WP40 stray voltage

[Chameleon]

Hi,
I was just testing my tank for stray voltage. I found 0.3 volts are due to my WP40. anyone else have stray voltage as a result of this powerhead? Is that a lot or a little? In the past mine has always read 0 volts. A little concerning, but I dont know the first thing about how much it takes to bother livestock

 

[CoryC]

any stray voltage can cause problems. corals can close up and fish can stress out. not sure how you could fix it, other than getting a new powerhead. i've discussed stuff like this before and been attacked by people that think these are superior powerheads. seems i was right! good luck though, you could try a grounding probe but you'll still have some voltage.

 

[redfishbluefish]

I want to get this straight.....zero point three volts AC? That's nothing! You're good to go.



EDIT TO ADD: I'm just realizing that I believe the WP pumps are DC pumps. If that is the case, your voltage leakage isn't coming from the WP's

 

[CoryC]

without knowing the amperage in the water you really don't know the damage it can do. any current traveling through the water is still bad and will inevitably get worse as the pump continues to operate impoperly more voltage will be introduce into the system. best to be proactive with this one, before you hurt your reef or god forbid yourself.

 

[bhazard451]

Hi,
I was just testing my tank for stray voltage. I found 0.3 volts are due to my WP40. anyone else have stray voltage as a result of this powerhead? Is that a lot or a little? In the past mine has always read 0 volts. A little concerning, but I don't know the first thing about how much it takes to bother livestock

I would check each piece in your tank one by one on its own. Remove the culprit.

Redfish is right as well. Unless you checked for both AC and DC, .3 has a very different meaning under each. What did each reading say?

Cory, you were attacked because of consistently spreading false information about a product (and people) you hate. Don't pat yourself on the back just yet. I don't see you harping on Koralias or any other piece of reef equipment that have done the same thing in the past (Marineland heater perhaps?). If it turns out to be his return, heater, or any other piece, are you going to start a rant about that company too?

 

[CoryC]

considering he mentioned the powerhead as the culprit, i'd assumed he'd deductively produced that this piece of equipment was leaching voltage. i never spread false information, i used posts and conversations from this forum and others to show that this hurriedly manufactured pump has had and will have as many breakdowns as koralias, marineland pumps, and other similar produced, cheaply manufactured pieces of reef equipment and therefore will not end up saving you much more money than if you'd have bought a quality pump to begin with, as i'm sure the OP will soon figure out. are you going to continue to deny the facts such as this post and continue to prop this pump up as much more than the cheap alternative it is to high end high flow powerheads?

 

[Diesel]

Whenever electric appliances are used in close proximity to saltwater aquariums, the potential for problems increases dramatically.
Fortunately for most saltwater aquarists, a vast majority of equipment used in conjunction with an aquarium is of high quality and seldom fails.
However, when an appliance does fail and leaks electricity into a tank, it is called "stray voltage".
Stray voltage, even in small amounts, can cause a number of subtle or dramatic problems in an aquarium.
Anecdotal evidence in aquariums as well as observations of fish in close proximity to hydroelectric dams have indicated that stray voltage could be a possible cause of HLLD in fish.
Sudden Death of Tank Inhabitants.
Many aquarists have tested for voltage leaks in their tanks after experiencing a sudden and otherwise inexplicable loss of fish in their tanks and found that a faulty appliance used in conjunction with their tank was the cause.
Unusual Behavior of Tank Inhabitants - When continuos strange behavior such as a rapid and jerky swimming pattern or frequent quivering of tank inhabitants is observed, many aquarists have discovered that the cause was stray voltage.

Yes, everything is going to put out some, especially any electric motors....AC or DC powered, they work off a magnetic field which is going to leak to the water.
Saltwater is the biggest conductor of electricity so... Adding all the equipment that we add into salt is always going to create some leaking, always.
Some more serious then others.
Also the higher the salinity the greater the conduction.

Now the question is................... are the wp25 and 40 on a DC powered device leaking into the tank...................YES, the pump in it's whole generate a magnetic field and so some kind of leakage.
Now is this a bad thing for your corals and livestock...........
There're stories and post put up that a few hours after the wp pumps were introduced in the aquarium some corals closed up or lost PE.
For now they blamed it on too much and too strong flow but go figure.
I had Tunze pumps and they generate some stray voltage.
According by test results from Ecotech there's no stray voltage in the aquarium cause simply the two parts wet and dry sides are separated by glass.
I think the wp25 and 40's are awesome pumps for that price, but for sure almost every device has some cons if we like it or not.

 

[Chameleon]

hey yall,
thanks for the tips.
I did come to this conclusion out of deductive reasoning. I was testing the frag tank which is separate from my display. I found 5V AC coming from the old maxijet 1200 used as a return and 0.3V AC from the WP40. My display which has a MP40 an external reeflo and an internal bubble blaster read 0.0V AC.
Based off this I am putting a newer maxijet on the frag tank. I wasn't sure about the WP40. Soon I will plumb the frag tank to the display and the only internal pump will be the bubble blaster on the skimmer

 

[Diesel]

That's good news, I'm glad you did some research and find the problem.

 

[aslmx]

I tested mine before the ground probe installation and had like 40 volts. ground probe installed and had 0

 

[bhazard451]

I tested mine before the ground probe installation and had like 40 volts. ground probe installed and had 0

The pump itself maxes out at 24v, so that isn't possible from the pump alone. Test everything, remove anything putting voltage into the tank, and don't rely on the probe.

 

[kes]

I'm glad you didn't get hurt by it; could've been much worse