Hands in, or out of the tank?

[WalkerLoves_TheOcean]

Do you think it's ok to stick your hands in the tank? Some dont care, and they do what they have to do, some wash their hands before and after, to keep it clean. Some put gloves on to make sure their tank stays clean of dirty hands. And finally, some dont like sticking their hand in even with gloves because the fish may not like it. What do YOU think?

 

[EricR]

Seems like I have my hands in the tank way too often for one reason or another.
I just rinse with tap water (no soap unless I've been working on something greasy/dirty) and go.
*in theory, I'd like to try keeping my hands out of the tank for some period of time but just doesn't fit into the way I deal with my tank

 

[lil sumpin]

I wash throughly w some unscented soap before and after. Hands only really go in once a week for maintenance and once in a while, in a pinch, if something gets knocked over or needs moving

 

[Shevlin77]

Only wash my hands if I’ve had some sunscreen or other type of chemical on them. Otherwise they go right in and maybe I have just been lucky these last 18 years to have no crashes?

 

[Idech]

I wash but mostly rinse my hands every time I put them in the tank. I try not to, but avoiding it completely is impossible.

I wear gloves if I have to move rocks or corals.

 

[dadnjesse]

I just stick my hands in unless they are noticeably dirty. I'm retired and put my hands in my tank every day, Sometimes just to change the Nori.

 

[KC2020]

Oh, that's what I've been doing wrong in 40+ years of keeping reef tanks. I need to get some gloves.

Seriously, never concerned myself about it, aside from when I had my first 100 gal 'salt' tank 50 years ago with a lion fish. I never reached into that one.

Warm water rinse before but no soap would make the most sense. Introducing surfactants from soap doesn't seem like a good mix with fish trying to keep a slime on their bodies, much less corals for a few reasons.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Do you think it's ok to stick your hands in the tank? Some dont care, and they do what they have to do, some wash their hands before and after, to keep it clean. Some put gloves on to make sure their tank stays clean of dirty hands. And finally, some dont like sticking their hand in even with gloves because the fish may not like it. What do YOU think?

Soap and water sufficient