How Often Do You Put Your Hands In Your Tank

[Gottcha]

How Often Do You Put Your Hands In Your Tank

[Ryguy]

I try not to do it. I'm usually a once per week person when I feed the anemones

Twice per week when it's water change week.

[kirkandkhristi]

Well, the Goni requires target feeding, so I find my hands in there about twice a week.


kirk

[greasyclownG]

Honestly, it depends, because My wife and I have 6 operational systems at the time. We feed mostly a combination of Ocean Nutrition flake foods, I actually have to submerge my pinch of food in order to keep it all from being swept into the overflow, in the two tanks that have trickle filters. All of the others have oversized hangon filters that drive the food down as it circles around to the water fall. BTW my choice in hangons is Emperor 400 & 280. My wife wanted to try something different with Her 10g nano reef. She went with a Millenium 3000 which I have to admit works like a dream on that small system.

[tdevil]

well i cant vote, not a choice for mine ;)

i havent had my hands in the tank for a long time, it shows too ;)

Jay

[specsgirl]

well i cant vote, not a choice for mine ;)

i havent had my hands in the tank for a long time, it shows too ;)

Jay

I'm with you on that one. The last time that I put my hands in my tank was to dig out a coral for someone. The time before that was weeks prior. I ususally only dig in there when a coral gets knocked down or over.

[Linda C.]

I responded with the least amount on the poll. I put my hands in as little as possible. When I do I sometimes try to where gloves...but honestly I find my hands in the tank and then think "oh-gloves...errrr!!!".

I'm mostly concerned on what can be on my hands/under my nails for the inhabitants of my tanks. I also try to consider what may happen to me if there is something in the tank that can harm me.

To be honest...At this point I keep a supply of gloves at each tank set up...I still haven't "trained" myself to follow though putting them on at all times.

[Briney Dave]

I have some research tanks, a nice reef 30 and a 240 all of which have hands in them for one reason or another nearly every day. My students and I are supposed to always wear gloves but it is usually me not (bad example)

I can think of good reasons not to have hands in any more than needed but I have not experienced any stressed out fish or corals that seem to complain about it. I guess they are all used to it.

[Gimis66]

I put my hands in there at least once every day, more often twice.
How bad is that? What are the dangers?

[Linda C.]

Mycobacterium marinum for YOU is one danger (aka Marine tuberculosis). It is a serious disease you can pick up from your tank.

As well as wearing gloves, another important thing is to avoid using your mouth to start a siphon with a hose.

The easiest way is to place the hose in the aquarium such that the entire thing fills with water from end to end. Then put your thumb over each end to trap the water inside. Then place one end in your bucket while elaving the other end in the aquarium and then just take your thumbs off the ends. The water will start running just as if you had sucked on it to start the siphon.

[Linda C.]

....and Palytoxin, venomous fish and inverts...the list can go on...

and even with multiple tanks...cross contamination - if there was something harboring in one tank, without precautions things could spread from tank to tank.

like Vibrio species....It is a species of bacterial infection that is common in damsels. It is contagious to them.

I just try to use common sense to keep things as healthy as possible.

[icereefer]

I use elbow length gloves. and I would be lieing if I said my bare hands never touch the inside of my tank.
but I wash my hands in vinegar water usually before and after I go in and it's only for lite coral moving.
I've moved LR in a hurry before with my hands and I usually come up with something in my finger.

[Toan]

my hands are in my tank so many times , my fish probably think im a special coral
,
my cleaner shrimp doesnt mind, he tends to clean me at times

[geneq]

I never use anything but my bare hands. All my buddies who have reef tanks are the same. Never had a problem but a couple cuts here and there from the feather dusters while moving rocks or relocating tanks, but nothing to be alarmed over.

I hear if you cross the road you could get killed. Think there's any truth to that????LOL

[wild-tiger]

I'll bite....

