My son got shocked putting one finger in our 75 gallon and one in our 40 gallon. I tried to narrow down where it could be coming from and unplugged everything, still had the same readings. 34v when using a multimeter probe in each tank, 0 when both probes in the same tank and then put one in fresh 5 gallon bucket and one in 40 gallon got 19v, and then again with one in the fresh water bucket and one in my 75 gallon got 39v. This was with everything unplugged so I am hoping this is normal???
Voltage in tank?
- Thread starter jiggysmb
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I think your son could be related to the electric problem. If your tanks are only reading when he is there, that means he is possibly conducting. Is he wearing rubber-soled shoes when doing this? does he have any electronics on him? I would look for frayed wire. COuld load your tank with voltage and when unplugged remain. I have had a similar thing before. My temperature controller had a minor tear that would zap the crap out of me.
I feel like it is almost always related to the heating equipment in some form. That or the outlet could be the problem since it is happening to both tanks. Could the outlet have tripped or gotten wet and zapped the tank?
I had the same thing. 54v. Didn't shock me when hand was in it but i changed out the return pump and the heater and now im back down to 0.003 volts. Most likely was my heater and thats probably the same as yours. My original heater was a 2 prong, new one i got is a 3 prong, basically has a ground on it where ya plug it in.
weird results here. Unplugged each of the 4 heaters one by one and the voltage would drop to 24v, unplugged all 4 and still 24v. Unplugged the Ocean revive light and dropped to 7v. No part of the light is touching the water so it makes no sense. The aluminum legs are touching plastic feet that touch the plastic rim of the tank and then there is 2" between that and the water. No idea how voltage from the light would be getting to the water....
Trust me mine did the same exact thing. Light off showed volts drop. Id almost bet my life on it that its the heater. My return pump was acting kind of wonky so changed that as well, doubt it was the culprit. Also changed the wave maker, for the hell of it lol. What kind of heater ya got?
I've had electricity from the light reach the tank through a thin salt creep before. It's worth shutting it off to see if it makes any difference.
In general, if you have stray voltage it can accumulate, usually at the water's surface. If the tank is not grounded then you will likely still get a charge when things are turned off. It's electric potential that you're dealing with, not current until someone touches it. I've seen things like this where I basically touch the water a few times and the shock decreases with each touch.
The worst culprits in my experience were Gamma UVs. We had so many of those leak internally. I once stuck my hand in a sump, froze, and then fell backwards. Those UV ballasts put out something like 400-600V at a weird frequency. Not the standard 50 or 60 Hz that comes out of the wall.
In general, if you have stray voltage it can accumulate, usually at the water's surface. If the tank is not grounded then you will likely still get a charge when things are turned off. It's electric potential that you're dealing with, not current until someone touches it. I've seen things like this where I basically touch the water a few times and the shock decreases with each touch.
The worst culprits in my experience were Gamma UVs. We had so many of those leak internally. I once stuck my hand in a sump, froze, and then fell backwards. Those UV ballasts put out something like 400-600V at a weird frequency. Not the standard 50 or 60 Hz that comes out of the wall.
Oh, I forgot to mention, you will want to resolve the issue of course but they sell grounding probes for aquariums. They aren't expensive. You just plug it into a grounded socket and put the probe in the water to ground it. Should make things like this less likely to happen, or at least less severe.
The field created by the device wires causes current to flow in any conductor that crosses this field. Sticking a meter probe into this field will cause a voltage to be seen.
This is serious and not to be joked about. It's not your son, it's not normal, geez.
It sounds like you have a meter. Put the black probe in the third hole of a receptacle, the ground. But the red probe in the water, what do you get?
Unplug everything one at a time until the voltage goes away. The last thing you unplugged is the culprit.
Occasionally this is experienced by reefers and often leakage from Return pump, powerhead and heaters. You will need to disconnect each one until that zing is not felt (best with voltage meter) and replace.
ALWAYS guard your tank with ground probe:
ALWAYS guard your tank with ground probe:
It's a fair question, but these are commonly very minor. I wouldn't notice anything sticking my hand in my 90 gallon reef, but if I have an open cut, I sure feel it when I stick part of my hand in. Not even the part with the cut. About 75% of my reef tanks have done it at one point or another. When seals fail on a UV I would never even suggest touching the water. Powerheads though, for instance, have never given me more than a tickle. If it's pretty much an exposed cord sitting in the tank that's a problem though.
I've had two grounding probes sitting in the garage for 3 years, unopened. That's my current level of concern. It all depends on how bad the stray voltage is.
Ah, I see what you did there, lol.
I get your point and I have had a leaking wave maker. But the guy has a meter and people are still telling them to stick his finger in the water. This is the part I don't get. Use the dang meter!
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