Do u unplug your heater/filter before sticking arm in tank?

[Laser]

Since water doesn't conduct electricity but it's the particles inside the water that actually conduct it does that mean you can kiss all of your beneficial bacteria goodbye as well?

 

[jsoong]

I don't turn anythign off ..... BUT ...... I have a GFI outlet.

When dealing with water & electricity, you really should use a GFI plug to protect yourself from being shocked. If you are handy, you can rewire a regular plug to GFI for $10 (or buy a GFI power stripe) .... pretty cheap insurance.

BTW - fish might not show any sign even with a fault in the equipment. You need a completed circuit for current to flow. The fish tank, being relatively isolated, won't conduct electricity through the fish. However, when you touch the tank AND Ground, YOU complete the circuit & get fried.... <Same reason why bird don't get fried sittin on electrical wires .... they don't touch ground to complete a circuit>

Moral of all this: get a GFI.

 

[jsoong]

As far as I'm aware, nobody has come up with a way to convert Activated Carbon to Direct Current (think of how rich you would be if you could)

Get a big pile of activated carbon, burn it to boil water, use the steam to drive a turbine & generate electricity ......

 

[Squirt0170]

I don't unplug anything... I never thought about being shocked or dying.. If there was a problem wouldn't the fish be the first to go?

 

[7Enigma]

I don't turn mine off just to put my arm in. Actually, you wouldn't be able to tell by observing the fish if there was a potential shock situation. I have dropped a flourescent fixture into a tank (twice) and it didn't hurt the fish any. In fact the, light stayed lit. Kind of blows the common misconception that water is a good conductor of electricity. It isn't.

No it proves that your light fixture was well insulated and sealed and that is all. Please don't (especially in a forum as large as this and in such a serious thread) post completely wrong advice that could potentially cause harm. Remember that many young people browse this forum...

As for myself, I do not unplug the heater or filter during general work (such as trimming the plants), but do unplug during PWC's, only because it tends to flatten the plants. I do find myself, however, using my right hand 90% of the time, even if its slightly awkward. FYI if you do ever get shocked, while your heart is much more centered in the body than most believe, it is slightly to the left. Getting shocked through your right arm will give you a better chance of surviving than with your left, but its always a luck situation, and how quickly the circuit will blow or you get your hand out (and amperage of the line). The human body can take 10's of thousands of volts (think stunguns), but I believe it only takes ~50milliamps to stop your heart.

 

[Ky'smommy]

i dont ture anything of either. not on the big one the strip and the cords are to far away to get touched by water so thats not a problem.
and if i got elctorcuted oh well . its not like my whole bodys in there lol.
on my little tanks i do unplug everything not for fear of my heater leaking or whater but because they are little and i tend to make a huge mess and the plug is right behind them and it would be easier to screw something up with water.

 

[Burks]

I've never unplugged anything unless I'm doing a large water change. My heater can be completely under the water so the actual glass is rarely exposed to air, when it is I unplug the heater.

Being shocked doesn't bother me really. I've been knocked on my butt once or twice due to a shock.

 

[tropicfishman]

I got shocked once trying to reach up and behind my desk to plug my digital keyboard up and got shocked, I guess my finger was touching the prong, I don't think I ever moved so quick in my life lol

 

[hc8719]

your at as much risk as the fish (which isnt alot, considering you have a decent heater)

i mean unless the heater suddenly explodes as you reach your arm in, you'll be fine (sound like a final destination death, a kid sticks his arm in a fish tank to clean it, and death oversurges the heater as you do

 

[Musket]

I turn off the surge protector only when I am changing the water. I don't do it for a quick plant fix or snail *pet* check or when dipping my fingers in to feed the guys and gals their blood worms or krill.

 

[lovemybarbs]

you people have me paranoid. I had unplugged the filter and I must have missed the heater and I swear I felt something.

I immediately turned it off. It was probably nemo biting me again.

 

[Shelby_Tempo_GT]

Kind of blows the common misconception that water is a good conductor of electricity. It isn't.

what? water is one of the best conducters of electricty. just because a light fixture fell in and nothing happen does not prove anything but luck 8)

water is a POOR conductor. What makes it dangerous is that it is enveloping.