Tank contamination through hands

[palisaide]

Sorry if this subject has already been discussed (I searched but found nothing), I was reading another thread and someone mentioned contaminating their entire tank because they didn't wash their hands. I've always been wary of washing my hands with soap before putting them in my tank because I didn't want any soap getting in there. I have to put my hand into the tank every other day in order to feed my Tubastrae and Fungia plate corals. Rinsing in RO/DI before I put my hands in the tank should be sufficient, right? Or am I missing something?

 

[weekf]

I would suppose you only need to rinse your hand with tap water thats will be enough unless the tap water in your area is sooooooooo bad...

 

[Sadielynn]

I also contaminated my tank awhile back..... If you rinse with tap water well you should be ok ... But as an extra precaution I use gloves for addtional protection of my hands and the tank ....Rinsing in RO/DI is just a waste imhho... If your tap water is that bad you shouldnt be using it for cooking, drinking , showering ect....

 

[melosu58]

I agree just rinsing with tap will be OK. You are correct in not washing with soap as any residue will get in your tank. Gloves are also good even though I dont use them.

 

[Sadielynn]

My contamination came not from soap but cleaning cloths like the clorox wipes. I knocked over something while cleaning and like a goof reached in and grabbed it , it was only moments later that I realized what I had done . I do wash with soap but rinse very well. If I am cleaning the house with anything I will not touch the tanks with out showering first . Usually I will do it next day . If I get something at the LFS I will make sure I scrub very well and rinse very long before adding anything or going into the tank with hands and never use moisturizer on tank day . The gloves just protect it all the way around for the most part .

 

[melosu58]

We all contaminate our hands with things we dont think about like aftershave.fingernail polish and other stuff. Thanks for your post as it should serve as a reminder to us all.

 

[canyon15]

I read on another site that someone who was a plumber had came home and didn't wash his hands then for some reason reached into the tank with all the resins and other chemicals on his hands. Apparently his whole tank crashed! Thats a lot of of time, patience and $ down the tubes for a little carelessness. Mistakes happen just the results of some suck more than others.

 

[tecwzrd]

If you really want to avoid contamination then you could use Coralife Aqua Tongs.

 

[austinsdad]

I wash in plain tap water as hot as I can stand it before, and with soap and hot water after I reach into the tank. Imagine trying to get that piece of whatever out of the corner of your eye after its been in the tank. Or the piece of popcorn in that back tooth. I also kinda give the under the fingernails area some attention vefore I reach in. You can accumulate a lot there. I just clear one nail with another while I'm washing.

But I agree, those tong/sgrabbers are alway next to my tank for turning over astrea snails and such.

 

[Devilishturtles]

Good pointers. I just rinse mine before and after, and use gloves when I need to handle a coral or liverock.

 

[Speakerman]

My girlfriend put a bunch of lotion on her hands, and like 30 minutes later reached into the tank for some weird reason.

Anyway, the lotion or oils or whatever you want to say coated the top of the water, thus oxygen could not really get in. (I didn't have an airstone going at the time and this is FW). So anyhow, the fish all went up to the surface and started biting at the surface, trying to get oxygen. They were trying to breath really hard. I noticed it...figured out what the problem was and fixed it by skimming the oil off the top with a towel, doing a pwc, and adding an airstone to the tank.

Lost a parrot fish in that little escapade.