Ground probe help please!!!

I know i have stray voltage in my tank b/c i just felt a slight shock when i put my finger with a hangnail in the tank. I don't feel it unless i have a cut though, so i think it might not be a lot.

I was doing research on ground probes and found that a little stray voltage is inevitable. I have also found very conflicting thoughts on grounding probes. The main census was a ground probe should be used in conjunction with GFI outlets. Would this mean that everything on tank can trip and stay off when u r not there?

some people also say that a ground probe creates a hazard to the aquarium owner by creating a current path that was not already there. An example given was that if your reflector was charged and u touched it with your hand in the water with a ground probe the current can then flow through your body. I don't understand why the current wouldn't just flow through your body even if there wasn't a probe. couldn't it just use your body as a flow path? what are your thoughts on this.

I was thinking of using a probe on a separate breaker so that only the probe would trip if the current exceeded a certain value. Does this make sense? Is it safe to do?

I really need some help with this. I never got this electrical stuff.

 

Ok, first the ground probe shunts "stray" current capacity to ground. It is past all sensors for electrical load...so, it will not open a ckt breaker because of load on the ground line.

The GFI works by sensing a short beteween the load-return-ground legs of the socket...again, a ground probe only plugs into the ground leg...However!!! If your powering your tank through a GFI and plugging the ground probe into a ckt protected by the same GFI, then you can establish another path from the supply back to ground.

But remember, in the US, almost all of the components available to us are UL listed. Thus each should be double insulated and/or casing ground lines exist.

As for me, my system has a ground probe plugged into the same ckt that is protecting all of my aquarium related equipment. I have 2 GFIs splitting the load between pumps, heaters, chillers, and lighting.

I would encourage everyone to consider the use of a ground probe as there is some evidence that the stray voltage/current does damage/harm your fish/inverts.

 

Grubbs, that is good advice.

Using a ground probe creates a system ground that connects the tank water to "earth" and electrical ground. Without grounding the water it is like having any appliance ungrounded where the chassis (or in this case water) can become "live". It's best for the water to be on the same ground plane as your electrical appliances.

 

Ok I understand what you are saying,thanks a lot for that. what about the use of a ground probe without a GFI and what about the the GFI tripping regularly?

 

To clarify things a bit, a ground probe will remove stray voltage from the tank, but works independently of the GFCI and will not cause the GFCI to trip. A GFCI will save your life by preventing electrocution. The GFCI senses current disparity between the hot and neutral conductors--and opens the circuit in 1/40 of a cycle (that's about 2.5 milliseconds) if this disparity reaches between 4 and 6 milliamps. You may receive a shock, but you will not be electrocuted. As a bad analogy, to not use a GFCI for fear that it will shut down your tank while you're away is tantamount to not wearing a seat belt for fear it will wrinkle your shirt. Priorities are the key here.

A ground probe IMO is time tested and results speak louder than articles. Many sucessful reefers on this forum and others, use a ground probe and wouldn't be caught without one. I think if you took a poll of many of those who own the tanks most of us would kill for--you'd find that the vast majority of them use ground probes.

To sum it up, a GFCI will save your life. Without it, if the unthinkable happens, you're toast--literally. A ground probe also apparently does good things; enough for those who use them, to trust them and recommend them.

Hope that helps.

 

That does clear things up a bit. Why I asked though was b/c i saw a lot of people saying that using a ground probe without a GFI is more dangerous than having a tank without the ground probe with no GFI. This is why i was wondering if it is dangerous to use a ground probe without a GFI.

The other thing people said is that using a ground probe with a GFI causes the GFI to trip very regularly, i was wondering if this was true.

 

You should be using GFCI regardless of having a ground probe or not.

http://www.3reef.com/forums/general-reef-topics/please-use-gfci-82339.html

Generally, if you have malfunctioning equipment the GFCI will trip if you have a ground probe, otherwise it will trip when you stick your hand in the tank. When everything is in good condition, the GFCI should not trip with a ground probe installed.

 

Thank you for your response. I got the answer to my question there.
Now I agree that everyone should use a GFCI and I'm not trying to argue, but i was wondering if a GFCI would only come into play if water gets into the socket or are there other instances?

 

Malfunctioning equipment and water splashing onto the power points are generally the two concerns. Please view this thread:

http://www.3reef.com/forums/general-reef-topics/use-driploop-82336.html

 

ok. thank you.
thanks for all the responses. k+