Hello,
Just to start this is a new account, but I've actually browsed the forums since I got my first saltwater aquarium almost eight years ago. I've found lots of useful information on here in that time so wanted to say it's really appreciated and I've learnt alot.
I'm making this thread because I'm having issues with electricals in my aquarium and I'm not really sure what to do. In the last couple weeks I've had my ReefMat motor burn out and stop working, a less than year old Eheim e250 heater which broke two days ago and since then with my replacement heater which is fairly old I've been getting some zaps when touching the aquarium, either the water or the metal frame of my mesh lid. I've since disconnected this heater and I think the stray voltage has stopped.
With the Eheim heater there is a wire that looks like copper which runs all the down the middle of the glass housing which I guess is the heating element, that is snapped cleanly in half. There also looks to be a little water that had seeped inside the heater.
The setup for the plugs is a double wall socket, I have a 6-way extension plugged into each socket, I have 12 bits of equipment so all sockets on both extensions are used. I have seen sparks in the socket sometimes when disconnecting plugs. If what I've read is correct, there should be enough capacity for about 3kW, all my equipment if running at max power should use less than 900w. I have a feeling the extensions are the problem, but I haven't replaced them because I don't know how to be sure they are. On top of that what would I replace them with? Buying the same type/brand of extension again seems like a bad idea.
So the gist of this is I have equipment dying and strong stray voltage occurring which I think I have now stopped, but this seems like it could possibly be a coincidence because I know ReefMat motors burn out over time, I suspect the Eheim heater broke because it looked to have water get inside somehow and the stray voltage seems to have been from my replacement heater, which is years old.
If anyone could give me some advice on what I could do to find out what the problem is here, I would appreciate it alot. I'm afraid to buy new equipment in case it fails quickly. We all know these things aren't cheap!
Thanks
Just to start this is a new account, but I've actually browsed the forums since I got my first saltwater aquarium almost eight years ago. I've found lots of useful information on here in that time so wanted to say it's really appreciated and I've learnt alot.
I'm making this thread because I'm having issues with electricals in my aquarium and I'm not really sure what to do. In the last couple weeks I've had my ReefMat motor burn out and stop working, a less than year old Eheim e250 heater which broke two days ago and since then with my replacement heater which is fairly old I've been getting some zaps when touching the aquarium, either the water or the metal frame of my mesh lid. I've since disconnected this heater and I think the stray voltage has stopped.
With the Eheim heater there is a wire that looks like copper which runs all the down the middle of the glass housing which I guess is the heating element, that is snapped cleanly in half. There also looks to be a little water that had seeped inside the heater.
The setup for the plugs is a double wall socket, I have a 6-way extension plugged into each socket, I have 12 bits of equipment so all sockets on both extensions are used. I have seen sparks in the socket sometimes when disconnecting plugs. If what I've read is correct, there should be enough capacity for about 3kW, all my equipment if running at max power should use less than 900w. I have a feeling the extensions are the problem, but I haven't replaced them because I don't know how to be sure they are. On top of that what would I replace them with? Buying the same type/brand of extension again seems like a bad idea.
So the gist of this is I have equipment dying and strong stray voltage occurring which I think I have now stopped, but this seems like it could possibly be a coincidence because I know ReefMat motors burn out over time, I suspect the Eheim heater broke because it looked to have water get inside somehow and the stray voltage seems to have been from my replacement heater, which is years old.
If anyone could give me some advice on what I could do to find out what the problem is here, I would appreciate it alot. I'm afraid to buy new equipment in case it fails quickly. We all know these things aren't cheap!
Thanks