I've been shocked a few times. Work long enough with aquariums, it's a matter of time before you realize why all the fuss about being careful around water and electricity.
Culprits have been...
1) most commonly, broken heater tubes
2) seals eventually broken on submersible pumps
3) salt creep or a bit of salt water bridging electrical contact points, such as on light bulbs or along your cords to the plug, to the rest of the system
Lessons learned
1) don't forget to unplug your heaters when draining
2) make sure you install a drip loop. if you don't know what this is... look it up
3) keep salt creep away from electrical contact points, ie don't rest your light on the tank and clean up the splashing
4) ideally, ground your system.
In your mystery of selective shocking... I've found that a weak current can be felt more readily where the skin is thinner... such as where I've chewed my finger nail cuticles or through a cut. (yup). Also, electricity will flow through your body, so if you're bare foot vs not, makes difference... as well as touching another contact point as gregzz4 pointed out... something else metal.
Last edited by Reef_Geek; 12-29-2012 at 10:52 PM.
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