ground your water??????

[warrior5]

went to feed tang some algea and what a shock !!!!!!! had bought some used equipment , the power head in my sump runnin the gfo reactor was shorting out electrified the tank !!!!! HOLY SMOKES !!!!! just a reminder to every one bcarefull

 

[dannyp02908]

You were the path to ground. Having your tank grounded would also have completed the circuit. Without the completed circuit, the livestock should be oblivious. Do you not have your tank on gfci circuits?

 

[warrior5]

i do and thats what makes no sense, actually i have a few new cuts on my hands and thought it was the salt in the cuts at first,, i was able to stick my arm hand in but then it hurt to much,,, yea i dont understand . the ground fault stripp board, the gfi , and breaker did not trip, im changeing all today

 

[dannyp02908]

Possibly didn't trip because there is no ground on the powerhead. That's my guess. I only use grounded electrical appliances on my tank now. I also have been shocked in the past. Get rid of the power head (assuming maxijet) and tee off your return pump to feed the reactor.

 

[higorc]

I am probably going to sound a little ignorant/miss-informed now, but...

I know the importance of GFI outlets and how they work, but I have always been a little afraid of installing them and using it with my tank due to the fact I have witnessed the GFI outlets in my kitchen and bathroom get tripped just because I plugged something extra into it.

I mean, I have almost all my equipment plugged into a RKL controller and things are constantly coming on and going off throughout the day... What about if the GFI outlet mistakenly trips and cuts off power due to something switching on/off thinking it's a short/overload when I am not home? Then I am screwed right? Cause there is no way to reset it but manually right?

Please correct me if I am wrong or missing something.

Thanks
Higor

 

[MrX]

I mean, I have almost all my equipment plugged into a RKL controller and things are constantly coming on and going off throughout the day... What about if the GFI outlet mistakenly trips and cuts off power due to something switching on/off thinking it's a short/overload when I am not home? Then I am screwed right? Cause there is no way to reset it but manually right?

Please correct me if I am wrong or missing something.

I think you're spot on, and that's the reason you'll see people recommending two (or more) circuits for redundancy. You could then 'spread the love' on those circuits and have a better chance that not everything goes out at once.

I had everything running on a single circuit with my 120G setup. Never really bothered me because I worked from home and was next to the tank for most of my day. Actually, now that I think about it, that's not really true... the stuff in the basement was on one circuit and the stuff in my office on another. Flow wise I would have been 'ok' if either went off-line; temperature, if I needed heat, would have been a different story.

 

[mchartier]

I have a reefkeeper also, all my PC4s are plugged into GFCI outlets (two 20A circuits also), my return pump though is not on the ReefKeeper or GFCI just so if one does trip I still have my main circulation going

 

[P-Nut]

Foster and smith sells a rod you throw in your sump and ground your tank. Wouldnt that work?
Kr would the ground somehow mess up the fish?

 

[mrclam]

From what I understand you are far better off replacing faulty equipment than putting a grounding probe in the tank. Without any path for current to flow any leaking equipment is only moderately harmful to livestock. If there is a grounding probe in the tank the current can flow and that creates an amperage, and amperage is what poses greatest risk (at least thats how it works for humans). Without a probe there is no path for the current to flow, which acts as a high resistance and thus limits the current from the voltage supplied from the leaking equipment.

 

[P-Nut]

From what I understand you are far better off replacing faulty equipment than putting a grounding probe in the tank. Without any path for current to flow any leaking equipment is only moderately harmful to livestock. If there is a grounding probe in the tank the current can flow and that creates an amperage, and amperage is what poses greatest risk (at least thats how it works for humans). Without a probe there is no path for the current to flow, which acts as a high resistance and thus limits the current from the voltage supplied from the leaking equipment.

Speaking from experience I electrocuted my tank a few months back. The fish all looked like nothing ever hapoened. All the soft corals looked like crap and same with the clams. I only lost my two clams. One week later it looked like nothing happened.
My brittle and serpent stars also looked weird. They were moving really slow for two weeks, but they all came back (4) and are still alive and eating today. Hermit crabs and snails were fine.
All my equipment; pumps, power head, skimmer, temp probe...was fine.

