Am I overly Paranoid?

[lou dog420]

I would do it, but I can't afford a triton test!! Doh!!

 

[Scurvy]

I would do it, but I can't afford a triton test!! Doh!!

That post about surviving

I agree, lets prove it. Let me put a reef in my teenage daughters room, if it survives that, myth busted!! Lol

lol! 4 sisters.... I can't believe I survived it!

 

[lou dog420]

For a simple test you could take 3 open containers of RO/Di water, place the 3 containers in confined spaces, one container is the control, the other 2, burn a candle in one, spray some cologne/ hairspray in the other, then measure with TDS meter.

 

[Donovan Joannes]

I would do it, but I can't afford a triton test!! Doh!!

If the water turns black, you know it's no longer a RODI. Buy a few mollies and drop in it, if it dies in less than a minute, you know the answer already.

 

[Flippers4pups]

Maybe we could get @Randy Holmes-Farley on this!

Great discussion going on here! Love it! Let's keep it going!

I think it could be done without "killing" living things though.

 

[Flippers4pups]

Found a list of chemicals in household cleaners. These are known to pose a danger to humans in higher concentrations, so in our closed systems, they should be equally or more so dangerous to them. Don't think it's comprehensive list though:

Ingredient dangers

• Ammonia: Fatal if swallowed; skin, lung, throat irritant; can cause blindness
• Butyl Cellosolve: Irritation and tissue damage from inhalation
• Formaldehyde: Known carcinogen
• Hydrochloric Acid: Fatal if swallowed; concentrated fumes harmful
• Naphtha: Depresses the central nervous system
• Perchloroethylene: Damages liver, kidney, nervous system
• Petroleum Distillates: Highly flammable; can damage lung tissue and nerve cells
• Phenols: Extremely dangerous; suspected carcinogen
• Propylene Glycol: Ingestion can damage kidneys, lungs, heart, and nervous system
• Sodium Hydroxide (lye): Highly caustic. Contact can cause severe damage to eyes, skin, mouth, and throat; can cause liver and kidney damage
• Sodium Hypochlorite (chlorine bleach): Contact can cause severe damage to eyes, skin, mouth, and throat; can cause liver and kidney damage; causes more poisoning exposures than any household chemical
• Sodium Lauryl Sulfate: Skin irritant
• Sulfuric Acid: Dangerous. Can burn skin. Exposure to concentrated fumes can be carcinogenic
• Trichloroethane: Damages liver and kidney

 

[lou dog420]

Maybe we could get @Randy Holmes-Farley on this!

Great discussion going on here! Love it! Let's keep it going!

I think it could be done without "killing" living things though.

I can't say for certain how a TDS meter works, but Im going to assume it measures the conductivity of the water. I can say that I produce the cleanest water mathematically possible for a living. Ultra pure water is measured in resistivity, 18.2 meg ohm being the cleanist you can make. So if a TDS meter is converting conductivity into a total dissolved solids measurement, it could work.

 

[Dom]

My Wife has this obsession with candles and other scent releasing products.
I forbid her to place any on "my half" of the living room lol (where the tank sits)

I know we have had topics about hair sprays and lotions and things of that nature.
Would candles or other scent releasing items pose any type of threat to a tank?
they are all at least 15+ feet away from it, but i cant help but think about it immediately when i walk into the house and get slammed with a strong fruity smell of some kind.

LOL

I'm sure on some level, there is some chemistry going on between the byproduct from combustion of the candle and the gas exchange between the surface of the water and the room air. That being said I don't know that the quantities of whatever is getting in your water is enough to cause a problem. IMO

And yes; I think you're being paranoid.
(Hope you take that in the good nature in which it is intended)

 

[Flippers4pups]

There have been countless accounts of tank crashes for decades on the net due to suspected airborne contamination from sprays, household cleaners. It is a real problem.

 

[Donovan Joannes]

I believe with regular water changes, this issue is not significant to cause any harm. Accumulation of contaminating elements in a non water changes tank (i am running one) is highly possible. I am living next to a vegetable farm where weed killer, insecticide and regular usage of 2-stroke engines (brush cutter etc) poses a threat. I am no longer runs a skimmer, so no worries for now.

 

[Wh00pS32]

Found a list of chemicals in household cleaners. These are known to pose a danger to humans in higher concentrations, so in our closed systems, they should be equally or more so dangerous to them. Don't think it's comprehensive list though:

Ingredient dangers

• Propylene Glycol: Ingestion can damage kidneys, lungs, heart, and nervous system

Propylene Glycol seems to have no detremental effects on one of my tanks.
I've been a vaper for around 4 years and the vape liquid i use is made up of 50% Propylene Glycol. The room where i vape (my so called man cave) contains a 14g nano, i spend around 4 hours a day in there and it can get very misty when i'm puffing away so there will be a large amount of PG in the air a lot of the time. The nano is open top so i imagine quiet a bit gets into it but i have never seen any detrimental effects on the tank or it's inhabitants in the last 4 years.

BTW the WHO's safe limits for human consumption of Propylene Glycol is around 25ml per kilo of bodyweight per day and it is found in many everday items such as food, toothpaste, medicines, etc.

Don't know why the text has posted in bold, it wasn't intentional.

 

[Dom]

There have been countless accounts of tank crashes for decades on the net due to suspected airborne contamination from sprays, household cleaners. It is a real problem.

But from a burning candle?

 

[RyanCSGO]

When the candle is lit it's releasing everything into the air. I'm not too concerned about the top of the tank in regards to the candle. However the skimmer pulls in that same air into the reaction chamber. That's what sparked the question regarding candles.

 

[Flippers4pups]

But from a burning candle?

Candles no, crashes from household cleaners.

 

[A777flygirl]

I was using lysol to clean with....and then my dog started having seizures...goggle Lysol and seizures and see what you get!

It is a horrible cleaning product that people use to disinfect children's toys....that the the children put in their mouths...

I was horrified after reading how bad it is .....and people, like me, use it thinking we are cleaning....

 

[A777flygirl]

The EPA classifies lysol as an insecticide and i can't remember the word for it but I remember reading that it is so strong that it vaporizes through cabinate doors from where it is stored. I think it is extremely dangerous and advertised and sold....

Perhaps I am sharing too much of my paranoia....

 

[SalinFL]

The EPA classifies lysol as an insecticide and i can't remember the word for it but I remember reading that it is so strong that it vaporizes through cabinate doors from where it is stored. I think it is extremely dangerous and advertised and sold....

Perhaps I am sharing too much of my paranoia....

No way @flygirl, I totally agree with you. We are bombarded daily by harmful carcinogens, but people are intentionally kept blind to this fact. People are sadly under the false belief that a harmful product couldn't possibly be sold to the general public (Europe yes, they have different standards, but here in America we don't have those standards. Here we're all about profit so it's no holds barred). The only protections you have is your own intelligence - use it to make wise choices. Most people don't care to take the time to do their research.