Heater Blew Up Killed Inverts

Discussion in 'ASAP' started by Mobalized, Nov 10, 2013.

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  1. Mobalized

    Mobalized Teardrop Maxima Clam

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    I have not put in a GFCI yet though it is on my list of things to do. All but one snail passed away, the pink lemonade didn't make it, mushrooms and blasto made it. I am unsure of what caused the heater breakage. Hopefully won't happen again now with the Eheim. As far as getting electrocuted it was a close one... Would have been my 3rd electrocution in a month and luckily I troubleshot before sticking my hand in the tank I don't know that I would have survived this one as it was straight open wire into the tank.
     
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  3. Av8Bluewater

    Av8Bluewater Giant Squid

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    If you don't want to put a permanent GFCI in they have GFCI that plugs into a normal outlet at home depot. Good at least for temporary use.
     
  4. One Dumm Hikk

    One Dumm Hikk Skunk Shrimp

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    Glad you survived being shocked but the end result of electrocution is death so 3 in one month would be a Guinness Record ;D
     
  5. Mobalized

    Mobalized Teardrop Maxima Clam

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    Good call, 3rd shock indeed.
     
  6. Todd_Sails

    Todd_Sails Giant Squid

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    Temporary Use?

    Oh, you mean I should not be using my GFCI adapters (that work great btw) after say 2 years? They don't have to be temporary.

    Did we also talk about the grounding probe that IMHO, you should have on this system too?
     
  7. Mobalized

    Mobalized Teardrop Maxima Clam

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    Is there anyone here that would be willing to check the voltage and current in their tank for me? I am curious what everyone else has on a day to day basis.
     
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  9. Inertiatic

    Inertiatic Bubble Tip Anemone

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    Mine is 0 V. Anything under 30 V is nothing to worry about. Getting past 50 V is where you start to worry. The thing is to not just "treat" stray voltage by adding a grounding probe, but to replace the faulty equipment. The grounding probe, if you choose to keep one, and GFCI is a safety net for you. Protection against something horrible happening, like when your heater exploded.
     
  10. Mr. Bill

    Mr. Bill Native Floridian

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    Agree with replacing faulty equipment 110%.

    IMHO, a grounding probe is worse than a false sense of security--it guarantees that everything will be electrocuted as it provides a path for the current, thereby completing a circuit. With only one wire shorting, "stray voltage" is as harmless as the outlet on your wall.
     
  11. Mobalized

    Mobalized Teardrop Maxima Clam

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    All of my tanks have 50v, and the systems aren't connected. So my guess is that is bring produced by electric motors, that's the voltage the tanks have been since the equipment was new. What worries me are the couple mA in each tank. I wish I had numbers from other tanks to compare to
     
  12. Inertiatic

    Inertiatic Bubble Tip Anemone

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    There definitely can be some induced voltage from some other source.

    To really nail down where the potential is coming from, unplug everything while your multimeter is connected and start plugging things in one at a time.

    Are you reading a current in the tank? And by a couple mA, you mean like 1 or 2 mA?