Poll: Do you use gloves when working in your aquarium?

[cbianco]

I just finished doing some maintenence in my aquarium and I thought this is a valid question to ask. I do not use gloves when working in my aquarium. On the other hand I do not have many inhabitants in my aquarium.

Is there any particular reason that YOU wear gloves when working on your aquarium?

Is there any particular reason that I should be wearing gloves (even though I do not have many inhabitants)?

Thanks for the input!

Christopher

[akm]

I can never find any long enough to go up to my shoulder(or dont bother looking) so I figure whats the point of using them if water still gets in.

[Dozer]

Yes, you definitely should use gloves as much as possible, IMO.
No, I usually don't for some reason. I never use them when just doing routine maintenance in my tank or when handling hard corals, but I do use them when handling my soft corals though.

[Brett Wilson]

I use gloves as often as possible, specially when handling zoanthids and other slimy corals.

[cbianco]

It appears that I am in good company. So far Brett is the only one who uses gloves on a regular basis (almost).

From my understanding its not just the coral that can get you, but you can get them too. What I mean is (from my reading) it looks like items such as cologne, lotion, soap, etc... can be toxic to the corals.

Christopher

[::pete::]

I do not and have been lucky so far!

Heck its hard enough trying to maneuver around in there bare handed!!

[captexas]

Yeah, I purchased a pair of gloves awhile back, but rarely use them anymore. It's too hard to grab onto things. As Brett mentioned, some things do warrant being more careful with though. I had a brain coral that would make my arm go numb when I handled barehanded. I think that was why I got the gloves to begin with! lol

[captexas]

Forgot to mention, I try to be careful on introducing anything bad into the tank that might be on my hands or arms, which is not always easy to do. I always try to wash my hands and if I know I'm going to be working on the tank later on, I don't put any lotion or anything on my hands.

[CD]

I wear the gloves as much as possible, but have to go bare hands with little frags and items at the bottom of the tank (gloves too short). When I do have to put my bare hands/arms in the tank, I always scrub with liq. diswashing detergent and rinse very well...it takes off a good portion of the surface oils in our skin, which is bad for the tank water, skimmer performance, etc.. Lotions, perfumes/colognes, oil, house/car cleaning agents, deodorant soap residue, etc. can all be harmful, and in some more severe cases, fatal to fish and corals. If I am to be actually handling LR, I'll always wear the gloves...otherwise, I end up getting stung or cut by something. BTW if anybody has a line on some shoulder length gloves (no seams anywhere, not disposable) I would truly appreciate it! :)

Wendy

[cbianco]

CD

With regards to getting cut... I've only got cut once by a piece of shell in the sand. It was minor and I made sure to quickly clean the cut to rid myself of all the nasties that are potentially in the water. I don't have anything that can sting me yet (in the aquarium, that I know of).

I now have about double the posts since the last time I post. It seems that a majority of people do not use gloves. Its funny because we all know what is in our tanks (dangerous corals to germs and microorganisms) and even with this knowledge we try to defy odds and hope that nothing bad happens. I am no exception and I hope that I am not the one to "learn my lesson the hard way!" (I hope the same for every one else!).

With that said has anyone had anything bad happen to them because they were not using gloves? Such as getting stung badly or an infected cut?

Christopher

[GaryP]

Check with a large animal vet or feed store for the disposable gloves that come up to the elbow. I don't like the thicker tank gloves they sell at the LFS. They are not long enough and to thick to have any tactile sensitivty. I sometimes use nitrile gloves when gluing args. It keeps the glue off your fingers and the oils on your skin off the frags.

[cbianco]

GaryP

I saw these at www.drfostersmith.com . http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=8162&Ntt=gloves&Ntk=All&Nt x=mode+matchallpartial&Np=1&N=2004&Nty=1

A bit overpriced for the quality IMO. I supposed if someone really wanted a pair they could go for them though. BTW they also have the heavy duty gloves there too.

Christopher

[GaryP]

Like I said, they are a lot cheaper from a vet. Also, everyone I have talked to didn't like the heavy duty ones because of the lack of sensitivity.

My best suggestion is to keep your hands out of the tank as much as possible. I have a pretty good selection of tank tongs and long forceps I try to use whenever possible. I also found some long, rigid 3/8" tubing that I am going to start use to siphon with when doing water changes. That's the one time I am in the tank the longest and now I have a solution for that. I heated the tubing with a cig lighter and put a very nice 45 degree bend in it so that I can get into caves and crannies to siphon. It will also hopefully prevent me from knocking off corals every time I get into the tank. I'll have better visibilty and dexterity with the tube when I am in front of the tank then when I am on a step ladder standing over the tank with my arm all the way to the bottom. The flexible tubing also has a tendency to move around in the tank and knock off recently mounted frags that have not yet encrusted. I hope this new system is better.

[CD]

Check with a large animal vet or feed store for the disposable gloves that come up to the elbow


Hmmm. I'll probably end up going with those if I can't find any *non-disposable*. Too bad there isn't something in between the bulky/thick rubber gloves and the thin disposable. The thickness of a regular pair of dishwashing gloves would be perfect...not so thick to where you can't even feel the frags your holding, but thick enough to keep from getting punctures the first time you pick up a piece of LR. This is SAD. There's got to be some decent full arm gloves out there somewhere!

Wendy

[GaryP]

I said elbow, but I meant the ones that come up to the shoulder.

[cbianco]

CD

Is there ever a happy medium... lol!

BTW if you find that happy medium be sure to let us know!

Christopher

[falcondob]

I use gloves. Too many stories of infections and toxins for me. The gloves are cheap insurance.