Stuff we don't talk about...

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

Skin irritation after working in the tank?  Happens to anybody else?  Some random interwebs threads say it's the nitrates.  ?  Also, I hate gloves.  🤣

[Guppysnail]

Mine gets dry and chapped. I always guessed it was like licking your lips a lot that chapped the underside of my forearm. Cocoa and shea butter lotion heals it up. I’m always careful to scrub hands and arms with dawn before and after in case shower soap or lotion residue or any other myriad of things may potentially contaminate my tanks. 

[Flumpweesel]

Gloves always leak.

Generally my skin is fine with the tank water but does occasionally itch.

I have heard of people being allergic to bloodworms and other live foods so maybe if it's something you can figure out and remove from their diet you could make this a more comfortable hobby.

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 7/19/2022 at 11:39 AM, Guppysnail said:

Mine gets dry and chapped. I always guessed it was like licking your lips a lot that chapped the underside of my forearm. Cocoa and shea butter lotion heals it up. I’m always careful to scrub hands and arms with dawn before and after in case shower soap or lotion residue or any other myriad of things may potentially contaminate my tanks. 

Same. I always do the "surgeon's arm scrub" before & after.  Doesn't prevent irritation, but I do it anyway for good practice.

[Flumpweesel]

Maybe be a little more gentle with your skin, and look at not using the dawn soap on them at all. It could be stripping your skin of the oils and microorganisms it needs to be healthy.  Maybe a oat water rinse after. And a clean dry towel for when you have finished that isn't the one you've been using with the tank water.

Also some dish soaps contain salts to help scrub but they could be opening up your skin to make it more susceptible.

Badly chapped skin sometimes benefits from an antifungal cream. If you look up cheilitis it's common around the mouth but I have had friends with it behind their ears and doctors were misdiagnosing as dermatitis .

 

I won't keep cats because they make me itch so credit you and @Guppysnailfor overcoming the discomfort.

[jwcarlson]

I got a really long siphon so that my hands/arms aren't in the tank too much.  I do discus water every night, but (other than starting the siphon) my hands/arms stay pretty dry.  On full wipe down and filter squeeze water changes every week for wipe and every month or so for filter squeezes - I get more wet.  

I wash with dish soap after doing WCs.  Have gotten some arm itchiness in the past, but none of note.

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 7/19/2022 at 12:00 PM, Flumpweesel said:

Maybe be a little more gentle with your skin, and look at not using the dawn soap on them at all.

I've been using the 7th generation free & clear dish soap. No fragrance or colors or anything so less harm to the fishies.  

On 7/19/2022 at 12:06 PM, jwcarlson said:

I got a really long siphon so that my hands/arms aren't in the tank too much. 

That's a good idea.  Mine doesn't reach the bottom of the tank, but I don't siphon every time. Sometimes I just drop a pond pump in.  I do have a higher nitrate level (40-ish) today (pre-water change) and I wonder if that could be a factor.

[jwcarlson]

On 7/19/2022 at 11:22 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

That's a good idea.  Mine doesn't reach the bottom of the tank, but I don't siphon every time. Sometimes I just drop a pond pump in.  I do have a higher nitrate level (40-ish) today (pre-water change) and I wonder if that could be a factor.

Interesting regarding the nitrate connection possibility.  My discus tank is usually <5 with the daily 90% changes.  Plus some pothos and philodendron just in case any nitrate sneaks by the water changes. 😄

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 7/19/2022 at 12:41 PM, jwcarlson said:

Interesting regarding the nitrate connection possibility.  My discus tank is usually <5 with the daily 90% changes.  Plus some pothos and philodendron just in case any nitrate sneaks by the water changes. 😄

I miscalculated the Easy Green, haha. My own fault. I wasn't paying attention.  I do have one lonely pothos stem in there.  It is only just starting to establish.  I shall add some more!

[Guppysnail]

On 7/19/2022 at 12:00 PM, Flumpweesel said:

Maybe be a little more gentle with your skin, and look at not using the dawn soap on them at all. It could be stripping your skin of the oils and microorganisms it needs to be healthy.  Maybe a oat water rinse after. And a clean dry towel for when you have finished that isn't the one you've been using with the tank water.

Also some dish soaps contain salts to help scrub but they could be opening up your skin to make it more susceptible.

Badly chapped skin sometimes benefits from an antifungal cream. If you look up cheilitis it's common around the mouth but I have had friends with it behind their ears and doctors were misdiagnosing as dermatitis .

 

I won't keep cats because they make me itch so credit you and @Guppysnailfor overcoming the discomfort.

ORD THANK YOU 🤗. This info will be appreciated by my constantly chapped arm. 

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 7/19/2022 at 12:41 PM, jwcarlson said:

the daily 90% changes.

Whoa, 90% ?!

