Quote:
Originally Posted by gregzz4
I'm just going to throw this out there, and it's my opinion only, but I'll stand by it ....
My tank has no voltage in it at all (OK 0.07)
O volts with no probes tells me my equipment is good
Being told someone has 60volts and is OK with it is wrong 
No offence to whoever has this situation, but that's just messed up and will never be me |
Haha no offence taken, I appreciate your position for sure.
Part of the purpose behind my posts is that now that I am observing the phenomenon I am intrigued by it and looking into what is happening and how/why. Knowing that you can induce a voltage into the water with a pump I can say that you can measure a voltage without your equipment being faulty. Just applying my knowledge to the situation, actually planning to replace some items, and try some other maintenance to see how it affect the situation. Really this has turned into a bit of an experimentation situation for me and I may be nerding out to it a little excessively since it combines my hobby and career
I guess the point I am making is that this is not a unique situation and that there are reasons for it and ways to deal with it that do not involve spending potentially hundreds of dollars only to end up in the same situation.
With older motors now fighting against some extra resistance as gunk builds up in the motor, or even just regular old wearing out.. these pumps pretty much run 24/7 for years, they will in theory now start to pull more power and potentially induce even more voltage into the tank and so replacing them will then theoretically reduce the voltages in your tank. I am running a 3 yr old Reef Octopus Skimmer and my return pump is also around the 3 yr mark. I also noted that all of the submerged pumps in my tank do not have grounded cords, they are all 2 prong not 3. This is allowed because the casings on the pumps and the majority of the components are plastic. Some higher end pumps would contain more metallic parts and will probably use the 3 prong cords. In that situation the metal parts of the pump exposed to the water will now be acting in place of the ground probes that we add to the tanks, so you are still inducing a voltage into the water your equipment is simply providing that ground path to dissipate it. Without actually seeing a setup I can not say for certain this is happening but it is definitely a real possibility when looking at the electrical theory.
For my own curiosity gregzz do you have grounded, 3 prong plug, equipment in your tank?
Aaaannny way.... Replacing old equipment with new may help, and making sure items with a ground are properly connected to a ground especially if the equipment is submerged. Don't panic and replace everything without thinking about it, but YES it is a good idea to aim for a low of a voltage reading and if replacing equipment helps then that is a good idea. I'm going to continue playing with my equipment and tank as time allows and as I learn more I will update my thoughts and oppinions, unless of course you don't want me to haha.