How do you wash your hands before reaching into the tank for any maint

[Slimymadness]

HI all,

just out of curiosity, i would like to know if you guys have any regime to follow when it comes to washing your hands before reaching into your tank?

I worked with amphibians a few years back and due to their sensitive skin, I had to follow a strict protocol of washing hands with soap(no anti bacterial, just light soap) then rinse with lots of tap water, dry up, then rinse with pure water. This is to prevent any traces of chlorine that might still be present in your hands that might irritate their skin. Our skin secretes oil/sebum and are full of unknown bacteria that might kill sensitive animals. It really looked like i am going to perform a major surgery when i wash. I will not touch anything (i will not even open the enclosures but got others to help) but the animals when i am done with washing, i will hold my hands high even .LOL.

Having that experience behind me, i am also abit overly anxious when i need to reach into the tank. How do you guys wash up?

Thx for reading!

[iskay]

If you really want to be safe, consider wearing gloves.

I normally wash with soap.

[DUCADOS]

I do normal rinse under running water...

[samuel88]

i use gloves, and i usually wash it with running tap water. i'm a little scared of using soap cause i'm afraid if i don't wash the soap off completely it'll get in the tank.

[Slimymadness]

Hmmm so it seems like gloves are the best choice. But the gloves shown by bro iskay is prettY steep for what looks like ordinary dish washing gloves! Lol. Although most gloves are not full arm length...

[dnsfpl]

i just make sure is not oily

[peacemaker]

I pick my nose before dipping them in the water... hey! Its fert for the corals!

I kid... just rinse with normal tap water.

[samuel88]

Hmmm so it seems like gloves are the best choice. But the gloves shown by bro iskay is prettY steep for what looks like ordinary dish washing gloves! Lol. Although most gloves are not full arm length...

just use something that covers your hands, its not just for keeping bacteria from your hand to the tank, but also from any harmful saltwater lifeforms, like bristle worms, certain corals that can cause skin irritation etc, etc.

[straydum]

i enter mine with simple rinsing from the tap

for awhile i tried gloves but didn't really liked it as my fingers couldn't feel properly with them. you won't know whether the coral you're touching is slime-ming up and thus how long to hold it. say with gloves i would probably end up holding the coral longer than it should be held.

small stings from the tank are part and parcel of this hobby. at least we know what to be wary against in the future

experience taught me that mini maxi carpets can pack quite a sting!

[desideria]

sometimes I wash with tap water..and sometimes.. ah heck la.. just dip in and take out stuff.. or clean glass. As long as I know before hand I didn't put any moisturising cream or make up or any chemicals on my hands ( although I do know we secrete oils!)... I just dip.. so far.. no casualty,,,or I THINK NO casualty!

[poomoon]

i just rinse under tap water. i've tired using those long arm-length thick coralife aqua-gloves, but i think they're more for major scaping and not really for handling small corals because it's really thick ! i just use those plastic hand gloves can be bought from ntuc or shop and save (box of 50s or so), wash them with my hands as well. gives some slight level of protection as long as not punctured, and ease of handling. then after, wash with anti-bacterial soap and throw the gloves ! cheers !