my tank's being electrocuted!

[chrisritson]

i just stuck my hand in my 125 gal tank to find a very minute electric current in the water! i had checked it last night, and it was fine. It now is the following day aproximatly 18 hours later. there is a large octopus in this tank who i am very found of, and him as well as all of the inhabitance seem to be alive and well.
i imediatly traced the charge to a powerhead and removed it. it is one of the generic ones with a cartoon fish along the side and the word beauty on it. It pumps about 800 gal/hr. is there any way to fix this pump, and most importantly are the residants in the tank at a large risk? if so what can be done now? thank you very much.

 

[danmhippo]

Get rid of the old pump, its not worth it to attempt to fix it.

Get a new pump and install a titanium grounding probe as a precaution.

 

[davelin315]

yup. I agree. Fixing a pump that is leaking electricity would probably require rewiring the pump and then resealing the housing with an epoxy resin that would waterproof the entire pump (kind of like waterproofing a basement foundation).

 

[JohnD]

I agree with Dave and Dan.

Another idea you should consider are GFI outlets. You wouldn't want to be seriously electrocuted, would you? Think of this time as a warning.

 

[Anonymous]

Trash it and get a good Mag Drive.

 

[bowfront]

One more vcte for trashing the pump and adding a GFI outlet and titanium ground if you don't already have these.

 

[nm]

Scrap it!!! I have had this problem many times I've only been able to fix one. Where the cord was entering the powerhead, water was also entering. I cleaned where the cord entered and use silicone to seal it.
A better idea is, do not completely submerge your powerhead most of them if not all have a water line.(do not submerge pass manufacturers mark--same as with submergable heaters)

 

[nm]

Oh - I used a voltmeter to check if it leaked electricity or not.

 

[Anonymous]

It's $18 to replace a powerhead. We're talking about probable deaths in your tank not to mention a good chance of killing yourself.

Spend the $18.