Stray Voltage Question

[BC564]

The GFCI is just to save from electrical shock...being it fish or him....if there is truly a voltage leak...the GFCI's will trip and he will need to find the source or equipment that is at fault...induced voltage is something all on its own

[Stones]

Banditpowdercoat, I was testing the water using one lead in the water and one lead in my ground, as I had read in several articles that this was the means of testing your water to see if you have stray voltage. These were the readings that now register at 1.9-3.6V.

When testing the water with both leads in the water, I get a voltage of 0V.

Which way is the correct way to test, as you stated that water to ground is bad?

[banditpowdercoat]

OK, ya, your checking correctly. Water to ground. Getting a few volts to ground, even 25 is not bad. There will be no amperage there. its the amperage that hurts. Also, since the fish are never touching the water and ground, there should be no harm to them. they will experience the 0V like when you put both leads in the water. Alot of times at my work, I'll get a reading of like 90+volts on a wire that is in fact de-energized. Touch the wire, nothing. Most Digital meters have such high internal resistance that they do not draw any current. this can in fact lead to erroneous readings alot of times.

but still, By all means, a GFCI is the best insurance. If there is an electrical problem, say a heater case breaks and now the live wire is in contact with the water. Everything will be good untill you touch the water and something grounded, then OUCH. GFCI will trip before you feel it.

[Stones]

Thanks again guys for all the help, as soon as I get the GFI installed I'll feel alot safer and now that I got the voltage down to less than 5V, I'm sure my inhabitants should be perfectly fine as the majority of this voltage is probably caused via induction or through static charging.

[untamed]

Can you post the settings you used on the voltmeter to get this reading? I'm curious...have a voltmeter...but am unsure on how to set it to get a proper reading.

[Stones]

No problem. I used a standard mastercraft voltmeter set to the 200V AC setting. On my meter it looks like this:
~
V

If your meter has a lower setting, you could probably use that to get better resolution but as it is, it gave me an accuracy down to one decimal place(pending the voltmeter is actually calibrated correctly)

I put the probe from the V/Ohms/mA port and placed that in the water running through my sump, and placed the ground probe in the ground socket of my powerbar that my skimmer pump runs on.

After leaving the probes in the water for a while, the voltage would fluctuate from 1.9 V up to 3.6V depending upon what electrical appliances were running at the time.

Hope this helps

[Stones]

Untamed, did you get a voltage reading from your tank yet? Just curious to see what other peoples systems are running at.