Stupid Stupid Stupid

[lil_clownfish13]

just so you all know-- none of you have had the pleasure of electrocuting yourselves.... you have been electrically "shocked" -- not electrocuted

electrocution means to die from electric shock!

haha i learned this when i shocked myself on my light fixture too!!! damn cat jumped on the tank and pushed the whole hood/fixture into the tank-- i ran in and grabbed it-- and felt a sickening tightening and buzzing feeling in my muscles--

*shudder* -- people PLEASE be careful with this hobby-- its like...a darwin award in itself with the levels of voltages some of us run on our tanks!!

jm2c

[TheReefGeek]

Be carefull yes, but install the right equipment to save your life too. Installing a grounding probe doesnt take long, neither does swapping out your recepticals for GFIs.

[Ruth]

Yup I've done that too. Forgot to put the o-ring back in a Magnum filter that the water comes out of at an alarming rate. Salt water, electricity and bare feet combined can make you levitate and scream like a little girl.

[geopod]

I use a GFI now.....Yeh I learned the hardway too.I think we all do sometime or another...

george

[Invigor]

I'm still not convinced with grounding probes...seems they just hide the problem. I'm willing to bet that if there's enough voltage going thru your tank to KILL YOU by YOU grounding it out, that your fish/corals are going to be exhibiting some strange behaviour...best to test with a voltimeter before going into the water if you're that paranoid.

[TheReefGeek]

IMO a grounding probe is not to ground out stray voltage on a day-to-day basis. You still have to check your tank regularly for stray voltage and replace any malfunctioning devices.

[asherah]

ok what exactly is a grounding probe? I thought all houses had GFCI installed in them ? But mine didn't trip... ? Maybe I don't have one ?

amanda

[Psyire]

" I thought all houses had GFCI installed in them ? "

That is a very bad assumption.

It is a good idea to replace standard outlets with GFCI outlets, when near water. (Like our Aquariums)

[danny zubot]

when my glass top broke my 250 watt MH and my 2x65 watt PC fell into the tank whil I was away. It didn't trip the breaker either. BTW nothing died, tank was really rusty though, skimmer pulled it out.

[TheReefGeek]

A grounding probe is a little piece of metal stuck into your tank and plugged into a grounded outlet. You can make one, or buy one.

The only locations in a house that have GFCI outlets are ones near water, such as in your kitchen and bathrooms. And the kitchens dont all have them either, even though they should, but they are much more expensive to install. You need to replace all the outlets you plug your aquarium stuff into with GFCI outlets.