Our Power Company Says: Our Water Filter Can Give Off Electromagnetic Radiation.

[Temp]

It's not the radiation poisoning or anything, just electrical magnetic waves.

Our power company arrived today at 10:00 AM, and he was suppose to check on the TV cables, when he noticed there's a spike of electromagnetic radiation on his meter of some sort.

When he went to the source, he found out that our aquarium water filter produces 1000 (Unit). (Actually, I don't know the unit of measurement, but he told us the value is 1000.)

My mom is really concerned about EMR issues, and told me to turn off the aquarium water filter and leave it off. I am a bit worried about myself, as I had noticed my hairs are falling everywhere for the past 2 month. I sleep very close to our aquarium tank since the start of summer vacation from college.

So, I'm asking if any of you can measure your water filter and see if there are a lot of radiation coming from it. If any one of you says there isn't any radiation, I'm getting myself a newer filter. We don't have enough space to move the tank around to a different place.

Do water filters really give off electromagnetic radiation?

Can my fish get affected from electromagnetic radiation?

If all water filters have electromagnetic radiation, I'm going to try doing some house cleaning and start considering where I should put my tank at.

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

Anything with magnets in it will give off "electromagnetic radiation." All water pumps work using magents, so any filter will give some type of reading of electromagnetic radiation.

Anything that provides electrical current will give off electromagnetic radiation. If the power company dude were to use that meter on your heaters while they were on, you'd probably think that 1000 reading was nothing. Heaters give off large amounts of electromagnetic radiation, compared to water pumps.

My point is... it's all relative. You are probably exposed to far more EMR in your everyday life than what comes from your aquarium.

If you're having health issues with regards to your hair falling out, I'd see your doctor, for sure. Definitely let him/her know about the aquarium, but I would be amazed if that was the problem.

 

[Temp]

I see. When telling this to Mom, she said, the minimum is 80. She said, we can use the filter, but we are not suppose to stay close to them when they are on.

This would lead me to think, Will turning the water filter off overnight affects my fish a lot?

And how far away from the water filter should I be, to stay under-exposed to the electromagnetic radiation?

 

[bluerose]

If your hair is thinning, get thee to your doctor for blood tests; thyroid problems, for example, can cause hair loss. Then worry about EMR.

 

[krap101]

I'm guessing a cathode ray tv would be much much worse.. Then the Microwave.. then a wireless router.. then 20 more things before the aquarium filter.. scratch that.. a couple thousand

 

[maxima423]

i agree with the rest, watching TV, on the computer or laptop like right now when you are reading this is much worse than your filter, unless you are with your filter more than 18hrs a day =P

also i looked up your tanks....

1 Bowfront 1.2 Gallon Tank with 6 guppy fry. Natural Sunlight. 1 small hornwort. Nothing else.

1 cylinder 1.0 Gallon Tank with 14 guppies. Natural sunlight. Lots of hornwort, gravels, and poop.

1 Bowfront 5.5 Gallon Tank with 1 Common Goldfish. Not too much sunlight. Electrical filter. Nothing else.

unless you are missing a "0" on all of them, you are way over stocked on all your tanks, and "Electrical filter" doesnt help when we want to know how strong your filter actually is

 

[krap101]

Stick a neodymium magnet under your pillow at night and see if the hair loss increases. Add fluorescent lights/ballast to the list...

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

I see. When telling this to Mom, she said, the minimum is 80. She said, we can use the filter, but we are not suppose to stay close to them when they are on.

This would lead me to think, Will turning the water filter off overnight affects my fish a lot?

And how far away from the water filter should I be, to stay under-exposed to the electromagnetic radiation?

80 what? Without units of measurement for that "80" or the original "1000" it's really pointless. Are the 80 and 1000 even the same unit of measure?

Regardless, sounds like you're in a situation that you don't have much control over, so what Mom says goes. Regardless, I'm not in to freshwater but would have to say that turning off the filter overnight wouldn't be the best thing in the world for them. Like others have said, seems like there's too many fish in there to start with, but that's a different issue!

How far away to stay? I think the only answer that really counts is "however far your Mom tells you." And get yourself to a doctor regarding that hair loss!

 

[WhiteDevil]

EMR? its not nuclear it does not leak radiation.


Its EMF for electro-magnetic field.

Here is a WIKI on it just to put you and your housemates at ease.

