GROUNDING PROBE HELP

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BILLYBOB Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Guest Joined: February 25 2004 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 225	Post Options Post Reply Quote BILLYBOB Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: GROUNDING PROBE HELP Posted: April 30 2007 at 3:24pm
	I put my hand in my aquarium the other day (had a little cut on it) and got quite a jolt, ive tried to read up on how this "live" current effects my fish and corals, but havent actually found any straight forward answers, I kind of understand electricity, and it seems to me I feel the jolt because im Grounded, and the fish are not, in fact nothing in there is because glass is not a conduit for electricity. I bought one of those grounding probes, but when i put that little titanium prong in the water, the jolt turns more in to a shock (worse), so these are my questions? 1. How do I make that grounding probe do what it's supposed to do. 2. Does this live current hurt my buddys
	BILLY BOB 916-5000

ReefBones Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Guest Joined: January 14 2006 Location: Magna, Utah Status: Offline Points: 2617	Post Options Post Reply Quote ReefBones Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: April 30 2007 at 4:21pm
	First off .. find out what is shorting out ... this is bad .. Stray current will harm your fish (causes lateral line disease) and corals however its more of a hazard to you ... start unplugging things untill you find out what the problem is and replace it ... FWIW: ... you will not be able to feel the stray current that your pumps, heaters etc, are putting off .. if you feel it there is a problem and grounding probes will do nothing for this ... they are designed to eliminate small amounts of stray current that your pumps, heaters power heads etc. put off not to give large currents (that you can feel) a place to go .. this could cause a fire as it gives a short a direct path to ground and can burn up what ever is shorting out . .. I hope this makes sense ... this is very bad ... P.S. USE A VOLT MEATER NOT YOUR BODY! Edited by thebutler4 - April 30 2007 at 4:33pm
	140 gallon Reef 65 gallon Reef 55 gallon Aggressive www.thesalttank.com 801-865-6074 "encourage other divers and sea enthusiasts to take nothing but pictures and leave nothing but bubbles"

Jake Pehrson Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Admin Group Joined: June 13 2002 Location: Murray, UT Status: Offline Points: 4279	Post Options Post Reply Quote Jake Pehrson Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: April 30 2007 at 4:25pm
	Do a search on this. There has been much discussion. I agree with what thebutler4 said. Find the cause and eliminate it.
	Jake Pehrson Murray coralplanet.com :)

Mark Peterson Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Paid Member Joined: June 19 2002 Location: Murray Status: Offline Points: 21437	Post Options Post Reply Quote Mark Peterson Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: April 30 2007 at 6:43pm
	Sounds to me that what you felt may be simply "ground voltage" to a sensitive internal nerve. Ground voltage of up to 40 volts is normal in the aquarium. Use a volt meter with one lead stuck in the ground lead of a properly grounded wall outlet and the other lead in the aquarium water. To determine if any voltage is due to a submerged source, unplug one unit at a time and record the corresponding change in voltage. In 14 years and more than 30 tanks, I never used a grounding probe, never had to. Conversely, an infamous LFS I used to work for uses grounding probes on 95% of their tanks and they have more lateral line disease problems than I ever saw in the ~500 hobbyist tanks that I saw over those 14 years.
	Reefkeeping Tips, & quick, easy setup tricks: www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244 Pay it forward - become a paid WMAS member

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