Getting shocked when touching my tanks water!??!

[UncommonSense]

So, does OP have a GFCI outlet and a grounding probe?

This would be the safe way to test for an electrical fault without having dedicated electrical testing equipment on-hand!

 

[matt62950]

Hello, so when I was setting back up my tank(no fish in it so not worried about that)and I got the heater, one of the canister filters, an internal uv filter and 2 wave makers plugged in, I get shocked when I touch the water, not super bad but definitely there any ideas what I can do right now?

Update**
Thank you everyone for your very fast responses this is why I love this community so much, I’m assuming it was one of the wave makers (the last thing I plugged in so I should of assumed it was that anyways) I was able to plug back in everything besides one of the wave makes so I’m assuming that’s definitely the culprit as there are no more shocks now thank you

 

[Fish Fan]

@Paul B
@Turbo's Aquatics
@oreo54

I know there's more members here on R2R, but these guys know their stuff, and I just want everyone to be safe here

 

[littlefoxx]

@Paul B
@Turbo's Aquatics
@oreo54

I know there's more members here on R2R, but these guys know their stuff, and I just want everyone to be safe here

Which is why youre awesome! Always bring good advice to the table

 

[UncommonSense]

Update**
Thank you everyone for your very fast responses this is why I love this community so much, I’m assuming it was one of the wave makers (the last thing I plugged in so I should of assumed it was that anyways) I was able to plug back in everything besides one of the wave makes so I’m assuming that’s definitely the culprit as there are no more shocks now thank you

Was the faulty wave maker a Hydor Koralia, by any chance?

 

[Fish Fan]

Which is why youre awesome! Always bring good advice to the table

Thank you! I'm not any kind of expert, but when I see electricity concerns, I would prefer to differ to genuine experts. I don't want to see anyone at R2R or their family or their fur pets get hurt. We are mixing saltwater and a lot of electricity, and though rare, it's too dangerous to risk a horrible accident.

Thank you again for your reply and compliment, LittleFoxx

 

[Fish Fan]

So, does OP have a GFCI outlet and a grounding probe?

This would be the safe way to test for an electrical fault without having dedicated electrical testing equipment on-hand!

^These are relevant questions here.

 

[Idech]

Was the faulty wave maker a Hydor Koralia, by any chance?

Why ? I’ve never had any problems with any of mine. Are they supposed to be bad for that ?

 

[Fish Fan]

Update**
Thank you everyone for your very fast responses this is why I love this community so much, I’m assuming it was one of the wave makers (the last thing I plugged in so I should of assumed it was that anyways) I was able to plug back in everything besides one of the wave makes so I’m assuming that’s definitely the culprit as there are no more shocks now thank you

As @UncommonSense sense mentioned, are you running your tank though one or multiple outlets with a GFCI? Are all your outlets grounded?

 

[UncommonSense]

Why ? I’ve never had any problems with any of mine. Are they supposed to be bad for that ?

I had one start zapping me, added a GFCI after that…

I seem to recall @exnisstech saying he got zapped by one of his pretty good too!

 

[MyFirstCar]

Hey, just a heads up that heart problems from an electric shock can (rarely) start hours after the shock itself. I'd hang around a spouse, partner, or friend for the night just in case. Better safe than sorry

 

[vetteguy53081]

Typical culprits are in order:

Power heads

Return pump

Heater

lighting believe it or not.

While an alternative and not a solution, I run grounding probes on my tanks

 

[exnisstech]

I had one start zapping me, added a GFCI after that…

I seem to recall @exnisstech saying he got zapped by one of his pretty good too!

I had a few of the koralia power heads that leaked electricity. I measured almost 50 volts in the water on one.

EDIT
They did change the design at some point. I have 2 of the newer ones, still several years old but changed from the original. I use them in my mixing brute and they have been fine.

 

[KrisReef]

Never use your fingers for testing leaking current.

God gave us a tongue for this purpose.

 

[Fish Fan]

Never use your fingers for testing leaking current.

God gave us a tongue for this purpose.

As always, @KrisReef you rock

EDIT: Friends, it should go without saying that we should NEVER try this

 

[MoeStachio]

Unplug everything and remove it

Inspect everything manually while unplugged

What should I be looking for, I don’t see any exposed wires

Any signs of wear, loose connections, splits, burns or sparking melting plastic, discolouration of metal etc

You can try the plug one in at a time and test the water, but obviously be careful

 

[Gumbies R Us]

As always, @KrisReef you rock

EDIT: Friends, it should go without saying that we should NEVER try this

I mean you could try it. You might not get the result you are looking for, though.

 

[Idech]

As always, @KrisReef you rock

EDIT: Friends, it should go without saying that we should NEVER try this

I think many of us did try it when we were kids…

 

[Fish Fan]

I think many of us did try it when we were kids…

Ha! Yes, the old 9v battery trick

My above reply was more in the vane of we shouldn't be sticking our fingers in our tanks as a way to determine if there's electrical current flowing through it, which I believe is what @KrisReef was joking about .......

Gosh, I hope he was joking..... You never know with him sometimes

 

[static416]

Also had this issue recently, interestingly my GFCI would pop every time my auto-water change ran.

I tested the pump for the water change, and it was fine. Which is weird, because it only popped when the pump ran.

-- Mystery --

Took awhile, but figured out it was actually the powerhead in the saltwater reservior.

The powerhead was leaking current all the time, but was insulated from ground normally because the saltwater reservior is plastic and isolated.

When the auto-waterchange ran, it connected the saltwater reservior to ground via the water in the pipe, which connected the current to the grounding probe in the display. Then popping the GFCI.

---

Found it by plugging/unplugging everything in the saltwater reservior and monitoring a multimeter. Worked like a charm.