Tip of the Day – 3/23/2012

Our electrically driven aquarium devices don’t always play nice with their saltwater environment. For whatever reason, they “leak” electricity back into the aquarium. For the most part, this stray current isn’t overly dangerous or harmful. Some corals may show signs of stress by retracting their polyps, but the real pain comes when the aquarium keeper has to do a little in-tank maintenance. The electricity can send a tingle up the hobbyist’s hand, and while it’s usually mild and painless, it’s still a little annoying and is a good indicator that something isn’t working quite right. To track down the culprit, unplug all of the aquarium equipment, then plug them back in one by one. Make sure to feel for that tell tale tingle after each device is plugged in and eventually, the faulty device will be found. Even though you find the culprit, be sure to check the other devices as well, just to make sure they aren’t also leaking juice into the aquarium.