RedSea Electric Failure Nearly Killed Me

charliefish · Dec 14, 2020

Came back from work and i dont know what happened as I approached the tank a massive current was coming from it. I call out an electrician who checked the electric board that came with it he said for sure if I had of touched the tank it would have killed me and there was multiple failures on the socket system. I had all the original equipment that came with the tank the skimmer pump was live as was the back pumps etc now im petrified of the whole tank to go near it. I had to discard nearly every thing that came with the tank which i paid $8000 for new. It leaks and all the side boards are swollen etc. I throw the fish food in from a distance as im so scared to get electrocuted even though ive replaced the stuff that was live and when i clean it i have to turn it off from the wall socket which then it over flows from the sump and makes a huge flood. Please Red Sea do the right thing and help get this sorted.

psl123 · Dec 14, 2020

Hello there,
That does sound very scary!
Are you presently using a GFIC (Ground Fault Interrupt Circuit) for your tank?

However, from a safety standpoint you should be okay by replacing all the faulty components,
Additionally, you can add a grounding probe inside your tank.

What turned out to be the actual cause of all that stray voltage?

Greg P · Dec 14, 2020

Sounds like you might be running the system with too much water and it's resulted in water damage, or possibly the plumbing is leaking. In no way should it overflow when you turn everything off.
Look into how to correctly adjust the water volume in your system.
And have someone check the structural stability of what you mentioned as swollen side boards.

czynot · Dec 14, 2020

I have never seen a redsea tank or sump overflowed. All original sump are over size and are able to handle the back flow.

Greg P · Dec 14, 2020

czynot said:
I have never seen a redsea tank or sump overflowed. All original sump are over size and are able to handle the back flow.

Unless the sump was filled while the return pump was running ...

Jeffcb · Dec 14, 2020

Ground the tank and you can have no current in it. They are 12 or 14 bucks for a titanium ground probe. GFI a good idea as well.

Jeffcb · Dec 14, 2020

charliefish said:
Came back from work and i dont know what happened as I approached the tank a massive current was coming from it. I call out an electrician who checked the electric board that came with it he said for sure if I had of touched the tank it would have killed me and there was multiple failures on the socket system. I had all the original equipment that came with the tank the skimmer pump was live as was the back pumps etc now im petrified of the whole tank to go near it. I had to discard nearly every thing that came with the tank which i paid $8000 for new. It leaks and all the side boards are swollen etc. I throw the fish food in from a distance as im so scared to get electrocuted even though ive replaced the stuff that was live and when i clean it i have to turn it off from the wall socket which then it over flows from the sump and makes a huge flood. Please Red Sea do the right thing and help get this sorted.

Glad your alive

CMMorgan · Dec 14, 2020

Recently had a similar experience - not to that level but little microshocks that went on for weeks. I have since added a grounding probe. I ordered a WR rated GFCI for the new build. I have replaced the offending equipment. Now, I just need to reprogram myself to not be afraid of it. I understand how you feel.

Tamberav · Dec 14, 2020

All my tanks have a GFCI. You can buy ones that plug into an outlet to turn it into a GFCI and they do work. I got them at Home Depot for 10-15 bux.

Jeffcb · Dec 14, 2020

My first reef tank yrs ago measured about 20V ac when I finally realized I was getting shocked

pocketreef · Dec 15, 2020

It is not easy to kill someone healthy with home voltage. When I read something like "multiple failures on the socket system" it makes me believe the electrician is trying to scare you to sell sockets and rewire the house unless the situation was pretty bad. A GFCI cord would add some safety. From time to time aquarium components can fail, the most common are heaters and pumps, finding them and replacing the faulty component should do the trick.

laverda · Dec 15, 2020

If it has a leek and the sides are swollen I am betting saltwater got into the power strip as well. Since saltwater is very conductive it will create havoc!

JoshH · Dec 15, 2020

Glad that your safe and no one was injured...

But I have to ask, how old is this tank?
How long has it been leaking with no action taking place on your part?
If the boards on the stand are swollen I'm guessing some time now.
How was it set up when you filled it?
I've never heard of a Red Sea tank overflowing the sump when the powers shut off if they were set up and ran properly to begin with.
How did you know a "massive current" was coming from the tank by looking at it from a distance? Smoke? Sounds?

I may be sounding a little harsh here but it almost sounds like you have created this situation yourself by neglecting serious issues to the point where they have created a dangerous environment.

Oh and Red Sea does not follow this forum for posts, they are better contacted by there contact page on there website or there Facebook group. The way they run there Facebook group I probably wouldn't go that route myself.