OMG please help

[n00b mariner]

OK was just feeding my sun coral as normal when by accident my top lip touched the top of the glass on the corner and I got a small electric shock!!!! If I touch said place with finger then nothing but with lip or tongue i get zapped!!! Is this just static and is it normal or do you think some of my equip may be faulty? pls help..

[MTB]

No, that's not normal. Do you get a shock in the water? I would get a voltmeter and make sure there is no electricity in the water.

[Dubbin1]

Stop kissing your tank and all should be fine :D

[Gundo5000]

try a groundprobe

[capn_hylinur]

I had the same problem---adding a ground probe solved this. You don't want small voltages running around your tank--can cause problems with inverts.
I would add the groundprobe and then check it out with a voltmeter to make sure.

In my case there was some current leaking from a heater.

[tkeracer619]

test between ground and the tank with a voltmeter. Unplug each item till it goes away.

Add a gfci and grounding probe.

You say you brushed it with your lip. Did you touch it and nothing happend so you licked it to test again?

[turnburn]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10251714#post10251714 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Dubbin1
Stop kissing your tank and all should be fine :D

LMAO !!!

:lol:

[n00b mariner]

any links or pics of ground probe or gfci pls? (what is gfci?)

[atzak]

sting your tongue in the water and see if that shocks you

[n00b mariner]

Thx atzak but I dont think that will remedy the problem

GFCI anyone and links or pics of ground probe in action pls

[Reefghoul]

There is debate on whether ground probes are good or not... The theory of not being good is that you are for sure running current through tank to get the ground probe to take it out...but this is just theory as of now, and I am just offering another perspective to this.

That being said, that much electricity in the tank, I would probably go with a ground probe as well...

[Grins]

GFCI= ground fault circuit interrupter

There are a few ways to install. Since my son is handy I had him replace the outlet to one but some use a plug. Do a search for GFCI or GFI to find what might work for you.

[Icefire]

He said he got zapped by the glass not the water.

That rule out electricity

[Grins]

Perhaps the glass was wet

[barjam]

Do not get a ground probe unless you have a GFCI.

A grounding probe is not a cure to broken equipment... it just masks it. The only legitimate use of a grounding probe is an extra layer of protection in case something does go wrong.

[thrillreefer]

n00b mariner, I know what you mean about not feeling current with your hand but only with lip or tongue. I have detected current in my tank in an analogous way: i had a small cut on my finger, which exposed living tissue to the water and the current. On your hands, the thick layers of the epidermis acts as a good insulator, but when these are removed (i.e. a cut or scrape) you can feel small currents in the water. Same thing with mouth and tongue: less layers of skin to insulate against the current.

That said, I have found that faulty heaters are most likely the cause of the problem. I would start by up unplugging your heater and touch the water with lips/tongue to see if this alleviates it. pumps are usually better engineered to be waterproof, and don't have glass parts that can crack, but could still be the culprit

[Dubbin1]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10252849#post10252849 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Grins
Perhaps the glass was wet

It would need to be a solid stream of water to carry a current. I'm guessing that he just got poked by something on the lip and thought it was a shock.

[n00b mariner]

nope there is definitely a current on the tank alltho I canot find the source (I unplugged eveything but still get shocks(with my lips) on the top of the glass). I`m sure that it is from the water but however much I may love my tank I`m not tonguing the water :P
The shock is only like from a small battery when you touch both contacts wityh your tongue.
Could it be static build up from powerheads and filters?

Is a GFCI the plug thing you put in the socket before your aquarium equipment. With, like, a button which trips out? If so then I have them on all my sockets but they never trip.

I`m thinking of getting the probe thing tho as they are only cheap and could save my (or my kids) life(s).

I hope my livestock will be fine untill I can get it fixed:(

[Dubbin1]

So you are saying that you're getting zapped through the glass?

[n00b mariner]

there is a black strip that runs along the top of the tank. It is here on the very corner of the tank

[sabbath]

If I remember right. Glass is NOT a conductor.

[Dubbin1]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10253619#post10253619 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by n00b mariner
there is a black strip that runs along the top of the tank.

So that would be plastic...

[hyperfocal]

A grounding probe is a safety net, not a treatment for stray voltage. If something in your tank is leaking current you need to find out what it is and replace it. Electricity and salt-water are a deadly combination.

Get a voltmeter and check the tank against ground. If there is a voltage drop, unplug things one by one until it drops to zero. Replace the defective component immediately.

[rbursek]

Glass is an insulator. Just look at a Utilities Transformer yard and see the glass/porcelain isolators and on any utility pole where the lines attach. GFI's are a must, IMO.
Bob

[capn_hylinur]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10253489#post10253489 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by n00b mariner
nope there is definitely a current on the tank alltho I canot find the source (I unplugged eveything but still get shocks(with my lips) on the top of the glass). I`m sure that it is from the water but however much I may love my tank I`m not tonguing the water :P
The shock is only like from a small battery when you touch both contacts wityh your tongue.
Could it be static build up from powerheads and filters?

Is a GFCI the plug thing you put in the socket before your aquarium equipment. With, like, a button which trips out? If so then I have them on all my sockets but they never trip.

I`m thinking of getting the probe thing tho as they are only cheap and could save my (or my kids) life(s).

I hope my livestock will be fine untill I can get it fixed:(

you have unplugged everything? if you are still getting a shock check all plugs and cords are actually unplugged.
What kind of stand is the tank on?

[AquaKnight407]

Could you be in like your socks building up static electricity walking towards the tank?

If everything is off in the tank/stand, etc and there's still electricity, you must be losing it (just joking ;) ).

Or did you unplug one at a time? Could be 2 things giving off.

[rbursek]

this is the 2nd tread like this, the other one was a electric charge in a persons tub where he made up water changes!!!! Go figure.Bob