smoking and a marine tank

[Zack]

How do you guys think smoking affects marine aquariums. Does it really do anything noticable?

[MikeS]

I'd say avoid it....not sure on the exact damage it would cause, but it certainly would not help the tank any...

Mike

It has a huge impact. Every pack of cigarettes you buy takes money away from coral purchases. :)

[nbaker]

It has a huge impact. Every pack of cigarettes you buy takes money away from coral purchases. :) :lol:

[MikeS]

It has a huge impact. Every pack of cigarettes you buy takes money away from coral purchases. :)

Very good point.... :lol:

Smoke has all different kinds of nasties in it...I would imagine you would be introducing a multitude of bad stuff into the tank...

Thinking about taking up smoking, Zack? :lol:

Mike

[Zack]

Nope not all. I read a post about this on another site and they were all over the place on the issue. I have heard houses with smokers just run more carbon on their tanks.

[nbaker]

If the tar can cake it's self on a modem inside some one's computer tower over time enough to cause it to short out, I could only guess that nothing it did to a tank would be good.

[MikeS]

airborne contaminants can be troublesome....I have heard of people having problems with scented candles, aerosols, smoke...I even spoke to one guy who lost his whole tank when the neighbors had their lawn commercialy sprayed for weeds....some of it got in his house through an open window apparently....

Carbon may help remove the contaminants from the water, but I'd say the best advice is not to expose the tank in the first place....smoke outside!

Mike

[Zack]

Remember that Oxygen exchange occurs with the surrounding air, so any impurities in the air can also affect the water. I cant prove that, I've only read it.

Also heard that smoke would yellow acrylic???

Undoubtably the skimmer will produce more since some smoke will mix with the water and thus the skimmer will work to remove it right?

[nbaker]

Yes it will yellow anything over time, even glass. I've been in around alot of customers homes that smoke alot. The monitors and systems are caked. Alot of the cases designed for computer systems these days incorporate or use acrylic for the computer tower designs. This is actually the tar (loaded with toxins) thats sticking to objects, and just a slight investigation with a cleaning rag will uncover a very nasty film.

The oily tar in contact with a surface of a fish tank would be bad. Even with the addition of a sump and skimmer to extract the surface of the water w/ an overflow, the toxins are just to great. JMO

[Paidbychrist0825]

besides, smoking is yucky. nasty yellow teeth, bad breath cancer. NO SMOKING, REEFERS(now i know what your thinking, no smoking that either)

[icereefer]

I agree smoking sucks,as for your tank it can't help it if you smoke in your home but I smoke and I have smoked around my tanks for years and years,and never showed any side effects? I don't know if my skimmer pulls most of the gunk out or what. but I guess there's a lot of other things too that can mess with your tank to cooking, air fresheners, candles, open windows the guy next door that starts his diesel up ever morning and that suit running in the home,my dam neighbor.

[nbaker]

next door that starts his diesel up ever morning and that suit running in the home,my dam neighbor
hehee

Albert Thiel smokes and this is his opinion. tar and nicotine - for those of us who are nicotine challenged (such as myself)- are removed by activated carbon. It is not clear whether protein skimming actually removes these and related compounds.

http://www.netpets.com/fish/reference/reefref/carbmeth.html

[EXVISOR]

I wouldn't worry about it until the fish complain and they pass a law like in the bars and clubs lol

[Zack]

they pass a law like in the bars and clubs lol

They did in one the countys close to me, some very mad people.

[Frick-n-Frags]

Nicotine is pretty poisonous. My grandpa, when he was around, used to do something with his pipe ashes around the garden to kill slugs.
And I figure, slugs are just stomatellas with their hats off, so at some point the nicotine probably would start stressing the animals.

Also, I saw the list of chemicals in cigarette smoke and half of them are carcinogens too.
There are many hundreds, and once again, it probably adds to the overall stress factor of the animals in the tanks.

I just think it is smart to limit all air pollution around your reefs because IMO the corals have a hard enough time in our closed sewers as it is.