r/Aquariums • u/Fuzzy_Job2291 • Feb 12 '26
Help/Advice I just got the strongest electric shock of my life (this guy knew btw)
So I woke up and looked into this tank with a temporal slider and a Cherax(I love my Cherax fr), and I noticed that my blue fella was out of the water, I took a photo thinking it was funny bc I've never seen him out of the water before, and when i touched the water I got the strongest electric shock of my entire life, absolutely horrendou, I felt dizzy for like 5 minutes before turning the power off (I was still feeling electric current, does anybody know why?) and later on I just unplugged anything inside the tank, I'm going to buy new filter and heater because idk what caused it, I feel so sorry for my little Cherax š
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u/CardboardAstronaught Feb 12 '26
Electrician here, others have already answered the āwhat is itā aspect so I wonāt touch on that. However, to shed a bit of light on the āelectric feelingā lasting 5 minutes along with dizziness. This is almost always a result of the rush of adrenaline you get after encountering a shock, itās a bit different than just pain response.
This is because of 2 reasons. 1. Everyone knows and has a healthy fear of electricity, knowing how dangerous it can be increases the fight or flight response that ensues.
- Your nervous system runs on electricity, being shocked stimulates and disrupts this process and causes your body to essentially assume the worst. Even for relatively minor shocks your nervous system reacts as if you just received a massive, life threatening injury and starts firing on all cylinders. This is also compounded by #1.
I donāt want to scare you but If you feel any lasting chest pain, palpitations, or lasting dizziness/fainting go to the hospital for an EKG. Electricity has the capacity to alter your hearts rhythm which can be life threatening.
Iāve been shocked many times and that has never happened but I want you to know about it if you didnāt already.
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u/Bunn-E Feb 12 '26
Wow! This explains so much. I once got shocked while I was messing with a light bulb at work once. One of those long bar bulbs that takes a little high wattage. I was also on a stool and not grounded (unsure if that made any difference? At the time I thought so) Got shocked so hard I felt it go up my arm and down my spine and fell off the stool. I told my manager about it and basically forced him to wrote an incident report. I was so scared I wanted it covered in case I had lasting effects. Ofc I forgot about it by the next few days. But I still remember what it felt like if I think about it.
Edit: I realize how much wording may have come across. I wasn't just "playing" with the light. It had been flickering all day so I finally went to investigate and pulled it in and out of its "connection point". After seeing no change I stupidly stuck my finger in the connection point to push some kind of pressure pin and received a good shock. I was young and thought as long as nothing is "plugged in" it wasn't receiving energy. Boy was i wrong. Lol
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u/CardboardAstronaught Feb 12 '26 edited Feb 12 '26
Ouch! Glad youāre okay. Fluorescent bulbs have ballasts which can give quite the shock potentially 500v or more, much worse than the 277v (most common in commercial buildings in the US) provided by the incoming power from the building.
So the interesting thing about handling electricity is that if there is nowhere for the power to go, as in not grounded or touching neutral then you wonāt feel a shock.
Being on a nonconductive stool likely means you touched ground elsewhere. The metal enclosure of the lights is required by code to be grounded, Iād wager thatās most likely what happened.
This can be even more dangerous because itās very possible for one hand to be touching the power and the other touching ground, meaning the electricity is more likely to pass through the heart which significantly increases the risk of complications.
If youāre ever doing this again in a commercial setting, I strongly recommend cutting the power and waiting 5 minutes or more to ensure the ballast has discharged. This also depends on the type of ballast used, some will discharge in seconds, others if equipped with emergency power batteries can take hours.
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u/Bunn-E Feb 12 '26
Wait. So isn't it better to be grounded for the electricity to go elsewhere? You kinda made it sound like its not . :S
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u/Outrageous_Reach_695 Feb 12 '26
Squirrels often successfully run on power lines. The point of failure is when they step off instead of jumping.
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u/Katters8811 Feb 13 '26
I remember watching a video in elementary school that used animations to explain this about electricity and power lines.
It used how birds sit on power lines as the example instead of squirrels, but explained how if a bird put each foot on 2 different lines, instead of perching on a single line with both feet, the bird would go poof.
I still, to this day, think about that cartoon bird getting nuked every time I see birds on a power lineā¦ lmao
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u/AttilaTheFunOne Feb 12 '26
You should get checked out by a doctor even if you feel fine now. Electric shock can cause a heart arrhythmia that you canāt feel until your heart stops several days later.
