Grounding Device

[VoodooChld]

anybody know what a grounding device is or know any thing about "grounding" a tank? I dont know much about electricity. do you guys "ground" your tanks? tullock says you should. thanks

[Witfull]

never have used a grounding probe.

there are to parties when it comes to this,,ive read both sides and still baffles me~

[Travelin Reef]

yes. Inexpensive $10 dollar rod that goes in sump and grounds to any metal object. I have mine grounded to my PC ballast. Stops stray elec. Also make sure your lighting is properly grounded. And MOST IMPORTANT use a ground fault for all electric. Your LIFE depends on it!

[BoomerD]

As Witty mentioned, there is a lot of controversy on this subject. Personally, I've used them myself for a while, but many people believe that it actually can complete the electrical path, and cause more problems than it stops...

[Mad Mike]

As an electrician I'm a big fan of grounding. I do it at least once a day! Ground will not work unless the current has a direct path to ground. Meaning a means of dispersal to the earth. Grounding something to your desk with rubber feet won't work since the rubber will impede the ground. It needs a full path to ground. Your electrical box in your house has a wire that should go to the cold water main in that enters your house or in some cases an 8 foot rod pounded into the earth outside the house by your meter. This is a ground. Now using a light fixture is all well and good but how does the current get from the fixture to the little 3rd prong in the plug that we all snap off The fixture itself has to be grounded internally, meaning that little green tail that always hangs off has to be connected to the fixture body. And never ever snap off that grounding prong. Then in the receptacle in the wall the bare copper wire has to be connected to the green screw on the receptacle and that wire runs back to the panel and out to either the water main or the ground rod.

The whole idea behind grounding is if there is a fault, meaning a short circuit or a loose wire or you drop your light fixture in the tank, the current follows the provided path to ground this in turn should pop the breaker and shut down the circuit. In a non grounded circuit you become a path for the electricity to ground and very bad things happen to your heart; blood vessels and brain. Bad bad bad.


Saltwater by nature is a fine conductor of electricity so yes I have my tank grounded. Same idea as Travlin Reef posted, a little zinc rod in the sump with a little wire that I connected to a grounded outlet.


Grounding

[VoodooChld]

I think im starting to understand. so let me ask then if my tank is grounded and my water heater gets smashed open and i put my hand in the tank the electricty should already be flowing to the earth and shouldnt flow through me to get to where it already is already going. or would it just cut off the circuit? thanks alot!

[billyr98]

Nice explanation Mad Mike, being a fellow electrician, I have nothing to add to that.. But I do not have my tank grounded... But I do have my tank and all my equipment hooked up to GFCI receptacles...

[BoomerD]

GCFI outlets are a MUST for our tanks IMO. Some people don't like them, because they CAN trip for reasons other than a fault, such as lighting or pumps that draw a bit too much on initial start-up, but IME, they are worth the trouble if JUST ONCE they save you from getting zapped...

[Boomer]

Time for a review on this issue


http://article.dphnet.com/cat-02/strayvoltages.shtml

http://avdil.gtri.gatech.edu/RCM/RCM...ingProbes.html

http://avdil.gtri.gatech.edu/RCM/RCM...alDetails.html


The Hammer & Deep-Sixer
http://www.reefs.org/library/aquariu...98/1298_3.html

[Mad Mike]

Originally Posted by VoodooChld

I think im starting to understand. so let me ask then if my tank is grounded and my water heater gets smashed open and i put my hand in the tank the electricty should already be flowing to the earth and shouldnt flow through me to get to where it already is already going. or would it just cut off the circuit? thanks alot!

If the ground is correct it should shut down the circuit You should also think about a few things when you work around your tank. Lots of us have tank rooms or areas behind or rooms under the tanks they tend to be wet, wet floors etc, try and keep the area's dry and as hazzard free as possiable. I think that probably more then anything will help prevent an accident. Even of the slip and fall type.

The GFCI's that were mentioned are much better in the sense that the nano second they sense a surge in power, meaning a fault heading to ground they shut off.


The other reason I have heard for grounding tanks is animal health. I'm not clear on how a fish or a coral can get zapped but from what I heard from "them" is the said denizens are sensitive to small amounts of current and it causes stress and disease. I have no scientific proof or articles to back that up. I do it more out of a sense of saftey. GFCI's while they are a wonderful thing can and do fail, so a secondary means of ground can't hurt.

[cecilio]

hi billy
ground fault breakers are very good as long as you have the three prungs in every equipment, be careful some timers just comes with two, if you dont have the three that ground fault will not work, never remove the ground prung, is very deadly

[billyr98]

Cecilio.. I understad how ground fault outlets work.. But a breaker is a whole other idea... I am an electrician... So i work with these things daily.. A Breaker would be a good idea for someone who can't get behind their tank and change the outlet though! But GFCI outlets are made for devices using a ground.. Don't understand why I would have to remove a ground PRUNG?

[cecilio]

Hi Billy
I Understand What You Mean Im An Engineer A Breaker Panel Is Much Better You Can Have Diferents Circuits Protected At The Same Time , I Was Trying To Make It Simple To Others, Because Is A Common Mistake To Believe That A Gfb Will Work Anyhow, But If You Dont Use The Ground Prung It Will Not Work As You Know; And A Lot Of Timers Dont Brinf The Ground Prunge