Guppy Guy Posted November 3, 2021 Share Posted November 3, 2021 So I saw a thing at my LFS a few weeks ago. The gist of it is that it is a grounding rod that you place in your tank to ground stray currents from heaters, filters, etc. and it plugs into the ground spot on an outlet. It says it is a titanium rod, and was way overpriced at $20. Do they treat it with something that makes it aquarium safe, or is it just titanium? I found these titanium welding rods on amazon, and I have a ton of power cords laying around, so could I do this instead of buying the grounding rod? It is the same price as one, but I could make a ton with that amount, and use the leftovers for other projects. Thanks in advance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Zenzo Posted November 3, 2021 Administrators Share Posted November 3, 2021 The titanium that you linked appears to be grade 5, which is not pure Ti (it is an alloy). If you are going to DIY your own Ti for this project, I would recommend something more pure like a grade 1-3. With that being said, I do not know enough about the claims of a grounding wire in an aquarium to give advice. I would think that if this were a viable solution, some large company would create this and market it. It sounds a little risky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Burke Posted November 3, 2021 Share Posted November 3, 2021 I’m with @Zenzo. Unless you are really knowledgeable on electricity and fabricating electronics, you could set yourself up for heart ache. If I was worried about stray current, I would install a GFI outlet. Much safer. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Streetwise Posted November 4, 2021 Share Posted November 4, 2021 Titanium is one of the best metals for medical and marine usage. I detected a broken heater by getting a shock. I would prefer a shutdown with an alert vs just draining stray current to make it work. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevesFishTanks Posted November 4, 2021 Share Posted November 4, 2021 On 11/3/2021 at 7:51 PM, Ken Burke said: I’m with @Zenzo. Unless you are really knowledgeable on electricity and fabricating electronics, you could set yourself up for heart ache. If I was worried about stray current, I would install a GFI outlet. Much safer. The GFCI would need the grounded probe in the water as a ground reference in order to trip. Otherwise it can not detect loads completing their circuit through faults on the equipment ground. On 11/3/2021 at 9:08 PM, Streetwise said: Titanium is one of the best metals for medical and marine usage. I detected a broken heater by getting a shock. I would prefer a shutdown with an alert vs just draining stray current to make it work. The alert would be a tripped GFCI as the stray voltage would be shorted to ground through the titanium probe. The GFCI would detect the voltage that shocked you as load on the equipment ground and would trip as designed. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Posted November 4, 2021 Share Posted November 4, 2021 (edited) Based on required classes in Metallurgy (a long time ago) and a little google to see if I still knew what I thought I did, Titanium can not be alloyed with anything toxic to our aquariums. But things that are not Titanium and might be made and marketed as such probably exist. On the other hand, completing the electrical circuit within your fish tank changes a potential to be electrocuting your fish to making sure you are. Don't do it. Check out one the newest CoOp videos, Dean has a couple tanks with bad heaters. The stray current has nowhere to go until they touch something grounded. When Fish and Game shocks waters to see what's down there they put in two probes, only fish between them get stunned. Edited November 4, 2021 by Ken the underlined parts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevesFishTanks Posted November 4, 2021 Share Posted November 4, 2021 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Streetwise Posted November 4, 2021 Share Posted November 4, 2021 My father had a theory about boats. You want the mast grounded to the keel in saltwater, but not in freshwater. We had neighboring boats hit on Lake Champlain, with fried electronics, and pinhole hull burns, that were grounded. We escaped. I have felt Saint Elmo’s Fire through a carbon fiber mast, which is very conductive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Posted November 4, 2021 Share Posted November 4, 2021 On 11/3/2021 at 8:36 PM, Streetwise said: I have felt Saint Elmo’s Fire through a carbon fiber mast, which is very conductive. I have dropped a graphite flyrod and went and found a low spot to lay down in a couple times in the Uintah's when things got feelings a little tingly during a storm. On 11/3/2021 at 8:36 PM, Streetwise said: My father had a theory about boats. You want the mast grounded to the keel in saltwater, but not in freshwater. We had neighboring boats hit on Lake Champlain, with fried electronics, and pinhole hull burns, that were grounded. We escaped. That makes perfect sense. The circuit could not be completed. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy's Fish Den Posted November 4, 2021 Share Posted November 4, 2021 The titanium grounding rods are used often in the saltwater side of the hobby, I had one on my reef tank when I had it. The plug that is on it that plugs into an outlet only has one metal prong, the round ground prong. the two flat blades, the hot and neutral, are plastic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flumpweesel Posted November 4, 2021 Share Posted November 4, 2021 On 11/4/2021 at 2:24 AM, s1_ said: Plug sockets in bathrooms - terrifying I know this is uk to usa thing but its pretty much unseen here because well somethings just don't mix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guppy Guy Posted November 12, 2021 Author Share Posted November 12, 2021 (edited) Wow thanks everyone! After hearing everyone’s opinion on the subject of grounding, I think I should be fine, as I am actually getting a new heater this weekend to replace my ancient “all glass aquariums” heater.(When’s the last time you heard that name?)The only reason I am replacing it is because there is some water condensation inside it. As far as the grade 1 titanium goes, could I bend it into shapes to hold java moss in place? That would be a neat idea. Thanks again! Edit: I found this link on amazon for grade 1 wire. Could this be used to hold the java moss? Edited November 12, 2021 by Guppy Guy New titanium wire link Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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