Fishes electrocuted

[PowderTang]

Is there such thing as fishes die due to electrocution ?

 

today I have almost 20 fishes die in the middle of the night and realized have a power trip.

 

called the electrician and he finally concluded that there is stray voltage in my tank ( ie tank water become live even all the devices are plug out)- hence this killed the fishes

 

in future, how to prevent such things from happening ? This is very devastating that should not occur.

 

is there any equipment to “remove” any stray voltage if there is one ?

[PowderTang]

In future , before I put my hand into the tank, better to test the water if have any power 

[Mahesh]

Omg..so sad to hear.

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[Solo77]

Power trip, if u don't any mean to provide air to your tank, likely is suffocation. 

[PowderTang]

Hmm really not sure whether they are suffocated or because they are shocked

 

Because every single fish, whether big or small, was stunned and lying on the floor, some of them with gills still moving

 

I do have experienced whereby my pump was not working the whole night but my wavemakers are, so even though they are on with the return pump dead, the fishes still make it through the next morning 

 

However this time it feels different...even small hardy fishes like chromis just lie on the floor

 

the electrician said that just one night won’t cause the fish to die

but instead they are being electrocuted 

cos he has also gotten a shock from the tank

[Solo77]

Whatever reason, the cause is due to power trip. Step up yr prevention and contingency plan for both, current leak and equipment failure. 

[Schwantz]

I got this from Ali express.
It is battery powered and will sound alarm when there is a power trip.


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[MarCal]

"called the electrician and he finally concluded that there is stray voltage in my tank ( ie tank water become live even all the devices are plug out)- hence this killed the fishes"

Stay voltage even with all devices unplugged? It has to come from somewhere right?

Voltage leak should be from faulty equipment?

[JiaEn]

And stray voltage won't actually electrocute fishes.  there is no path for current to flow through the fish to the ground. 

When u put your hand in, it's a different matter coz now current can flow thru you to the ground, then you will feel the shock. 

[Schwantz]

If there are no electrical component connected to the tank, it is impossible to get stray voltage. Get a better electrician.

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[PowderTang]

1 hour ago, MarCal said:

"called the electrician and he finally concluded that there is stray voltage in my tank ( ie tank water become live even all the devices are plug out)- hence this killed the fishes"

Stay voltage even with all devices unplugged? It has to come from somewhere right?

Voltage leak should be from faulty equipment?

Yes from faulty equipment :

exhaust fan actually which have 2 pin plug

 

Ya so funny he off all the switches and yet can feel shock

 

so he unplug out one by one and test each pin with a pen tester

so funny, still have current in the tester

 

so means the water is live

the electric can’t flow out ?

 

he was telling me exhaust fan is not meant for aquarium use and as the fan has much salt deposits on it and being a 2 pin plug, so dangerous 

[MarCal]

Wow..... 

I used to hv a pump tt always trip my whole hse. Electrician changed my circuit breaker n all is gd now.... touch wood 

[JiaEn]

Maybe your plug live wire and neutral wire are wired wrongly. Switch is on live wire. So when u switch off,  it's not live. But if your extension or house circuit is wired wrong. When switch off the test pen will still light up. 

[PowderTang]

Oh 

 

so it’s not because of the 2 pin plug but rather, being wired wrongly ?

[PowderTang]

Cos the electrician was telling me

 

aquarium equipment with 2 pin plugs are being properly insulated as meant to be near water or in water

 

non- aquarium equipment with 2 pin plugs are not meant for aquarium use and being 2 pin, there is no earth wire... so the electricity cannot flow out of the tank...so maybe flow into the water and flow down by some other equipments or what lah

 

then stunned the fishes Lor 

 

true ?

 

moving forward , is there any ground probe that can prevent such things from happening ? Meaning to bring all kinds of current down to earth ?

 

haiz 

[JiaEn]

1 minute ago, PowderTang said:

 

Non- aquarium equipment with 2 pin plugs are not meant for aquarium use and being 2 pin, there is no earth wire... so the electricity cannot flow out of the tank...so maybe flow into the water and flow down by some other equipments or what 

I think lots of aquarium equipments are two- pinned. For example: submersible pumps,  submersible heaters etc.

If there is stray voltage,  and you have a grounding probe,  it will form a leaking current. Which can potentially trip your whole house.  If there is no ground,  stray voltage will just remain in the tank, more or less harmless,  until you dip your hand in and get shocked. Either way. Your fish should not be affected. When I have my first aquarium, I accidentally disloged a cooling fan into the tank,  the whole house tripped. But the fishes are unharmed. 

[PowderTang]

Erm I see

 

but this thing could have happened in the middle of the night for goodness dunno how long haha

 

i woke up at 6am and to my horror saw all the fishes lying on the ground 

 

so does it mean that kena electrocuted for a very very long time until some didn’t make it ? 

[PowderTang]

I just wanna know why so many fishes are dead 

 

if its because return pump  and wavemakers not working, then I can fix the problem by getting a battery backup

 

but if it’s because of electrocution, then how ?

 

haiz 

[JiaEn]

It's because the pump and wavemakers. 

Once the power trips in the house. There is no more electric current. 

On the other hand. Without circulation, live stocks dies fast. 

[Schwantz]

That's why I always wear rubber slippers when placing my hands in the water. You don't want to be the pathway to ground if there is a current leak.
Rubber slippers not 100% but will help.

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[PowderTang]

Yup will do that too

 

already reefing for 4 years ++, this is the first time happened and scare the hell out of me 

 

usually i I dip my hands, I never think twice

 

i think I will get more paranoid after since yesterday haha

[Indeco]

Bro, if u manage to find the safety measure to handle this stray voltage. Do share.

I guess I also need to do something about it.

[Jimmy75]

How can electrocution occurs when power is cut off?

[PowderTang]

It was tripped 

but of cos the plugs are still intact while tripped

 

apparently the test pen still lights up

 

[Skrumpy]

There is a ground probe called "ULTRALIFE ULTRA GROUND (TITANIUM GROUNDING PROBE)" that you can buy. However you might need some DIY skills to hook it up to a 3 pin plug head. My tank used to have stray electric and each time i do maintenance i would get a shock. After i got the probe and DIY it, plug it into a power socket WITHOUT turning the power on, no stray electric any more.