Shocking Story

[alexwolf]

I was playing with the new protein skimmer, and wouldnt you know, the hose came off spraying water everywhere. It got all over a power strip. Well, that powerstrip was making hissing noises and smoking, so i tried to turn it off. I reached for the little switch that turns it off, and i got the shock of my life. Every hair stood up, my tongue shook badly, and to make things worse, I couldnt even take the finger off the switch. Finally it came off, and i was out of it. Well, i learned a lesson, even those plastic power strips can give you a suprise. Oh, and I couldnt disconnect it from the wall because I cant reach behind the fuge to get it. I nown have a terrible headache, and I wont be touching ANYTHING without pliers anymore. Oh, and please no "Man, you are DUMB" posts, ok?

[Instar]

Alex, I thought you had a GFCI set of outlets behind there? Take care of yourself, hope you're ok.

[JimD]

"Biting my tongue" GFCI's are a must in this hobby, what might have happened if you werent there to absorb the shock? Lesson? Id rather lose my tank than my house.. sad but true....

[captexas]

Alex - glad you are ok, very dangerous lesson learned the hard way. Don't use pliers as they are metal and will still provide a path for the electricity to you. Definately have GFCI outlets and if you use powerstrips, do not let them sit on the floor where they could get wet. Mount them on the wall or to the inside of your stand and allow for drip loops on all power cords connected to it.

To everyone - also make sure that when you go to unplug something you are not standing in water as that can be very dangerous as well. Always be careful with electricity and water. It is very easy to be electricuted while working on your tank and when you are not around an electrical problem could turn into a house fire problem.

[Tim Marvin]

Been there! I smoked a multi outlet and the extension cord it was plugged into! Fortunately it was hooked to a timer I pulled out of the wall! Oh, and it was on a GFCI. I don't think it was grounding quite enough to pop the GFCI yet.....? Pretty scary! Now that I think about it, I think it was plugged before the GFCI and now it is after. Sorry to hear about you accident!

[z28pwr]

WOW, I'm surprised the breaker didn't trip, hope you're OK. I would definately invest in a 10 dollar GFCI from Home Depot.

[reefer]

sorry to hear that alex :shock:

i'm sending you a large rio pump as a "get well" gift :twisted:

8)

[alexwolf]

LOL :-D

[MikeP]

Glad your ok. I accidentally turned on my diatom filter once while hose wasnt secured to side of tank and it went flying all over spraying water everywhere including the powerstrip. Other than smoke and a light show I was ok but I am MUCH more careful now.

[Ram_Puppy]

glad to hear you are ok!

[drehere]

And it wasn't skimming that whole time?

[Sunhutch]

Electricity always looks for the path if least resistance and us humans basically look like a big bag of saline to it which makes for a nice conductor. I think a lesson we can all learn is that is if there is any doubt turn it off at the breaker and work your way back. Also if you ever happen to see someone locked in the grip of an electrical shock current DONT touch them with your hands or anything else that conducts electricity or you may get pulled in too. Grab something like a broom stick or something else non-conductive to push them away from the electrical source.