Electrical safety question

Hi everyone, I have an electrical question.

I have a 30 gallon planted tank with:
- 2 aqueon submersible heaters (100w and 200w)
- fluval 306 filter with stainless steel intake/outlet connected by vinyl hose to the canister
- CO2 injected into a reactor that is in-line with the fluval
- everything electrical is plugged into a surge protector, which itself is plugged into a GFCI cord

Recently, I had 1 hand in the tank and another hand touching the CO2 regulator and got a mild shock. I took out my voltmeter and put one probe in the water and another probe on the CO2 regulator and noticed 120 volts! I unplugged devices one at a time to find the culprit. What I found was if either heater was plugged in and on, there was voltage. If I turned both off, there was no voltage. So clearly the heaters are leaking current!

Is this normal? It doesn't seem safe. I guess there wasn't enough current to trip the GFCI when I briefly closed the circuit with my hands. Any advice appreciated!

 

I asked my partner, who is an electrician. He said that some water probably got into the heater's connection, and to change the heater immediately for your safety. And to make sure to plug it out before touching anything

Edit: he wants me to stress the fact that you can die if you don't unplug before touching

 

Thanks that's what I thought. So odd because both are rated to be submersible and one is only a month old. I thought Aqueon was supposed to be a reliable brand?

 

Thanks that's what I thought. So odd because both are rated to be submersible and one is only a month old. I thought Aqueon was supposed to be a reliable brand?

In this day and time it seems we can't depend on even name brand items. Personally I don't trust putting any electrical appliance under water even though it says it is fully submersible. I would remove and replace this heater sooner rather than later. It isn't worth taking a chance on it shocking you even worse than the tingle you felt.

Once upon a time heaters seemed to last forever. That isn't the case today. I am still using one on my 5.5 gallon tank I bought well over 20 years ago. I had to replace the one I bought for my 55 gallon tank after just the second season of using it. I have a supply of backup heaters since I don't count on them lasting over a couple of years now. Should one quit on me in the dead of winter I can replace it right away.

 

I thought Aqueon was supposed to be a reliable brand?

Doesn't mean something like that doesn't happen ever. Aqueon is mid to low-mid segment here.

I've had Eheim heaters running for a decade without problems (No joke, a dozen of these in the same tanks running for over 9 years in a row.). A friend gets a new one, bam, malfunction after a week. Gets a second one - all good. So... It doesn't really say anything.