Anyone Hear About Electrocution?

rbishop said:
It is the voltage of the power supply. Most of us have our filters, lights and heaters connected to 120 volts AC. This is the voltage that can generate the current through you when a component fails. It has nothing to do with the wattage the component draws when everything is okay.

Current kills, voltage is it's driving force.
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And if you think it's bad in the us then remember in Australia and elsewhere we have 220-240v equipment in the tank :)

With 240v any little leak can created a lethal current... Although new houses are now adding earth leakage circuitry. But many older houses (like ours) don't have this yet. Must get around to it some time, but as a temporary measure I have an earth leakage power board on the tanks...
 
I'm like Molly and have all my electrical stuff on power strips-4 of them acutally. One each for heaters, filters and lights, all plugged into one master strip. Any maintence, like water changes at least the filter strip is turned off.
 
This is why much of the aquarium equipment that we buy says that it should be connected to a GFCI (ground fault circuit interrupter) outlet. In the USA, it was code to put these in areas such as bathrooms (since 1975) and kitchens (1987), where there is exposure to water, but older homes won't have these. And how many of us put our tanks in the bathroom or kitchen?

There is no regulation to install these in most other areas of the home, so they are usually not protected. I installed a GFCI outlet in my dining room because of the 2 aquariums.

If you can't install one yourself or don't want to pay an electrician, I would strongly recommend that you get one of the portable type, that look like an extension cord. A picture of two types can be found on page 5 of this http://www.leviton.com/pdfs/d-503/d-503F.pdf I don't recall how much they cost, but I saw them in Lowes... I assume Home Depot would have them as well.

I would strongly recommend that you have a GFCI on your tanks, because whether or not the story was true, this can kill.

Here's some info to read on how ground fault interrupters work.
http://www.doityourself.com/stry/gfci

Now, my own question: My 10g tank has one of those hoods with the bulbs screwed in on the other side and a few inches above the water with nothing between it. I can imagine how simple it would be to slip and drop the hood in. I'd like to come up with some crossbar or something to put at the top of the tank, which would prevent the hood from falling in, or at least partially deflect it. Does anyone know of something like that? My 28g bowfront has a crossbar in the center that was built into the tank.
 
jyanagi said:
This is why much of the aquarium equipment that we buy says that it should be connected to a GFCI (ground fault circuit interrupter) outlet. In the USA, it was code to put these in areas such as bathrooms (since 1975) and kitchens (1987), where there is exposure to water, but older homes won't have these. And how many of us put our tanks in the bathroom or kitchen?

There is no regulation to install these in most other areas of the home, so they are usually not protected. I installed a GFCI outlet in my dining room because of the 2 aquariums.

If you can't install one yourself or don't want to pay an electrician, I would strongly recommend that you get one of the portable type, that look like an extension cord. A picture of two types can be found on page 5 of this http://www.leviton.com/pdfs/d-503/d-503F.pdf I don't recall how much they cost, but I saw them in Lowes... I assume Home Depot would have them as well.

I would strongly recommend that you have a GFCI on your tanks, because whether or not the story was true, this can kill.

Here's some info to read on how ground fault interrupters work.
http://www.doityourself.com/stry/gfci
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That's good info. I quoted it to be read twice. It should be easy to get them installed. If you cant do it yourself it is a 30 second job for an electrician or any decent handy person.
 
Maybe your mom was watching the Barabara Walters Special on "Heaven" this weekend. There was a lady that claimed she had a near death experience when she was electrocuted while cleaning her aquarium. I think it was on Friday or Saturday night.
 
i was doing a WC once and the hood fell in the tank with my arm still in the water..it was a tingle..but it stung for a few hours

i also had a stupid hang on heater a few years ago that broke inside a tank and killed every fish that was in with it....
 
Hello several years ago i remember that I received a tingle from my aquarium. It turn out to be leaky voltage from the power head motor. Although it was enough to hurt me. i did receive a rather startling tingle everytime my hand went into the tank. I was just wondering, it did not seem to affect the fish though?

http://www.drhelm.com/aquarium/safety.html

grounds, GFIs and drip loops !
 
dizzykylie said:
Maybe your mom was watching the Barabara Walters Special on "Heaven" this weekend. There was a lady that claimed she had a near death experience when she was electrocuted while cleaning her aquarium. I think it was on Friday or Saturday night.
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Yeah, i saw that.

I wonder wtf she had in her tank haha. Cause i know of people who hav had open wires in the tank and didnt die.

I work at a LFS where we have heaters go out on us once in a while. Nothing but a little shock.

We actualy had to figure out what was going on one day in our saltwater tank, where there would be random shocks from little to HUGE. No one fryed, turned out it was a power head in the sump.

And i also had a hood drop in the tank, but weird thing is...it turned off by it self. And i pulled it right out and had to turn it back on haha.
 
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jyanagi said:
This is why much of the aquarium equipment that we buy says that it should be connected to a GFCI (ground fault circuit interrupter) outlet. In the USA, it was code to put these in areas such as bathrooms (since 1975) and kitchens (1987), where there is exposure to water, but older homes won't have these. And how many of us put our tanks in the bathroom or kitchen?

There is no regulation to install these in most other areas of the home, so they are usually not protected. I installed a GFCI outlet in my dining room because of the 2 aquariums.

If you can't install one yourself or don't want to pay an electrician, I would strongly recommend that you get one of the portable type, that look like an extension cord. A picture of two types can be found on page 5 of this http://www.leviton.com/pdfs/d-503/d-503F.pdf I don't recall how much they cost, but I saw them in Lowes... I assume Home Depot would have them as well.

I would strongly recommend that you have a GFCI on your tanks, because whether or not the story was true, this can kill.

Here's some info to read on how ground fault interrupters work.
http://www.doityourself.com/stry/gfci

Now, my own question: My 10g tank has one of those hoods with the bulbs screwed in on the other side and a few inches above the water with nothing between it. I can imagine how simple it would be to slip and drop the hood in. I'd like to come up with some crossbar or something to put at the top of the tank, which would prevent the hood from falling in, or at least partially deflect it. Does anyone know of something like that? My 28g bowfront has a crossbar in the center that was built into the tank.
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ill be buying a GFCI asap, ive been shocked way to many times by various things.

and on another subject, to the people saying its the Volts (120v, 240v) that kill thats not true, in a common static shock there can be 100,000v-1,000,000v , its the amps that kill, like NinjaPirate said "It takes 1/10th an amp across your heart to kill you"
 
Corbin said:
and on another subject, to the people saying its the Volts (120v, 240v) that kill thats not true, in a common static shock there can be 100,000v-1,000,000v , its the amps that kill, like NinjaPirate said "It takes 1/10th an amp across your heart to kill you"
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Yes, that is exactly right, it is the current (amperage) that kills. However, there is a direct relationship with the amount of voltage, i.e. why you can hold on to a battery and not get killed.

Ohm's law: Amperes = Volts/Resistance.

The body's resistance can vary, but let's say it's 1,000 ohms. If you contact the 117v line in your home, you'd get 117/1000 = .117A flowing through you. Do it in Australia: 240/1000 = .24A. But, if you put your fingers across a 9V battery, 9/1000 = .009A. So, voltage does play a part in how much current you will absorb, although it's not the voltage itself that kills. But, don't assume you are 1,000 ohms... wet skin will make it real low and mean more amps flowing through you.

This page will give some examples of this as well as what will likely happen to you at each level.

http://acept.asu.edu/courses/phs110/ds/appendixC.html

But, let's not have this happen to anyone!!
 
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