accidentally dropped aquarium lightning into my fish tank

[justwood79]

i accidentally dropped the aquarium light (the light is on) into the fish tank immediately i lift the light but i feel a little bit of electric that flow on the aquarium light..i wonder if this can reduce the lifespan of my fish? both aquarium light and my fish seems fine but not really sure they're fine

TIA

 

[TwoTankAmin]

I hate to admit this but I have done this multiple times over the past 22+ years. Never felt a zap, even a small one. Never shorted out a fixture or blew out a bulb. I also never say any sign of harm to the fish either.

However, this is not a good thing to have happen and i have been extremely lucky and so have my fish.......

 

[Fishmanic]

I’ve had that happen a few times with no problems.

 

[outofwater]

Unless this happened, you and your fish will be alright.

Do check to make sure to dry the assembly, put it out in the sun for a day or use a hair dryer or something similar and ensure you get it all nice and dry before you put it back.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

*Raises hand* I've done it a couple of times too. So easy to do with a lightbar resting on top of a tank you're working on to just knock it in.

I instinctively grabbed it and pulled it out, fish didn't show signs of being shocked, I wasn't either, light still worked (but always switch off, unplug and allow to dry thoroughly) but if anyone else does this and has the presence of mind to do so, best to unplug the light before trying to remove it from the tank.

 

[justwood79]

I hate to admit this but I have done this multiple times over the past 22+ years. Never felt a zap, even a small one. Never shorted out a fixture or blew out a bulb. I also never say any sign of harm to the fish either.

However, this is not a good thing to have happen and i have been extremely lucky and so have my fish...i have

this is my first time experiencing this i was stupidly and careless during maintenance, i shouldve put the light elsewhere first , the aquarium light is not too expensive (its china made and very2 cheap) honestly i dont mind the light is broken but im worried about my fish from that zap

 

[justwood79]

thanks guys for sharing your experience its makes me feel better i thought i was the only one experiencing this , i was panic and get messed up dont know what to do anymore i watched my fish for 2 hours hoping nothing happened , glad to hear it will not harm the fish

 

[outofwater]

thanks guys for sharing your experience its makes me feel better i thought i was the only one experiencing this , i was panic and get messed up dont know what to do anymore i watched my fish for 2 hours hoping nothing happened , glad to hear it will not harm the fish

Everything you do, from mistakes to success stories, had probably already happened, and the more seasoned the hobbyist, the more they'll tell you it's been done before. This is what's great about this forum, there are people here with literally lifelong experience that put up with us newbies and guide us thru this wonderful, yet sometimes frustrating hobby learning curve

 

[lottabubbles]

back in the summer of 1968 i had a glass top cut with an opening for the filter and just set a 15 inch aquarium light in the middle of the glass. i had two larger oscars in the tank and for some reason one must have seen a bug go over the tank and it shot up and shattered the 1/8th glass top. the light fixture fell into the tank. i told the wife to unplug the light and i would fish it out along with the broken glass. i reached into the tank and the next thing i remember was laying on the floor on my back. took a few to realize what happened and found she unplugged the filter. the oscars never acted like they experienced any discomfort and never acted different long after that. i don't clean the aquarium barefoot anymore too.

 

[justwood79]

back in the summer of 1968 i had a glass top cut with an opening for the filter and just set a 15 inch aquarium light in the middle of the glass. i had two larger oscars in the tank and for some reason one must have seen a bug go over the tank and it shot up and shattered the 1/8th glass top. the light fixture fell into the tank. i told the wife to unplug the light and i would fish it out along with the broken glass. i reached into the tank and the next thing i remember was laying on the floor on my back. took a few to realize what happened and found she unplugged the filter. the oscars never acted like they experienced any discomfort and never acted different long after that. i don't clean the aquarium barefoot anymore too.

woah i can't imagine if that happened to me

 

[outofwater]

back in the summer of 1968 i had a glass top cut with an opening for the filter and just set a 15 inch aquarium light in the middle of the glass. i had two larger oscars in the tank and for some reason one must have seen a bug go over the tank and it shot up and shattered the 1/8th glass top. the light fixture fell into the tank. i told the wife to unplug the light and i would fish it out along with the broken glass. i reached into the tank and the next thing i remember was laying on the floor on my back. took a few to realize what happened and found she unplugged the filter. the oscars never acted like they experienced any discomfort and never acted different long after that. i don't clean the aquarium barefoot anymore too.

Damn. I would love to see the technical explanation about how the fish were ok but you were put on your back. I think I've seen it elsewhere sometime before, something akin to how birds are able to just line up on big powerlines without becoming feathered popcorn, but if a human touches it, well, we get toasty.

 

[Oblio]

Damn. I would love to see the technical explanation about how the fish were ok but you were put on your back. I think I've seen it elsewhere sometime before, something akin to how birds are able to just line up on big powerlines without becoming feathered popcorn.

There was no path to ground for the fish, so there was little current through the water in the tank. This is similar to why birds can perch on power lines, or HV transmission linemen can safely touch energized lines as long as there is no path to ground (or a lower potential) to complete the circuit.

Your shock likely was from current passing through your arm and your body and whatever else was touching the floor or tank stand etc.

You were very lucky as the relatively high resistance limited the current that passed through you.

 

[outofwater]

There was no path to ground for the fish, so there was little current through the water in the tank. This is similar to why birds can perch on power lines, or HV transmission linemen can safely touch energized lines as long as there is no path to ground (or a lower potential) to complete the circuit.

Your shock likely was from current passing through your arm and your body and whatever else was touching the floor or tank stand etc.

You were very lucky as the relatively high resistance limited the current that passed through you.

There you are! I knew I had seen this somewhere else in the forum before. All about "completing the circuit"

 

[Oblio]

Any contact with the impure water (dissolved solids generally have free electrons in the form of ions) is likely on the low end of resistance, if not below. Since this is a series circuit, the driving factor is the resistance of the other connection. If you had been barefoot on a concrete floor, or holding on to a faucet, you might not be here now.
BTW, GFI outlets measure the current flow to ground and trip around 3-5 mA (0.003-0.005 A). This is why they are required in areas within close proximity to water.

Approximate resistance of water in ohms/cm

 

[davros]

i told the wife to unplug the light and i would fish it out along with the broken glass. i reached into the tank and the next thing i remember was laying on the floor on my back. took a few to realize what happened and found she unplugged the filter.

Have a large life insurance policy do we?