No probe here. Been running a tank for over 10 years.
Poll: Do you use a grounding probe??
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scardall
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If their is voltage in your tank the livestock would never know because they are not grounded.
N1Husker
Active Member
I have one in my sump. I figure as long as I have a constant flow of water, it is getting grounded. I also have all of my equipment plugged into a GFCI wall plug. I have a very healthy tank.
In England we have 240volts but all items are double sealed if they don't have a earth wire in our 3 pin plugs but my house uses a residual circuit breaker (RCD.RCB) if one wire gets damaged the draw on the wires is uneven and shuts off the power. Very safe system
domination2580
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OK, I had a tank crash on top of me all because of a heater that was shorted out. With that current going through you, you can't really let go of things....your stuck in a grasping situation. Ended up in the urgent care, stitches, electrocution, and two weeks of missed work....I highly recommend them as for every tank I set up will now have them in it
redfishbluefish
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Doesn't that 24 volt pump have a 120 line feeding it juice that is then converted and stepped down to 24 volts DC?
Betty1964
Active Member
Yes, I use one. We live in an older house and the electrical system is "interesting" as our electrician calls it. We are slowly redoing the entire system but for now it is what it is.
gcrawford
Valuable Member
Yes, I use one on both of our tanks.....Here are some details from a test I witnessed at a reef club meeting a couple years back:
GFCIs and ground probes work together. Here's a test that proves it... Connect a power cord with hot and neutral to two probes and pierce them into a pickle. Plug this into a standard GFCI receptacle. The pickle will sizzle and actually light up and the GFCI will not trip. Now run the same test with a ground probe plugged into the GFCI and probe pierced into the pickle. The GFCI trips instantly. I saw this at a reef club meeting. Also, do not hold the pickle during the test!
GFCIs and ground probes work together. Here's a test that proves it... Connect a power cord with hot and neutral to two probes and pierce them into a pickle. Plug this into a standard GFCI receptacle. The pickle will sizzle and actually light up and the GFCI will not trip. Now run the same test with a ground probe plugged into the GFCI and probe pierced into the pickle. The GFCI trips instantly. I saw this at a reef club meeting. Also, do not hold the pickle during the test!
charged
Community Member
I'm confused on this. I put 1 in my sump and had it go to a ground. Thinking about it, that would only take care of current going through the tank until the issue is addressed. Meaning faulty equipment shuts down or trips the GFI. How do you test for current in you tank?
Windy
Active Member
I don't use grounding probes, but I get tired of the arguments. If you use a little logic, you can get the best of both worlds.
Many here say that the probe will cause a shorted motor to blow the breaker instead of shocking them when they put their hand in the water. Maybe that will work. Also, many claim that it improves the health of their fish.
Others claim that giving voltage a path is simply making the risk higher. No manufacturer of ground probes claim they are a safety device.
So what is the answer????
If you feel the need to use a ground probe, put it on a switch and then turn it off when you have your hands in the water. Any short will have been grounded, but not when you are in the water. Also, your fish get their supposed relief 99.9% of the time.
Many here say that the probe will cause a shorted motor to blow the breaker instead of shocking them when they put their hand in the water. Maybe that will work. Also, many claim that it improves the health of their fish.
Others claim that giving voltage a path is simply making the risk higher. No manufacturer of ground probes claim they are a safety device.
So what is the answer????
If you feel the need to use a ground probe, put it on a switch and then turn it off when you have your hands in the water. Any short will have been grounded, but not when you are in the water. Also, your fish get their supposed relief 99.9% of the time.
redfishbluefish
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Yummy! Fried pickles....had them for the first time a couple months ago at Pik-N-Pig in Carthage, North Carolina.
So here's the bottom line on grounding probes. If you want to use one, as @gcrawford points out, you need to use it in conjunction with a ground fault. This protects both you and the inhabitants of your tank. But....and there's always a but.....they (the GFCI's) tend to trip if you look at them funny. And you know that's going to be when you're on vacation in some remote location.
Those folks who I know have done this combo have eventually gone back to regular outlets or have put in multiple CGFI's to separate various equipment on different circuits or have most equipment one GFCI with critical stuff on regular outlets.
And as Edith Ann would say, "And that's the truth.....PPTHHPTHPFFTHPPPT!!!"
Could some of you please elaborate on the reasons why you do or don't or at least post a link with the information you are basing your opinion on? Also, if you do use one, where do you put it and why there? Thanks from one who is clueless that there was even a dispute about it. This would be helpful.
Randy Holmes-Farley
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My Tank Thread
I have a ground probe in my tank and have had it for 20 years.
I have it because if there is a potential current leak from an exposed device like a broken heater, I want the GFCI to trip immediately instead of waiting for me or someone else to touch the water and provide a ground through my body. Not only do I not want to provide the current path with my body, but I do not want exposed wires contacting the water out of concern over copper and other metals.
Simple as that.
FWIW, my system is fairly extended, and I have one in the display and one in the sump since they may not always be electrically connected, especially in an emergency. That has its own issues with respect to possible currents, but I know they are both connected to the same ground.
s2nhle
Valuable Member
+1 I have mine in the sump since most of my electrical equipment is there.
I have a ground probe in my tank and have had it for 20 years.
I have it because if there is a potential current leak from an exposed device like a broken heater, I want the GFCI to trip immediately instead of waiting for me or someone else to touch the water and provide a ground through my body. Not only do I not want to provide the current path with my body, but I do not want exposed wires contacting the water out of concern over copper and other metals.
Simple as that.
FWIW, my system is fairly extended, and I have one in the display and one in the sump since they may not always be electrically connected, especially in an emergency. That has its own issues with respect to possible currents, but I know they are both connected to the same ground.
domination2580
Reef-a-nator
If it trips due to a short on something your not going to want to put power to it till the short is found I would think
