Electrified Water in Tanks

[wingsnfins]

At the lfs, a guy was netting some fish, and put his hand down in the tank and was startled by the electric shock he received! I noticed this before in some other tanks they have, on different occasions, but was wondering if this is something they have done intentionally. Perhaps to ward off any parasites or diseases? The fish might not be feeling it because they aren't standing on the floor, but man, you should have seen the guy jump! Another employee acted like it was no big deal and said he'd check it out later. Maybe they just don't have something grounded properly, but it makes me wonder if they know something about "electric water" that I don't know. Any clues?

 

[txduckhunter]

Sounds like they have an open ground in a pump or a loose neutral on a buss board

 

[beth]

LOL...well, if there was some connection between electricity and parasite control [which there isn't as far as I know] it would be foolhearty to use it this way. People could get seriously injuried or killed by not having their electrical supply under a gfi circuit.

 

[fritzthecat]

Hello again, Wingsnfins .
From a purely scientific standpoint, if the fish aren't grounded, any parasites in the tank wouldn't be grounded either, so I doubt any electrical treatments would be very effective. Sounds like it was a careless mistake by the lfs. The worker who put his hand in the tank closed the circuit and got a breif shock. Any fish nearby could have gotten tagged as well, but that would have been immediately obvious. I wouldn't worry.

 

[alleyesonme]

in martin moe's beginner to breeder book, it said that electric currents in the tank isnt good for the fish. under the "Disease and symptoms" pages it says that if your fish are suspiciously overactive or underactive, you might check for a current in the water. and yes, he meant electric.

 

[orby]

Isn't it also said that free electrical current in your tank can cause lateral line disease? I can't believe the people at the store took it so lightly, A ungrounded system is the electric chair waiting to happen. Saltwater is HIGHLY conductive. Stupid people shouldn't breed.

 

[broomer5]

Several things can cause electical voltages in a saltwater tank.
1) Bad powerhead or heater or pump - if you have a short or leak in the potted seal or water is leaking into the circuit - you will KNOW IT and is the most dangerous of conditions. This will cause shock or trip a circuit breaker hopefully.
2) Induced voltage into the tank from all the electrical equipment we use, lighting, pumps, heaters, skimmers, etc. This is induced voltage - that is a potential voltage that exists in the insulated tank. You can easily check this with a volt meter, Fluke multi tester. Just place one probe in the water and connect the other to earth ground, and measure the voltage potential. It's not uncommon to have this induced voltage. A grounding probe will eliminate the problem entirely. Cheap and easy

 

[jimi]

Well said Broomer, most people have some stray voltage in their tanks but dont know it until it gets high enough to shock.

 

[deblin2]

I had this problem. I went to feed my fish and got a shock. I kept unplugging things and found out it was my light. My mother suggested I turn the plug around and plug it back in. It has worked so far. What is this grounding probe and is it something I could put in myself? Do I still have a problem even though I am not getting shocked anymore. I had noticed a long time ago that if I poured water in the back where the switches were that the lid would shock me, so I was just careful not to do that.

 

[broomer5]

Titanium grounding probes are available at many lfs or you can purchase online.
It's just a probe with a suction cup that you attach to inside of your tank at the top so the probe extends down into the water - then plug the other end into a wall socket. The plug only has a "ground" and the other 2 blades are plastic.
About $10.00 bucks each and good precaution.

 

[glenn]

ok...Electric current in a tank is not good at all. It eats away the slime coat of the fish, stresses the fish out to the point of death. And if they are lucky to live through that part they can end up with hole in the head disease. So it is nothing to be taken lightly at all. The store need an electrician to come in and check it out and needs ground probes in systems. Bottom line is it is very bad.
Glenn

 

[old salt]

You should use a ground fault protector on all your cords that go into the tank... to do otherwise could be fatal to you...