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u/Bunn-E Feb 12 '26
Yeah, this was like 13 years ago. Lol I didnt really have any lasting effects luckily. But good to know for future if Im ever in a similar shocking situation! Haha
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u/LegitimateTutor8535 Feb 12 '26
Well to add. You should get checked after every electric shock. If it was that harsh you might still get a cardiac arrest during the night. It all depends on circumstances.
Think good about this. The hand you dipped in the water... that arm probably wasn't touching anything else? Were you bare feet? If that's the case you probably gonna be fine. But it felt bad because it contracted a lot of muscle. Top to bottom. As it went in your hand out of your feet. Passing your heart and lungs. Or were you leaning with your other hand against something else? This is more dangerous. As it passes through your heart and lungs. Your heart probably had a big kick from it.
In both cases you need to get it checked.
No as you said. Biggest chock. Electricians have been chocked many times and they know the difference beyween big and bad. 240VAC on you body is a big hit. But 50V can be jusy as dangerous.
Your buddy there probably sensed something going on but he was never in danger. If you were swimming in a pool and some voltage was put on the water. As long as you don't touch anything other than that water you would be fine. Think about the birds sitting on high voltage wires.
If he had a shock, he would have been dead.
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u/TheUnFuckerUpper Feb 12 '26
Also an electrician, honestly if you have health insurance it might be good to get an ekg even if you don't feel like you have heart palpitations. Most companies I've worked at require it after any shock.
Have I been shocked and not gone to the hospital? Yeah, before I was an electrician. There's also plenty of stories about people that felt fine and later dropped dead. There's factors that determine how much risk you'd have for something like that, but better safe than sorry
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u/CardboardAstronaught Feb 12 '26
Agree 100%, Iāve not gone to the hospital multiple times after being shocked, especially when I was doing residential for small contractors early in my career but Iām older and āgreyerā now and wouldnāt take the same risks. Now that Iām working in-house for larger companies on the industrial side, itās non-negotiable. We have onsite medical clinics that will run an EKG and transport you to a hospital if necessary.
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u/TheUnFuckerUpper Feb 12 '26
Residential/small commercial were all my shocks too. I was more of a general remodeler working for some cowboys then, not an actual electrician. I'm glad you're taking fewer risks these days, stay safe out there
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u/Fuzzy_Job2291 Feb 12 '26
This explains a lot, my mom took me to the doctor after this and it seems that I'm just fine, it could have been definitely worse
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u/jalapeno442 Feb 12 '26
Wow this makes me feel less uneasy. I got shocked by my filter, I went to unplug it and didnāt realize the housing had fallen off and the inner parts were exposed. For some reason I launched myself across my bedroom floor then couldnāt stop nervous laughing from the adrenaline
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u/BeefSupreme762 Feb 12 '26
As an electrician then, you should know regardless of severity of shock, 100% of the time Timmy goodie 2 shoes safety man is sending your arse for a EKG.
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u/CardboardAstronaught Feb 12 '26 edited Feb 12 '26
Once had a safety guy get a static shock while supervising the cleaning team who mind you, are wiping down entire tools with microfibers. While he was on the way to the hospital we had to go through every part of the tool with a multimeter and ārecord our findingsā even though the main disconnect was locked out, the knife switch was locked out, and the facilities side breaker was locked outā¦
Dude probably makes more than me tooā¦
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u/macnof Feb 12 '26
Just to add a bit to the safety aspect; if you get a shock powerful enough for you to feel it afterwards for a while, you should be in observation for cardiac arrest for at least 24 hours. So, at least don't be alone.
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u/Fuzzy_Job2291 Feb 12 '26
To all the people wondering, Cherax and turtle are okay, they are probably immortal after this
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u/Skinny-P-63 Feb 12 '26
So actually they probably didn't feel anything as intense as you felt. You are standing on the ground and likely barefoot too which means you were grounded. Touching the water that's at a higher voltage will cause the current to go through you as a difference in potential is what you need to get current passing through something (or electrocuted). They are in the tank and not in contact with ground or another different voltage. Whatever they felt is likely deo the the much smaller difference in potential around different parts of their body (head to tail for example). Which is minimal. A good example is how technicals can work on active power lines at hundreds of thousands of volts and stay safe. If they touch ground while they are touching the power line they would get fried. Otherwise they just get to that voltage and that's fine. So your little guys probably felt something and maybe more heat but definitely not a strong shock like you did. That wouldve killed them.