Electromagnetic field - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Electromagnetic Force and Its Effects on Humans

EMF Measurement and Health Risks

It makes you Really paranoid, sick feeling, light headed ect.
EMF is everywhere. He picked up on the filter because it is close and out in the open, Most EMF is read behind walls and such.


Yes your tanks are Way overstocked but turning off a filter at night will cause premature burn out along with very inadequate filtration. I do not suggest turning them off, maybe getting a larger tank for them all plus a very good filter.

here is another link on EMF.
How to make EMF Measurement Procedures - Electromagnetic Field Strength Surveys

There you go
EMR is a medical record thats electronic, there is no EMR reading or way to read radiation unless with a gamma meter or the like. I honestly dont believe EMR exists as electric radiation

 

[meegosh]

I'd be really curious about the units of measure too. Can't be talking amps, 80 amps you'd have more problems than hair loss. Doubt it would be volts either or your fish would be tweaking out (or you'd feel a shock). Could it be dBm or W/m2? They are the most common units of measurement for EMR meters.

 

[meegosh]

WhiteDevil, there are "home" level EMR meters - pretty reasonably priced too. We have a few here at work but we send most of our stuff out to one of our other locations that have EMI/EMF/EMR chambers. Pretty crazy stuff, way over my head.

Edit: The OP could be EHS... Electromagnetic Hypersensitive (or something simliar).

 

[WhiteDevil]

MeeGosh

Electric fields are measured in volts per meter (V/m). Zero to 10 is an average household reading. Magnetic fields are measured in milliGauss (mG). Zero to 2.5 is considered low, while 2.5 to 7.0 is medium and anything above 7.0 is high.

Read more: How to Measure EMF in the Environment | eHow.com How to Measure EMF in the Environment | eHow.com

Him saying 1000 is maybe like 10

However who is to say his gauge was working correctly. There are a few different meters, linemen use a much more precise instrument that can measure much higher then say a serviceman's meter reads. There are 3 types of meters.

All EMF is measured in voltage, Amperage shouldnt create a field as Amperage is a much deadlier form of electricty. Volts will shock even knock you on your duff, Amps can kill you instantly. If you had an amperage leak you would have known that day. Voltage leaks are much more common.

How old is your house? If an attic or basement how do the lights/electricty function there? Older houses have a very inadequete electrical insulation system. Wires are strung to resistors then to turn switches.

I do take back there is no EMR's I forgot EMR's come from cell phones and microwaves ect, Unless you had a cell or microwave close to his meter his EMR shouldnt have picked up anything. I think he was using an EMF which would show more of a pollution field then an EMR would, I do believe EMR's are used to pinpoint.

EMF/EMR is measured in volts.

 

[meegosh]

Well you know more than I do, I don't claim to be an expert on that. I'm sure I could walk upstairs and ask one of our senior engineers and he'd tell me more than I could ever want to know about EMF/EMR. I'm not sure what our handhelds measure then, they are in dBm and W/m2... thought they were EMR meters though.

I agree with your point about how can you tell his equipment is within calibration tolerances. I control 4k+ calibrated tools and equipment here at work and things go out of cal faster than you would think. I've even gotten DMM's straight from fluke that were out of tolerance (their own tolerances) on multiple functions!

 

[WhiteDevil]

Heck micrometers go out of tolerance within 8 uses.

me either, electrical work scares the doo out of me. but my old man is an engineer and he has alot of knowledge in his brain.(better be since he was the head engineer on many US warships)

 

[Temp]

unless you are missing a "0" on all of them, you are way over stocked on all your tanks, and "Electrical filter" doesnt help when we want to know how strong your filter actually is

I'll try again:

1 1.2-gallon tank full of (now 13) adult guppies, with aquatic plants and gravel. There is no water filter, no electric air pump, and anything else. I hardly do water changes. I put the tank near the window so as to get enough sunlight for the plants to grow.

1 1.3-gallon tank with less water than the first, with a lot of guppy fry. There's a plant in it, it's been cycled, and there are plenty of water changes. No water filter, or electric air pump, nothing. There are a lot of brown stuff at the bottom of the tank, so I assumed it's poop. It's placed right beside the tank mentioned above.

1 possibly 5-gallon tank of water filled to the brim. There's a lone goldfish in it. There is a lamp on top of it, an electric water filter with the reading of 1000 Unit of Common Measurement. I don't know how to tell how strong it is, but it does the job of cleaning the water, with frequent filter washing/changing. It's placed near my pillow, where the sunlight hardly reaches it.

Any more info? I'll try my best to give it all.

