Oh Look- it's another grounding probe thread....

Any DIY tips for making a grounding probe?

 

For as much money as everything cost in this hobby $20 is miniscule for a grounding probe. For as many wires I have coming out of the the water its a no brainer for me. With that being said I have never checked to make sure its doing its job (gonna have to). As far as Diy I honestly don't think you could diy much cheaper and I'm by no means electrically savy so sorry but I don't think I have an intelligent answer for diy.

 

I use one. Whenever I would pull a hangnail on my finger and had a sensitive area on my hand and stuck my hand in the tank I would feel a small tingle but I dont now. I should get out my multimeter and trace down what is causing it. But it doesnt happen now.

 

I never have and never will use a ground probe in an aquarium.

1) First, "stray voltage" is a a misnomer- electrical devices cannot 'leak' low-level current; either you have a short or you don't.

2) Contact voltage (from a short) is harmless unless it is grounded.

3) If you have a ground probe in your SW tank and a device shorts, you not only will electrocute everything in your tank, but you also now have a fire hazard from full household current being grounded through a low-voltage ground wire.

4) Last but not least, in the 38 years I've been in the hobby, I have never once experienced anything that could be remotely blamed on "stray voltage". Should that ever occur, I would much prefer to find and replace the "leaky" device.

FWIW, I can hold the hot and ground probes from a digital volt meter in each hand and show low-level current.

 

And there's your answer.

 

Thanks Bill,

I've read alot of posts similar to yours, and all the ones that say to ground it.


As of now, I don't have one either. Still thinking about climbing the fence about one though, I liked your post. Makes sense to me.

 

I recently had a protein skimmer motor leaking current into my tank. If I had a grounding probe I wouldn't have known! I decided after this incident to not get a grounding probe, because if something is leaking, I need to know and I need to figure out what it is and fix it.

 

I worry about murphy. I'm less worried about the animals in my tank than I am finding out my heater cracked when I reach into the water and i'm somehow grounded. Current across the center of your body is a bad thing, I was always taught the amount of current that could disturb heart rhythms is measured in milliamps.

 

To 'shock' a rhythm, it's measured in Joules. But your point is well taken.

I may try one soon. I think I'll try and get a voltmeter soon also to test my tank- always wanted one of those.

 

So I'm not sure if you're saying you're glad you had one, right? You stated you decided NOT to get one after this?