question on grounding probe

[oncebitten]

i have heard of putting grounding probes right in the tank. is this right? shouldent it be in the sump. just trying to figure out this question. as to my lfs says its ok to do this even with a coral cat in there. any info would be great. oh also my nitrates are at 5ppms lfs said this is ok, as long as it does not get higher than 20ppms for this shark.

 

[porschephd]

Placing it in the sump should be fine. The idea is you are grounding out the current. Water is a great conductor of electricity. So anywhere it completes connection through a stream will be grounded out. You can measure the amount of current with a volt meter. Place one probe (after cleaning it) in the tank, the other end to the earth connection of the plug. Once the probe is in recheck it. You will be amazed how much current runs in the tank

 

[fatpuffer]

You should always use a ground probe for Tangs and Angels to prevent HLLE. I agree that the sump should be fine and quite frankly from an asthetic point of view looks better.

 

[gasguzzler]

It is especially important to run a grounding probe with elasmobranchs than bony fishes. The receptors sharks posess make them much more likely to be affected by stray current. I always ground every tank. The location of the probe is pretty much irrelavant.

 

[oncebitten]

ok now i understand, do i just place the probe in sump and plug it into the strip cord that goes to the wall? will that also take care of the maxi jets 1200's , have 2 in the tank for extra flow for the coral cat. mind you this is the only fish in this size tank. everything else is in sump. how do you place thegrounding probe in sump? i am going out soon to buy one, hope i can figure this out.

 

[gasguzzler]

Its really simple. The directions come with it and all you need is a Phillips screwdriver.

 

[oncebitten]

thank you