[jwcarlson]

On 7/19/2022 at 12:34 PM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

Whoa, 90% ?!

Yep, for the time being at least.  I've had them five months and they're still growing out.

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 7/19/2022 at 1:36 PM, jwcarlson said:

Yep, for the time being at least.  I've had them five months and they're still growing out.

Wow. You pond pumping it?  That's the way to go. Or Python.

[jwcarlson]

On 7/19/2022 at 12:43 PM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

Wow. You pond pumping it?  That's the way to go. Or Python.

Python just gravity fed down into basement utility sink, but it's semi-permanently plumbed in through the wall down through the floor with standard garden hose so all I do is pick up the siphon and start it.  It's bare bottom so I can clean most of the stuff up with a quick vac of the bottom then I just let it sit in there and slurp down while I do some other thing.  I let it drain down to approximately an inch above the bottom trim on the 75 gallon.  I have an aging/pre-heating setup that's semi automated.  Once it's drained  I walk downstairs and and hook the same hose up to the submersible pump.  Takes about 15 minutes to refill the tank.  I just set a timer on my phone for 12 minutes so that I don't overfill it.  So I pump in the aged and preheated water.  When it's done I shut the pump off (everything is controllable though a 'smart' Kasa power strip, which works amazingly).  Then I walk back down, disconnect the pump, and put the hose back into the drain position in the sink so that I don't have to take a trip down to start a water change.  It takes about 20 minutes for the water barrel to refill (using Python pump between sink and my setup with an always-connected 10 foot piece of hose).  I set a timer for 18 minutes to shut the water off and put the hose back on its hanger.  The whole process probably takes an hour.  But as long as the tank isn't horribly dirty I don't spend more than 10-15 minutes of interaction time.  It dovetails alright with my other chores like feeding the pets (cats get fed downstairs), cleaning litter boxes, and laundry.  Most nights I start the change while we're eating dinner.  And I'm doing the other chore stuff whenever I go down to move hoses.  I have the parts/valves in order to more permanently install everything.  And also to put a float switch on the barrel so that it will shut off when it's full.  But the timing just works out and it's not a particular big issue at all.  I have python hose to run through the house that I hook up for the tank in my daughter's room.  And it has it's separate aging/preheating barrel and control.  We don't change water much in that one, so I just fill and use that as needed.

In case you're wondering, I age my water because the pH swings from 7 out of the tap to 8.2 or maybe 8.3-4 when aged/aerated.  Apparently it's got a decent amount of CO2 in it.

I will occasionally use my hose and just drain it into the front yard and have the kids haul the water around to water plants in the landscape if it's been really dry.  That's very very slow compared to going to the basement, so I only do it when things need watered.  I do hate just shipping it down the drain, though.  I have considered pumping it out, which would make the draining really quick.  I might do that just so that I have a spare pump to get it back up out of the basement.  The day that my pump dies is the day I have to make like 20 trips downstairs and then back up with buckets full of water.  That's going to be unpleasant.  But the kids, honestly, would really like the watering task.  So I think I might do that.  At least seasonally it would be a good idea.

In case you're getting the idea that this is something really elaborate (it is not)... here's the setup:

Edited July 19, 2022 by jwcarlson

[Dancing Matt]

My skin often gets itchy/irritated after doing tank stuff for a while. I don't have any "doctor status" wash routine.

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 7/19/2022 at 1:59 PM, jwcarlson said:

Python just gravity fed down into basement utility sink, but it's semi-permanently plumbed in through the wall down through the floor with standard garden hose so all I do is pick up the siphon and start it.  It's bare bottom so I can clean most of the stuff up with a quick vac of the bottom then I just let it sit in there and slurp down while I do some other thing.  I let it drain down to approximately an inch above the bottom trim on the 75 gallon.  I have an aging/pre-heating setup that's semi automated.  Once it's drained  I walk downstairs and and hook the same hose up to the submersible pump.  Takes about 15 minutes to refill the tank.  I just set a timer on my phone for 12 minutes so that I don't overfill it.  So I pump in the aged and preheated water.  When it's done I shut the pump off (everything is controllable though a 'smart' Kasa power strip, which works amazingly).  Then I walk back down, disconnect the pump, and put the hose back into the drain position in the sink so that I don't have to take a trip down to start a water change.  It takes about 20 minutes for the water barrel to refill (using Python pump between sink and my setup with an always-connected 10 foot piece of hose).  I set a timer for 18 minutes to shut the water off and put the hose back on its hanger.  The whole process probably takes an hour.  But as long as the tank isn't horribly dirty I don't spend more than 10-15 minutes of interaction time.  It dovetails alright with my other chores like feeding the pets (cats get fed downstairs), cleaning litter boxes, and laundry.  Most nights I start the change while we're eating dinner.  And I'm doing the other chore stuff whenever I go down to move hoses.  I have the parts/valves in order to more permanently install everything.  And also to put a float switch on the barrel so that it will shut off when it's full.  But the timing just works out and it's not a particular big issue at all.  I have python hose to run through the house that I hook up for the tank in my daughter's room.  And it has it's separate aging/preheating barrel and control.  We don't change water much in that one, so I just fill and use that as needed.

