Anyone "ground" their tank?

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1st timer
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Anyone "ground" their tank?

Post by 1st timer »

I once had a small cut on my finger and every time i put my hand in the tank i would get zapped. So i pull out my multimeter and test the water to see if i had any current leaking in the tank. The result was 12 volts more or less. So i hopped on google and did some research and found out that it may cause hith. At the time i was keeping an 11" black diamond piranha and large piranhas are prone to hith for some reason. I bought a grounding probe and that lowered the current to 0.9 volts. Major difference.
Even though i had nothing in the tank ran on electricity i still got voltage by just by putting the light fixture directly on the top of the tank. Now add the filters,heaters and powerheads,there's lots of voltage sneaking in there. It may also explain the erratic behavior fish get for some reason. Anyway, all in all,it may be worth for you to invest 10-15 bucks to prevent your fish getting affected by this current leakage.
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Iliveinazoo
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Re: Anyone "ground" their tank?

Post by Iliveinazoo »

Seems like a way to mask an underlying problem to me but the fact that you have raised the potential issue makes me think about alternative ways to cut down the potential life safety risk. I think that an RCD/RCBO would be better protection than an earth probe - if the RCD trips then you know that there is a fault with the equipment on the tank.

If it was your light that was causing the issue then it may be that the ingress protection of the unit has failed and therefore could need replacing because the electrical connections could now be in contact with condensation resulting in corroded connections resulting in an increased risk of fire.

I don't think that I would put a ground probe on my tank because ultimately you would be introducing an earth path for faulty equipment through your fish tank which was previously and earth-free zone?

If you are worried about life safety when maintaining your tank then consider an RCD/RCBO and also switching off (preferably unplugging) all electrical equipment before servicing.

Another thought - always make sure that your cables have drip loops because you don't want water/condensation entering your electrical sockets.
1st timer
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Re: Anyone "ground" their tank?

Post by 1st timer »

Not really worried about me getting zapped. Even when i turn the filter on (eheim 2217) i get a sudden reading in the water. This is for the fish's health. Current leaking into the tank can cause health issues for the fish like HITH.
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Iliveinazoo
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Re: Anyone "ground" their tank?

Post by Iliveinazoo »

1st timer wrote:Not really worried about me getting zapped. Even when i turn the filter on (eheim 2217) i get a sudden reading in the water. This is for the fish's health. Current leaking into the tank can cause health issues for the fish like HITH.
Voltage can 'leak' into the tank because it could be induced by magnets moving, in say a powerhead, current can't 'leak' into the tank unless it is earthed/grounded - think birds on a wire. If there is a fault on your equipment then you would be better off using an RCD to 'blow' the circuit rather than potentially electrocuting your fish.
1st timer
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Re: Anyone "ground" their tank?

Post by 1st timer »

With everything off and out of the tank, i get a reading on my multimeter when i turn on the light fixture that's sitting on top of the tank.
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Iliveinazoo
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Re: Anyone "ground" their tank?

Post by Iliveinazoo »

1st timer wrote:With everything off and out of the tank, i get a reading on my multimeter when i turn on the light fixture that's sitting on top of the tank.
That is peculiar I can only see a couple of reasons why this may be the case:
1. There are live cables running through the water that are providing a weak inductive field.
2. There is an electrical bond between the light fixture and the aquarium - are either the frame of the aquarium or light fixture metal?
3. The magnetic field produced by your light fixture is inducing the voltage into the aquarium - what happens when you move your light closer to and further away from the aquarium?
4. The ingress protection of your light fitting is compromised and there is a condensation link between the ELV side of the ballast/driver and the aquarium but this is highly unlikely without any more drastic signs. Also if this was the case then the grounding probe would be doing more harm than good because that conductive link and grounding probe could create the potential for current to flow through your aquarium.
1st timer
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Re: Anyone "ground" their tank?

Post by 1st timer »

Answer to question number 3: The closer it gets the higher the reading. Even when i turn the eheim filter on i get a reading and there's no power cords going in the water.
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Iliveinazoo
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Re: Anyone "ground" their tank?

Post by Iliveinazoo »

1st timer wrote:Answer to question number 3: The closer it gets the higher the reading. Even when i turn the eheim filter on i get a reading and there's no power cords going in the water.
Makes sense; still EMF induced voltage. When considering grounding or earthing your tank also consider why a blackbird can sit on an 11,000 volt cable without getting fried.
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