Stray Voltage

danenelsen · May 21, 2023

Hello,

I went to Dallas Aquashella yesterday and started taking to one of the vendors there. None of my invertebrates have survived in my tank. I've tried a conch, starfish, zombie snails, and a Mexican turbo snail, all of which died within 12 hours of being placed in the tank. The vendor suggested stray voltage and so today I used a multimeter to test for the volts in my aquarium. There were 4 volts in total, 1 from the wavemaker, 1 from the ATO, 1, from the return pump, and 1 from the other things. Is this what is killing my inverts?

Reefering1 · May 21, 2023

How exactly did you use the multimeter to check this, where did you put each lead?

ptrick21186 · May 21, 2023

If stray voltage is something you're worried about you can get a titanium grounding probe for your tank for about $15 on Amazon

danenelsen · May 21, 2023

Reefering1 said:
How exactly did you use the multimeter to check this, where did you put each lead?

The negative went into the ground in a wall socket. The positive went into the water in the tank.

Reefering1 · May 21, 2023

That's correct, I wouldn't be worried about 4 volts. But as the other guy said, titanium grounding probe is the way to go. Never worry about it again. Just make sure it stays in the water

bushdoc · May 21, 2023

In addition to stray voltage, I would also test for copper and ,maybe salinity as those ,especially copper are much common causes of invertebrates demise.

Reefer Matt · May 21, 2023

I highly suggest putting your tank on a gfci circuit if it is not already, when using a ground probe. In the event of a short, the probe will allow a ground path and electrify your tank. I explain this in the following video...

Cichlid Dad · May 21, 2023

ptrick21186 said:
If stray voltage is something you're worried about you can get a titanium grounding probe for your tank for about $15 on Amazon

Thank you, never heard of it, just bought one

ptrick21186 · May 21, 2023

Reefer Matt said:
I highly suggest putting your tank on a gfci circuit if it is not already, when using a ground probe. In the event of a short, the probe will allow a ground path and electrify your tank. I explain this in the following video...

Yes. Forgot to mention this. Make sure you have your tank plugged into a GFCI.