Help Please

[ace1204]

Everytime i go to stick my hand in the tank after a while i get a small what feel like static shock on my finger, it doesnt happen if i dry my hand then stick it right back in but if i wait a while then stick it back in i get a small shock again. Is this stray voltage? Everything seems to be fine, fish and corals look normal, peppermint shrimp are still alive and kicks, some snails could have died off recently but i could just now be realizing it. Any thoughts on what to do?

 

[smoothie]

Start with the heater or any hydor products you may have

 

[ace1204]

how do i test it though, just stick my hand in after a while and see if i get a shock or go buy a voltage meter?

 

[dakota9]

Do you have a small cut on your finger? I've had saltwater give me a tingle on a cut after a few minutes.


Are you barefooted, on carpeting?

Stand barefooted on a wet, metal cookie sheet and see if the feeling intensifies.

 

[jaydm93teg]

hey man,
I think just from reading past threads that most people say get a volt meter and stick it in the water to read if there is any stray voltage....

If the volt meter is registering stray voltage then you can just get a grounding probe stick the probe in the tank with a suction cup like a heater does and the other end of the probe has a little metal circle that you can ground anywhere, I have heard that the center screw that holds the plastic socket cover to the wall is a pretty solid ground.

again this is alll stuff i have read in past threads but at least it gives you a starting point.

 

[johnr2604]

Sounds like it could be a static charge of some sort. You are discharging it then it has to build back up.

 

[ace1204]

no cuts, it is definately a shock and it happens almost everytime that i stick my hand in the tank after a while, even with shoes on, i cut off the heater and am gonna try again in a minute to see what happens

 

[dakota9]

just unplug one device at a time until you find the culprit.

 

[dakota9]

Barbara;438294 wrote: Unplug them and remove them from the water if you can.

Well, theres not going to be enough voltage to fry anyone, but no, it probably wouldn't be comfortable, but would save the expense of a volt meter.

 

[brianjfinn]

Dakota9;438291 wrote:
Stand barefooted on a wet, metal cookie sheet and see if the feeling intensifies.

I like this idea. Try sticking your tongue in a light socket too.

 

[johnr2604]

If it was a device leaking with a bad insulator then it would shock you everytime you put your hand in and it was on. The fact you said you can pull your hand out, dry it off then stick it back in without it shocking you makes me think its static. Its quite possibly from you. Kinda like how I always shock myself getting out of the car this time of year.

 

[dakota9]

brianjfinn;438308 wrote: I like this idea. Try sticking your tongue in a light socket too.

Seriously, it's a tingle, not an electrocution.


Often, if you're standing on carpet or wearing shoes, you wont feel voltage. My last set-up was in my tiled sunroom. Believe me, it never took me long to fix a voltage issue in my tank when they sprange up.

 

[brianjfinn]

I know, I was just joshin. Just sounds funny, and I could see my wife posting a picture of me if I tried it.

 

[johnr2604]

Dakota9;438307 wrote: Well, theres not going to be enough voltage to fry anyone, but no, it probably wouldn't be comfortable, but would save the expense of a volt meter.

That might be true if it was voltage that killed you. There is plenty of amperage avilable to kill someone. Depends on how grounded you are and how it travels through your body.

 

[smoothie]

So what have you narrowed it down to?

 

[ace1204]

Its not the heater, not the eheim pump on the skimmer, not the vortech,
so that leaves the Lights, eheim return pump, and static

 

[cr500_af]

Note about some posts above:
1. If you use a voltmeter, you have to do more than "stick it in the tank". Put the negative lead to a ground (the small round part of an outlet) and put the positive lead in the water. Make sure the meter is set to AC voltage.

2. A ground probe doesn't perform its full job unless the tank power is run through a GFCI. In fact, I seem to remember reading that a ground probe w/o a GFCI can be dangerous, but I could be remembering that wrong.

 

[cr500_af]

dawgdude;438378 wrote: I've had lights do it before. Don't ask me how the F it's able to do it but somehow it has in the past.

I have too... or a least the light was my tipoff. I guess the light housing is grounded, because I never got the tingle with my hands in the tank unless my forearm touched the light fixture. I don't remember what the culprit was anymore, but the light apparently completed the circuit to give me the shock.

 

[acroholic]

Grounding probes are like band aids, IMO, and only mask an existing problem. I'd rather receive a shock and find and fix the issue.

If you use a voltmeter, Clint, and can't reach an outlet ground, you can use the ground of a 3 prong extension cord as well.
Dave