Keep THESE TWO THINGS out of your tank for a better reef? True or False?

[mrlavalamp]

1. Yes
2. once a week but sometimes I can go longer.

Its not the "hands" that are the issue as I see it. Its everything that is carried on them. Oils and dander being the least concerning, but any contaminants that may ride in on your hands can be bad.

I work in food manufacturing, and part of the training in our factory is to go over how effective different types/methods of handwashing are. Even before the Rona, the main takeaway I always have from it is that 90% of people do not wash their hands correctly to actually have "clean" hands. The transition from the handshake to the fist bump greeting has been a huge win for my anxiety on this subject.

 

[ShadowMan]

So I voted never, although that's not strictly accurate... I obviously put my hands in the tank from time to time (maintenance, new frags, etc), but I ALWAYS wear gloves - both a set of nitrile gloves and then a nice set of armpit length pond gloves, which were initially thoroughly cleansed in bleach solution, then multiple vinegar washes, followed by multiple RO soaks and rinses.

Whilst it's not as tactile, it at least ensures that I'm not introducing (potential) hazards to my inhabitants as well as ensuring I'm not the victim of unsavoury inhabitants... (looking at you bristleworms)

 

[Susan Edwards]

New tank here so trying to batch things I need to do. Tank is 25 deep and I'm short, so I can't even reach the bottom lol's. I rake the sand bed 2-3 times a week with a long handled tool, same with cleaning the glass and back. Have tunze long for the 3 sides, and the long handle tool with foam attachment for the back wall (1 time per week for that). Right now have 2 corals to move. Putting it off as 1 will be difficult to get too and place.

I use gloves if handling the palys and don't use lotions on my hands often in case I need to go into the water.

 

[Paul B]

I rarely put my hands in my tank. Not because I feel it is harmful because I don't. But my tank top is armpit level and I can't reach anything in there, besides that every time I do that, I need to go to the hospital for an infusion because my old fireclowns try to rip my arm off so I learned my lesson unless I wear welding gloves.

Nasty SOB

 

[austibella]

I have gloves that go to almost my shoulders but they are thick and impossible to do anything except to grab a big rock or when I do a good tank clean up so yes I do put my hands in the tank to blow off rocks to get any food off of them or to glue a frag or save a snail caught on top of an urchin etc.. but I wash them really good before and after the tank I wish they had gloves like mine but are thin so I can do anything I need to in the tank the thick ones you can't do frags or get into small places.

 

[Karen00]

My hand is in my tank everyday for feeding. I have a very small tank with very small fish that I target feed with one of those very small medicine droppers so to reach each one of them my hand ends up in the tank. I only have fish at the moment (gobies). I think my current habits are a carry over from my 15g freshwater tank that also has gobies that I target feed so my hand goes in to be able to reach the bottom. I have never found any issues doing this. I make sure my arms are clean and I wash them in between tanks so there's no cross contamination.

I like having my hand in my tanks because I like interacting with my fish. For instance my freshwater guys will come sit in my hand and eat. If I don't have food they'll just sit in my hand. In my saltwater tank I have a very friendly and curious yellow clown goby. He's always out and about checking things out. Now he's taken to kissing my fingers and hand. In reality he's probably looking for food but his tiny mouth and tiny teeth will never do any harm. Would I be so casual with venomous or seriously big toothed, hard biting fish... Probably not. Haha.

 

[MJV15]

My daughter feeds the fish frozen by hand most days. My cleaner shrimp will eat out of her hand regularly. And shockingly enough my yellow tang will let her “pet” his side lightly on occasion. I wouldn’t have believed it if I didn’t see it with my own eyes. She told me once that the tang would let her pet it. And I figured she touch it while feeding in accident and counted that as a pet. But I kid you not when she is feeding him he will present his side and hold still for about 20seconds let her softly touch his side. The tang takes a few bites then swims off. It’s the craziest thing. Never with me only my daughter

This is as close as I ever got to getting a picture of it. This is right after she feed him.

 

[GradientHurdle]

Ok we've heard it said that we should keep our hands out of our reef tank as much as possible. To me it's always been a tongue in cheek type of thing but lately, more than ever, I'm finding out that this may be better advice than what I once previously thought! About a year ago I kinda lost my passion for my reef tank. I was doing the bare minimal tasks to keep the coral and fish healthy and quit buying anything new. Equipment would stop working correctly and instead of replacing it I just started reefing more "old school." Also during this time I quit putting my hands in the tank and since then my tank has really started to blossom from what it was. I quit worrying about the occasional aiptasia and algae patch and for the most part the issues corrected themselves or stayed at bay. Has the success of my tank as of late been in part or mostly because I've kept my hands out of the tank? Might just be a fluke but let's talk about it!

1. Are you a believer that keeping your hands out of your aquarium is a good practice?

2. How often are your hands in the tank?

image via @Nash

Once a week for a cleaning good cleaning. I also wear gloves that prevent my skin from contacting the water. Once a month or so I take things out to frag.

