Ianab;1514723; said:The fish dont feel anything because although there is a voltage present in the tank, it has no path to ground, so no current is flowing. They are like birds sitting on a power wire, they may be at 4,000 volt potential, but no path for the current to flow to ground.
When you come along and put your hand in the water, YOU become a path for the current to flow to ground. What you are feeling is actually a current flowing through your body, induced by the stray voltage thats present in the tank.
This is of course a bad thing, because the insulation has broken down in something, and could potentially leak enough voltage into the tank to cause a dangerous amount of current to flow, though YOU.
Like Dr Joe said, check your wall outlet and it's potential to earth, I have seen weird wiring faults do VERY strange things and apply all sorts of voltages to things that shouldn't have them.
Cheers
Ian
P.S. our domestic voltage here is 230v, not 115, so we have to be even more carefull with that sort of thing.
Great answer, thanks!