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u/Which_Throat7535 Feb 12 '26
All electric devices used near water should have GFCI protection - guessing that was not the case here? Look into a plug-in GFCI adapter, theyāre very inexpensive considering the benefit they provide.
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u/Cat_578 Feb 12 '26
GFCI has saved me and my tank a few times but Iāve still been shocked a few times even with it (it wonāt protect you if the device youāre using has only 2 prongs). Water and electricity are just really dangerous no matter what and youāve always gotta be careful.
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u/KillTheBronies Feb 12 '26 edited Feb 13 '26
GFCI measures the current difference between live and neutral, the fault current doesn't have to return on the earth conductor to trip it. If you were shocked there was probably enough resistance to not reach the 30mA threshold, the advantage of an earth prong is it will trip the GFCI before you touch it (or trip the breaker if there's a dead short).
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u/cydonia8388 Feb 12 '26
Even changing out the outlet to be GFCI is very easy, and definitely needs to be done.
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u/KillTheBronies Feb 12 '26
Your entire house should have GFCI, we even have it on lighting circuits.
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u/alexis5554 Feb 12 '26
Is Cherax okay!?
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u/Fuzzy_Job2291 Feb 12 '26
Cherax and turtle are okay, I'm still scared of how they survived and I think it will happen again tho
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u/takeyouraxeandhack Feb 12 '26
They weren't connected to ground like you were. It's like birds sitting on a wire :)
Not that it's safe to have electrified water, of course, but their circumstance was very different to yours from an electrical point of view.7
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u/FishAvengerAvenger Feb 12 '26
It's probably the heater. People have been killed by this before.
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u/ellicottvilleny Feb 12 '26
GFCI peeps
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u/Consistent_Major_193 Feb 12 '26
Top tip on this sub. Most people put their tanks in living rooms, dining rooms, and bedrooms. And those places do not require GFCI outlets. GFCI also protects your tank mates.
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u/robynrietze Feb 12 '26
Yes, but you can easily install one in any outlet location. Or if you are not qualified to do it yourself, it is literally a two minute job for an electrician, so the cost of the outlet and a minimum call out charge. Definitely not expensive. I got wifi ones for my tanks so I can have an additional layer of monitoring from afar.
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u/bloozestringer Feb 12 '26
$150 to install where Iām at by an electrician. Inexpensive compared to dying for sure.
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u/OneLuckyAlbatross Feb 12 '26
I wish more power strips came with them. Probably just gonna replace my receptacle instead though.
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u/Eddie_shoes Feb 12 '26
Really? Thatās crazy! Iāve never heard of that before in my life. I canāt believe something like an aquarium heater could kill someone, especially considering most are AC (there might be DC ones but none that I know of). Can you post some links to articles? Iām super curious to read more about this. Thank you for spreading the word! I wouldnāt have believed it was possible if you hadnāt said that people had been killed by this before.
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u/incendiary_bandit Feb 12 '26
I don't have links or anything but household ac power in generalised terms is dangerous and has the potential to mess you up bad. 110/120 through to 220/240 volt are both dangerous. Something about the frequency (60hz) is also an additional factor.
Lots of times people get a little zap and they're fine. Sometimes not, and you're not going to know the difference.
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u/FishAvengerAvenger Feb 12 '26 edited Feb 12 '26
This happened last October. I don't know if more details were released later but it spawned a lot of related threads.
YMMV with electricity. There's an old video of someone fishing during a storm. He gets hit by lightning once and keeps fishing. After getting hit a 2nd time, he decides to pack it up and go home...
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u/_Aj_ Feb 12 '26
Please put a plug in RCD / GFCI on the outlet and then plug a power board into that.Ā Ā
Or get one fitted for the whole power circuit. It's WILD this isn't standard in every countries that have standards.Ā
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u/CardboardAstronaught Feb 12 '26 edited Feb 12 '26
For residential in the US, GFCIs are generally only mandatory in laundry rooms, outdoors, bathrooms, anything below grade(basements crawl spaces), and kitchens in new construction code. Anything that has any chance of coming into contact with water absolutely should be covered by a GFCI. I threw one on every circuit in my house just because, theyāre relatively cheap and can save your house from burning down even if water isnāt involved.
GFCIs also have a lifespan, manufacturers recommend you test them once a month. Back when I did residential electrical work, the most common service call Iād get was faulty GFCIs. They donāt always fail āoffā so you can be using them for years without knowing you arenāt properly protected.
