A shocking development

[Baccus]

While the weather was more of less warmer I thought I would do a quick drop and top of my cherry shrimp tank. Pulled out the internal filter (after turning it off) and gave its internal media a rinse in old tank water and put it back in.

Decided might as well after retopping the tank, pull out all the weed, timber and other hideyholes and do a bit of a cull of undesired shrimp. And dumped all the removed stuff in a temp tank while I went hunting for shrimp in the main tank.

All was going well, until I noticed while my fingers where on the surface of the water holding the net my little finger was getting a tingely sensation. At first I thought it might have been that I was resting my arm at a funny angle and giving myself pins and needles. But decided to investigate further after dipping my fingers in and out of the water a few more times. I then began experiementing rather "intelligently" with various fingers in the water and standing on an aluminium ladder and straight on bare concrete to pin down the suspected fault. It took a while because strangely the fault seemed to only be electrofying one small area of the tanks water surface. I turned off the heater and finally nailed the problem down to being the filter.

So off I raced to my nearest pet shop (which of course was in the process of shutting for the day) and in a rush purchased the smallest internal filter I could find.

Upon getting home I opened the box, only to discover no instructions and the moulded outside will let every shrimp into the actual filter. After much swearing, cursing and rummaging, I found a nifty screwdriver to prise open the stubborn new filter so I could put in my existing media. Then more rummaging around in my under the tank supplies I found a stocking to cover the filter. Then I discovered the filter has no adjustment for the flow and the shrimp are now having wild rides about the tank.

Interestingly the low current of electricity didnt seem to be bothering the shrimp (but I dont think my little blue eye fry liked it), nor did it short out the house. And considering I have nearly fried myself before mucking about with tanks and lights falling into water I am really surprised.

And all of this decides it has to happen when hubby is far away in Brisabane, oh well at least it wasnt a heater playing up with the cold we have been having I would have ended up with ice cube shrimp by tomorrow morning.

[ineke]

TSK TSK TSK you silly thing you could have got yourself electrocuted, playing in water that tingles, standing on an aluminium ladder with hubby not there! Glad it was a simple fix though.

[Baccus]

Every so often I ike to give my guardian angel something to do, LOL otherwise I think i will get bored

[Callan]

In my previous job I did the water pump warranties for Australia and I lost count of how many times I copped a belt of electricity when testing the pumps, even though they were plugged in to a dedicated safety switch. The reason it didn't bother your shrimp is because the current was flowing through the water until you reached in and created the earth. It would have run through you and the ladder until it stopped at your shoes then bang. I remember doing this at school as an experiment where you would link hands and the person at the end copped the ZAP. You were lucky because not only do they really hurt but it can put your heart to beat out of rhythm. If it evr happens it is important to get a medical check done.

[ineke]

Good info there Callan. My hubby is forever saying I should switch off everything in the tank before working on it but with 12 tanks I get lazy. It is something we all should be careful about. I'm also guilty of switching the power off or on with wet hands .

[Baccus]

At high school the Agriculture teacher got everyone to hold hands and get zapped by the electric fence, I wasnt so stupid as to join the electrical konga line. I know electric fences do throw out a terrific zap.

I think the reason the electircity was bother the little fry was because it was hanging around the surface, where as all the shrimp where down on the gravel, and it really was a mild tingling on me but on the fry it would have been akin to how they sample waterways with electrical currents to stun the fish to the surface.

It is strange though how it seemed to only be in one spot approx middle of the tank near the front that seemed to electrofied. Goodness only knows how long the filter had been charging the tank, but apparently it didnt bother the hornwort which is growing like crazy in the tank.

[kizshrimp]

Of course the fish and other creatures in the tank are not earthed and won't be shocked by electrical currents in the water. You on the other hand generally are earthed and can be. 

Years ago people were trying to sell grounding devices to stop "discus and other sensitive fish" stressing from the current. It can cause more problems than it solves.  To save me writing about it have a look at Lytehouse's post here on reef central, about 5 posts down:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1982006

[Callan]

I should have mentioned as well there were a couple of things I would recommend to all especially with older equipment. This is specifically important with internal electrical equipment that is around water.

The cabling can break down especially if subjected to light over time due to it having no UV factor built in during the manufacturing process and also the fact that a lot of equipment especially from overseas has no earth pin on the plug. Electrical leads on pond equipment has a UV inhibator specifically built in. But over time it does start to break down and become brittle.

I learnt to physically examine the electrical lead for signs of cracking or wear. This could even be were the cabling say from a heater is laying over the edge of glass and has pressure from cover glass. I would also check the plug end for loose pins and check were the lead actually enters the equipment for any looseness. The final thing I would do is to physically slide my hand along the lead for any signs of holes cracks etc. You only need a pin hole for the water (moisture) to work its way in and back into the equipment.   

Edited July 20, 2015 by Callan