I had to vote "too many times to count". Between my crabs and the urchin I just recently sent packing I was constantly having to move or locate a coral frag that had been knocked off a ledge or where it was. I have noticed no stress to the fish or other inhabitants. Oh I also feed my goby and serpant star meaty foods so even with using the longest bamboo scewer(sp?) my hands still manage to be in the water on a nightly basis.

[Salt_King18]

I have mine atleast once or twice a day... honestly, is it bad to have your hand in the water or does it not matter. My lion makes me nervous though.

[chineseknife]

I only put my hands in when removing corals or rearranging rock. SO, there's no option up there for every once in a while....

[icereefer]

I have mine atleast once or twice a day... honestly, is it bad to have your hand in the water or does it not matter. My lion makes me nervous though.

I try not to dig around my rocks, or sand bed with out gloves , it's best if you don't stick your bare hands in mostly if you have venomous stock in your tank, plus theres lots of calcium spears that can get you to they hurt. and bristle worms don't feel good either when they get you.
as for under your nails who knows what you've got under them I've really not noticed much harm in your bigger tanks because of the skimmers most use and the filtration used but in small tanks, it can get to be a problem, I had a friend that had a 10 gal tank and he could never keep fish or inverts in his tank for over a month. and he was always in his tank, I told him to wear gloves he wouldn't after 8 month's he got tired of dead stock and gave it up, 6 month's later a friend of mine from the base here was moving and wanted to get rid of his live stock so I got my friend that gave it up to start up again using the stock from the one that was moving from the base.
he put his stock back into his 10 gal tank and always used gloves after that and his 10 gal is still going strong after 1 and a half years now.
see he worked with fertilizers one day he gave the dirt from under his nails to one of the techs at his work to test, when he got the test results back he said there was enough dunk under his nails to make a mouse extremly sick and could even kill it.
not saying this is what kept killing his stock off but funny now he uses gloves in his tank every things looks great and he's had Know lose in stock in over a year.
plus automotive workers, can have motor oils, antifreeze, brake fluids,ect under there nails,
and so on and so on for what ever is under anyones nails.
so this is just a little food for thought.
Ice.

[Salt_King18]

thanks for the story, i just dont know if it would be bad for my hand or the tank.. but i understand now, gotta get a glove.

[coral_diver]

WHAT? MARINE TB? Sorry didn't mean to yell but I have never heard of marine tb and I am a RN?! What R the symptoms? If it is something serious perhaps we all should know a little more? I couldn't find it in a google or yahoo...I have my hands in my reef tank all the time. Easily daily if not twice daily sometimes more. I have an issue with superglue gel not holding well and epoxy...forget it..even worse! So I am always picking up some coral to re-glue, and then there is the basting of the tank there is my daily hands in. Humm this is something to consider I guess!

[Reef Dreamer]

I have to vote atleast once a day I place my hands in the tank and usually its with out gloves.

[scotia-reefer]

I try not to do it too often but probably at least once a day.

[skaustin]

Mycobacterium marinum for YOU is one danger (aka Marine tuberculosis). It is a serious disease you can pick up from your tank.

As well as wearing gloves, another important thing is to avoid using your mouth to start a siphon with a hose.

The easiest way is to place the hose in the aquarium such that the entire thing fills with water from end to end. Then put your thumb over each end to trap the water inside. Then place one end in your bucket while elaving the other end in the aquarium and then just take your thumbs off the ends. The water will start running just as if you had sucked on it to start the siphon.

Actually linda, the easiest way is to buy a self starting syphon/gravel vac at walmart. Stick the vac end in the water, move it up and down a few times, and voila! :happy0129:

[skaustin]

Oh, and yeah, Im in my tank every other day, if not every day

[scotia-reefer]

Mycobacterium marinum for YOU is one danger (aka Marine tuberculosis). It is a serious disease you can pick up from your tank.

As well as wearing gloves, another important thing is to avoid using your mouth to start a siphon with a hose.


Fine, I'll stop using my mouth to start the siphon but you can't stop me from drinking my skim mate! :drunk: