question

[jessinator752]

i seem to be having a problem and can't figure out how to fix it. recently i've noticed things looking sad. 2 days ago my dwarf lion died. he was fine when i turned on the lights in the morning, by the time i turned them off in the evening he was looking really bad. not swimming around, barely moving. the next morning he was dead. today several stalks of xenia died, and some are looking "droopy". i noticed one of my anenomes went from dark red/green to really pale pink/white today.

i did a 25% water change on saturday using water from walmart and oceanic salt. i noticed when i had salt on my hand and stuck my hand in the tank i felt a slite sting, like a pulse of electricity. i washed my hand and stuck it back in my tank but didn't feel it then. i haven't felt it since. my ammonia, nitrates, nitrites were all at zero last night, now the nitrates are at 20. my alk is at 10.2, ph is 8.2. sg is 1.023

any ideas of what could be wrong? or how i can fix it? thanks, jessica

[MKCindy]

I'm not an expert, but I remember some one talking about stray electricity. As I recall, salt is a conductor. I would start looking there.

[erikharrison]

get a ground probe. They're very inexpensive, I believe...

[jessinator752]

yeah, that's what i was afraid of. i'll have to start looking at what could be the cause of the electricity. is it better to leave things in the tank or take them out until i find the source? i don't want to loose anything more, but i'm not sure if moving things out would cause more stress than leaving them in there.

[txstateunivreefer]

yea salt isnt just a conductor it is a GREAT conductor since it will compleletly dissociate into Na+ and Cl- in h20 and carry that shock straight to your arm try touching your water and then touch something metal that is grounded ie a light housing or something that worked for me when i had a heater blow. once you find out that you can replicate the shock then what i would do is unplug 1 by 1 until you find the culprit. as i have read the electricity can cause tremendus stress and lead to alot of problems ie HLLE along with other serious issues.

[jessinator752]

yeah, the whole Na+ Cl- lost me. :D that's my husband's department. i'm sure i'll figure something out. worst case i'll have to suck it up and put my hand in salt and one by one unplug things until i can put my hand in the tank and not get zapped. not the best way to do it, but since that's the only way i can understand what i'm doing.... ;)

[erikharrison]

do it....

[jessinator752]

well, i believe i found the source... my skimmer pump. after going one by one and getting 6 shocks i unplugged my skimmer and didn't get shocked. so... guess i need a new pump. hopefully that takes care of the problems with my unhappy tank. thanks everyone for your moral support :D

[alton]

Please everyone go to Radio Shack or someone else and buy a cheap meter to test, please do not use your body as a test. Glad you found your culprit. Also for future use if you are getting shocked by your tank it is because something is leaking Current in your tank, Current kills not voltage. You can have 21 volts of stray voltage and never get a tingle or you can have 5 volts with current present and knock the heck out of you. Stray voltage comes from your lamps over open water, multiple external or internal pumps in and around your sump.This can be controlled by a grounding probe. Current in your in your tank is caused by a short in a pump, heater or some other type of electrical equipment that has gone bad. I try to only use pumps with a grounding prong, this helps incase of a failure. Jessinator just so I can keep my record straight did your pump have a grounding prong?

[erikharrison]

well, i believe i found the source... my skimmer pump. after going one by one and getting 6 shocks i unplugged my skimmer and didn't get shocked. so... guess i need a new pump. hopefully that takes care of the problems with my unhappy tank. thanks everyone for your moral support :D

is your hair standing up on end? Glad you found the culprit. Smash it to pieces...

[jessinator752]

no, it was only 2 prongs on the cord. i did, however, have it plugged into a surge protector. not sure if that helps any. i guess it's gonna be a wait and see if my anenome and xenia make it. my anenome is clear right now, but is extending his arms today. last night he stayed closed up really tight. maybe he'll bounce back. my one stalk of xenia looks sad, but not to bad. i'm hoping it pulls through too. everything else in my tank appears to be ok.

[alton]

GFCI Receptacle should of prevented it. When you get a new pump try to find one that is grounded, Mag Drives and most of the new Rio's are grounded. Glad to here everything is bouncing back.

[Ram_Puppy]

having lost a tank to a RIO pump, I could care less if they are grounded, they are time bombs waiting to nuke a tank. Stick to the mag drives, or any other pump you can find that is grounded.