Electrocution?

[thecoolguy]

hello guys - so, yet another senseless random question from me.....

i read about at least a few aquarists dying every year due to electrocution....

so what do you guys do to prevent the possibility?

do you:

a) turn off and unplug all pumps/filters/heaters/etc?
b) have a device that will shut off all electrical equipment if there there is a circuit break?
c) simply turn off the pump/filter/heater/etc - but do not unplug it?
d) nothing - stick your hand in the water and hope for the best?

i know you can use the fish as a sign - cuz floating fish will probably mean that something might be up ... but i suppose if people are in the habit of killing fish - then it would be nothing new to them - and they would stick there hand in the tank without hesitation?

plus - i know sticking your hand in the tank isn't an all to frequent task - but i own a turtle, as well as a pleco - and i daily need to do some cleaning/feeding chores inside the water....

let me know!

[Chrona]

I'm always sticking my hand into the tank. I don't think it's really much of a concern with a good quality heater. I mean, unless you splash some major water onto the power strip or something.....

I'm sure several people a year also get killed shooting themselves in the face. It doesn't necessarily say anything about guns, just that people can be really stupid, and common sense will prevent these kinds of things.

[CanadianFiero]

do you:

a) turn off and unplug all pumps/filters/heaters/etc?
It depends on what I am doing if I am doing a water change that is going below levels that they cannot run at then yes, but for just moving or adding plants....etc.. Nope
b) have a device that will shut off all electrical equipment if there there is a circuit break?
Nope
c) simply turn off the pump/filter/heater/etc - but do not unplug it?
Mine do not have switches
d) nothing - stick your hand in the water and hope for the best?
For normal moving plants, and decorations yes.

[cocoa_pleco]

When i do water changes, i never leave the heater showing more than 3 inches. I unplug it then. I unplug heaters and filters on water changes more than 20%.

Very few people feel electric current in the tank. You can buy grounders from some lfs's, but its not often necessary.

[wijnands]

Don't know about where you life but in this country any home's electrical system is grounded. If something does go wrong in the tank it would be for a split second until the breaker kicks in.
My pump is totally sealed so just at that moment that I have my hands in there the heater (which also has a built in fuse I expect) needs to break. Highly unlike, doesn't bother me.

[kimmers318]

The thought of electrocution never crossed my mind. I unplug heaters because they need to be unplugged if the water level goes below the mark on the heater, but most of my filter intakes are low enough that I don't have to unplug them during water changes they just keep pumping. If the water level will get below the filter intake then I will unplug, but I have found with one of my HOBS it is a booger to get restarted for some reason.....cheap filter that came with the tank I imagine, so eventually I will probably replace it.

[Abbeys_Mom]

Fish are not a good indicator of whether or not it is safe to put your hand in. Fish are not effected by a current in the tank, because they are not grounded. Take it from someone with personal experience. The canopy was knocked into our 33g tank when I was a kid. The light was still on and the fish were fine. I figured it was ok to stick my hand in and pull out the canopy.

I was wrong. I was thrown backwards about 8 feet into the wall. If that current had crossed my heart I would be dead.

I have still put my hand in my aquariums for the last 20 years without unplugging everything. Unless your light is in your tank, or your heater is cracked, I think you are fairly safe. I do suggest drip loops in your cables and submersible heaters (so your heater isn't ever above the water line).

[Drumachine09]

Fish are not a good indicator of whether or not it is safe to put your hand in. Fish are not effected by a current in the tank, because they are not grounded. Take it from someone with personal experience. The canopy was knocked into our 33g tank when I was a kid. The light was still on and the fish were fine. I figured it was ok to stick my hand in and pull out the canopy.

I was wrong. I was thrown backwards about 8 feet into the wall. If that current had crossed my heart I would be dead.

I have still put my hand in my aquariums for the last 20 years without unplugging everything. Unless your light is in your tank, or your heater is cracked, I think you are fairly safe. I do suggest drip loops in your cables and submersible heaters (so your heater isn't ever above the water line).


WHOA! Holy Cow!, you sure got lucky there huh?

[cocoa_pleco]

and one time i was REALLY sleepy, and was moving my aulonocara sp. albino.

