Is this really necessary? I am new to the reef hobby and I am unsure if this is really needed. It is basically a titanium grounding rod that you put in the water and ground to an outlet. The theory is that electricity builds up in the water from heaters, filters, etc. and causes the animals to get diseases. Is this true?
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Titanium Grounding?
- Thread starter Andy V
- Start date
eric-c
Non-member
At the very least it will give you an added level of electrical safety for you and the equipment servicing your tank. To tell you the truth, I never really thought about stray voltage in an aquarium before now.
As far as it causing problems with the livestock, from what I've read (and it was only after you posted your question that I started looking in to it) it can reduce the risk of certain illnesses.
As far as it causing problems with the livestock, from what I've read (and it was only after you posted your question that I started looking in to it) it can reduce the risk of certain illnesses.
smcnally
Tankless
Your going to start a huge debate on whether or not they are safe to use in an aquarium. No matter what anyone says, the truth of the matter is it is debatable whether or not it helps the fish or corals, but they would help you out personally whether or not you have a GFCI by leading stray voltage straight to ground and not going through you first. The one issue I have with them is that they can "hide" some voltage leak issues until they get pretty bad.
Follow Up
So I have a GFCI on the outlet, but the Titanium rod ground I am referring to goes directly in the tank, and then gets grounded to the outlet screw. So I am talking about 2 seperate items. I got confused by your answers, so I am trying to figure out if we are on the same page. It was my understanding that the titanium rod is supposed to keep stray voltage out of the tank, and the GFCI was in case you dropped a piece of electrical equipment in the water. Do I have this right? And if so, does anyone think I need the ground rod? I put the link up to what I am referring to. Thanks a lot.
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Produ...challpartial&Ntk=All&N=2004&Ntt=titanium&Np=1
So I have a GFCI on the outlet, but the Titanium rod ground I am referring to goes directly in the tank, and then gets grounded to the outlet screw. So I am talking about 2 seperate items. I got confused by your answers, so I am trying to figure out if we are on the same page. It was my understanding that the titanium rod is supposed to keep stray voltage out of the tank, and the GFCI was in case you dropped a piece of electrical equipment in the water. Do I have this right? And if so, does anyone think I need the ground rod? I put the link up to what I am referring to. Thanks a lot.
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Produ...challpartial&Ntk=All&N=2004&Ntt=titanium&Np=1
smcnally
Tankless
No, you aren't understanding me correctly.
A GFCI and/or grounding probe is more for our safety than anything else. Stray voltage isn't really known to adversely affect corals or even fish (although it can irritate fish). In fact, it has been recently found that coral growth can be sped up with voltage. I forget where, but they are gorwing reefs at a faster rate by inducing DC voltage to the metal structures the reefs are growing on.
eric-c
Non-member
Hey guys! Sorry that I led everyone away from the original question. Since we’re here though, we should make sure we are all on the right page.
A GFCI receptacle or breaker is always the way to go when you are dealing with water. This keeps you safe if anything was to happen in your aquarium (e.g. glass on the heater breaks, pump faults, light drops into the tank). And if your equipment has voltage leak issues, your GFCI will react to it when and if it becomes a problem.
A ground rod in the tank will reduce the potential of electric shock from any “stray voltage”. You will never get rid of stray voltage, however you equal the voltage inside of the tank with the voltage that is outside of the tank by grounding it to your electrical system. So if there is any voltage in you tank and you touch something that is grounded, you won't fell anything because you've eqauled the "playing field".
You may consider having an additional ground rod in your sump as this has most of the electrical equipment in it. It’s more safety for us not so much the livestock.
A GFCI receptacle or breaker is always the way to go when you are dealing with water. This keeps you safe if anything was to happen in your aquarium (e.g. glass on the heater breaks, pump faults, light drops into the tank). And if your equipment has voltage leak issues, your GFCI will react to it when and if it becomes a problem.
A ground rod in the tank will reduce the potential of electric shock from any “stray voltage”. You will never get rid of stray voltage, however you equal the voltage inside of the tank with the voltage that is outside of the tank by grounding it to your electrical system. So if there is any voltage in you tank and you touch something that is grounded, you won't fell anything because you've eqauled the "playing field".
You may consider having an additional ground rod in your sump as this has most of the electrical equipment in it. It’s more safety for us not so much the livestock.
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