Help me out with stray voltage that is coming from multiple sources

[merkmerk73]

I was moving some corals around tonight, and suddenly I realized that I was getting shocks - but only on one finger.

They were significant though, and having read on these forums I immediately thought of "stray voltage" and "heaters"

Well, I started using my magic finger (the others don't seem to detect it) to isolate the sources.

My results were....everything, but ESPECIALLY my reef factory PH meter.

Removing that thing reduces it from a painful shock on the tip of my finger to a noticeable but otherwise not painful shock - like just barely licking a battery as a kid.

And I was able to confirm it wasn't my imagination by putting my other hand in the tank first, and then my 'magic finger' and I would feel nothing - only getting shocked if just that neumatocyst-injected finger touched first!

So what do I do?

It seems to be coming everywhere. I only stop detecting it when I turn everything off.

I've ordered a voltage checker for the water, and I'm going to shop for a new power strip - I run everything off of two, and one of them seems to be the biggest culprit.

PS - I wonder if I got a minor coral sting that I wouldn't have felt but is making this finger tip sensitive to the voltage.

Zzzzzzap

 

[Cichlid Dad]

You have a cut, or other damage to that finger.


Rio RV2735 Rid-Volt Titanium Grounding Probe https://a.co/d/3xHpSP9

 

[merkmerk73]

You have a cut, or other damage to that finger.


Rio RV2735 Rid-Volt Titanium Grounding Probe https://a.co/d/3xHpSP9

Definitely, but it's revealing voltage in the tank!

Also - don't these grounding probes just cause more issues?

 

[Cichlid Dad]

Definitely, but it's revealing voltage in the tank!

Also - don't these grounding probes just cause more issues?

Such as? It's titanium made for saltwater tank. All of my salt water tanks do this if I have a cut. Fish aren't grounded, so they don't feel it.

 

[merkmerk73]

Such as? It's titanium made for saltwater tank. All of my salt water tanks do this if I have a cut. Fish aren't grounded, so they don't feel it.

Would something like this solve the lack of a GFCI outlet handy?

 

[Cichlid Dad]

Don't know never used one.

 

[InsaneClownFish]

This is a big misconception. You can have a functional GFCI and still have stray current. Depending on the sensitivity of the GFCI, it may not trip unless the load is significant(ie the type that would kill or damage you).

Have you checked your lights? I know this sounds silly but you could have a loose wire or something being hit with salt creep- a light arm that is conductive and touching water etc.

How long did you wait to test. Stray voltage can linger for a few seconds. Did you try each pump and heater individually?

 

[gbroadbridge]

I was moving some corals around tonight, and suddenly I realized that I was getting shocks - but only on one finger.

They were significant though, and having read on these forums I immediately thought of "stray voltage" and "heaters"

Well, I started using my magic finger (the others don't seem to detect it) to isolate the sources.

My results were....everything, but ESPECIALLY my reef factory PH meter.

Removing that thing reduces it from a painful shock on the tip of my finger to a noticeable but otherwise not painful shock - like just barely licking a battery as a kid.

And I was able to confirm it wasn't my imagination by putting my other hand in the tank first, and then my 'magic finger' and I would feel nothing - only getting shocked if just that neumatocyst-injected finger touched first!

So what do I do?

It seems to be coming everywhere. I only stop detecting it when I turn everything off.

I've ordered a voltage checker for the water, and I'm going to shop for a new power strip - I run everything off of two, and one of them seems to be the biggest culprit.

PS - I wonder if I got a minor coral sting that I wouldn't have felt but is making this finger tip sensitive to the voltage.

Zzzzzzap

The reef factory devices run from low voltage plug packs so there is no mains voltage involved in the tank.
The plug packs are double insulated.

The issue lies elsewhere.

 

[merkmerk73]

This is a big misconception. You can have a functional GFCI and still have stray current. Depending on the sensitivity of the GFCI, it may not trip unless the load is significant(ie the type that would kill or damage you).

Have you checked your lights? I know this sounds silly but you could have a loose wire or something being hit with salt creep- a light arm that is conductive and touching water etc.

How long did you wait to test. Stray voltage can linger for a few seconds. Did you try each pump and heater individually?

I isolated between my two power strips

And then tested shocks by pulling things one by one.

Reef factory PH meter causes the biggest shock so pulling that helped but I was still feeling it with the other equip

I don’t have a measuring tool yet but the lights didn’t seem to have any effect

Heaters were first thing I tried

It seems to just be coming from everywhere. No one thing made it go away or significantly other than the ph meter.

 

[InsaneClownFish]

I would get yourself a GFCI and then retest only one at a time with nothing else plugged in. It sounds like your power strips are bad- 90% of them are not safe to use with reef equipment to begin with as they’re not designed to handle the load.

