Electrolysis?

I changed some things around tonight with my return lines and I noticed this on one of my hose clams, is it electrolysis and if so what may have caused it?

Yea electrolisis.....salt water and the electrical currents in the equipment can cause that. You should use stainless steel clamps. And check for stray voltage in the tank. Get a titanium ground for your tank. Also dis similar metals and salt will cause that.
If it' a stainless clam then you probly have stray voltage in the water.

The clamp says "All SS" but that is all.

Electrolysis of water - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Electrolysis of water is the decomposition of water (H2O) into oxygen (O2) and hydrogen gas (H2) due to an electric current being passed through the water.


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I agree it sure looks like it.

I would sugest using ALL plastic everything and not putting your hands in a tank while anything is pluged in.



Do you have GFCI plugs on you requipment??

If not then it would be advisable.

It can be caused by a defective power head or pump.or even a ground in a light depending on the situation.

If you have a digital voltage tester unplug one pump or power head or each piece of eq at a time untill the electrical power reading disapears, then replace the equipment as needed.

You can unplug then all and test the system and then plug them in one at a time untill you find the sorce or how ever ya want .

Just stay away from touching anthing grounded while doing so and if ya can wear ruber kitchen gloves to handle the test probe if you need to.


To test you will need a good earth ground from confirmed a dedicated grounded spot in your system ,,,and the other lead of the tester from the tank water or sump water ,,,, it will show up if you are bleeding any curent frequency into the system.

Do not touch the water and the ground simotaniously you can be awaken to the point it hurts real fast.

Remember,,,, 1 amp can kill ya dead.

Skinz , it depends on the type of stainless steel clamp , there are many grades of SS !

And electrolysis , has it's good points and bad points in a fish tank.

I do like the article that this person has done

Aquarium Grounding Probes

wow this can help kill ur corals and fish. I added a ground about a year ago and wouldn't remove it for anything. I've felt the shock of stray voltage and it's not fun. of course I had to put my hand in there a couple more times just to make sure that's what it was lol. now I got this little twitch.

Originally Posted by Thinkin Reef

Skinz , it depends on the type of stainless steel clamp , there are many grades of SS !

Agreed, just because something says its stainless dosent mean its not going to rust in salt water. Those screw clamps are low grade stainless. I would go to the auto parts store and look for plastic hose clamps in the size you need

Originally Posted by rgrking

wow this can help kill ur corals and fish. I added a ground about a year ago and wouldn't remove it for anything. I've felt the shock of stray voltage and it's not fun. of course I had to put my hand in there a couple more times just to make sure that's what it was lol. now I got this little twitch.

I had a bad power head and I would get a shock upder my finger nails when I put my hands in the tank. O course I would put my hand in and feel it and pull back then do it a few more times to see if I really felt it. then would unplug a peice of equipment and stick my hand in again to see if it was gone until I found the bad power head. I then had my dad ake me a titanium ground probe for me and never had a problem.

sheesh guys everybody knows electrolysis is how Ladies remove unwanted hair, thats just rust lol

Originally Posted by chris&barb

Agreed, just because something says its stainless dosent mean its not going to rust in salt water. Those screw clamps are low grade stainless. I would go to the auto parts store and look for plastic hose clamps in the size you need

Some of the "SS" clamps are stainless but have a steel screw, then you have dissimilar metals together and you add water and salt, and get problems.

Being an electrician I get shocked a fair amount of times. I haven't ever been shocked in this tank. I have been shocked in a tank before though.

I have a Fluke tester so I will check it out.

I removed the clamp and just used for frag glue and I am positive the hose will never come off.

, if it is a analog meter it may not perform quite as well in this situation as a digital meter.


Some people may not know,,, but Analog meters have a window and a needle that mechanicaly moves.

A digital meter will be much more acurate in testing for verry low voltage.

Especialy for us old guys with tired eyes!!

for the clamp to electrolysis itself is near an impossibility, being that it is completely insulated from ground by the plastic hose it on, if its constantly being dripped on and theres stray voltage maybe but its a stretch, its just crap ss and its rusting

It was in the water.

My meter is digital.

you put a crap ss clamp IN your tank? welcome to algaeville lol

LOL ya think?

yeppers lol

OK I have about 36 volts to ground from my tank water.

Seems every item I unplug drops the voltage by 2 or 3 volts so I can't really dial it down to just one thing?

I did order a ground probe this morning, will this help?

LOL I put one test lead in the water and then plugged the other into the ground and I could hear it arcing.

holy crap!!!! I'd say it will help some but it may trigger some safety faults. You really need to see what all is causing it. You might have to replace some things.

I am starting to think it may be the powerstrip it'self. I am wondering if this has anything to do with my slow coral and clam growth?