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Voltage in the tank
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utahwatertoys View Drop Down
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    Posted: July 03 2012 at 9:39am
For the past couple of days when I have stuck my hand in the tank I have felt a bit of voltage in the water just sort of on and off here and there but getting worse and more steady. I think that it is coming from the Poseidon PS4 pump which I have unplugged until I get this problem solved. The fish and corals seem unaffected physically so far though the fish seem to be hiding in their caves but when I poke at them they come out and swim around just fine but do they possibly have any long term damage from this constant voltage these past few days?

The pump seems to be working fine but I do see a trail of salt creep where the pump half joins with the electrical motor half.

Can this be safely repaired or do I need to get a new one? It sure is a nice quiet pump and would hate to have to buy something else


Edited by utahwatertoys - July 03 2012 at 9:43am
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Rara View Drop Down
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Points: 317 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Rara Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 03 2012 at 9:47am
Sorry, I don't know the answer to your voltage question, but I have a Poseidon PS3 in the garage. I had both a PS3 and PS4, but sold the PS4 already.  They are nice and silent.
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I would say just get a new one. I had the same thing going on with my uv sterilizer. All my fishand corals are fine now, but like you said they were hiding which is what made me start looking. I tried to repair it with no luck. It just never seems to work out that easy.
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Points: 1815 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote CrimsRayne Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 03 2012 at 1:25pm
I'm no electric expert, but from what I remember from when I had voltage problems several years ago is that as long as it isn't too high a voltage then the fish will be okay until it is grounded.  As most stands are wood and don't have anything grounding them, then until you stick your hand in the tank and provide the electric grounding needed, the fish don't really feel it.  I think it is kinda like static electricity where you can rub your feet around and when you are charged up you don't feel it until you touch something that is able to create a ground. 

For my problems it was a serious jolt upon sticking ones hand in the water.  I ended up buying a volt meter reader thing to track down the problem because I had so many zaps without any luck of finding the problem.  I finally tracked it to either a bad heater or something about the lights I was using...  Sure made me all sorts of paranoid about sticking my hand in the water for a while.  Also I found that it wasn't bad when wearing tennis shoes as they provide insulation from the zapping.  So, you may want to double check without shoes on to see if it really was the pump before replacing.
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Mark Peterson View Drop Down
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If you are saying that you don't feel the "buzz" when the Poseidon pump is off, then Yes, it is probably the pump. That pump is direct drive so the motor is connected to the shaft which turns the impeller. I'm not sure if those pumps are repairable, but a quick google search will discover that.
Use a voltage meter to check the actual amount of voltage.
Place one lead in the water and the other in the ground receptacle of the wall outlet or powerstrip.
Watch the voltage as each electrical item is unplugged.
If the AC Voltage is 100+ then there is a definite problem.
If it's 40 Volts or less, that is a normal occurance. Wearing shoes really helps to minimize the buzz. Avoiding touching light reflector and water at the same time sometimes helps.
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utahwatertoys View Drop Down
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With the main pump offline how long can the fish and corals wait for me to get a new pump?
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Mark Peterson View Drop Down
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If there are a couple powerheads in the tank, it can run indefinitely that way.
Place them low shooting up to the surface to ensure satisfactory pH.
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