ReefMatrix Posted February 23, 2003 Share Posted February 23, 2003 After biting off my fingernail and ripping off that little part that never pulls off cleanly ( you know what I am talking about - it rips off the skin right on the edge). I now have a slight wound. Anyways, I stuck my hand in the tank this evening and got a little suprise. Yup, a little shock. Nothing painful, but it was more like a needle prick. Whats to blame? My Millinium HOB filter. I uplugged everything one by one and found out that it was the filter. This probably explains quite a few things lately. The point of the this post is to CHECK YOUR EQUIPMENT. Doesn't matter who makes it or how good it is, things go bad. How do you check your equipment? Well, next to cutting yourself with a razor blade or bitting off your finger nail and making sure you take some skin with it, I am not sure. Perhaps a voltage meter? Either way, be careful and do routine checkups! Happy Reefing! Kris Link to comment
OscarBeast Posted February 23, 2003 Share Posted February 23, 2003 You do know that salt hurts in a wound, right? Link to comment
Aggie05 Posted February 23, 2003 Share Posted February 23, 2003 Originally posted by OscarBeast You do know that salt hurts in a wound, right? actually it doesn't feel that bad. When I was messing with my fuge the other day I cut myself twice on the glass and I have to say that they are the quickest healing wounds I have ever had. Maybe I'll start dipping my cuts into the tank. Link to comment
OscarBeast Posted February 23, 2003 Share Posted February 23, 2003 You do know that corals can carry many pathogens that humans can catch right? hehe Link to comment
ReefMatrix Posted February 23, 2003 Author Share Posted February 23, 2003 Yes I know salt hurts on a wound. But that is a deep sting hurt. This was a sharp - prick pain. Voltage pain. Link to comment
OscarBeast Posted February 23, 2003 Share Posted February 23, 2003 So how much voltage was it? Link to comment
Xavier Posted February 23, 2003 Share Posted February 23, 2003 I know from my experiences, and from what I've heard from others, that wounds heal quicker and cleaner when exposed to sea water. Link to comment
Physh1 Posted February 23, 2003 Share Posted February 23, 2003 It's just nerve endings.....you have more nerves in your fingers so if you have a cut, or chew your finger nails, you'll feel it more. Think about this for a second.....do you think your skin alone stops voltage from shocking you? NO! If you do have stray voltage in the tank you'd get shocked EVERY time you put your hand in there regarless of cuts or no cuts on your hands. It's just raw nerve ending and exposure to salt......simple as that. Your equipment is fine. What can we learn from this? Stop chewing your nails:P Cameron Link to comment
Stew Posted February 23, 2003 Share Posted February 23, 2003 U might try g one of the grounding probes available----might not help, but---wouldn't hurt -- just in case!!! Link to comment
Korbin Posted February 24, 2003 Share Posted February 24, 2003 Don't get me started on stray voltage. (we spent a week on that in one of my classes. The professor doesn't believe in it). I think the problem is static electricity. Sometimes when I walk up to my tank and stick my hand in the water I get a little static shock from the water surface. Link to comment
Twins Guy Posted February 24, 2003 Share Posted February 24, 2003 many of you are right...voltage will pass through your skin (it will insulate to a degree)...sometimes filters (powerheads, heaters) do break down and throw stray voltage and in this case it sounds like that was happening...cameron-how you gonna explain that he was only zapped when the filter was on?...doesn't really fit the salt and "raw nerve endings" theory...korbin-i know what you mean about static electricity-beware...a grounding probe would help disipate the stray voltage and a voltimeter should detect its presence...finally the real reason i posted, wounds very likely would heal faster and cleaner if rinsed in saltwater because with all the dissolved proteins, ions, etc our blood is osmotically far more similar to NSW than freshwater. rinsing damaged tissue in freshwater could precipitate more harm through osmotic lysis of cells. officially tg Link to comment
OscarBeast Posted February 24, 2003 Share Posted February 24, 2003 Get a multimeter and find out. Your finger is not a good test for stray voltage. Link to comment
Nishant3789 Posted February 24, 2003 Share Posted February 24, 2003 its not the voltage that hurts, its the amps.......... get an ammeter Link to comment
OscarBeast Posted February 24, 2003 Share Posted February 24, 2003 Yea right! High voltage hurts, high amperage kills. Link to comment
Twins Guy Posted February 24, 2003 Share Posted February 24, 2003 if you're feeling a zap its significant. don't doubt kris' finger. throw the leaky POS away. for others, yeah a multimeter will give you a more accurate measure (of either voltage of amperage). you guys realize that without voltage there will be no amperage right? sure the ammeter might tell you how hard you're gonna get rocked but, a measure of voltage will tell you if there's a problem. i would agree that a multimeter would be the most handy though. Link to comment
ReefMatrix Posted February 24, 2003 Author Share Posted February 24, 2003 Twins Guy - Thanks for explaining this more clearly to everyone. An open wound can "feel" things that a regular hand in the aquarium can not. Volt meter is a good idea, although in this case, I did not need one to tell me I was getting zapped! Thanks again! Link to comment
Nishant3789 Posted February 24, 2003 Share Posted February 24, 2003 aww come on take it like a man, it couldnt have hurt THAT much............ heh heh jp, hope u um feel better? btw twins guy thanks for clearing that up for me, its just that everyone always says amps kill not the volts, which is why, if u have ever seen on of em thingies that look like a big stick with a metal ball at the top that makes lighting, eh u probably have no idea waht im talking about, but uive probably seen one at a science museum.......anyways, u get shocked by touching it, usually hteres a spark maybe 2 inches long, what my science teacher said was that each inch of spark carried about 1000 volts.....but it really doesnt affect your body too much, it just hurts a tiny bit, this is because the amps arent enough to hurt you physically in anyway. oh well thanks nishant Link to comment
OscarBeast Posted February 24, 2003 Share Posted February 24, 2003 Ever get hit by a stun gun, taser, cattle prod, or electric fence? All have very high voltage with low amperage. That way they knock the #### out of you and hurt like hell, but don't kill. Link to comment
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