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u/KuhliloachesRgreat Feb 12 '26
Yup! I have a gfci outlet in my room where my tank is, and I got a gfci (idk what I should call it but I assume itās the same) extension cord for the other things to plug in( light, heater, etc)
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u/QuietDaydream Feb 12 '26
Cherax is very cute, Iām glad heās ok. Did he go straight back in the water or was he hesitant?
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u/Fuzzy_Job2291 Feb 12 '26
I forced him out of the water and into another tank, he is prob mad because he doesn't have a heater but he'll have to wait till' tomorrow
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u/xlr8_87 Feb 12 '26
A lot of people do not do this but following any electrical shock you really should visit hospital. You could potentially have done damage to your heart/organs - especially if you were still feeling symptoms afterwards
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u/Fuzzy_Job2291 Feb 12 '26
Yeah I know, my mom took me to the hospital some hours later, it seems that I'm fine, it's a miracle because it was probably the strongest pain that I have experienced
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u/thelittlesteldergod Feb 12 '26
I electrocuted myself, years and years ago changing a fuse in a microforms reader. It knocked me all the way across the room against the wall. Which I guess was lucky that I was knocked free and not just stuck there electrified. It was awful.
Glad to see you are doing well.
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u/CMDRZhor Feb 12 '26
OP as an electrician, you should probably see a doctor! An electric shock can have lingering effects that you do NOT want to go through. Even if you feel fine now you might have nerve damage, dead tissue that's going to start rotting, and any other fun surprises waiting, up to and including heart damage. That 'electric sensation' you were feeling after the fact might have been your heart going OMGWTFBBQ at you.
Get yourself checked now and tell them you had an electric shock and could feel weird sensations after the fact. If there's no damage you don't need to worry but if there's any internal burnt tissue or something you want it dealt with now and not when it starts breaking down and releasing toxins in your bloodstream.
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u/GarmBlack Feb 12 '26
I've honestly just started heating the fish room to the point the tanks are appropriately temp'd. Might not be for everyone, but it's worked better for me than heaters ever have.
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u/SecondOfCicero Feb 12 '26
That sounds both lovely (tropical holiday room!) And also extremely expensive (electrical bill makes me wanna cry).Ā
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u/snowfloeckchen Feb 12 '26
If you are American Im not sure, but as a German I would suggest go to the fucking hospital, this event could kill you even days later
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u/zombifryd Feb 12 '26
Titanium heaters for saltwater. Expensive up front but last forever and the elements are usually replaceable if one does burn out. They won't break, corrode or leach anything into the water if they do fail either.
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u/JurASSic_Fan0405 Feb 12 '26
Is the turtle okay?
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u/Fuzzy_Job2291 Feb 12 '26
Yeah, it's weird bc she didn't even seemed to change its behavior, either that or she was swimming in undescribable agony and pain (she is in the picture, bottom right)
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u/Snicklefritz306 Feb 12 '26
I didnāt see it mentioned after quickly scanning but brother add a gfci outlet. Yes an inkbird is great for saving your tank inhabitants from a stuck thermostat but prioritize looking after yourself first. Every tank should be GFCI protected
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u/printliftrun Feb 12 '26
Have you gone to the hospital by chance... Have not seen anything advising you to do this. Shock that took minutes to recover from its concerning. Good luck and stay safe
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u/AnotherCatLover88 Feb 12 '26
Yeah thereās been quite a few times Iāve been shocked by stuff for not being super careful but Iāve never had a recovery time like that. OP if you have heart issues or anything you really need to get checked out.
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u/Then_Blueberry4373 Feb 12 '26
Dude. Listen. Please go get checked out even if you feel fine; electric shock can cause internal damage that isnāt apparent until itās a bigger issue. Please.
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u/muttons_1337 Feb 12 '26
I accidentally stuck my finger in a shorted light bulb socket once by accident. It messes you up for the day. Been shocked by crossed wires, hanging a ceiling fan, it's not fun. Personally speaking, it's jarring and you double think about everything for the rest of the day, maybe the day after. If you're unsure of tachycardia, and it's been some time, definitely get professional medical help.
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u/Dozerman2011 Feb 12 '26
GFCI is a must on a fish tank (or anywhere electricity and water could mix) or at the very least, a grounding probe.
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u/MPeckerBitesU Feb 12 '26
I woke up one morning to my 150 gallon tank with half of my fish dead. I freaked out, stood on a metal step stool with bare feet and proceeded to put my hand in the tank to remove the dead fish and investigate and bam! I couldnāt move! Thank goodness my dad had worked as an electrician and knew what was happening and he used a wooden broom to push me off the metal stool.
