tel Posted March 31, 2006 Report Share Posted March 31, 2006 the electric tingle you can feel in the water. is it water getting into sealed electric areas and whats the effect on the fish? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Posted March 31, 2006 Report Share Posted March 31, 2006 same as a bird on a power line You are making the earth contact, so you feel it. Try turning off one appliance at a time to suss out the faulty one Alan 104 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suphew Posted March 31, 2006 Report Share Posted March 31, 2006 the reason you can feel the tingle is because you (ie your body) is creating a path to earth, unless your fish is reaching out touch the ground it shouldnt be a problem for them. however big problems for you, you need to get this sorted asap, if you leave it, it will get worse and sooner or later you will get a proper zap and it could kill you. get yourself an RCD and use it to work out whats shorting out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cookie extreme Posted March 31, 2006 Report Share Posted March 31, 2006 get a titanium grounding probe, it will take the tingle away which is apperently bad for corals also. got mine a few years ago and the tingle was gone from the tank. well worth the US$12 i paid for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren Posted March 31, 2006 Report Share Posted March 31, 2006 Yeah, RCD's are really good. I won't work on any live equipment without one... It pays to get the type that doesn't turn off when the power is removed. Most of the cheap plug in ones reset if the power is removed (like when there's a short power cut). If you are out for a while when there is a power cut your RCD will reset, - no power to the tank... The non-resetting type still trips when it needs to but doesn't turn off in power cuts. Learnt this the hard way in my old fishroom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted March 31, 2006 Report Share Posted March 31, 2006 jump just before you work on your tank i get the same tingle, i asked my mate who's a sparky to check over everything and he said its all earthed, all rcd's tested ok etc. it only just started happening after i put the auto-topoff unit in which has a couple of stainless probes that sit in the water. i certainly get a tingle when i touch these. could it be these passing through the water? cookie i assume you got your titanium probe from the states, do you know where you get one in nzl? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren Posted March 31, 2006 Report Share Posted March 31, 2006 Sometimes pumps and heaters can capacitively couple a small current into the water. You should only be able to feel it in cuts or very sensitive skin. Any more than that indicates a potential problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puttputt Posted March 31, 2006 Report Share Posted March 31, 2006 I've had a tingle in the tank since day one. I setup a titanium probe and it made no difference (all though its in the sump not tank), funny thing is i've turned every appliance off and nothing stopped it, so turned power off to everything at once and still had a tingle????? any ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puttputt Posted March 31, 2006 Report Share Posted March 31, 2006 and it is only noticable on cuts or chewed finger nails . I've taken the probes from that unit out, didn't like that tingle, quite strong on those probes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghostface Posted March 31, 2006 Report Share Posted March 31, 2006 i get tingle from the screws on my aquaone flouro housing nothing from tank though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fay Posted March 31, 2006 Report Share Posted March 31, 2006 I had a faulty heater once I was getting tingles all the time picked it up without turning it off and it expolded in my hands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren Posted March 31, 2006 Report Share Posted March 31, 2006 Sometimes the earth connection at your house doesn't have very good conduction to ground (like when it's been dry for a while). There is often a small voltage drop from neutral to earth in this situation. Having a probe connected to your mains earth or touching a screw on a light if this condition is present means the small voltage appears across you to the real earth when you touch it. It may only be 10-20V but you can feel this on sensitive or wet skin and in open cuts etc... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tel Posted March 31, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 31, 2006 Sometimes pumps and heaters can capacitively couple a small current into the water. You should only be able to feel it in cuts or very sensitive skin. Any more than that indicates a potential problem. A??? what does this mean? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren Posted March 31, 2006 Report Share Posted March 31, 2006 Difficult to explain but I'll give it a try. The AC mains voltage going to electrical items like pumps and heaters in your tank is alternating at 50 times a second (50Hz). There is insulation on the wires to stop the 230VAC going directly into the water and to stop accidental touching. The world of electronics is not ideal however and there are all sorts of nuisance effects. As the voltage is AC, changing 50 times a second from positive to negative to positive, some of the voltage effectively leaks across the insulation because it's AC. Normally this does nothing as there is no path for the voltage to go anywhere. When you put your hand in the tank, you provide a path for the voltage to return to earth. This causes a current to flow through your tank and through your body which you feel. The fish may also feel this but only when your hand is in the tank. What they feel would be much less than what you feel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tel Posted March 31, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 31, 2006 so, if its 1 appliance replace it. if its only felt thru cuts etc is that normal/acceptable? if the rcd doesnt trip its normal/ acceptable? what do you think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cookie extreme Posted April 1, 2006 Report Share Posted April 1, 2006 I've had a tingle in the tank since day one. I setup a titanium probe and it made no difference (all though its in the sump not tank), funny you say that! my probe is in the tank = no tingles but get the tingles in my sump (which seems quite strange as the water is conected to the tank at all times. :-? yes chim i got it from marine depot in one of my orders a few years back after reading that low voltage current can depress coral growth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren Posted April 1, 2006 Report Share Posted April 1, 2006 The long distance and very thin amount of water between the tank and sump with have virtually no electrical link. If the probe is in the tank then the sump may as well be disconnected as far as earthing goes and vice-versa... You'd really need 2 probes. Although, puting the probe in the same tank as the electrical devices should do the trick. You should only need 2 probes if you have electrical devices in both the tank and sump. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puttputt Posted April 1, 2006 Report Share Posted April 1, 2006 ok Warren, I'll try that....put the probe in the tank. Home made by the way. Used a titanium rod, connect with electrical fittng to length of wire and connect to earth only on a 3 pin plug. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren Posted April 1, 2006 Report Share Posted April 1, 2006 That's the way. DIY it if you know how to I say!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tel Posted April 1, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 1, 2006 ok Warren, I'll try that....put the probe in the tank. Home made by the way. Used a titanium rod, connect with electrical fittng to length of wire and connect to earth only on a 3 pin plug. important, notice he said EARTH ONLY on a 3 pin plug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puttputt Posted April 1, 2006 Report Share Posted April 1, 2006 Ah Warren your a champ, put the probe in the tank instead of the sump and tingle gone. Still not sure whats causing it though as like I said earlier, i've turned every pump off at one stage or another and it was still present. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puttputt Posted April 1, 2006 Report Share Posted April 1, 2006 yes Tel, thought the same thing when making it, ouch!!. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cracker Posted April 1, 2006 Report Share Posted April 1, 2006 Ah Warren your a champ, put the probe in the tank instead of the sump and tingle gone. Still not sure whats causing it though as like I said earlier, i've turned every pump off at one stage or another and it was still present. Probably the lights. Just moisture and salt will conduct through to the water. even if you turn off all things IN the tank, the lights may cause it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cracker Posted April 1, 2006 Report Share Posted April 1, 2006 Ground probing is not good for the tank. When there is a slight elec. fault such as proven by tingling, normally the tank doesnt get earthed unless you are working on it. if you run a probe continuosly there is a chance you are CONTINUALLY grounding all the tank inhabitants also. There will be potential differences between one end of their body and the other. Its probably usually too small too affect them, but if something does fault whilst a ground probe is attached there is a chance they could be fried. I get fairly heavy tingles if i work on the tank/sump with no shoes on. the current goes straight through me into the ground. I hate it, but still wont use a ground probe OR RCDs. Too easy to fault and kill power to the tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tel Posted April 1, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 1, 2006 mine only seems to be sump. also turned streams off in tank and can feel tingle coming up to display from sump via return water flow, tried 3 pin plug using copper wire in sump, all fixed but it seems to take a few seconds to go away. where is a good place to get titanium? ( apart from a kids braces :lol: ) my 1 fish had a sad look on his face when he saw the copper 8) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.