Poll: Hands in Tank

Do you wash your hands before and after?

  • Yes - I always wash before putting hands in tank

    Votes: 495 48.2%
  • Yes - I wash and wear gloves

    Votes: 61 5.9%
  • No - But I wear gloves

    Votes: 43 4.2%
  • No - I just get after it and do what has to be done

    Votes: 172 16.7%
  • After - I always wash my hands after being in the tank

    Votes: 466 45.4%
  • After - No, I just dry off

    Votes: 152 14.8%

  • Total voters
    1,027

ritter6788

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I know a guy that frags zoas bare handed then eats bbq sandwiches with no hand washing. I won’t say who it is.


*cough* *cough* @JDavis
 

salty joe

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I always wash with baking soda and rinse well to get rid of any soap residue, lotion, etc. When done, I just rinse my hands off.
 

Oleshp

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I don’t usually wash before because I don’t want soap to run off into the tank. But always after. I have a 30” tank so half the time I have my whole arm in the tank and I worry about getting deodorant in the water.
+1 on the deep tank/deodorant worries. I have pretty long arms and I still take my shirt off if I have to reach to the bottom
 

kruley

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All of you that voted gloves... How does that work?

Rubber gloves would flood as soon as you get the wrist underwater, right? I would think surgical type gloves would be torn in no time when dealing with encrusted live rock... What, you have opera length rubber gloves? I'm picturing the kind of thing a vet uses when assisting in delivering a new colt :p
This is my question too! I don't look forward to learning what a bristleworm encounter feels like but I can't figure out the glove thing. Tell me about this magic!
 

seamonster

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I wash my hands with soap and water before and after! After I’m done with my tank, I always use hand sanitizer after I wash my arms and hands.. I don’t wanna get sick! I got sick before from my tank by not doing a thorough job of washing up after...
 

Nierika

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I wear gloves if what im doing may poke or sting me. So if picking up a rock i wear gloves, if just doing a wc i dont. Really this is because i have experinced what a bristle worm feels like lol. When i first started i used gloves for everything, gained a level of confidense with certain tasks. I do the same with my bees, even though im alergic, some tasks i wear a suit others like a simple taking the top off inspection or fall feeding i dont.
Nice to see another beekeeper on here! This'll be my 4th year with bees, and I still don't feel confident enough to go without a suit or gloves. I went without gloves initially, but realized o was much more confident manipulating the frames with them.

I'm only 2 months into my first tank and have mostly went without gloves (not much that can sting me at this point). I herd that some people's clowns like nipping at fingers when in the tank but mine don't really seem to care.

I do try to wash my hands and arms with Dr. Bronner's Unscented Castile Soap and rinse thoroughly a few times. I'll use Dawn if I'm really grimey.
 

salty joe

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I wash my hands with soap and water before and after! After I’m done with my tank, I always use hand sanitizer after I wash my arms and hands.. I don’t wanna get sick! I got sick before from my tank by not doing a thorough job of washing up after...
What kind of sickness did you get?
 

Sierra_Bravo

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This is my question too! I don't look forward to learning what a bristleworm encounter feels like but I can't figure out the glove thing. Tell me about this magic!

I don't use those types of gloves often, but when I do I use a #61 (wide 2" type) rubber band on the wrist at the glove's cuff. It keeps the water out.
 

Brien

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I usually do my tank maintenance on the weekends. I make a point to do all tank activities first before other things around the house. As an example, I would never plan on doing tank activities later in the day after I change the car's oil. Tank first, everything afterwards.
 

stew

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Didn't use to use them but now use gloves even though I hate them. Got a bacterial infection a few years back. After the doctors eliminated the dentist, etc they asked if I was somehow exposed to lots of bacteria. Hmm. And no, I didn't fess up to the doc.
 

coral4me

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Rinse with water before going in if my hand are clean, then with soap after coming out especial since I'll probably be holding my kid soon after. He always makes a mad dash to try to stick his hands in the sump when I unlock the cabinet.
 

lucasb.

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I am in my tank so much my fish have accepted me as one of their own and actually school with my hands and rub against me.

Well, the baslets do. The tangs do a little and even the fox face. The clowns bite.

No negative impacts that i can tell what so ever. But then I run ozone, UV and change 80g a month.
i noticed too when my hand are in my tank my corals extend their feeding tenticles
 

High pressure shells: Do you look for signs of stress in the invertebrates in your reef tank?

  • I regularly look for signs of invertebrate stress in my reef tank.

    Votes: 36 31.0%
  • I occasionally look for signs of invertebrate stress in my reef tank.

    Votes: 28 24.1%
  • I rarely look for signs of invertebrate stress in my reef tank.

    Votes: 22 19.0%
  • I never look for signs of invertebrate stress in my reef tank.

    Votes: 30 25.9%
  • Other.

    Votes: 0 0.0%
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