Why do i get a shock when i touch the water?

[Blossom112]

Im thinking maybe an electrical problem ?
Wy is it i get a shock when i touch the water ? it isnt like a static shock , this shock really hurts .
What can i do to prevent this ?
Thanks

[archer772]

Cant tell you how to find it but my guess would be a bad heater but it could be a pump also, are you touching anything when you get shocked besides the water

[The Zigman]

Check any electrical components that are in the water... Unplug them and then remove and inspect for cracks, etc...

Especially if you have a glass heater. Unplug it, and remove from tank, check for cracks, or water inside the heater... if dammged, replace it..

[AquatiCreations]

I agree,unplug all electrical components and see if you still get a shock. then Inspect your all of your equipment.

[Blossom112]

ok thats what i thaught , thanks .
i think it may be one of my pumps or pheads, skimmer pump is off tho ?
i baught them used 2 pumps and 2 powerheads , Im buying new powerheads ,hubby checked the power on the pumps and didnt find anything out of the ordinary,but i will take them in get them checked .
The heater is new ,can this still happen? i have the same new on QT and dont get a shock on that one .
No i dont touch anything when i put arm in (maybe the side of the tank )
and always have something on feet (usually crocks or leather ) as im paranoid of being electrocuted lol
we keep all power bars and cords in a bucket with lid on away from tank

hubby never gets a shock when he touches maybe its me , i will invest in a rubber mat under the stand think that would help?lol

[Catpicklesdog]

Definately check the heater. I had a new one but it had cracked. It was only when I put my arm in that I had an electric shock and discovered the problem!!!

[Blossom112]

Will check now , but afraid to touch tank with no one home lol

[Blossom112]

ok , i did get a shock again , took it out unplugged and got the mag glass , it isnt wet inside ,and dont see any cracks.
Think i will wait till hubbys home to check the rest lol
I just put it back and shock again lmao , and i saw the goby , omg shes so fat looks like going to burst lol

lol i need rubber shoes lol

[schigara]

Process of elimination. Un plug one at a time until you no longer get shocked.

[archer772]

Process of elimination. Un plug one at a time until you no longer get shocked.
That was what I was going to say but not real fun.

[Blossom112]

Thanks guys/gals.
We are shutting down the tank within the next 2 weeks ,slow process getting everything accomadated ,and may invest in new stuff too b4 i start up again :-)
Hve to find out ,it sure is a pain lol

[Catpicklesdog]

The easy way and painless way is to switch everything off, get your hubby to stick his arm in, then you plug them all back in one by one!!!:lipssealedsmilie:

[mcsassy]

I had this problem a while back too...I finally found out that it was none of my equipment that was faulty, but that everything was plugged into a faulty outlet. Even though I was using a surge protector, we were all getting shocked and it HURT! It sends it up your arm and into your chest. Try another near by outlet and see if that is the problem because that's what mine was.

[Blossom112]

The easy way and painless way is to switch everything off, get your hubby to stick his arm in, then you plug them all back in one by one!!!:lipssealedsmilie:

I SOOOOO love that idea lol.



We did think it was power bar an outlet we did get new pb and hubby tested the outlet .
maybe i need a power sure thingy .

[kcress]

Folks I cannot express how bad an idea it is to "try something and see if you still get shocked". That is absolutely the worst thing you could ever do!! The difference between a shock and fatal electrocution is so small that it can not be predicted. All you need is to contact things very slightly different to have a fatal result.

You need to strive to never place yourself in the position to be shocked!!

The correct way to approach this is to get a voltmeter capable of measuring you local line voltage. 120V AC in the USA.

1) Aquire a meter - borrow or buy. You can get a useful one at the hardware store for under $20.

2) Plug the probes into the correct holes on the meter to measure AC volts.

3) Turn on the meter and stick each of the two probes into the local outlet's two vertical slots. This is to prove power is ON but more importantly that the meter is working correctly. You should see a voltage between 115VAC and 125VAC.

4) Now you need to find a reliable ground as that is where the current is flowing to that is shocking you. Do this by holding one of the probe tips to the center screw of your outlet or into the ground hole (D shaped). Stick the other probe into each of the outlet's two vertical slots. One of them should provide the same voltage reading you got earlier.

If this occurs then the ground screw or ground hole is a reliable ground reference point for further troubleshooting.

Note that the slot paired with the screw/hole that gives the 120VAC reading. It should be the narrow slot of the outlet. If it isn't you should have that fixed.

Moving on.

5) Now to troubleshoot your tank CORRECTLY. You hold one probe to the screw/hole we just confirmed and place the other probe tip so it touches the water surface. You will see the voltage that lurks there. Any is bad.