In case you're wondering, I age my water because the pH swings from 7 out of the tap to 8.2 or maybe 8.3-4 when aged/aerated.  Apparently it's got a decent amount of CO2 in it.

In case you're getting the idea that this is something really elaborate (it is not)... here's the setup:

Very well thought out and executed.  Did you breed discus for enjoyment or for profit?

[jwcarlson]

On 7/19/2022 at 1:07 PM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

Very well thought out and executed.  Did you breed discus for enjoyment or for profit?

I'm not breeding them at all.  Just growing out some juvenile ones.  I wouldn't want to do water changes like this on anything more than one tank, I don't think.  As they get older and slow/stop growing, the changes will be less frequent.  And they'll be (hopefully) some plants in the tank attached to some driftwood to help eat up some of the waste products.  Right now it's pretty plain (ugly?) with three big double-stacked sponge filters from AC.

Link below for some fish pics ---\/ 

[nabokovfan87]

On 7/19/2022 at 8:36 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

Skin irritation after working in the tank?  Happens to anybody else?  Some random interwebs threads say it's the nitrates. 

could be from the food or some of the chemicals. Definitely not fun.

[nabokovfan87]

I think one of the things we don't discuss and talk about enough is when we see (or don't see because we just weren't caring enough at the time) for the signs of stress that are easily identified as something wrong.

A.  Foam on the surface
B.  Fish breathing rapidly
C.  Fish not interested in food
D.  Otos, corys, and hillstream loached with rapid gills and or hearts going crazy on the glass

The other thing I will say that we don't discuss nearly enough is about people who are in the hobby but get far too comfortable instead of trying to fix issues they have.  I don't mean this in the negative sense of the word "issues", but I mean that if you have something that's bothering you, take the time to fix it or try things to fix it.

[lefty o]

i dont seem to have any large reactions from fishing around in the tank, and with my 120 when cleaning im pretty much into it up to my armpits. i do wash well after, and use a good lotion afterwards.

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

I work in healthcare so hand washing is super important to me, first thing I would teach my nursing students when I was a bedside nurse. I don't wash in hot water - it pulls more moisture out, leads to dryness and cracking and there is no real evidence that hot water is anymore hygienic then cold. I do a lot of frequent hand washing each time when I go from one tank to the next or with each step of the WC, I keep my trusty coop towel and a couple others with me, and the time and contact between your hands and tap water as well as friction is much more important then the soap in terms of hand washing. Lots of good info above. 

[Brandon p]

Just having your hands and arms in the water can do this by stripping the oils and natural defenses from are skin. The somewhat modern idea of using soaps(credit @Flumpweesel) and hand sanitizers and withe every since 2020 has increased this. I’m not saying be dirty and many people don’t want to contaminate tanks if you have more than one tank and wash well between tanks.  Humans are really the best water creatures and many of us have our hands an arms in water more than the average person. Also many common medicines that are taken I’ll use myself as and an example for, Heart meds, blood thinners, cholesterol mends, some anti-inflammatories, steroids. And the list goes on can make the skin more sensitive to the water it self. Nitrate and nitrites both can irate skin. Good skin by care can be important as I have never had to use any lontions or products but my skins has been very different since I have been on the meds for the heart attack.  

[nabokovfan87]

On 7/19/2022 at 11:47 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

I'm sure no one here wants to hear this but when I was going through college there was a lot of stress and time away from home with the commuting to campus etc, and I didn't pay attention to the tank. About every month I'd do a water change and run tests (always good readings, well seasoned tank), but gradually the fish were failing headcount with no sign of the "lost" fish anywhere. 

It was something I had posted "a while ago" and I forget the specific context.  My way of handling this situation was very specific.
 

Quote

When I need time to meditate, I will get some tea or coffee or a beverage and go observe the fish.  I cannot recommend that last one enough.  I'd love to challenge everyone to take 15 minutes and just stare. Force yourself to sit there long enough and be absorbed into that world and ignore the things around it....

 

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

So true @nabokovfan87. This should never be a chore. Sure, there’s maintenance, but to be able to sit and watch (get lost in that underwater world) is the ultimate payoff.

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

You know what is super rewarding for me? Watching a tank full of 34 baby snails eating green beans. And they often jump off the glass and stick the landing right on the green bean when I put it in the tank. 😍

Edited July 19, 2022 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea