Any tank deaths due to stray voltage?

exnisstech · Oct 19, 2022

EDIT
I should have titled this thread has stray voltage killed any of your tank inhabitants or something similar rather than the current title which I can not edit. Stray voltage is a concern obviously. Sorry for mistake on my part.

When people are having a mysterious death or other issue many times someone will say did you check for stray voltage. The reason I asked is because I have a couple of hydro koralia power heads that leak 49 and 52 volts. They will light you up when you stick your hands in the water. They are currently used for mixing salt but when they were in the tank I have fish corals and nems and everything was fine. I pulled them because I got tired of getting shocked. I'm running ground probes now (better safe than sorry) but am curious if there as been anything documented that stray voltage can cause death or other issues (other than falling of a chair when standing on it to work in the tank and get lit up) I've just been wondering about this for quite a while so figured I would ask. Thanks

Ef4life · Oct 19, 2022

If they are leaking voltage that means there is electrical current and metals specifically copper in contact with the salt water. Not only is it dangerous for you by way of shock but it can potentially burn your house down. And yes it can kill your fish and coral

exnisstech · Oct 19, 2022

What kills tho, the metals or the voltage because I had no adverse effects from voltage. Not sure about metals because I didn't test because there were no concerns other than be shocked when I touched the water. I'm not a science guy but everytime I read about stray voltage causing concerns I wonder why it didn't cause an issue in my tank. I guess I'm just curious if anyone has any documented issues or proof of voltage causing problems. I'm not all saying people should run anything that is leaking electricity into the water. Maybe I'm just bored

92Miata · Oct 19, 2022

exnisstech said:
When people are having a mysterious death or other issue many times someone will say did you check for stray voltage. The reason I asked is because I have a couple of hydro koralia power heads that leak 49 and 52 volts. They will light you up when you stick your hands in the water. They are currently used for mixing salt but when they were in the tank I have fish corals and nems and everything was fine. I pulled them because I got tired of getting shocked. I'm running ground probes now (better safe than sorry) but am curious if there as been anything documented that stray voltage can cause death or other issues (other than falling of a chair when standing on it to work in the tank and get lit up) I've just been wondering about this for quite a while so figured I would ask. Thanks

If pumps are shocking you, they're a problem. Are the korallias AC or DC?

That being said, a grounding probe is not a "better safe than sorry" device - a GFCI is. Is everything on your tank on a GFCI? If not, the grounding probe makes the tank significantly more dangerous. Grounding probes are designed to trip GFCIs sooner - the GFCI trips when the device starts to leak, rather than tripping when you stick your hand in.

If you've got a current leak, typically it's minor, because there's no clean path for electricity to travel to ground. You get shocked because you're a cleaner path to ground than the tank. With a grounding probe, if there's a leak, it's major, and its moving significant current through the tank all the time.

Grounding probes (without GFCIs) also enable the "Lighting fixture electrocution" hazard. Many reef fixtures are poorly isolated - and some are somewhat charged in normal use. With a grounding probe and no GFCI, brushing up against a bad/malfunctioning lighting fixture while working in the tank can mean you're a clean path to that grounding probe.

exnisstech · Oct 19, 2022

I do have gfi on all tanks. I'm no electrician but have been trained and worked on 440v DC electric cars so I understand the dangers of electricity. I was just curious about the stray voltage causing deaths statement and wondered if there has been actual proof.

The koralia are ac pumps. They are not in the tanks.

EricR · Nov 9, 2022

My tank water tests at 11.9v AC so I guess that's OK? (No ground probe running in the tank)

For the electricians out there, this is weird/curious:
GFCI that runs the tank -- I get 0.1v AC with ONLY one probe to ground and the other just in the air.
All other receptacles in the house that I tested that way (including 2 other GFCI) show 0.0v with just an occasional "-" (negative) on the meter, but still at 0.0v (so I guess VERY SLIGHT voltage but below the range of the meter).
*I do have a couple of those 3-light receptacle testers and they show CORRECT (wiring) on the GFCI receptacle I use for the tank.

'sup wit dat?

Daniel@R2R · Nov 9, 2022

exnisstech said:
I should have titled this thread has stray voltage killed any of your tank inhabitants or something similar rather than the current title which I can not edit. Stray voltage is a concern obviously. Sorry for mistake on my part.

I edited the title for you

exnisstech · Nov 11, 2022

No one? Is this just and internet fable that people use to explain unexplained deaths

Idech · Nov 11, 2022

I’ve had stray voltage but no deaths. I got stung though.

Lbrdsoxfan · Nov 11, 2022

Idech said:
I’ve had stray voltage but no deaths. I got stung though.

Same. No clue if I've lost livestock from it, but I've certainly been bit by cheap powerheads. The potting tends to rot.

Idech · Nov 11, 2022

Lbrdsoxfan said:
Same. No clue if I've lost livestock from it, but I've certainly been bit by cheap powerheads. The potting tends to rot.

In my case a heater was broken in the tank and I touched it.

ca1ore · Nov 11, 2022

Meh, I think stray voltage is a red herring. In 35 years of reefing I never lost anything that could be even indirectly tied to stray voltage.

HB AL · Nov 11, 2022

Speaking from 1st hand experience from years ago it did not affect the fish at all but definitely had a detrimental effect on the corals.

Cory · Nov 11, 2022

HB AL said:
Speaking from 1st hand experience from years ago it did not affect the fish at all but definitely had a detrimental effect on the corals.

What happened to your corals?

Lowell Lemon · Nov 11, 2022

A fish has a lateral line that is sensitive to electrical impulses. If I understand the biology they sense prey in the water this way like an injured fish. So saying voltage does not affect fish health might be a bit presumptuous. In my experience of maintaining aquariums professionally it seems to be at least a correlation in some cases. Fish loss stopped when the offending device or electrical pathway was removed. Coincidence or causation you choose. For me and the experiences I have had I believe it can cause fish loss in the aquarium. But what do I know I only made a living in the industry for over 25 years. So maybe it is a red herring...but see how your fish do when you eliminate the source.

HB AL · Nov 11, 2022

Cory said:
What happened to your corals?

The 1st ones of course were the acropora's, polyp extension disappeared and then they looked like they were drying off if that makes sense. The encrusting montis stopped encrusting, euphylia stayed somewhat shrunken up, etc.... 24 hours after eliminating the culprit powerhead in my case the corals rebounded instantly it seemed like.

steveschuerger · Nov 11, 2022

I don’t know if this is considered “stray voltage” but I moved tanks this past June from a 30 to 60 gallon and used a large Rubbermaid tote to be a holding spot. Well it turns out the heater that I had on hand had somehow developed a low voltage leak. I ended up losing quite a few corals. All my SPS except for a stylo and a bunch of lps. Amazingly none of my fish or other inverts were damaged.