 

[P-Nut]

Dupe post

 

[dannyp02908]

for those wondering about a GFCI outlet tripping randomly, that is just not going to happen. If it does, replace the outlet as it is faulty. I have 2 20 amp GFCI circuits in my fish room. Been setup like that for 1.5 years and only time it trips is when i get something wet. They also dont like LEDs so make sure you have a standard outlet. I have a standard outlet mounted at ceiling level for my lights so there is no chance of water getting to the cords anyway.

Seriously. It is building code to have GFCI around water. There is a reason. Would you rather risk your own life to potentially save a few grand in livestock? What if its not your life but that of a child or spouse or friend.

 

[Joego2]

I use a titanium ground rod in my 150g. If there is equipment leaking electricity into the system, its justwaiting to take the easiest path to ground. I have got little zaps even with the ground rod. Why, I had bare feet on a damp basement floor and open cuts on my hand. My body was a better path to ground. If I wear shoes, I insulate myself from ground. Without the ground rod, the shocks were much stronger.

 

[dannyp02908]

the thing with a ground rod is that it actually creates current in the tank vs voltage potential. That can be good for you but bad for your livestock. Without the ground rod, the livestock should be unaware of any voltage potential. With the ground rod and a properly installed GFCI, a damp floor causing a shock should trip the GFCI.

 

[Joego2]

I think of a squirrel running across high tension lines. He has no problem unless he grounds himself. The current is running through the exposed cable. Same thing with the third rail on the subway. You can walk on 600vdc with no problem, unless you step off to ground. Fish and corals are delicate I realize, but I'm not so sure they are bothered by voltage or stray current. Interesting topic.

 

[dannyp02908]

Electricity can kill fish easily. You are close in your analogy. Voltage potential means that the voltage is there but with no connection, there is no current. Current kills. With the ground rod, any electrical leak from your equipment has the completed path which then electrifies your water. If there is a gfci and the appliance leaking is grounded, the gfci will trip. With out the ground rod your fish wouldn't know the appliance is leaking. When you touch the water you complete the path. That can kill you. With a properly functioning gfci and grounded appliances, the gfci would trip before you were fatally wounded.

 

[Joego2]

I hear what your saying. I'm just not sure the current would cause problems. And I'm not crazy about a gfi tripping while I'm at work. And if you had multiple circuits, you would have to make sure they were the same phase, or the waters potential would be 220v. That would be an eye opener. When I get home tonight I'm going to test the water and see what I find. Also I can't remember if our equipment is grounded. I don't think pumps are. My led's are though.

 

[mchartier]

Heaters are one of the biggest culprits of leaking voltage.

Also you lost me here, where do you get 220v from?

And if you had multiple circuits, you would have to make sure they were the same phase, or the waters potential would be 220v. That would be an eye opener

 

[Joego2]

Heaters are one of the biggest culprits of leaking voltage.

Also you lost me here, where do you get 220v from?

most circuits in the house are 110v. so, think of a 220v dryer plug or a oven plug. They are both fed from double breakers with 2 hot wires instead of just one for 110v. there are 2 phases in your panel. The phases alternate 1,2,1,2,1,2 down the panel on both sides. So, double breakers are connected to phases 1 & 2. If your plugs by the tank happen to be circuits in phases 1 & 2, there would be a potential of 220v. if, say, a pump and heater from each circuit leaked, the water could have a potential of 220v. I think I lost myself with that explanation. LOL

 

[jselzler1]

The 2nd phase should only be going to 220 outlets. All the other outlets should be in same phase.

most circuits in the house are 110v. so, think of a 220v dryer plug or a oven plug. They are both fed from double breakers with 2 hot wires instead of just one for 110v. there are 2 phases in your panel. The phases alternate 1,2,1,2,1,2 down the panel on both sides. So, double breakers are connected to phases 1 & 2. If your plugs by the tank happen to be circuits in phases 1 & 2, there would be a potential of 220v. if, say, a pump and heater from each circuit leaked, the water could have a potential of 220v. I think I lost myself with that explanation. LOL