Stray Voltage

sh2000

Member
What is stray volatage ? how can it be prevented..I have all my wires hooked up 2 several sureg protectors would that prevent any stray volatge please explain.
 

perfectdark

Active Member
Originally Posted by SH2000
http:///forum/post/2462881
What is stray volatage ? how can it be prevented..I have all my wires hooked up 2 several sureg protectors would that prevent any stray volatge please explain.
You should also have everything plugged into a GFCI too.
Stray voltage is any electrical appliance you have on your tank leaking a small amount of electricity it can be detected using a volt meter. Stick the ground probe into the ground hole of a electrical socket and the positive probe into your tank. Make sure your meter is set to AC volts and you will see the needle move or numbers appear if you have any stray voltage.
Small amounts of stray voltage generally cannot be prevented, almost all tanks have a very small amount running through them. There is a lot of controversy about using a grounding probe to channel the elec towards and keep it away from your tank inhabitants. The argument is that you cannot tell where the elec is entering the tank so a probe on the other side would make the elec travel further than it would of without one.
Large amounts of stray voltage is not good (for obvious reasons) and from what I have read is theroized to attribute to HLLE in fish.
 

sh2000

Member
Gfci ?
I hope im covered with the surges maybe i'm lucky 3 years no hllle and no stray voltage to my limited knoledge.
 

perfectdark

Active Member
Originally Posted by SH2000
http:///forum/post/2462965
Gfci ?
I hope im covered with the surges maybe i'm lucky 3 years no hllle and no stray voltage to my limited knoledge.
GFCI= Ground Fault Circuit Inturrupter... if something were to short out the GFCI would trip much like a circuit breaker stopping all elec current to your tank.
 

salty blues

Active Member
Originally Posted by SH2000
http:///forum/post/2463047
well I'm lost..I hope I continue to keep up my luck.

Surge protectors protect equipment. GFCI's protect YOU! (And your fishies, etc.)
Oh, and there's no such thing as "luck". There's only experience.
 

heavyroller

New Member
Yeah a GFCI is hopefully what is in your bathroom near any water sources. It will trigger a small switch on the outlet to shut off the power if it detects a fault in the circuit.
 

sman

Member
Alot of new "surge protectors" or power strips have gfci's built in. Cant say I would ever buy one that doesnt have one.
 
S

swalchemist

Guest
A GFCI will trip if a device say a hair dryer or any (dry) electronic device falls into water. They are installed on most SW system power supplies in a mistaken belief that they will trip in the event of say a malfunctioning device, they usually will not, this is where I seriously recommend a good grade surge protector, you will spend a lot on it too but there is no sense in $10,000 tank depending on a $1.99 surge protector. Also if you install your GFCI under your tank, inside the stand it could trip due to excessive moisture build up and render your tank without power.
 

sh2000

Member
Originally Posted by heavyroller
http:///forum/post/2463277
Yeah a GFCI is hopefully what is in your bathroom near any water sources. It will trigger a small switch on the outlet to shut off the power if it detects a fault in the circuit.
I have those on my switch, I just didn't know what it was called.
 
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