Now one at a time unplug the various devices that are hooked to your tank WITHOUT contacting physically anything wet or metallic. As soon as the offending device is unplugged you will stop measuring a voltage between the water and the outlet screw/hole.

Remove the offending device and cut the cord off of it as close to the device as you can. This will prevent accidental or even deliberate re-use.

Any questions?

[AquatiCreations]

Also make sure the water is below or at the line on the heater.

[Blossom112]

We have a few meters, hubby is a pro at this stuff , he tested everything and we couldnt find what it was .He didnt test the powerheads tho ,
When i shut down ,we will be sure to have this sorted b4 i restart
Thanks all

[Digital]

My money is on the heater. It's happened to me before.

[7faces]

Folks I cannot express how bad an idea it is to "try something and see if you still get shocked". That is absolutely the worst thing you could ever do!! The difference between a shock and fatal electrocution is so small that it can not be predicted. All you need is to contact things very slightly different to have a fatal result.

You need to strive to never place yourself in the position to be shocked!!

The correct way to approach this is to get a voltmeter capable of measuring you local line voltage. 120V AC in the USA.

1) Aquire a meter - borrow or buy. You can get a useful one at the hardware store for under $20.

2) Plug the probes into the correct holes on the meter to measure AC volts.

3) Turn on the meter and stick each of the two probes into the local outlet's two vertical slots. This is to prove power is ON but more importantly that the meter is working correctly. You should see a voltage between 115VAC and 125VAC.

4) Now you need to find a reliable ground as that is where the current is flowing to that is shocking you. Do this by holding one of the probe tips to the center screw of your outlet or into the ground hole (D shaped). Stick the other probe into each of the outlet's two vertical slots. One of them should provide the same voltage reading you got earlier.

If this occurs then the ground screw or ground hole is a reliable ground reference point for further troubleshooting.

Note that the slot paired with the screw/hole that gives the 120VAC reading. It should be the narrow slot of the outlet. If it isn't you should have that fixed.

Moving on.

5) Now to troubleshoot your tank CORRECTLY. You hold one probe to the screw/hole we just confirmed and place the other probe tip so it touches the water surface. You will see the voltage that lurks there. Any is bad.

Now one at a time unplug the various devices that are hooked to your tank WITHOUT contacting physically anything wet or metallic. As soon as the offending device is unplugged you will stop measuring a voltage between the water and the outlet screw/hole.

Remove the offending device and cut the cord off of it as close to the device as you can. This will prevent accidental or even deliberate re-use.

Any questions?

Awesome bit of safety advice here!...it should be stickied for every members safety!:idea:

[Blossom112]

I will buy another heater (can never have too many )
But they are so darn expensive!
Have 2 now but could use another one.
Im thinking it is just me (hubby thinks so too)
It seems i do get shocks a lot from many things .
The most i ever get shocked is when i touch my daughter ,she hates that TOO !

[ersico]

i had the same problem come to find out it was my light, had some salty/slurry bluild up and there was enough moister and the with the conductive properties of the salt, i got a zap when i touched the water....make sure your lighting isnt the issue.........but thats just me...

[xsdbs]

I was going to reply the same as the post below, you do want to stay clear of electric shock. This is the safest way to do it. another thing, what kind of shoes are you wearing, I had this same problem especially when I was barefooted but not when I was wearing my tennis shoes. After checking it out I found a bad power head. I replaced it and now have no problem shoes or not.





Folks I cannot express how bad an idea it is to "try something and see if you still get shocked". That is absolutely the worst thing you could ever do!! The difference between a shock and fatal electrocution is so small that it can not be predicted. All you need is to contact things very slightly different to have a fatal result.

You need to strive to never place yourself in the position to be shocked!!

The correct way to approach this is to get a voltmeter capable of measuring you local line voltage. 120V AC in the USA.

1) Aquire a meter - borrow or buy. You can get a useful one at the hardware store for under $20.

2) Plug the probes into the correct holes on the meter to measure AC volts.

3) Turn on the meter and stick each of the two probes into the local outlet's two vertical slots. This is to prove power is ON but more importantly that the meter is working correctly. You should see a voltage between 115VAC and 125VAC.

4) Now you need to find a reliable ground as that is where the current is flowing to that is shocking you. Do this by holding one of the probe tips to the center screw of your outlet or into the ground hole (D shaped). Stick the other probe into each of the outlet's two vertical slots. One of them should provide the same voltage reading you got earlier.

