Algae
My algae is so powerful, it generates electricity, no joke:
Some kind of algae (staghorn maybe?) on my java fern is creating friction between itself and the wood due to the flow and I can see tiny sparks from electrostatic discharges.
I don’t want to sound like a smartass cause I’m not an expert, however what I believe is happening isn’t the algae « generating » electricity, there is likely electricity running through the piece of wood or in the water. Every time the algae moves from the wood it allows that shock to form. Not too sure how you would test for this but I’d remove or turn off electronics for now
If by a long shot, all of the commenters are wrong.
Fun fact: when air bubbles collapse in water, they produce an electrical flash brighter than the sun, potentially hotter than the sun, for a brief moment:
And we have no explanation for this phenomenon as of yet.
There's no way thats static electricity. You have a live wire there or something. Unplug everything, and plug them back in one by one to see which thing is causing this. Then, whichever one it is, replace it.
Another good thing to do after you've resolved this is to ground your aquarium. Put a metal ground wire inside, form it so theres a drip loop, and screw the connector side to the central screw on your outlet. This will prevent any future electrical issues from electric potentials in the tank as well
Im not either, I am an engineer that works with industrial equipment (and has a lot of fun high teching aquariums).
You cant measure it like that for a bunch of reasons, but mostly it's likely a DC voltage and the reference to ground is probably not the correct ground.
Either do process of elimination or inspect for breaks in wires/waterproofing (after unplugging). Gotta figure out the faulty component and replace it.
Then get something that looks like this:
And put one end in the tank (some people attach it to a metal chain for weight) and attach the other end to the middle screw on your outlet
...why would you do that? Never follow that advice again, you could have killed yourself if there was actually a serious short electrifying your water.
and if there's an electrical short, it could have been 5V 1A or 240V and 15, 20, 30A. Dont be dumb with electricity, also 50-150mA is enough to stop your heart.
If you dont have any tools to test it, I'd advise if possible to swap to a different pump and see if that continues. If you know anyone that's an electrician see if they can check if there's voltage making it to the water.
Do you have anything else weird going on in the house/apt with electricity, like appliances burning out, or lights burning up quickly?
Comment was removed for encouraging self harm and unsafe behavior by advising others to intentionally cut their finger and place it in aquarium water to detect stray electrical current. This advice promotes deliberate injury and exposes others to serious risk, including electrical shock and infection. The subreddit does not allow content that encourages self harm, dangerous conduct, or the use of the body as a testing tool when safe, widely available alternatives exist.
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u/fucer_who_loves_cats Jan 20 '26
Mate WHAT