Jump to content

Pete H
 Share

Recommended Posts

I had a cracked heater that caused stray current no idea how long it was in the tank it think it may have caused the loss of a rosy barb but they were new fish so hard to call.

I have had this happen once in over 30 years of fish keeping and the heater in question was over 10 years old.

I'm not sure a grounding probe would have reduced the risk to fish as it remained local to heater and the current would travel to the probe to be grounded.

I have never really looked into these though. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Back in the day we had metal frame tanks and very poorly wired, poorly grounded (usually not grounded at all) lights in metal hoods, and heaters that could not be fully submersed that inevitably got water in them.  It was a dicey thing whether you were going to get a little tingle if your arm touched the metal frame during any given water change.  Then we learned about using grounding probes and life was better if not as tingly.  Then equipment got safer and we kind of forgot about grounding plugs.

Then I had this same discussion about grounding probes just the other day with @Pepere and it’s made me think twice about it all again.

I have a quite a few tanks.  Not record setting or anything, but probably more than I ought to have.  😆  I don’t have heaters or other electrics in all of them and hope to eventually have heaters in fewer of them once I’m consolidated into a fish room.  But I’m thinking I need to get some grounding probes in some tanks.  I haven’t gotten any tingles but I’m not the slightest bit interested in finding a little too much juice in a tank someday.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 9/23/2022 at 6:01 PM, Pepere said:

A ground probe is $13.00.

I have one in every tank.

If you'd be so kind, explain this to me like I'm a 3 year old... I've always had the hardest time understanding electricity.

Where exactly is the grounding probe? What is it attached to? 

I have all the stuff in my tanks plugged into GFCI strips, my husband had the foresight to insist on that. But the stray current in the water thing worries me.. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I get stray current once every year or so. Cheap lighting setup is typically my cause. Occasionally it is due to a cracked heater or an old HOB. I try to buy titanium heaters now to avoid that.

There is some experimental question whether the fish are affected much or not. Current will find the path of least resistance. I’m not convinced this necessarily leads “through fish.” Typically, I feel current because it is going _through me_.

But since I dislike that feeling… I always find and fix the problem ASAP!!!

Edited by Fish Folk
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 9/24/2022 at 6:00 PM, Pepere said:

did this help?

I'll have to read through it a few times 😅 But I'll have hubs read it too, he'll get it better than me. He already said he can switch out the outlets for GFCI pretty easily. The wiring in this (old) house has surprised him more than once, so he also can, or already has, verified that things are grounded properly etc.

Thank you very much for writing it all out! I think this will be a valuable thread to refer back to. 

Edited by Anjum
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 9/23/2022 at 9:01 PM, Pepere said:

A ground probe is $13.00.

I have one in every tank.

and every tank is plugged into a Ground FaultCircuit Interrupting outlet (GCFI).

On the first of every month I trip and reset my GCFI.

I am an ABYC certified marine electrician and have taught Marine electrical safety courses.

 

so a GCFI outlet measures the current going out the hot lead and returning on the neutral lead. Rule number 1 in electricity is that all the Amps must come home.  Voltage drops across a load but the current stays the same…. If the GCFI circuit determines there is a mismatch exceeding 5 milliamps the circuit trips in under a tenth of a second.  
 

Here is the rub, it will only measure leakage if it is going someplace other than back on the neutral.  For that to happen, it has to have another place to go.  This is where the ground probe comes in to use.  It provides a different route for current to go to ground bypassing the neutral line.

Personally I would be happier having my GCFI outlet to trip before I stick my hands in the water. That is why I think a ground probe is cheap insurance.

Tripping the GCFI outlet on the first of the month ensures the tripping mechanism physically works and is not stuck. The exercising of it also prevents sticking. Current GCFI outlets also conducts an internal check when resetting the outlet and will not reset if it determines there is a problem.

GCFI outlets are a great safety device and a ground probe in your aquarium works with it.

having said that, all of my devices that have electrical cords in the water, ie heaters, powerheads, hob filters etc are plugged in to a single power strip. I try to always remember to flip the power off on that strip before sticking my hands or tools into the water. And of course that means I have to try to remember to turn it back on as soon as I am done.

And as I always told students in  any of my classes.  Never ever go swimming anywhere near a freshwater marina.  And avoid swimming near saltwater marinas too, but they are not as dangerous as freshwater marinas.


 

 

 

A google search for titanium ground probe proved fruitful. I did not know they existed.  Having gotten "the tingle" from pond/fountain pumps, and also living in an older home where a 3 prong plug may not actually be grounded (or worse), this is good advice.  A  $5. receptacle tester should be in everyone's tool box especially if you do your own electrical/DIY projects.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 9/23/2022 at 6:01 PM, Pepere said:

A ground probe is $13.00.

I have one in every tank.

and every tank is plugged into a Ground FaultCircuit Interrupting outlet (GCFI).

On the first of every month I trip and reset my GCFI.

I am an ABYC certified marine electrician and have taught Marine electrical safety courses.

 

so a GCFI outlet measures the current going out the hot lead and returning on the neutral lead. Rule number 1 in electricity is that all the Amps must come home.  Voltage drops across a load but the current stays the same…. If the GCFI circuit determines there is a mismatch exceeding 5 milliamps the circuit trips in under a tenth of a second.  
 

Here is the rub, it will only measure leakage if it is going someplace other than back on the neutral.  For that to happen, it has to have another place to go.  This is where the ground probe comes in to use.  It provides a different route for current to go to ground bypassing the neutral line.

Personally I would be happier having my GCFI outlet to trip before I stick my hands in the water. That is why I think a ground probe is cheap insurance.

Tripping the GCFI outlet on the first of the month ensures the tripping mechanism physically works and is not stuck. The exercising of it also prevents sticking. Current GCFI outlets also conducts an internal check when resetting the outlet and will not reset if it determines there is a problem.

GCFI outlets are a great safety device and a ground probe in your aquarium works with it.

having said that, all of my devices that have electrical cords in the water, ie heaters, powerheads, hob filters etc are plugged in to a single power strip. I try to always remember to flip the power off on that strip before sticking my hands or tools into the water. And of course that means I have to try to remember to turn it back on as soon as I am done.

And as I always told students in  any of my classes.  Never ever go swimming anywhere near a freshwater marina.  And avoid swimming near saltwater marinas too, but they are not as dangerous as freshwater marinas.


 

 

 

GFCI with a ground in the water is a good idea.

I don't think I would worry much about sticking my hands in the tank, unless I'm holding onto a water pipe or standing in a puddle. 🙂

Can you explain the dangers of swimming in marinas? 

Thanks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@Pepere so funny story... when I initially asked my husband if he had one of those ground testers, he said no but assured me everything was grounded, he'd already checked. Well he had to go to the hardware store the next day, and whaddya know, he comes home with one 😅 He gets to testing all the outlets & come to find out, there's a whole wall in our kitchen where the outlets aren't grounded! He was not happy about that. I told him sorry I found you another electrical mystery to solve. 

But I was also thinking about this whole issue of potential stray current in a tank... and I understand that having the ground probe would eliminate (or reduce?) any stray current in the water. But, you wouldn't know this is happening, correct? It would be making the tank safe for the fish, etc, but I wouldn't know I was having an equipment malfunction. I guess that's what I want to know - Is there a way to be alerted to the fact there's stray current in the tank? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...