What's your routine before putting your hands in your tank?

[Len]

People have called me obssessive because I won't handle foods or chemicals with my right hand (the hand that goes into my reef tank). I've been using disposable shoulder length gloves for the past few years, not just to protect my reef but my skin which has developed an allergic reaction to SW after I scraped up my forearm on Acropora a long tim ago :?

Anyone, anyone have any special rituals they go through before getting their hands wet, or do you just dive right in?

 

[Anonymous]

I scrub my hands with a tiny amount of soap under hot water then rinse for a good while until I can no longer feel any soap residue or smell any soap at all on my hands, dry them off on a clean towel and then recheck for smell, then dive in.

 

[Anonymous]

I rinse my hands off and dry them real good then I go in. I've never used gloves.

Now if my hands are really dirty or I have been handling greasy, dirty things, then I wash them off with warm water and soap and make damn sure they are real clean and dry before I put them in the tank. The hands need to pass the sniff test before going in the tank. If there is still residue on your hands after you wash them, you should be able to smell it.

Louey

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

I wash my hands and arms, all the way to the arm pit, rinse really well in hot water then dry them before sticking them in the tank. My cube is deep and I am short, so in order to do any glass scraping, moving of corals down at the bottom of the tank, basically my whole arm goes in. When moving rocks around I wear my full length gloves, which I HATE, but I've been pricked by sharp things on the rocks and I really don't care for the slimey feel of sponges when handling LR so gloves it is. Just for scraping or moving a coral or two here or there, no gloves.

 

[Anonymous]

I scrub my hands under hot water and paper towell dry.

I do have a set of gloves, but I can't reach to the bottom in them because they fill with water, but I will use them for picking up rocks or doing things that I might get bristle wormed.

I also have a long pair of hemostats for grabbing things without sticking my whole arm in.

Rarely do I use lotion or anything like that, because of my tank.

 

[Anonymous]

What's your routine before putting your hands in your tank?

I roll up my sleeves first. :wink:
Seriously I wash my hands with soap and water before and after.

Regards,
David Mohr

 

[Anonymous]

I also go for the wash with soap before and after, unless I have been working with swimming pool chemicals in which case I abstain until after a shower.

 

[Anonymous]

I reach for my shoulder length glove.

 

[brer]

I use disposable latex surgical gloves, mainly to protect me from contact with corals, worms, etc. I put a rubber band around my wrist to keep them from filling up with water . I found the shoulder length gloves interfered with my finger dexterity, and dripped too much water when I reached in and out.

 

[ThrillYa]

I roll up my sleeves first. :wink:
Seriously I wash my hands with soap and water before and after.

Regards,
David Mohr

So what is the reasoning behind washing after?

Mike

 

[Anonymous]

As some of you know I work at a boatyard. A terribly dirty place. I think I lost more than a few fish because I got chemicals in my tank. So, I get a shower before I touch anything in the tank. That means I only touch things right in the morning or after a shower at night.

I also wash my arms afterword with soap because the salt irritates my skin

 

[Anonymous]

I would have figured you for steel gauntlets lol :lol:

 

[Anonymous]

:lol:

You know what I think one of the worst things is? Neverseez. I bet that has some stuff in it that will kill a tank, and I have it under my fingernails about 300 days out of the year

 

[Anonymous]

:lol:

You know what I think one of the worst things is? Neverseez. I bet that has some stuff in it that will kill a tank, and I have it under my fingernails about 300 days out of the year

according to their website, Marine grade Neverseeze is composed of Copper flakes, Graphite, and Aluminum paste suspended in a grease base.

 

[Anonymous]

So what is the reasoning behind washing after?

Mike

You can get pretty sick.
Here's a start.

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/Wound.htm

Or do a Google™ search for "human pathogens in marine aquariums", plenty of good information.

Regards,
David Mohr

 

[dodo99]

I have cats so I usually have a scratch somewhere on my hands/arms so I now use the Coralife Aqua-gloves. Very usefull!

 

[melas]

I've been breeding large snakes and monitor lizards for 15 years now and have developed an almost compulsive (my wife says OCD) habit of washing my hands every few hours. Every time I go by the sink at my house I find myself washing my hands. I typically don't wash my hands specifically for the purpose of reaching in my tank. If I have recently been doing something dirty (changing car oil or using chemicals) I will refrain until I take a shower. When I am finished working in/around my aquarium I thoroughly wash my hands and arms with soap and warm water.

**wash wash rinse. . . twitch - repeat**

 

[Raskal311]

hand go stright in without wash I normally wash after.

 

[Anonymous]

Wash up real good with anti-bac soap and warm water, dry, then go in.

Wash up real good after as well.

 

[Anonymous]

:lol:

You know what I think one of the worst things is? Neverseez. I bet that has some stuff in it that will kill a tank, and I have it under my fingernails about 300 days out of the year

according to their website, Marine grade Neverseeze is composed of Copper flakes, Graphite, and Aluminum paste suspended in a grease base.

See

I knew it was nasty That's why it works so good.