I left the heater plugged in, 80f temperature, on carpet. I saw smoke, and yelled $hit cause i was home alone and the whole place woulda burnt down. I threw the heater in water, BANG. Glass allover. Thank god the fish was in a bucket.

What was i thinking leaving a heater dry and plugged in?

[Lady Hobbs]

I will probably end up as one of them. Seems I've always plugging in something or another with wet hands. What was really exciting is the day I dumped a bunch of water right on my power plug and it started smoking. sheesh

[jweintraub]

I put my entire arm into my tanks almost daily... the thought of being zapped never really crosses my mind. I work on electrical equipment everyday(my job in the army) and after being hit with 220v a few times I know it's not fun, but hey... what are the odds right?! :)

[Chrona]

I put my entire arm into my tanks almost daily... the thought of being zapped never really crosses my mind. I work on electrical equipment everyday(my job in the army) and after being hit with 220v a few times I know it's not fun, but hey... what are the odds right?! :)

What great reassurance and logic :rolleyes:

[Faith_at_Large]

I always turn off my powerbar before working in my tank (i.e. for water changes or other wet maintenance). I only shut off the lights for feeding as I lift up my hood.

I am looking into getting special outlets with ground fault protection (like the ones in modern bathrooms) - GFCI (ground fault circuit interrupters) - installed in both outlets near my tank.

In theory, a GFCI outlet will shut off the power if something goes wrong and I start drawing excessive power into me (or anyone else around my tank). I hope it is an unnecessary step that is never needed, but better safe than sorry.

[Rue]

Hhm...I stick my hand in the tank to do stuff all the time...

...but if I'm doing actual maintenance...I unplug everything first...

Some of you are LUCKY you didn't get hurt more!

[2manyfish]

The only thing I unplug is the heater when I'm doing water changes. I do have those power bars with the surge protectors but I have no idea if that will help me at all!!
I am a firm believer in drip loops and also I raise all the power bars off the floor in case of accidental leakage (even my computers' power bar as it is in the same room as most of the fish tanks!). Which was a very good thing when my 75g saltwater tank had a major accident about 8 months ago. The UV sterilizer unit fell off it's bracket and the return hose was pulled out of the tank. About 60 gallons of saltwater ended up all over the floor! What a mess!! But no danger of anyone getting shocked by that water on the floor....

[crackatinny]

I usually just unplug what I need to when doing major work, any other time I just stck my hand in, never really thought about it. But this is actually a quite important issue, and should be thought about more, as a bloke once said to me, it only takes one flash and your ash.

[frizzlefish]

I always turn off my powerbar before working in my tank (i.e. for water changes or other wet maintenance)..................

In theory, a GFCI outlet will shut off the power if something goes wrong and I start drawing excessive power into me (or anyone else around my tank). I hope it is an unnecessary step that is never needed, but better safe than sorry.

I am a firm believer in drip loops and also I raise all the power bars off the floor in case of accidental leakage

I do both of these things. plus we have the GFCI power strips and my husband mounted it on the side wall behind the tank. That way it's not even close to having water run into it and extremely difficult to splash water onto it.

Mainly, it's not about MY safety, I'm trying to teach my kids the safe way of working on the tank. (Or rather, how to keep hands OUT of the tank! LOL)

[S13DWS]

Wow !! ill say some of you were lucky... I cant say ive ever been zapped... only once buy a 12V electric fence... but that was because i was holding my mates ear in the other hand... twas funny. I always shut off the whole lot if im emptying or cleaning my tank :)

[Rue]

... but that was because i was holding my mates ear in the other hand...

...dare I ask why?

[S13DWS]

Shock transferrs sometimes through my hand holding the electric fence and into his ear:P its a real laugh.

[kenyth]

You should always use a GFI outlet when around water. They sell GFI adapters.

FYI, GFI circuit breakers trip when the current coming in from the hot line doesn't match the current going out the neutral. Not the same as a regular breaker. Very safe, and required by law I believe.

[RobbieG]

I'm always sticking my hands in the tank when stuff is plugged in.

But then again I always smoke when I pump gas so I'm obviously an idiot to begin with!