Slight shock

Question
90 gal salwater tank . When I put my arm in my tank and touch the T5 light fixture at the same time I get a very small shock . I do have a ground wire which is located in my wet dry below the tank to the electrical receptical box ground. Should the ground be directly in my aquarium or is the placement in the wet dry sufficiant ? And will two grounds be better than one? Thank you, Ron

Answer
Hello Ron.

The discussion of Ground rods is a deep and involved discussion.  There are pros and cons to the use and effectiveness of them...

I would state at this point that a ground rod is a patch to a BIG problem...The use of that probe does not remove the problem and only, MAYBE helps you or the fish, and that is a BIG MAYBE...

You should find out what is leaking the voltage... I would suggest REMOVING, not unplugging, devices.. ONE at a time, and then testing the voltage... you can do this a couple ways.. useing your body, is not a  method i can endorse publiccly, as you are getting shocked and that cant be good...

you can use a volt meter that you buy at HD or Radioshack... a cheap one will do.. and set it to AC voltage and about 200volt range... then put one probe in the water an the other probe to the ground in the plug or to the screw on the outlet plate... and see if the needle moves.  if it moves buy you cant read or measure the voltage then adjust the meter to the next lowest scale and repeat the test...

Then if you do see the needle move, then remove a heater, and test again. if it doesnt move, then the heater is bad... or if it moves, then remove something else.. one at a time...

I hope this helps. please let me know what you find out or if you ahve more questions..

bill