LOOSE V0LtaGE!.!.!.///

[emporer]

I have been doing some readings with a Voltage meter that i purchased from home depot for $16. For those of you that are interested its a digital meter and the way it works Is It comes with a red and black prong... the red goes into the water in the tank or sump...and the black goes into the ground on your outlet.. or a screw that is on your outlet...I dont reccomend anyone under the age of 17 to try this. (the ground is the round hole on a 3 prong outlet) any way when i 1st tested... I got a 50 volt reading which is nuts...and yes i have lost fish. I narrowed it down but the problem is i dont completley understand why 1 of my strip lights is causing 30 of the unwanted volts. This isnt in the water WHY? is this rediculouse amount appearing in the reading. The other light is just fine ,,, doesnt read anything.. also how can i get the same exact strip light to match... or am i gonna have to buy a whole new set??
?'s asked.
dont completley understand why 1 of my strip lights is causing 30 of the unwanted volts.
also how can i get the same exact strip light to match... or am i gonna have to buy a whole new set??

 

[emporer]

Bump

 

[thomas712]

Unplug the lighting fixture, clean everything.
Fluorescent lights have a strong electric charge in that tube. As air bubbles burst at the surface of the water they spray salt several inches. Salt creep or salt spray can form and give electricity a path from lighting. I once made a path to ground when my cheek touched the lighting fixture on my old 55 gallon with 360 watts of VHO lighing while my hands were in the aquarium, tasted my gold and silver fillings for some time after that.
Thomas

 

[fraggle_a]

Befor you test your tank. You sould test your house's ground.
Dont take it for granted that your ground is stable.
90% of us have a 'dirty' ground. Especialy if you have a computer or two and a cable hookup.
You can check your results by unhooking Everything from your tank and then taking the reading again. Then plug one thing in at a time and do another check to isolate whats causing the problem. Next, Isolate the device from the water and check again.
Remeber, just because you have voltage on the ground, doesnt mean its comming 'Thru' the water. The device itself might be bad and grounding itself.

 

[moneyman]

AC current in the bulb induced a voltage onto the salt water.
Also, the 30v is from the water to ground. Your fish will only experience that voltage if it hi-five the grounding point while still touching in the water.

 

[pfitz44]

why are we checking voltage to a path to ground?? do you have a grounding probe on your tank?? Is there another path to ground????????

 

[fraggle_a]

Technicaly no, there isnt a path to ground.... until your hand touches the water.
The sign of voltage in the water says some of your equipment is faulty and needs attention.

 

[pfitz44]

Originally Posted by Fraggle_a
Technicaly no, there isnt a path to ground.... until your hand touches the water.
The sign of voltage in the water says some of your equipment is faulty and needs attention.
If your hand touches the water, im still not seeing the path to ground....
I could see it if you were touching another piece of equipment....
But im still not seing how thats going to hurt the fish

 

[unleashed]

omg thomas im sorry to laugh but your discription of this incedent and fillings i could help it.but a good example of what can happen
Originally Posted by Thomas712
Unplug the lighting fixture, clean everything.
Fluorescent lights have a strong electric charge in that tube. As air bubbles burst at the surface of the water they spray salt several inches. Salt creep or salt spray can form and give electricity a path from lighting. I once made a path to ground when my cheek touched the lighting fixture on my old 55 gallon with 360 watts of VHO lighing while my hands were in the aquarium, tasted my gold and silver fillings for some time after that.
Thomas