 

[gbroadbridge]

I would get yourself a GFCI and then retest only one at a time with nothing else plugged in. It sounds like your power strips are bad- 90% of them are not safe to use with reef equipment to begin with as they’re not designed to handle the load.

Why do you say that?

Each outlet on a power strip is rated by design to carry the full current/power available from the wall outlet.

 

[InsaneClownFish]

I believe that it is incorrect. You’re carrying more voltage from higher wattage equipment across multiple plugs to a single wall plug. It’s the same reasons fire departments put out notices during the winter season to alert people that electric heaters should be plugged directly into an outlet and not a power strip.

I’ve always plugged my tank stuff into shop grade gfci powerstrips- not the “consumer” grade ones.

Additionally, it’s the reasons many reefers use dj switches- not only can they control their equipment without unplugging, but those strips are designed for much higher draw.

 

[gbroadbridge]

I believe that it is incorrect. You’re carrying more voltage from higher wattage equipment across multiple plugs to a single wall plug. It’s the same reasons fire departments put out notices during the winter season to alert people that electric heaters should be plugged directly into an outlet and not a power strip.

I’ve always plugged my tank stuff into shop grade gfci powerstrips- not the “consumer” grade ones.

Additionally, it’s the reasons many reefers use dj switches- not only can they control their equipment without unplugging, but those strips are designed for much higher draw.

If it is UL marked it can handle the full rated load - simple as that.
Higher grade commercial gear is simply built tougher, it has nothing to do with the rated load.

I've designed these types of switch gear professionally for almost 40 years

 

[merkmerk73]

Thanks for the info guys - I have:

• Ordered grounding probe
• GFCI addon
• New power strip
• Voltage meter

I’m going to do all of these things and try to address the problem this way

I don’t think I would have ever suspected any of this was an issue if the tip of my finger hadn’t gotten stung by a coral

 

[merkmerk73]

That GFCI cord-thing doesn't work - it needs a specific kind of outlet.

The voltage meter doesn't arrive until Friday

The grounding probe works like a charm but I have it plugged into a surge protector/strip that goes into a non GFCI outlet.

Electrician coming on Thursday and I'm going to add another outlet and pull the grounding probe until then.

Will leave the probe in once I have GFCI installed - the stray voltage seems to come from pretty much everything - but will test when meter arrives (100% it's coming from the reef factory probe by a lot - regardless of what the guy above says, my magic finger tells me this - the shock is quite painful with it on.)

Very curious if this resolves some weird issues I've had with a few corals whos conditions should be just fine and my paramters are excellent.

 

[ddurdle]

I've read quite a bit in forums where some owners were tracking down sudden unexplained illness in their fish. Then in the course of doing some treatment, they would get a stray shock when doing some upkeeping on their aquarium.

For fish, getting stray voltage doesn't necessarily mean they are jumping around and getting fried. The signs are unusually very discrete -- sores, bumps, erratic behaviour or sudden death.

Having read all this in the past, one of my aquariums suddenly had a fish go unhealthy overnight. Went from active, healthy, eating, his lively self, to comatose in the morning. All water parameters in check, no new stress, no water change (water changes and cleaning is weekly). Nothing to explain. He was hiding all day and when he did try coming out, he was twitching. Sure, it could be a sudden parasite infection, but there was no leading up signs of such (no rubbing against things, etc), and there is no signs of parasites. I'm currently doing a treatment to rule out a bacterial infection, but not really getting anywhere with that.

In the back of my mind is stray voltage -- once you get it implanted, it is hard to not think it might be a cause when something unexplained happens. The overnight hours when he turned ill, the weather outside was that cold but not cold enough to kick the furnace in enough to keep the house warm. I have two heaters in his tank (opposite ends) to ensure adequate heating during these kinds of conditions. So the days leading up to this night, was adequate heating throughout the house, but that overnight it was cooler than usual, so his heaters would have been kicking in more. The heaters are working to keep the water good (I test throughout the regions of the tank) and his sudden illness is not caused by the water getting too cool overnight.

Cautious about the heaters, I had already unplugged one yesterday. I have a finger voltage tester (I've seen my electrician use to safety check a line that it's really off at the breaker before starting his work). I've been using that, but of course it goes off near the water. There's always going to be some voltage. I just need to know if a heater is leaking deadly voltage. If I put a different (brand new heater) into a jug of water to heat it, the jug and the water activates the stick. But it has a very lower tolerance. I'm hunting around for a proper voltage reader that will display the actual voltage.

Another aquarium where there is no signs of stress in the fish, the voltage meter doesn't activate when tapping the glass, but the glass is thick. I haven't tried dipping it into the tank, but it does activate on the tank or jug when there is a heater on.

Again, I'm grasping at straws to explain away a sudden illness that could have more logical explanations.