URGENT my filter is electrocuting my saltwater tank

[Bluethumbaquariums]

Ok so this pump is pretty old and while doing tank maintenance i had a small cut on my finger after filling up the water i put my hand in the tank and i felt a sting so took my hand out and touched the water and it was electrocuting me so i unplugged the pump and sure enough that was it. Hopefully i can get a new pump from my fish store but if i cant any suggestions for a temporary fix? Also what mightve caused this?

[ml86743]

Not sure on the cause but our tanks pretty much always some sort of stray current running through them which is normal.  It happens to me sometimes but when working in the tank with some small cuts on my fingers.  If you own voltmeter you could use that to check if there are any anomalies.   

[empresto]

Current in the tank is not normal and a very dangerous situation. @ml86743, I would highly recommend you determine which piece of equipment is malfunctioning and replace it ASAP.

[patback]

On 2/9/2024 at 10:39 AM, ml86743 said:

Not sure on the cause but our tanks pretty much always some sort of stray current running through them which is normal.  It happens to me sometimes but when working in the tank with some small cuts on my fingers.  If you own voltmeter you could use that to check if there are any anomalies.   

Yeah, absolutely not normal by any stretch of the word. Please do not tell people that this is okay. 

[patback]

On 2/8/2024 at 10:25 PM, Bluethumbaquariums said:

Ok so this pump is pretty old and while doing tank maintenance i had a small cut on my finger after filling up the water i put my hand in the tank and i felt a sting so took my hand out and touched the water and it was electrocuting me so i unplugged the pump and sure enough that was it. Hopefully i can get a new pump from my fish store but if i cant any suggestions for a temporary fix? Also what mightve caused this?

Which pump is it?  I just had my return pump go out on me and I left everything running as was minus the bad pump just to keep the water from going stagnant. My tank is large enough that it retained its heat in the display, but if your heater is I. A sump and tank is small, you may want to temporarily put it in with all your livestock with your powerheads moving. 

[ml86743]

2 hours ago, patback said:

Yeah, absolutely not normal by any stretch of the word. Please do not tell people that this is okay. 

Sorry I think I just worded my point incorrectly.  
 

If you stick a voltmeter inside a normal grounded aquarium I’m pretty sure you’d still get a reading kicking off all the running equipment.  I think it’s something along the lines of a stray vs induced current.  I mentioned looking for anomalies with the voltmeter.  If you try each piece of equipment one at a time you would expect the faulty piece to have some sort of jump in the readout.  
 

sorry if I’m wrong.
 

For the record, my setup is grounded appropriately and all the major failsafes and equipment maintenance are functional/up to date.  

 

the op mentioned having a cut on his finger which would make me thing one would be more susceptible to feeling a “shock”, which is why I said it happens to me on occasion.  I bite the hell out of my nails.  
 

could just be saltwater too.