Does saltwater produce electricity? I feel like I get shocked...

reeferchief

reeferchief

Member
I have been doing weekly water changes and I notice when I touch the water after the water changes I feel like small shocks. The shocks are more noticable to minor cuts or cuticles area however when I rested my are on the corner of my sump to adjust my skimmer I noticed it again near my forearm.
It's weird because several hours after water changes I can touch the water and everything is fine again. My fiance said maybe it was something in the tank producing electricity feeling like the tube anenome or similar. The fish don't act weird and appear to be fine but me as a much larger human definitely feels it.lol
Could it be when my heater is on on my pumps kicking back on or is it just something from the new ocean water reacting with the existing tank water?
 
meowzer

meowzer

Moderator
NO...SW does not produce electricity
IF you are feeling like you are being shocked you more then likely have a bad piece of equipment....I would unplug one item at a time and test it
Do you have a meter???
 
reeferchief

reeferchief

Member
The more I think about it I am leaning toward the heater also...Usually when doing a water change the heater kicks on to heat the new water..this is when the small shock occurs..I am going to test this today. Maybe this is why 2 cardinals died for no apparent reason?
 
meowzer

meowzer

Moderator
What type of heater....IMO if you have doubts get it out.....certain heaters are known for exploding..AND THAT WILL kill almost everything
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
I know this might sound dumb...but if you have a cut on your hands/fingers...or bite your cuticles like I do...the saltwater stings, and feels just like a shock.
I agree that heaters and power heads are the usual culprits if you have a votage problem...but just in case, I thought I would mention the sting from saltwater.
 
reeferchief

reeferchief

Member
It's a cascade heater. I am removing it bc this appears to be the only logical solution. I am going to purchase a titanium shatter proof heater today. Have you heard anything about these style heaters? The guy at my LFS sounded like he knows what he was talking about. He assumed I currently have a glass heater, which is correct and he said it will look fine but where the cord goes into the heater element is where the problems occur. He said that fish aren't grounded so the electricity will have little to no affect on fish but it will on me..lol
 
novahobbies

novahobbies

Well-Known Member
Actually I'm going to go with Flower on this one. Small open wounds (scratches, etc...especially hangnails!) can get a shocklike feel to them when in saltwater. It's happened to me as well, and I've tested my tank with a voltimeter.
Still, the first thing I think you should do is test your tank. Easy to do with any multimeter. If you're getting a reading, start pulling out parts and re-testing. Yes, it's a good bet to start with your heater.
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by reeferchief http:///t/388430/does-saltwater-produce-electricity-i-feel-like-i-get-shocked#post_3425449
It's a cascade heater. I am removing it bc this appears to be the only logical solution. I am going to purchase a titanium shatter proof heater today. Have you heard anything about these style heaters?
That's the only type I use now. I like the ones with a seperate heat element for tracking the temp. I had a glass heater break on my freshwater aquarium when a fish bumped it, and then I went with the plastic type...then I had a plastic one break because it was brittle from saltwater that electricuted my tank.
 
reeferchief

reeferchief

Member
It only makes sense that it's the heater. It only happens everytime I do water change when heater is usually on and at odd times. Sometimes I move sump tray and get shocked other times I don't sometimes my hand will be in tank with no problem and an hour later I can move again and zappp goes my hand...not bad to the point I need to take my hand out but enough to feel it buzzing me..it was really noticable on my forearm.lol
Also if it was a power head or any of the pumps on return or skimmer it would always be a zap since they are constant power and always draw same energy, whereas the heater is intermittent and comes on and off...
 
meowzer

meowzer

Moderator
ODD....I guess everyone is different....I always seem to have a cut of some sort on my hands...and never feel anything,....LOL
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by meowzer http:///t/388430/does-saltwater-produce-electricity-i-feel-like-i-get-shocked#post_3425502
ODD....I guess everyone is different....I always seem to have a cut of some sort on my hands...and never feel anything,....LOL
A cut is different than an open spot of raw skin, my hands are dry and I alway bite my cuticles, I used to bite my nails but I can't seem to leave dry cuticles alone...it only stings for a moment. If it only zaps one sore finger and not the whole hand, at least I know it isn't stray voltage. LOL.
 
reeferchief

reeferchief

Member
LOL I do the same by scraping off cuticles and I would feel it all over. I grew up in the ocean and on boats so I know what it feels like with cuts in saltwater but this was definitely a zap feeling. Anyways last night I removed the glass heater and bought a 300W Aqua Heat model titanium heater. Can anyone vouch for this heater brand? I'm hoping I got a good buy, it has a stand alone control know that you can mount on the wall to control the temperature, which I thought was pretty cool!
 
meowzer

meowzer

Moderator
Never heard of it....BUT a titanium heater with its own controller...would be better then what you have/had
IMO
 
reeferchief

reeferchief

Member
cool. my main worry is adjusting it correctly. I like the water right around 80-82* which the last one did a good job at being that it was rated for 200W/55G only I had it set at 85 to get this result in a larger than designed for tank.
So the new heater, I turned the know till the heating light came on (which tells me thats the temp) and I backed off a few degrees to about 78ish. Since it's stronger I don't want it heating up my tank like a hot tub or going haywire and burning things...
It looks way more serious then the glass heater we had.
 
meowzer

meowzer

Moderator
If a heater is working correctly it should run the tank at the temp you have it set for.....regardless of size (unless it's too small and can't of course)
 
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