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#1
07/11/2005, 01:38 PM
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stray voltage
i been thinkin that i had a powerhead leaking. i took a volt meter to my tank in the main display i got .3 volts with everything running. i was getting 0.0 with everything off. i was getting 1 full volt in the fuge. is there acceptable amount of current that should be flowing through the tank or should it be 0 ?
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#3
07/11/2005, 03:17 PM
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Voltage isn't current flowing through the tank, it's only the potential for current to flow. It doesn't actually flow unless you give it a ground. In theory hundreds of volts in the tank would be harmless unless you grounded it and created a current. That's why birds can sit on powerlines without any trouble.
As long as there is a GFCI to prevent you from being shocked if you accidentally ground the tank then voltage is nothing to worry about. The small amount you're measuring may just be from induction in the motors of the powerheads.
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Lanikai, kahakai nani, aloha no au ia 'oe. A hui hou kakou. |
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#4
07/11/2005, 03:53 PM
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Quote:
in the grand skeam of things i wouldn't think 1 volt is a lot or enough to bother anything. i have just been having some odd problems like ph staying stable snails dying. my fish that i have had for a while all of sudden have ich (which i have read a wonderful thread about ich) they will be moving to a quarinteen tank i just don't want to break down my tank i guess i will to catch them. Last edited by PatrickB101; 07/11/2005 at 04:31 PM. |
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#5
07/11/2005, 05:39 PM
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do you feel mild shock when you put your hand in the tank? even if not, and you are measuring voltage, add a ground probe. It should bring the voltage reading to 0. I had a long-standing problem with ich in my tanks, and also had low voltage readings and could actually feel the shock. When I added ground probes, the ich problem vanished. So it may be true that adding a ground probe actually allows current to flow, but empirically it does eleviate the problem (IME).
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Mark |
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#6
07/11/2005, 09:29 PM
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i do think thats what causing this my snails are dying off left and right water parameters are imo good.
calc is 450 ph 8.2 nitrite 0 nitrate 0 |
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#7
07/11/2005, 09:35 PM
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I think you should always add a ground probe, for your safety. Also, since salt water is a conductor of sorts, if there's voltage, there should be current, anyway, so I don't believe the comments about a ground probe creating current where none existed before. It might change the current flow, but I've never seen any indication that the change will hurt anything. Birds usually can sit on powerlines because air is not a good conductor, usually.
The ground probe can save your aquarium from dying by shutting down the electricity (in conjunction with your GFCI) when a pump cracks, etc. That often (or usually) won't happen without the probe. If you want to do a search, you should be able to find some stories of tanks crashing horribly because of a burning heater or the like.
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Jonathan Bertoni |
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#8
07/11/2005, 09:43 PM
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I would install a ground probe either way, but find the culprit on the voltage and get it out. I cracked a heater in my sump one time, and trust me you standing on the floor with your hand in the water constitutes a solid ground. Especially when your hand is in saltwater, which conducts electrity better then fresh water does.
I will never stick my hand in a tank without a ground probe EVER again, EVER, that hurt like nothing i have ever felt before lol.
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If you get corn oil by squeezing corn, how do you get baby oil? |
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#9
07/12/2005, 01:47 PM
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thanks i found a leaking power head and that my light is sitting to close to my fuge. thanks guys also will be purchasing a ground probe and setting up my my quarintene tank for my ich infested fish.
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#10
07/13/2005, 04:48 PM
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you should be good for now
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