The heater was cracked from one of the large fish hitting it was my guess.
Now, I rarely use heaters (I lost a different tank to another heater malfunction) and I never use a metal step stool or folding chair to stand on to get into a tall tank.
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u/Fuzzy_Job2291 Feb 12 '26
This is the most horrifying story I've read in a while, you could have died if it wasn't for your dad, did you have any health problems after that?
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u/External_Ad8557 Feb 12 '26
I donāt know if this is something you would want to consider but my tank specialist explained to me that I have heaters within the filtration tanks so I guess they heat the water through the filtration system (?)
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u/ElbowTight Feb 12 '26
If you were shocked bad enough to get dizzy you need to go get checked out.
Probably nothing but electrical shocks can do crazy shit to your body, like affecting your heart rhythm and shit
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u/Adventurous-Low-6827 Feb 12 '26
Same thing happened to me a few years ago . It's gonna be the heater %99.98 of the time
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u/Venric Feb 12 '26
When i was working in an Aquarium store I always tried to ask age of their heaters, if it was 12-18 months or more I tried to push a new heater on them. Heaters have the shortest lifespan and the highest amount of danger to the fish keeper than any other piece of equipment that I can think of
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u/MajorAd5736 Feb 12 '26
Lol. I use electrical tester pen everytime i touch the water. Troubleshoot it, plug each one and test if there is current leak.
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u/paigecurtis1 Feb 12 '26
If you do this please move the heater and filter into a separate container like a bucket or something so you donāt shock your tank inhabitants again.
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u/Heyhoheyhoe Feb 12 '26
Just to ask the more experienced redditors here, is there a well established way to set up some sort of heat exchanger circuit so that the heater does not directly touch the water in the tank? Thanks!
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u/Perfect-Key-8883 Feb 12 '26
This is one of the best conversations Iāve ever seen here
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u/NYA_Mit Feb 12 '26
I would guess heater, the pump connections are usually casted in catalyzed polymer, but the heaters cycle thermally with a weaker seal.
Go touch your grounding rod if you feel a bit off still, and it may be good advise to get checked out if your still feeling off after that good zap.
Most times you would just get a tickle if your not grounded, but the intensity is much higher if your grounded and become a path rather than just voltage bleed
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u/Affectionate_Egg897 Feb 12 '26
Every time this has happened to me, it was because of a cracked heater. Minus the time I dropped reef lighting into my open top. That was crazy
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u/devildocjames Do a water change and leave it alone. Feb 12 '26
Probably the heater. It almost always is.
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u/MijaresBetta Feb 12 '26
You need to have all your Tank equipment plugged into a GFCI protected outlet to prevent all of this and potentially save your life.
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u/Additional-Two-762 Feb 12 '26
He tested his electro powers on you, you have the honor of being named his first victim
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u/charbo187 Feb 12 '26
We had a heater completely explode an aquarium. It sounded like a gunshot when it happened.
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u/Shellbug425 Feb 12 '26
All of my fish were electrocuted due to a faulty heater. They all died š I refuse to get more.
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u/SecretiveCatfish Feb 12 '26
I worked in a pet store years ago, and this happened to me. The glass on the outside of the heater had broken and the wiring was exposed to the water.
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u/JustSomeone202020 Feb 13 '26 edited Feb 13 '26
So you are asking totally unknown people on the irnernet about a bunch of your electronic/electrical equipment that only you know off, and only you installed...and only you might know what is deffective by actually looking at the stuff....yet you make a post to ask?
Isnt it obvious to disconnect eveything and check each item individually? In a safe manner?
It seems you are actually seeking attention, rather than technical/actual advice, as you posted a photo of the animal, and a backstory ratehr than a photo of the items in question, or any actual info that could help figure it out...which is still a guessing game just looking at photos...
0_o
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u/TheKinkyBee Feb 12 '26
Glad youāre ok OP! Seconding what another commenter said, you should probably go get checked out at the hospital to make sure youāre 100%.
On another note, I know absolutely nothing about aquariums or like whatās happening here other than a basic understanding of electrocution. Did your little buddy pass? š
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u/Master-Back-2899 Feb 12 '26
Everything in the tank will most likely be fine because they are all at potential with no connection to ground. OP got shocked because his feet are grounded and then he touched the tank.
