Fumes in home during work harmful?

ID-Reefer

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Ive read about scented candles, furniture polish etc. being things to be careful with near ones tank. I have a 250 gal. system with an open top. We are looking at replacing some carpet in our home with wood flooring to match the rest of the house. It is a real wood which would require some pretty toxic stain/finish. The Skimmer air is plumbed to the exterior of the home but I assume the fumes will still have an impact on the tank? Would putting a plastic tent over the tank prevent issues?

Any ideas? Has anyone else had to deal with this?
 
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We have not dealt with flooring but we had windows and doors stained near my tanks with both water based and oil based stains and clear coats and there were no noticeable impacts on my tanks (1 is SPS and the other is mixed). Note that both of the sumps are in the basement while the tanks and the work was done on the main floor but our HVAC recirculates through the whole house. We did keep some windows and doors open to ventilate while the work was done. I would tent the tank to keep debris out of it and vent the house. If the tank is close to a window/door that you could include in the tenting and keep open during the process that would probably be best.
 
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ID-Reefer

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We have not dealt with flooring but we had windows and doors stained near my tanks with both water based and oil based stains and clear coats and there were no noticeable impacts on my tanks (1 is SPS and the other is mixed). Note that both of the sumps are in the basement while the tanks and the work was done on the main floor but our HVAC recirculates through the whole house. We did keep some windows and doors open to ventilate while the work was done. I would tent the tank to keep debris out of it and vent the house. If the tank is close to a window/door that you could include in the tenting and keep open during the process that would probably be best.
Thanks for the input. I do have windows really close and could tent it off. Would need to wait for warmer weather this spring but I could essentially tent off the entire space that the tank is in and open the windows.
 

George81

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im Doing a full on house renovation. Im spraying lacquer (kemaqua which smells like windex) about 20’ from my open top tank, some times I don’t zip the room closed or run the fan and overspray gets out.
plus I make all trim and moulding for the house in my basement workshop, mdf dust gets upstairs. I’ve done all kinds of renovation work, sanding taping above and around my tank. No issues. as a matter of fact I’ve dropped paint chips in the tank. I did fish them out wherever I was able to.
im about to respray all the crown moulding and trim in the house, part of which will be above and around the tank. the most I’m gonna do is cover the top of the tank with a drop cloth.

plus twice my husky got skunked and ran inside. I used all kinds of air fresheners fabric fresheners for weeks around the tank with no issues.

if it was me, I wouldn’t worry about it. However it’s your tank and sealing off the tank isn’t going to hurt or be a bad idea.
 

ScottB

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Ive read about scented candles, furniture polish etc. being things to be careful with near ones tank. I have a 250 gal. system with an open top. We are looking at replacing some carpet in our home with wood flooring to match the rest of the house. It is a real wood which would require some pretty toxic stain/finish. The Skimmer air is plumbed to the exterior of the home but I assume the fumes will still have an impact on the tank? Would putting a plastic tent over the tank prevent issues?

Any ideas? Has anyone else had to deal with this?
Any ill effects of the sanding/staining? Did you finish with polyurethane? Oil or water based?
 

Timfish

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I've had problems with Lysol and air fresheners being sprayed around some of my tanks this last year so your's is a very real concern. Like some of the comments above I've had staining/painting done with no apparent negative effects but there is also the concern whoever is doing the work may be using a product less freindly to corals than others. If you have an outside air source supplying the tank it seems to me a simple tent made out of PVC and plastic film drop cloths would be cheap and easy to do for peace of mind if nothing else.
 

Weasel1960

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You could also look into low VOC stains and sealers. Likely would still need to take other protective measures for the tank but would be better for you as well.
 

PBnJOnWheat

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I know everyone here is saying they’ve had positive experiences but the risk involved is too high, I throw a tarp over mine when we’re working with fumes or anything that could get up in the air and eventually into the water.
 

ScottB

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I know everyone here is saying they’ve had positive experiences but the risk involved is too high, I throw a tarp over mine when we’re working with fumes or anything that could get up in the air and eventually into the water.
My trouble is that the whole house is hardwood (bathrooms aside) and it is a lot of floor space. Given all the furniture and stuff this will take almost 2 weeks.
 

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