Grounding probes??

[OhNoNemo]

Just been reading up on these.They seem very simple and a small price to pay to be safer .Apparently if you have any stray voltage in your tank it can really start to mess up your fish over time.So ,how many have one?

 

[OhNoNemo]

As i read and search more ,i found this..hmmmmm:12:
Aquarium Grounding Probes
He also says he has no ph's in his tanks....ok??

This seems to be an old and debated topic

 

[yote]

I dont use a ground probe.BUT,every piece of equipment on my tank is plugged in GFCI outlets.

 

[fastrd400]

I dont use a ground probe.BUT,every piece of equipment on my tank is plugged in GFCI outlets.

+1 Yote, same here.

 

[OhNoNemo]

So do I.In fact ,things i have been reading say you better be using a GFCI with GP,s!!
Its the fact that there is still a small amount of stray voltage,that our fish can sense,and possibly cause all sorts of things.I'm not saying i believe one way or the other,but it is interesting reading.http://www.reefs.org/library/aquarium_net/996/996_5.html ,another read

 

[fastrd400]

I have a buddy that runs one. He has it in the sump. It's an extra precaution that is small and out of the way.

 

[coolhandgoose]

Here's a good example of a DIY GFCI with lots of pictures

150g room divider + 131g FOWLR dual reef system - Page 11 - Canreef Aquatics Bulletin Board

Definately easy to do and well worth it.

 

[OhNoNemo]

I wasn't too worried about the safety issues to us(not that we shouldn't be),but rather the affect it may have on our fish long term,IF there was any stray voltage.

 

[Bifferwine]

I use one. I have had incidents with stray voltage in every single one of my tanks at some point. I won't go without one. Especially after I've been shocked when I put my hand in the tank! I felt so bad that my animals were having to live with that.

 

[OhNoNemo]

Thanks for the input biff,at 15-20 bucks,i can't see any reason not to.I'll be getting one.Like you said,why subject our poor little fish to shock treatments.I read also,that the amount can be so small that we may not be able to feel it,but they sure can.

 

[VAreef]

GFI outlets will not eleminate all voltage in a tank. They will most likely keep you from getting shocked though. The majority of the stray voltage in a tank is caused by the actual running of the powerheads. They have a magnetic field, the impeller is in relative motion, and the saltwater is a current carrying conductor. Those are the 3 things you need to generate electricity. So just the simple act of the powerheads spinning and operating perfectly will generate a very small amount of voltage. I would get roughly 4-8 volts in my tank when I measured it. The only way to get rid of that 100% is to ground the water. Also, GFIs can fail though rarely. A ground rod is a good backup should that ever happen.

 

[Bifferwine]

In my 90 recently, I measured each of the powerheads putting out approximately 5 to 10 volts. Plus a few volts from my return pump and skimmer pumps. In all, there was around 50 volts going through my tank. It was significant.

 

[OhNoNemo]

GFI outlets will not eleminate all voltage in a tank. They will most likely keep you from getting shocked though. The majority of the stray voltage in a tank is caused by the actual running of the powerheads. They have a magnetic field, the impeller is in relative motion, and the saltwater is a current carrying conductor. Those are the 3 things you need to generate electricity. So just the simple act of the powerheads spinning and operating perfectly will generate a very small amount of voltage. I would get roughly 4-8 volts in my tank when I measured it. The only way to get rid of that 100% is to ground the water. Also, GFIs can fail though rarely. A ground rod is a good backup should that ever happen.

And stuff i read suggest this is more than enough to mess with our fish

 

[yote]

.I read also,that the amount can be so small that we may not be able to feel it,but they sure can.

If you got a cut on your hand,you'll feel it.Kinda like sticking your tounge to the posts on a 9 volt battery.:shocking:

 

[VAreef]

Just remember under the worst conditions ever you could be killed by 30 volts. Oh and the most deadly voltage is 110v cause no one respects it.

 

[OhNoNemo]

Our fishcould possibly be subjected to this non-stop.IDK, but seems pretty easy to prevent too.

 

[SeattleDarko]

Yes I run one NOW... I shocked my self good a few weeks/month ago my heater went out.... Alsmost all of my stuff is on GFCI but I still have ground prob just in case.

 

[Bifferwine]

Everything in my system is also plugged into a GFCI that Mng77777777... was kind enough to come over and install for me a while back. My tank GFCI is also hooked up to a switch on the wall that I can flip to instantly turn everything off if I need to. And when I accidentally bump that switch, it instantly turns everything off too, hahaha.