Grounding the fish tank?

[MrGone]

I actually have two questions but they both involve grounding. The first is with my lights. I have two Lumatek 250w digital ballasts, the ground wire coming from the ballast going to the mogul sockets is bolted to the reflector but I'm wondering should I ground the reflector to the house ground? The reflectors are bolted to a wood canopy sitting on an acrylic tank which makes me think the reflectors are not properly grounded.

Also I've run across pages in the past saying the fish tank itself should be grounded? Like a grounding rod is in the water? It was was not written very well and I ran across it researching something entirely different but it seems a little goofy to me. Could anyone shed some light?

My house is properly grounded along with all the plugs for the tank equipment, at first I thought that's what they were talking about in the article but then they started talking about adding a ground probe. On a completely separate note I looking into running a dedicated circuit for the fish tank. It is in the family room and since adding the two 250w's the breaker has randomly tripped a couple times when the tank is going full tilt along with the TV. There are some gangs in the wall that have telephone lines which are no longer used and they are in the perfect location so I figured it would be wise to install a GFI and run new wires under the house to the panel.

Thanks you!

 

[MrGone]

*thank you, I can't find the edit button :-/

 

[akunochi]

I've always just ran the ground wire from the ballast to the reflector and never had a problem. Also the dedicated circuit is always good, however I am running my entire 180 off an existing circuit using a 20A breaker. Check to see if you wire is capable of handling it.

I'm not sure how you would ground the tank....a grounding rod would introduce metal into the system (BAD). I would thing that having your equipment grounded via grounding prongs would be sufficient. Just make sure to watch any powerheads you have...

 

[MrGone]

I've always just ran the ground wire from the ballast to the reflector and never had a problem. Also the dedicated circuit is always good, however I am running my entire 180 off an existing circuit using a 20A breaker. Check to see if you wire is capable of handling it.

I'm not sure how you would ground the tank....a grounding rod would introduce metal into the system (BAD). I would thing that having your equipment grounded via grounding prongs would be sufficient. Just make sure to watch any powerheads you have...

Yeah, that's what I thought but I figured I should ask, there are a ton of tricks I've yet to discover

 

[roscoe]

There are numerous titanium grounding probe that is placed directly into your sump or aquarium. Here is a link to one.

http://www.aquacave.com/titanium-grounding-probe-257.html

 

[amjc]

If you are using a ground probe make sure that u are also using a ground fault eliminator.

 

[akunochi]

There are numerous titanium grounding probe that is placed directly into your sump or aquarium. Here is a link to one.

http://www.aquacave.com/titanium-grounding-probe-257.html

See I learn something everyday.

 

[braddo]

If you are using a ground probe make sure that u are also using a ground fault eliminator.

I'll second that statement, never use a grounding probe in your tank without also using a GFI.

 

[veralteaquatics]

I always run probes in the tank and as far as the lights, the ground from the wall plug and on the ballast should be fine and I wouldnt worry about the reflector itself. The tank probe is to catch the extra voltage that gets kicked out from the lamps themselves when they're on...

 

[MrGone]

So is the grounding probe something I should actually buy or is it more of a hypothetical thing? I haven't really seen it talked about much

 

[braddo]

Here is a good post on RC that talks about GFCI's, grounding probes and the possible results from using combinations of the two.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13025291&postcount=39

 

[Scooterman]

First, the ground to the light fixture is standard, it is taken to the ground in your breaker panel as it should be. That ground wire connects the fixture, ballast body to the green/ground wire that returns to the breaker panel.
I would install a GFCI (ground fault circuit interrupter) & then that titanium ground probe.
PH's & all electrical equipment that gets submerged isn't grounded because the equipment is double insulated, the actual coils are encased completely in a type of epoxy isolating it completely, then the actual plastic housing is another insulator so the ground wire isn't necessary.
The GFCI & GP protects you & your tank from any damaged or electrical leakage into the water. One thing the GP does is provide a path to ground lessing your chance of a shock, along with the GFCI that actually would trip when it sees a difference of potential between ground & neutral.
I'll post some more information for reading but I think this should help explain a few things.

http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=28219&highlight=gfci

http://avdil.gtri.gatech.edu/RCM/RCM/Aquarium/GroundingProbes.html

 

[Scooterman]

I made this thread a while back, even though some links are dead, it still has useful information.

http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=13705#post13705

 

[Tbremer]

I had a problem with stray voltage in my tank. I tested it and had up to 50 volts going through the water. The amperage was nilch see as i didnt die from stick my hand in the tank but the voltage may have led to a few of my fish dying. The fish dealer that i use in spokane recommended a titanium grounding probe. I installed one along with a GFCI and my stray voltage went to zero.