Testing for Faulty Electrical Devices in Aquarium

[Fury808]

What tools and methods do I use to test for faulty equipment that is putting electricity in my tank.

My idea is to take each heater and pump out. Put it in a bucket separately and then determine which piece of equipment is faulty. But I don't know how to do test it.

I don't want to stick my hand in.

Thank you.

 

[MICHIGANRV]

What tools and methods do I use to test for faulty equipment that is putting electricity in my tank.

My idea is to take each heater and pump out. Put it in a bucket separately and then determine which piece of equipment is faulty. But I don't know how to do test it.

I don't want to stick my hand in.

Thank you.

I will assume you do not have your equipment plugged into a gfci outlet? If you pick up a gfci extension cord you could plug each individual piece of equipment in one at a time until the circuit trips. That will be your bad one. No fancy tester needed and much safer. After your testing you may want to consider all your equipment on a gfci protected outlet.

 

[W31Olds]

If I were you I would visually inspect all items first after cleaning them. Not likely a heater, but I would disassemble each of your pumps and inspect the impeller housing for cracks. I have had a couple that had hairline cracks and you could see rust leaching out.

 

[Reeferbadness]

I have a similar problem with one of the pumps in my mixing station .... me when i'm not grounded (rubber sole shoes)

 

[mfinn]

My idea is to take each heater and pump out. Put it in a bucket separately and then determine which piece of equipment is faulty. But I don't know how to do test it.

I don't want to stick my hand in.

Thank you.

What?? You mean there is a different way?

 

[Fury808]

Thank you for all your suggestions. They arr definitely something I will be doing. But I also want to learn how to use a multimeter to check my tanks and see if there is stray current periodically. Does anyone know how to do that?

 

[Freenow54]

What tools and methods do I use to test for faulty equipment that is putting electricity in my tank.

My idea is to take each heater and pump out. Put it in a bucket separately and then determine which piece of equipment is faulty. But I don't know how to do test it.

I don't want to stick my hand in.

Thank you.

Unplug one at a time and learn to use a multi meter properly

 

[Freenow54]

use a multi meter one probe in water the other to a ground you will see what is called potential difference . Unfortunately you have to put your hand in at some point so unplug everything that is in the tank . Then remove

 

[dedragon]

Unplug one at a time and learn to use a multi meter properly

this is the real answer but remember there will always be at least a small reading in reef tanks. I always run a titanium grounding probe just in case but honestly not really sure if it will save my life in an emergency voltage leak situation

 

[W31Olds]

Using a Multimeter is fairly straightforward. I'm sure there are plenty of how-to videos on the subject. Interpreting the readings the types of equipment we use in SW Tanks is where it gets challenging. It not all that straightforward like for instance measuring a 1.5 Volt AA Battery. I worked for a Defense Contractor for my entire career and used many different types of Multimeters for countless hours and you are probably going to be left scratching your head trying to figure out whether or not you've got a problem. That being said, go ahead and get one but I would review safety procedures or you likely to get a nasty shock.

 

[Fury808]

I have a titanium Grounding probe. I got a multi meter today. My understanding is that I attach one probe to the ground part of the titanium grounding probe plug and the other probe to the ground of an outlet. Then any current will run from the tank to the multimeter to the ground in the outlet. Is this correct?

What voltage is usually present in a tank? What voltage should I be concerned about?

 

[W31Olds]

Nope, sorry, all wrong. I have no idea what induced voltage would be in your tank. I don't have any idea what my tank is reading. Depends a lot on the tank setup.

 

[UncommonSense]

I have a titanium Grounding probe. I got a multi meter today. My understanding is that I attach one probe to the ground part of the titanium grounding probe plug and the other probe to the ground of an outlet. Then any current will run from the tank to the multimeter to the ground in the outlet. Is this correct?

What voltage is usually present in a tank? What voltage should I be concerned about?

Okay, if you have noticeable electrical current (differs from stray voltage) in your tank, you should not be sticking your hands in it to test… ESPECIALLY if you’re not using any form of GFCI device…

How to test for a legitimately dangerous current leak from equipment:

Using a bucket of saltwater (conductive), your ground probe, and a GFCI outlet (such as that found in your bathroom):

— plug ground probe into GFCI, set titanium probe tip aside…

— submerge a single piece of suspect equipment (heater and pumps are typical culprits) in the bucket… plug it into the GFCI…

— holding the ground probe’s insulated cord, set the titanium ground probe tip in the bucket of saltwater…

— if your GFCI outlet trips (stops providing power) as soon as the probe tip goes into the saltwater, you’ve found the legitimately dangerous faulty equipment!


(Note that I don’t even recommend using the multimeter here; you’ll end up getting a random erroneous stray voltage reading which is affected by stuff as silly as AC power cords running parallel to one-another, or being in a coil!)

 

[Freenow54]

Tell him / them where the settings should be on the multimeter to do that. I would prefer to measure potential difference .