If this occurs then the ground screw or ground hole is a reliable ground reference point for further troubleshooting.

Note that the slot paired with the screw/hole that gives the 120VAC reading. It should be the narrow slot of the outlet. If it isn't you should have that fixed.

Moving on.

5) Now to troubleshoot your tank CORRECTLY. You hold one probe to the screw/hole we just confirmed and place the other probe tip so it touches the water surface. You will see the voltage that lurks there. Any is bad.

Now one at a time unplug the various devices that are hooked to your tank WITHOUT contacting physically anything wet or metallic. As soon as the offending device is unplugged you will stop measuring a voltage between the water and the outlet screw/hole.

Remove the offending device and cut the cord off of it as close to the device as you can. This will prevent accidental or even deliberate re-use.

Any questions?

[mwb1978]

I have the answer! :idea:

While using waterproof electrician's gloves, very carefully remove the ELECTRIC EEL that has been so very angry with you and put him into another tank. :grinyes:

If you have tried everything else this might be the problem. You very well may be the first person to have gotten an electric eel as a hitchhiker.

It could happen......

[thesoul2008]

voltage will do you no damage but amps will kill you 3milliamps is enough to kill you.

i would take all appliances into an electrition (me hahahahah) and ask them to MEGGA test them for you this will tell you if the part is faulty.

after turning of and removing all parts from the water stick your hand in, static electricity can be HUGE with the right conditions, do you have an aircon in the room? is it on often? new carpet? loose fitting clothes can help.

this is what i would do if i was you if your electrition says there is nothing wrong with your parts tell him to come over and have a feel :) no not really explain the problem you could have a backfeeding neutral anywhere in the house eg a kettle on the same power circuit or even worse a disconnected earth (which is more like what it sounds like) your circuit breaker should trip every time you put your hand in the water and the fact that its not poses a problem i would get it checked out. good way to test the thery also is run an extension lead from the other end of the house plug everything in and do what is said in this qupte

[thesoul2008]

Folks I cannot express how bad an idea it is to "try something and see if you still get shocked". That is absolutely the worst thing you could ever do!! The difference between a shock and fatal electrocution is so small that it can not be predicted. All you need is to contact things very slightly different to have a fatal result.

You need to strive to never place yourself in the position to be shocked!!

The correct way to approach this is to get a voltmeter capable of measuring you local line voltage. 120V AC in the USA.

1) Aquire a meter - borrow or buy. You can get a useful one at the hardware store for under $20.

2) Plug the probes into the correct holes on the meter to measure AC volts.

3) Turn on the meter and stick each of the two probes into the local outlet's two vertical slots. This is to prove power is ON but more importantly that the meter is working correctly. You should see a voltage between 115VAC and 125VAC.

4) Now you need to find a reliable ground as that is where the current is flowing to that is shocking you. Do this by holding one of the probe tips to the center screw of your outlet or into the ground hole (D shaped). Stick the other probe into each of the outlet's two vertical slots. One of them should provide the same voltage reading you got earlier.

If this occurs then the ground screw or ground hole is a reliable ground reference point for further troubleshooting.

Note that the slot paired with the screw/hole that gives the 120VAC reading. It should be the narrow slot of the outlet. If it isn't you should have that fixed.

Moving on.

5) Now to troubleshoot your tank CORRECTLY. You hold one probe to the screw/hole we just confirmed and place the other probe tip so it touches the water surface. You will see the voltage that lurks there. Any is bad.

Now one at a time unplug the various devices that are hooked to your tank WITHOUT contacting physically anything wet or metallic. As soon as the offending device is unplugged you will stop measuring a voltage between the water and the outlet screw/hole.

Remove the offending device and cut the cord off of it as close to the device as you can. This will prevent accidental or even deliberate re-use.

Any questions?



voltage will do you no damage but amps will kill you 3milliamps is enough to kill you.

i would take all appliances into an electrition (me hahahahah) and ask them to MEGGA test them for you this will tell you if the part is faulty.

after turning of and removing all parts from the water stick your hand in, static electricity can be HUGE with the right conditions, do you have an aircon in the room? is it on often? new carpet? loose fitting clothes can help.

this is what i would do if i was you if your electrition says there is nothing wrong with your parts tell him to come over and have a feel :) no not really explain the problem you could have a backfeeding neutral anywhere in the house eg a kettle on the same power circuit or even worse a disconnected earth (which is more like what it sounds like) your circuit breaker should trip every time you put your hand in the water and the fact that its not poses a problem i would get it checked out. good way to test the thery also is run an extension lead from the other end of the house plug everything in and do what is said in this quote