Sticking hand in tank getting shocked!

[Tyreefer]

Hey there everyone, someone I know with a 75 gallon fish only tank is having an emergency situation. Every time they stick their hand into the aquarium they get a shock from having their hands in the water. I was reading online that it’s called stray voltage? Someone suggested to un plug one thing at a time and see if the shock goes away. Does anyone have any advice what they should do? They have a 75 gallon aquarium with 1 heater, 2 powerheads, 1 pump, a sump, and aquarium light. Please if anyone has suggestions or could help out it would be very much appreciated!

 

[ReeferBill]

I always ground my tanks. Just in case.

 

[Jonify]

Hey there everyone, someone I know with a 75 gallon fish only tank is having an emergency situation. Every time they stick their hand into the aquarium they get a shock from having their hands in the water. I was reading online that it’s called stray voltage? Someone suggested to un plug one thing at a time and see if the shock goes away. Does anyone have any advice what they should do? They have a 75 gallon aquarium with 1 heater, 2 powerheads, 1 pump, a sump, and aquarium light. Please if anyone has suggestions or could help out it would be very much appreciated!

If it’s a minor shock, then yes, I suppose they can do that and unplug things one at a time and figure out which one is the offending device. But I would never do that .. grab a cheap multimeter from Amazon and do it that way.

 

[davidcalgary29]

They should keep their hands out of the tank!

The advice given is sound.

 

[Tyreefer]

I always ground my tanks. Just in case.

Thanks for the reply, do you mind explaining this a little more I read this somewhere else too!

 

[Tyreefer]

If it’s a minor shock, then yes, I suppose they can do that and unplug things one at a time and figure out which one is the offending device. But I would never do that .. grab a cheap multimeter from Amazon and do it that way. Hold both leads in the water, unplug one device at a time; when the voltage drops, you know the offending device,

Thank you for your reply! By the way do you know what would be the best heater for a 75 gallon fish only tank? It looks like they’re going to have to purchase some new things.

 

[Jonify]

Thank you for your reply! By the way do you know what would be the best heater for a 75 gallon fish only tank? It looks like they’re going to have to purchase some new thing

Probably a 200 watt heater. 2 options:

Basic heater: Eheim: $52
Heater with a controller and WIFI (will turn it on and off based on tank temp, which is helpful if the heater malfunctions and sticks in the on position): BRS Titanium heater: $106

 

[olonmv]

If it’s a minor shock, then yes, I suppose they can do that and unplug things one at a time and figure out which one is the offending device. But I would never do that .. grab a cheap multimeter from Amazon and do it that way. Hold both leads in the water, unplug one device at a time; when the voltage drops, you know the offending device,

Holding both leads in water is redundant. One lead to a trusted grounded source and the other lead goes in water then start to unplug equipment one at a time until voltage Reduces, when voltage reduces odds are that that is the piece of equipment(s) with the issue . It’s like putting both leads on the same side of a battery, you’ll never get a proper reading.

 

[jiggysmb]

Hey there everyone, someone I know with a 75 gallon fish only tank is having an emergency situation. Every time they stick their hand into the aquarium they get a shock from having their hands in the water. I was reading online that it’s called stray voltage? Someone suggested to un plug one thing at a time and see if the shock goes away. Does anyone have any advice what they should do? They have a 75 gallon aquarium with 1 heater, 2 powerheads, 1 pump, a sump, and aquarium light. Please if anyone has suggestions or could help out it would be very much appreciated!

Thank you for getting some more eyes on my thread! I had an electrician over today that confirmed there was no issue in the outlet and it was properly grounded. He recommended a GFCI but could not explain why every single device caused a drop in voltage. I have ordered the grounding probe, so hopefully that helps.

 

[k2-]

Did you ever resolve it ?