 

[shadow_k]

Hands are in the tank only if my snail falls over or they knock a coral over and even if I do I have gloves on because my clownfish are piranhas in costume

 

[Greybeard]

Over the decades, I've come up with 3 hard and fast rules...

1) Nothing good happens fast, slow down and enjoy the ride
2) Keep your filthy mitts outa the dag blasted tank
3) Water Changes.

Rule 2 came about as a result of an incident that happened about 8 years ago. Christmas time, we were headed out to visit family, walked by the tank, and noticed a frag had gotten knocked into the sand. Reached in and set it right. No big deal... except that I had spent the morning in my gun room, using solvents, cleaners, oils, etc. I'd been soaking my hands in chemicals for a couple of hours. We returned the next morning to a dead tank.

I now use tools to reach into my tank, I have a variety of different ones for different purposes. IF I _REALLY_ need to get my hands in the tank, I'll do so only with great caution, thinking about what I've been doing over the last day or two, and making darned certain I'm not going to blow up my tank... again.

 

[dhanking]

1. Yes
2. My corals don't glue well so I constantly put them back. My hermit crabs are also really annoying when they knock stuff over

 

[ArtisticReef]

I’ve always been surprised by how well my tank does while on vacation other than the glass getting dirty.

 

[ArtisticReef]

My daughter feeds the fish frozen by hand most days. My cleaner shrimp will eat out of her hand regularly. And shockingly enough my yellow tang will let her “pet” his side lightly on occasion. I wouldn’t have believed it if I didn’t see it with my own eyes. She told me once that the tang would let her pet it. And I figured she touch it while feeding in accident and counted that as a pet. But I kid you not when she is feeding him he will present his side and hold still for about 20seconds let her softly touch his side. The tang takes a few bites then swims off. It’s the craziest thing. Never with me only my daughter

This is as close as I ever got to getting a picture of it. This is right after she feed him.

That’s co cute your daughter is so interested!

 

[blazn]

My "hands" are in my DT typically once a week, during normal water change/maintenance. But, I try to use the Coralife 28" gloves I purchased earlier this year when doing so. But, when tasks require more tactile abilities, I must go without the gloves.

I recognize that this query is mostly concerning keeping your hands out of your tank to let things be, and of course I want to keep any contaminants from my skin out of my tank, but the main reason I want to limit skin exposure in my tank is to reduce chances of infection. While performing a tank transfer earlier this year, I ended up with an unexpected infection caused from my tank, entering thru a small cut in my hand made while moving rocks between tanks (without gloves). This resulted in a fever, ichy rash, etc, but I was fortunate that was the extent of the illness, as those can get quite serious. I'd never before had a concern about putting my hands in my tank, but ever since then, I'm very aware of it. When I must go without gloves, I make sure to thoroughly wash with soap/water. I definitely recommend using gloves when tasks allow!

 

[SueAbu]

I try to go a few days, but I have a jerk of an emerald crab that knocks everything over and will dislodge glued frags. If they aren't face down in the sand or rockwork, i'll let them go until I need to do a few things.

Yup, exactly. I was blaming the rock beauty...

 

[rbuttigl]

If you wash with antibacterial soap then rinse off before putting hand in the tank will it kill the bacteria in the tank/live rock/live sand?

 

[Wasabiroot]

I do my best to use my gloves whenever possible, but if I can't, I wash my arms with bar soap, rinse thoroughly and pat dry before putting my arm in.
I try to avoid it unless I see a loose frag or overturned snail. I would imagine it gets progressively harder to avoid the larger the tank.

 

[Wasabiroot]

If you wash with antibacterial soap then rinse off before putting hand in the tank will it kill the bacteria in the tank/live rock/live sand?

Likely not. Dilution is the solution to pollution. I'd be more worried about any antibiotics harming coral or fish, but if you rinse thoroughly you should be avoiding any serious contamination. Carbon would also help if you're that concerned.

 

[marcus aurelius]

I try and keep my hand out as much as possible. I do like using gloves, but you can't feel any thing. Especially when regluing a frag. Before I put my hands in the tank I have been washing them with some no additive soap.
7th generation.

 

[rhostam]

I voted about monthly or so. I really really don't like putting my hands in the tank if I can avoid it. Why? Mostly because I don't want to introduce something into the tank that I was not aware was even on my hands.

The only exception is when I add new inhabitants. Even then, initial additions are with tongs/grippers as I place them on the sand bed first to acclimate. I use grippers/tongs for most tasks where it is possible. Once things have settled in for a few weeks, I move them to their final resting positions by hand (since this may require glue or putty). When I put my hands in the tank, I first rinse my arm up to my armpit, put on black disposable gloves, put rubber bands around my wrist, and then do the work. I try to do all of the work I need to do in batches.

Do I forget sometimes? I am sure I have. It is just a practice I feel keeps the creatures safe(r).