Stray/Leaked Voltage / grounding probes

[DeeLee]

Hello,

I apologize ahead of time for the long spiel.

Ive been dealing with the slight tingling feeling at the ends of the fingers, especially ones with cuts or abrasions when working in my aquarium (60 gallon long)

Ive gone down the rabbit hole and this and need some opinions on if my actions are enough.

I measured the stray voltage with my multi. It was measuring between 30 and 50v. Because my equipment was old i decided it was a good time to replace it all. The only thing i kept were the led lights.

After changing all the equipment raising the lights off the aquarium i still measured the same stray voltage.

I checked the led light cases to ground and saw about 25v on each of them so i grounded them.
When i checked the aquarium to ground again it was around 5 to 10v.

I decided to put in a grounding probe because ive seen some people who advise them. I was seriously worried about grounding the tank so i measured the current while i put the grounding probe in. The reading was 0.2mA.

I took out the ground because im paranoid if something does break at some point itll fry my tank.

My equipment is plugged into a power strip which is plugged into a gfi outlet.

Ive been looking to see what peoples stray voltage and amperage (if grounded) is but havent read anything that convinces me my tank is okay.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[shwareefer]

I think 5 to 10v is pretty normal. This only happens when you supply a path to ground (when you test, when you use a ground probe), so IMO 99.9% of the time it's doing nothing. Now if you stand on your floor with bare feet and put your hand in the tank it is now doing something as your tingling has alerted you. I don't use a ground probe. You have done your due diligence and minimized the potential voltage so I say you are good to go.

 

[DeeLee]

Thank you Shwareefer for your fast reply.
This has really been a rollercoaster.

Woke up this morning and decided to verify my long day of struggle yesterday. It seems it was all a waste. The tingling is back and measuring around 30v.

This issue has seriously discouraged me.

 

[shwareefer]

Are you checking to a ground of a receptacle in the power strip or to another ground point? The reason I ask is you could be measuring potential voltage between two ground points.

 

[DeeLee]

Ive checked at the outlet ground and the strip ground and another outlet ground. Measurements were between 30 and 50v. There are points when the measurements drop to 5 to 10v. Ive checked to see if its the new heaters kicking on but i dont see either of the lights on.

 

[AcanthurusRex]

Voltage is relative. Rub an insulator on a cat, glass rod, and you will thousands of volts; and if you do it right an ampere.
Make sure your equipment does not have exposed conductors in the water; like a broken heater. In that case, you will feel the tingle at the waterline. Happened countless times to me; that was freshwater so the current would have been less.
You can't really feel a 50V shock. Only an AC line voltage is going to have any ability to supply significant current; at least in the aquarium equipment I own. I don't think any tingling is related to 30V; AC I assume.
Measured the current. How? What circuit? How did you insert the meter into the circuit? Tank water to earth ground? 200uA is not much and I doubt you have a meter that can measure that accurately.
There should not be a significant difference between 2 earth grounds.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I have multiple tanks and grounding probe is a must

 

[DeeLee]

I have multiple tanks and grounding probe is a must

Could you enlighten me please? Im concerned of the risks. Is it because stray voltage is unavoidable to an extent?

 

[xxkenny90xx]

I agree with @vetteguy53081 as long as your gfci protected the ground probe is a great idea

 

[shwareefer]

A GFCI will trip whether there is a grounding probe or not. I think it's a dinosaur toy from when people kept sharks.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Could you enlighten me please? Im concerned of the risks. Is it because stray voltage is unavoidable to an extent?

 

[DeeLee]

Thank you vette. Im not having a problem locating a grounding plug. Im ultimately concerned that grounding the aquarium will put my fish at risk if a peice of equipment does eventually fail. I guess without one if my equipment fails, i would be putting myself and others at risk. Hope the gfis do what they claim

 

[Brew12]

Thank you vette. Im not having a problem locating a grounding plug. Im ultimately concerned that grounding the aquarium will put my fish at risk if a peice of equipment does eventually fail. I guess without one if my equipment fails, i would be putting myself and others at risk. Hope the gfis do what they claim

I know I'm late to this party, but it was just brought to my attention.

The ground probe isn't there to protect you, it is to protect your fish/coral. If an electrical device in your tank fails it can leach toxins and copper into your system. It can also add a significant amount of heat to your system.
If you don't run a ground probe, that failed device can be adding toxins into your system for as long as you go without sticking your hand in your tank. For me that is about 2 weeks. With a ground probe installed, the GFCI should trip as soon as something fails. This deenergized the failed device reducing the rate it releases toxins and also alerts you to the failure.