Dirty hands in tank

[Minifoot77]

I'm a diesel mechanic by trade and everything automotive by hobby I dont use gloves but I shower before I touch my tank... I use red label tide and a microfiber cloth in the shower to get all the grease and time off my hands. Then shower as normal after my hands are clean

 

[TangerineSpeedo]

I restore vintage British cars by trade. I wear nitrile gloves at work but still don't put my hands in the tank until after a shower. Use Biodegradable soaps and no moisturizer until after. One of the things I did notice by using gloves at work, is I used to have dry patches on my hands. All that went away. I was young with oily skin and chemicals never used to bother me.
Now very aware of anything that could be on my hands, even testing reagents etc. I always wash my hands before putting them in the tank and rinse well.

 

[Minifoot77]

I use dawn dish soap before the tank as well but no gloves at work even in the solvent tank...

 

[Derrick0580]

I use these : https://www.reefsupplies.ca/fr/prod...MI0eqjupPdgwMVdgOtBh09CgI8EAQYAyABEgJS8_D_BwE

I bought a pair of these and they are garbage for fine motor skills. The hand coverings are thick and bulky and you literally can not feel anything you are touching.

 

[Tired]

Oh, yeah, none of those rubber gloves are going to be good for fine details. They're mainly good for safely moving rock and such. For smaller objects, I use my rubber-tipped tongs.

 

[reef tank 2.0]

I never placed my hands in the water unless i had nitrile gloves on. they were powder / latex free. I always washed my hands before putting them in the tank / sump though. Added protection for me and the tank inhabitants.

But they didn't protect my whole arm though.

 

[snorklr]

at this point in my life i use nitrile gloves to work on the cars....even back when i didnt i had those 2 tone coralife gloves....the dexterity of those sucks and reserve them for moving rocks etc...delicate stuff , a nitrile glove, one of those disposable clear livestock" up the butt" gloves and another nitrile over that...and try to work quick cause the clear ones seem to leak which makes me glad i'm not using them as originally intended

 

[ryanjohn1]

So I been reefing for about 3 years now and I struggle from not being able to get my hands in my tank from working on cars all week and having oil soaked hands.....anyone else a mechanic by trade and how do you work around this?

Heavy equipment mechanic here.
Number 1. Nitrile gloves at work
Number 2. Nitrile gloves in tank.

 

[Idech]

I bought a pair of these and they are garbage for fine motor skills. The hand coverings are thick and bulky and you literally can not feel anything you are touching.

Yes, that’s true. I like them for taking out or moving rocks around.

 

[LisaD1]

I bought a pair of these and they are garbage for fine motor skills. The hand coverings are thick and bulky and you literally can not feel anything you are touching.

Totally agree. Useless

 

[LisaD1]

Totally agree. Useless. I would not spend the money.

 

[alabella1]

Best gloves I've used so far (and I've tried MANY) are the atlas gloves. Amazon has em.

GLOVES

 

[Dburr1014]

So I been reefing for about 3 years now and I struggle from not being able to get my hands in my tank from working on cars all week and having oil soaked hands.....anyone else a mechanic by trade and how do you work around this?

I work as a machine mechanic for a major airplane engine manufacturing company.
I do wear gloves at work but sometimes I get coolant, oil and grease on them.
I use pumice soap at work to get the heavy stuff off.
When I get home, I use hand soap. My wife likes scented soaps. Maybe I'm not the best guy to listen to on this subject, but I've never had a problem with anything dying in my reef because I put my hands in. But, I will always rinse extremely well and dry my hands with paper towels before going in the tank. I have heavy gloves that go up to my armpits, but sometimes you can't feel very well with them on and I need to get my hands in.

 

[aquaman67]

With bristle worms you really should be wearing gloves of some kind anyway. Don’t learn the hard way.

 

[Tired]

Bristleworms, and sharp rock edges. Bristleworms suck, but an infection from cutting yourself on reef rock is usually way worse. Yes, many people go years without getting said infections- doesn't mean gloves aren't a good idea.

Think of it like a seatbelt; even if someone's been driving for 30 years without getting in a wreck, you wouldn't say they're fine not to wear one. And there's no amount of reefing practice that can let you avoid pathogens the way an expert driver can avoid road hazards.

 

[JayM]

I rarely use gloves at work, but scrub often with TKO (Zep makes it). If that doesn't get the gunk off, I figure it's not coming off with saltwater.

 

[KrisReef]

I've used something like these since I started my tank 4 years ago. Still going strong. I don't put my hands in the tank at all without gloves. One, skin oils, dirt, grease, etc. but the other reason is an aquarium isn't something I want bare hands in at all.

Gloves

Second this suggestion s. I found a few different sources of long (opera) gloves and purchased the less expensive ones that are available to avoid spending extra money on Reef Hobby Gloves from the industry. I tried reef gloves too and they all provided protection but it isn’t easy to get used to them and they destroy tactile sensation. I still have a brand new pair from when I was searching for a good one. I gave one pair away but that reefer didn’t change their ways and kept contaminating themselves and the tank risking infection.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I use waterless hand cleaner to avoid soap in the system

 

[Dburr1014]

I use waterless hand cleaner to avoid soap in the system

Is that safe? What's in it that you don't have to rinse clean?

I pulled this list off a bottle on Amazon.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Is that safe? What's in it that you don't have to rinse clean?

I pulled this list off a bottle on Amazon.

Yes- the one I use is from a local shop that sells fragrant and chemical free soap with sodium hydoxide and prior to that I used a soap from BRS known as reef suds
If rinsed well, dawn and ivory soaps are deemed safe