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| General Reef Discussion In this forum we discuss issues related to keeping marine and reef aquariums in a friendly flame-free environment. |
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02-16-2006, 08:47 PM
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#1
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Little Fishy
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: SANTA CRUZ,CA
Posts: 54
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Grounding Probe?
Grounding Probe A Good Idea Or A Waste Of Money?
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02-16-2006, 09:40 PM
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#2
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Noo Doot Aboot It!
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Prince George
Posts: 2,768
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Waste of money
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02-16-2006, 09:41 PM
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#3
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Shark
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Shelby Township, MI
Posts: 1,139
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Good idea. Brightened up the color of my fish! My father's an electrician and put his volt meter in the water and it registered at 28! After the ground was put in, it registered at nothing.
Very helpful (it wouldn't hurt that's for sure).
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02-16-2006, 10:22 PM
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#4
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Reefless Reefer
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Durham, NC
Posts: 20,559
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it would not hurt for sure, but if you are getting voltages in the tank than you have a leaky device that you should hunt down.
G~
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Think Tanker
Friends Don't Let Friends Use Refugiums!
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"J" crowd member.
My Build Thread
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02-16-2006, 10:27 PM
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#5
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Shark
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Shelby Township, MI
Posts: 1,139
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leaky device, that's a possibliity. I don't have a sump though and I think maybe that heater puts out some voltage. Perhaps I should get a new one. Grounder helps a lot though.
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02-16-2006, 10:30 PM
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#6
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Little Fishy
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: SANTA CRUZ,CA
Posts: 54
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Just Trying To Get Some Feed Back Before I Buy It The Store Is Trying To Sell Me One Saying That I Need One. Thanks For The Feed Back.
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02-16-2006, 11:32 PM
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#7
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I've got the REEF rash!
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: New Jersey
Posts: 34,092
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It can make a big differance!
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02-16-2006, 11:44 PM
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#8
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photomod
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Montana
Posts: 5,894
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I would add a GFCI before a grounding probe; but yes, they can help avert some disasters.
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02-17-2006, 02:43 AM
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#9
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uber-stupid
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Biloxi, MS
Posts: 4,762
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Run your grounding probe to a GFI plug. I think it is an invaluable peice of equipment that could save your life.
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Jason
My girlfriend says bigger is better, so I am going to build the biggest skimmer I can.
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02-17-2006, 07:02 AM
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#10
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The Muddy Mod
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Uxbridge, MA
Posts: 5,517
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The voltages can also be static charges from impellers and such.
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Butch
***Factory Trained BMW Driver***
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*President of Tri-State Reef Society*
"I'm King of the Sea People" - Cartman
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02-17-2006, 07:09 AM
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#11
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I've got the REEF rash!
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: New Jersey
Posts: 34,092
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And transformers!
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02-17-2006, 12:14 PM
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#12
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Noo Doot Aboot It!
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Prince George
Posts: 2,768
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I read at one time that the grounding probes were linked to HLLE and that the stray voltage is not detrimental at all to anything in the aquarium (as nothing in there is grounded) the only thing that stray voltage can hurt is you so matbe put one in the sump if you have one but I wouldn't put it in my tank. Think about it this way would you pass a bird on an electric wire a grounding device?
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02-17-2006, 02:36 PM
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#13
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squid
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Wash. DC
Posts: 5
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The main reason to have a grounding probe is to protect humans.
Running a wire from tank-->voltmeter-->ground will most certainly give you a voltage reading, but that does not mean that you have a 'stray voltage' in your tank.
If you think that you have stray voltage, the thing to do is to find the offending appliance and get rid of it.
This isn't a 'everything you ever wanted to know about grounding probes' article, but it has good points and is worth reviewing:
http://avdil.gtri.gatech.edu/RCM/RCM...ingProbes.html
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02-17-2006, 03:52 PM
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#14
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Professor Chaos

Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Arkham Asylum
Posts: 10,091
Reviews: 12
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If you have fish there is also a danger of lateral line disease from stray voltage. Remember that a primary sensory mechanism for fish is the lateral line being able to sense other animals/objects through the use of electric pulses. if we have stray voltage (usually static) then it will interfere with this ability.
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