 

[maxima423]

yea one question, why do you have so many fish in such a small tank???? i think you need to get a MUCH bigger tank than the ones you have now, the only thing that could live in those three tanks are bettas reallyyou need like a 20-30g tank if you want to keep that many fish, and the goldfish is going to get really really big in a hurry

think about your stock please because your filter is the least of your worries right now

 

[meegosh]

1 1.2-gallon tank full of (now 13) adult guppies, with aquatic plants and gravel. There is no water filter, no electric air pump, and anything else. I hardly do water changes. I put the tank near the window so as to get enough sunlight for the plants to grow.

1 1.3-gallon tank No water filter, or electric air pump, nothing. There are a lot of brown stuff at the bottom of the tank, so I assumed it's poop. It's placed right beside the tank mentioned above.

That just sounds like problems waiting to happen. With 13 adult guppies in even a 5g tank is way overstocked. Couple that with no filter and no water changes your fish are living in their own waste. Also, leaving it in direct sunlight is just asking for algae issues - and temperature fluctuations for that matter.

Your other tank (1.3g) also seems to be plagued with poor maintenance. That brown stuff is sometimes referred to as mulm. It builds up over time, it can be uneaten food, waste or decaying plant matter. All of which can foul up your water parameters.

I bet you would be shocked at the parameters if you took some readings with a good test kit.

 

[maxima423]

what kind of filter is it, all filters are basically electrical, but what brand???

 

[Temp]

yea one question, why do you have so many fish in such a small tank????

I don't know. We can't afford a new tank. You may think it's very cheap to buy one large one, but in fact, it is really costly. Mom really don't want me to spend a lot of money on these guys. So, I'm left with no choice but to use these tanks.

Cheap tanks costs about 700 NTD to 1200 NTD, and with this amount of money, we can eat for about 2 weeks to 1 month worth of food (Three meals a day.).

That just sounds like problems waiting to happen. With 13 adult guppies in even a 5g tank is way overstocked. Couple that with no filter and no water changes your fish are living in their own waste. Also, leaving it in direct sunlight is just asking for algae issues - and temperature fluctuations for that matter.

The gravel are made into slopes, with one side higher than the others. Waste would build up in the pit. And this is where I would use my "Straw and Air Hose" siphoning tool to suck the waste out, and change water.

Also, there's a breeding box, which left very little room for guppies to swim in...I can't do anything about that.

There are plenty of aquatic plants in the tank. I shine a bright 23W Philips desktop lamp directly onto the plants to create lots of oxygen. There are a lot of pond snails in both of the guppy tanks. They eat the algae and stuff at the bottom.

And these tanks are here for more than 2 years. I don't have a lot of problems about them.

Your other tank (1.3g) also seems to be plagued with poor maintenance. That brown stuff is sometimes referred to as mulm. It builds up over time, it can be uneaten food, waste or decaying plant matter. All of which can foul up your water parameters.

I bet you would be shocked at the parameters if you took some readings with a good test kit.

I tried using my siphoning tool to scrape the mulm around, and suck them out. But, they stuck to the glass completely...scraping them took a lot of toll on the straw.

6 of the fry are about 4 month old. They are larger than the rest of the 11 fry in there. Basically, we don't do much at all to the guppy fry, because we have plants in the tank, and it's a very long one. With the desktop lamp nearby, it produces quite a lot of bubbles.

And I would love to take readings with a test kit, but I couldn't find where they were sold at. We checked Google Map for locating a nearby aquarium store, and we're still on a lookout for it. I do know, over the past 3 years, 2 nearby aquarium store went defunct. Many aquarium stores are on the verge of closing...

All due to financial issues and high tax rates. :censor:

what kind of filter is it, all filters are basically electrical, but what brand???

I don't know. There was no brand name on it. There is a sticker on it, and it said "Power Head. Read the instructions first." Probably a generic brand.

I have another spare water filter, and it's an OTTO brand. It's for 1~2-gallon tanks. But, it's kind of strong for the guppy fry, and it's not made for the adult guppies tank (since it's a cylinder shape tank, and the filter can only be placed on a straight edge of the tank).

 

[krap101]

The powerhead is actually not a filter, but something that is meant to move water, so unless it has some sort of prefilter, it is basically useless as a filter. I'm unsure of where you are, but you can get 10 gallon tanks for around 15$ and 20 gallon tanks for maybe 35, but YOU are more important than the fish, no matter what anyone says.

If you mom is freaked about the em radiation, build a faraday cage as a science project