/28/2006, 06:21 AM

Use a digital meter put one of the leads in the tank water the other to the ground ie. wall plate and start unplugging things until you see the voltage drop. It can be salt creep to the lights or to the floor of your stand into an extension cord, a bad pump or heater to name a few things to look for.

iCam · 03/28/2006, 06:22 AM

Double post.

M. Python · 03/28/2006, 06:26 AM

ItÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s just on of those things, salt water and electricity donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t mix. IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢m sure everyone with a saltwater tank has had a shocking experience more then once.

spoiledcats · 03/28/2006, 08:06 AM

A few years back we had some serious voltage going on in our tank. But it wouldn't be there all the time. Turns out it was a heater that my husband had purchased several months before. It was a metal heater that said it was safe for saltwater, but something ate through the metal and man did that hurt. My husband returned it and got his money back. I think the pet store was just happy we weren't going to make an issue of it since it was obviously defective. I will never get another metal heater for even a freshwater tank.

E-A-G-L-E-S · 03/28/2006, 08:09 AM

sometimes.......a cut on a finger can make saltwater give a "sting", withoutstray elec.
-just a thought

Valab · 03/28/2006, 08:42 AM

If it were me, since the shock is so mild, I would just accept the marginal health risk and unplug/re-plug the various appliances until the shock disappeared.

Then, replace the offending appliance.

If you have multimeter, you could do the same thing and avoid the shock entirely.

After that, get GFCIs installed.

REEFKEEPA · 03/28/2006, 09:27 AM

Get yourself a couple of titanium ground probes and ground your tank and sump.

03/28/2006, 06:02 AM	#1
fdokinawa Moved On Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Okinawa, Japan Posts: 369	Electricity in the water?? What happens if there is an electrical current in the water? I have a cut on one of my fingers and when that finger hits the water I get a nice shock.. any other finger and I cant feel it. Thought it might just be the salt in the water.. nope, took a cup of water out of the tank and stuck my finger in that.. nothing. Im sure its probably one of my pumps, just need to figure out witch one. But everything look healthy, especially the damn alaege will anything be hurt by this??

03/28/2006, 06:26 AM	#5
M. Python Awaiting Email Confirmation Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Pa. Posts: 200	ItÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s just on of those things, salt water and electricity donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t mix. IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢m sure everyone with a saltwater tank has had a shocking experience more then once. Last edited by M. Python; 03/28/2006 at 06:40 AM.

03/28/2006, 08:09 AM	#7
E-A-G-L-E-S Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Lehigh Valley, PA Posts: 7,038	sometimes.......a cut on a finger can make saltwater give a "sting", withoutstray elec. -just a thought __________________ Smug Egotistical Contemptuous It's difficult to get a man to understand something that his salary requires him not to.

03/28/2006, 09:27 AM	#9
REEFKEEPA Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: New Orleans Posts: 494	Get yourself a couple of titanium ground probes and ground your tank and sump. __________________ WE ROCK!!!!!! Current Tank Info: 70 Gallon tub drilled, 120Lbs LR, 140Lbs LS, CPR CY194 Sump w/LR trickle, Mag Drive 9.5 return, 2 x Tunze6025 for flow, 2 x Ice Cap 660 running 6 x 95 W lamps

03/28/2006, 06:21 AM	#2
iCam Window Seat Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: D/FW, Texas Posts: 4,135	The stray voltage really shouldn't pose any problems to the inhabitants since the inside of the tank isn't grounded (think of birds on a powerline), but when you stick your hand in the tank, you are creating a ground. Either way, you should definitely try to find a voltage meter and get it figured out.

03/28/2006, 06:22 AM	#4
iCam Window Seat Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: D/FW, Texas Posts: 4,135	Double post.

03/28/2006, 08:06 AM	#6
spoiledcats Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Lehigh Valley Posts: 622	A few years back we had some serious voltage going on in our tank. But it wouldn't be there all the time. Turns out it was a heater that my husband had purchased several months before. It was a metal heater that said it was safe for saltwater, but something ate through the metal and man did that hurt. My husband returned it and got his money back. I think the pet store was just happy we weren't going to make an issue of it since it was obviously defective. I will never get another metal heater for even a freshwater tank.

03/28/2006, 08:42 AM	#8
Valab Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Wash DC Posts: 242	If it were me, since the shock is so mild, I would just accept the marginal health risk and unplug/re-plug the various appliances until the shock disappeared. Then, replace the offending appliance. If you have multimeter, you could do the same thing and avoid the shock entirely. After that, get GFCIs installed.