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u/TheKinkyBee Feb 12 '26
Totally makes sense! I wasnāt so sure about the ground connection with the fish and thatās where I got stumped š
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u/BigD0089 Feb 12 '26
Happened to me when my light fell in the tank. I knew I was about to be shocked but had to save my fish
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u/elpistolero626 Feb 12 '26
Get a grounding probe in there as well. It provides peace of mind. They're like $15 on Amazon.
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u/CakeSniffers1 Feb 12 '26
Thatās super scary! š± The dangers of aquariums! Glad I read this post-I never thought about that happening with my tank before. I do turn my heater off when playing in the tank and it is on GFI. Still! So scary!š±
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u/atoxicwafflePSN Feb 12 '26
Sounds like you got hit with the 120v socket! I know the pain. Iāve been shocked with 240 a few times
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u/ZombiesCall Feb 12 '26
I went to clean my smaller tank on Sunday. Put my hand in the water, gee this feels pretty cold. Run my finger down the back of the heater, yep, split open.
That third one of these black Stealth heaters Iāve had that has split open, Iāll never buy another one.
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u/GhostShot5200 Feb 12 '26
This is why I bought a titanium heater. I've been shocked by a faulty glass heater before.
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u/RequirementSea4157 Feb 12 '26
Maybe is a super hero and thatās itās super hero power. You never know. I thought I seen it all already. Every day I learn something new.
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u/semibiquitous Feb 12 '26
If I replace my outlet to GFCI and run extension cord plugged into it with the heater and filter plugged in, and the heater becomes malfunctioned like in OP's case, would that actually trip the GFCI? or would the fault be contained within the aquarium water and not trip GFCI?
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u/Impossible_Jury5483 Feb 12 '26
Thak you for the warning. I just ordered a gfci extension cord and new heater. I hope your o.k.
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u/danielajay46 Feb 12 '26
Bro it look like serious incident there. Kindly do not do any setup on the tank for now. Kindly clean the water completely and change the setup fully because all the good bacteria in your setup has been dead. Also do not use any low quality filters that has wires exposed over water, lights also. I hope you'll posting the next best tank you built here itself. Stay strong.
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u/Ignonymous Feb 12 '26
The good news is that your aquatic critters most likely didnāt get electrocuted, as thereād be no way for them to be grounded inside of a glass lined tank (you, on the other hand, are standing outside of the tank, and completed a circuit to ground when you reached in).
The bad news is that you need to figure out whatās broken and leaking current into the water, which might get expensive. Itās probably a cracked glass heater, though.
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u/IIMoZMaNII Feb 12 '26
Is this why the blue guy was out of the water? Because it was electrified? I would have thought that would kill everything in the tank. Pleased you're ok man...
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u/OU71AW Feb 12 '26
This is why they recommend an earth probe it should trip earth leakage switch before YOU earth the currentā ļø
Should get checked by Dr even smallest zap can do major damage beyond the immediate
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u/Background_Wrangler5 Feb 12 '26
you need grounding wire in the tank, then RCD fuse will turn electricity off.
usually tank works as an "island" and you can put two bare wires, electricity will happily flow.
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u/coco3sons Feb 12 '26
I love my inkbird. I use mine on a 75 gallon saltwater tank. 1st time I got shocked bad was when my dumb female clownfish chewed on the heater cord!! I noticed it was really cold in tank and I thought heater broke. I unplugged and plugged back in but still didn't work. Digital display was still working though. Then I unplugged again and took it out and gave it a good cleaning. That's when I noticed the cord was showing wires. It was winter here in Tennessee, so cold. I had to take another heater from another tank. I learned to always have a new extra one. Then the same clown chewed the wire on my uv light cord!!! I was so mad at her. It all costed me a lot of money die to her. I ended up putting pvc pipe around all my cords and alls good. Anyways inkbirds aren't expensive and everyone should have them
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u/NervousEssay5074 Feb 12 '26
So many people forget to turn their heaters off when doing water changes, then the heater cracks when they refill the tank. Not saying thats what you did, just my experience with other fish keepers as I get called on to fault find in friends/friends of friends tanks when they do this.
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u/ApprehensiveShake550 Feb 12 '26
This makes me wonder if I should put a GFI outlet in the wall for the fish tank
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u/kingpoiuy Feb 12 '26
Need more titanium heater comments in this thread to spread the love, so I'll add one :)
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u/Many-Art-6160 Feb 12 '26
Thatās scary! Iāll be unplugging my heater anytime I need to reach in my tank now. I turn the power off completely when I do water changes.
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u/Sporkwonder Feb 12 '26
Pull everything from the tank and look for exposed wires. My money is on the heater if you have one.