Voltage Leak? Need some insight on what's acceptable.

[Chrisss]

Hi!

So every time I put a part of my hand/finger in the tank with a cut on it, example a cuticle cut on my finger I feel a shock. At first I was like oh its probably just because of the salt getting into my cut. But,
after about another week I was still getting this shock again because I usually have a lot of cuts due to dry skin in winter. So I decided to test my tank for a Voltage Leak (never done it before). To my surprise my sump has a Voltage Reading of 8V-10V V and my display tank has a read of 0.3 to 1V. If I use my other hand I obviously don't feel anything because of the no cuts but the hand with the cuts seems to feel a little tingly feeling.

I tested each equipment and it seems that my Return Pump and GFO/Cheato Reactors are putting around 5V. and My skimmer and heaters are pulling the other 3V.

I know that pumps will still generate voltage and current. So I just really want to know is 10V's acceptable in a tank or is that too high. Because I do have a few fish in my sump and hope they arn't feeling anything.

GFO/Carbon Pump 1.8V
Cheat Reactor 1.8V(Same pump as GFO)
Return Pump 1.5V
Skimmer 3V
Heaters around 1-2V

Chris

 

[hijinks7]

Add a ground pole to be on the safe side.. I always have one in my tanks

https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/vertex-titanium-grounding-pole.html

 

[GoVols]

@Brew12

Do you have anymore incite for Chris?

 

[Chrisss]

Add a ground pole to be on the safe side.. I always have one in my tanks

https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/vertex-titanium-grounding-pole.html

Awesome Idea, just ordered one from Amazon the
Rio RV2735 Rid-Volt Titanium Grounding Probe will be here tomorrow!!!

Very strange though. Had the tank set up for almost 5 years and this is the first incident that I've noticed and I've probably haven't change the equipment in at least 3 years+
I did upgrade to a 80 gallon but all the equipment is the same. The only difference is that I ran a completely new outlet line for my tank to be able to have its own line.

 

[Brew12]

Add a ground pole to be on the safe side.. I always have one in my tanks

https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/vertex-titanium-grounding-pole.html

Yup, this exactly.

You are seeing normal induced voltages from your equipment. What I'm guessing you feel is a momentary tingle that goes away almost immediately. It happens every time you put your hand with a cut in the tank. Induced voltages normally aren't strong enough to be felt but with a cut, there is a low enough body resistance to provide a momentary tingle.

Putting a ground probe in your system will keep it from happening by removing the induced voltages.

Induced voltages typically have a minor impact on a fishes lateral line but at that low of a voltage I don't suspect it to be an issue.

 

[Brew12]

Awesome Idea, just ordered one from Amazon the
Rio RV2735 Rid-Volt Titanium Grounding Probe will be here tomorrow!!!

Very strange though. Had the tank set up for almost 5 years and this is the first incident that I've noticed and I've probably haven't change the equipment in at least 3 years+
I did upgrade to a 80 gallon but all the equipment is the same. The only difference is that I ran a completely new outlet line for my tank to be able to have its own line.

You may have rearranged your power cords in a way that induces higher voltages, such as coiling them next to the sump.

 

[Chrisss]

You may have rearranged your power cords in a way that induces higher voltages, such as coiling them next to the sump.

Brew thanks so much those post help alot. And yes that is probably exactly what is happening its a initial shock then it goes away. I am getting the probe no matter what so hopefully it will go away. However, you might be on to something with the power cords. Since I upgrade to a new tank and ran a new line all my power cords are pretty close together. I have around 10-15 cords running close to each other then into a power strip. I wonder if that is a issue too, when I get home I'll defiantly separate them and see what happens.

 

[Smo]

And more importantly you’ve added a huge safety factor by adding a low resistance to ground should you experience an equipment failure leaking 120 VAC into the water.

 

[Chrisss]

And more importantly you’ve added a huge safety factor by adding a low resistance to ground should you experience an equipment failure leaking 120 VAC into the water.

I honestly never heard of a Ground wire in a tank in 5 years. Definitely seeing it as a good investment for how little space it takes up. But that's a awesome point too don't need 120V in the tank

 

[Chrisss]

Just got home and separated some of the pump wires. There now a few centimeters away from each one or the best I can do and it seems there is no more voltage in the tank. My T5HO's are off right now so that could be the issue too but it seems there is no more voltage in the tank which is awesome but still very strange! I did not separate them that much which is why I did not think it would do anything but I guess it had some effect.

Still going to keep it safe and always have a ground wire now though

 

[Brew12]

Just got home and separated some of the pump wires. There now a few centimeters away from each one or the best I can do and it seems there is no more voltage in the tank. My T5HO's are off right now so that could be the issue too but it seems there is no more voltage in the tank which is awesome but still very strange! I did not separate them that much which is why I did not think it would do anything but I guess it had some effect.

Still going to keep it safe and always have a ground wire now though

You actually have a very low voltage compared to most. I run over 23V without my ground probe installed.

 

[Chrisss]

Update: Got the Grounding probe today. I reorganized my wire management too, I split up most of the wires and none of them are coiled around one another. It seems that yesterday moving them only worked for so long because I tested this morning and got a reading of 5V making me decided to move everything. After splitting up the wires and adding another power cord I got a new reading of 3-4V which seemed to not go down anymore. Another plus I was not getting shocked anymore so I guess that's a good voltage to be at.

However, after adding the ground probe I'm a solid 0.2V to 0.3V which makes me super happy now!!
Thanks everyone for the input and helpful tips!