Gloves: When to use them and when to skip them?

[LittleFidel]

I wear above-the-wrist yellow rubber gloves to feed and make minor adjustments. It helps me limit the amount of time I spend with my hands in the tank, and also helps me stay aware of what I may be cross-contaminating in and out of the aquarium.

 

[kels64]

I must admit that I've never been a big fan of wearing gloves in the tank although at times I wished I had! Today let's talk about what you do and the appropriate times when to wear gloves!

1. Do you wear gloves when working in your reef aquarium?

2. When should you be wearing gloves if not all the time?

3. What brand and type of gloves do you use?

I never wore gloves until recently. I started noticing that when I would do work in my aquarium after a little bit I would start to get a numb tongue. It would take about 12 to 24 hours for me to get any sensation or taste back. I didn’t know at first what was causing it and then I noticed it was every time I worked in my aquarium. I have started using gloves now even though I don’t really like them and I’m not so good it always remembering to put them on before I stick my hand in the aquarium.

 

[joec]

There is no dexterity with gloves

Just wash your hands and arms well with soap and water when you're done and you will be fine

 

[LittleFidel]

I never wore gloves until recently. I started noticing that when I would do work in my aquarium after a little bit I would start to get a numb tongue. It would take about 12 to 24 hours for me to get any sensation or taste back. I didn’t know at first what was causing it and then I noticed it was every time I worked in my aquarium. I have started using gloves now even though I don’t really like them and I’m not so good it always remembering to put them on before I stick my hand in the aquarium.

I was in the same position. I would get shortness of breath and night sweats whenever I returned to my home after a trip; I finally realized the missing link was that I was working in the aquarium without gloves, and was probably touching my eyes, mouth, and other parts of my home with hands covered in bacteria and viruses. To me, it is now no different than cleaning the cat's litterbox with bare hands and eating a cookie afterwards. I see animal husbandry in a new light as a result.

 

[GoniswiththeWind]

Hubs and I recently started wearing arm length gloves whenever we are in a tank to avoid introducing contaminates given the heavy increase in hand sanitizer use. That and we added Palys and thought it would just be smarter to do it

 

[Tacticool-Reefer]

Gloves every time. Shoulder length for tank maintenance and latex for touching frags, rocks etc

Same!

 

[vabben]

Only wear them if I'm mixing up some coral epoxy. Just wear disposable nitrile gloves to avoid turning my fingers pink. Normal work in the tank, fragging, etc is always gloveless.

 

[thermoJoe]

I seldom wear them, but this topic is timely, as I had to go see the doc, get some antibiotics, some topical steroids, and some anti-histamines for this a few weeks ago:

I had some general swelling of fingers due to bristle worms (not usually a problem), but the main punctures on my middle finger I think we probably from grabbing into some small foraminifera that then inoculated my finger with the surface microbiome on the foram. So next time I go to scrub bubble algae off some rock, I'll be wearing a glove (leather?) for that.
Because I acted quickly (next morning), is started healing pretty quickly, but there is still some skin discoloration a month later.

 

[Midrats]

Only Sailors use those!!

Maybe the Navy type.

 

[BillFish Coral Lover]

I seldom wear them, but this topic is timely, as I had to go see the doc, get some antibiotics, some topical steroids, and some anti-histamines for this a few weeks ago:

I had some general swelling of fingers due to bristle worms (not usually a problem), but the main punctures on my middle finger I think we probably from grabbing into some small foraminifera that then inoculated my finger with the surface microbiome on the foram. So next time I go to scrub bubble algae off some rock, I'll be wearing a glove (leather?) for that.
Because I acted quickly (next morning), is started healing pretty quickly, but there is still some skin discoloration a month later.

Whoa. Thanks for sharing. I think I'll go get out those long yellow gloves I bought and only used a few times.

 

[WallyB]

I wear gloves ALL the time.

Learned a Lesson a few times. Last was the worst.
Something from a Live Rock Pierced my skin finger tip. It was enbedded inside and wouldn't come out.
I waited a few days, and couldn't type of do anything.
After the Trip to the Doctor, (which used a scapel to cut off the tip of my finger. I got the POINT!! )
The scapel cut was not painful, but I LOOKED while he CUT!!

Sure the Thick Up to Shoulder versions are a pain for dexterity. Those are used for less meticulous work.

For fine work, I use Cheap Surgical Nitrile Gloves

I have a bag of elastic bands, and wrap them over the glove ends at wrist level to prevent water getting in.

 

[Nhjmc]

When I first started in hobby (just a year and a half ago I did only because I saw an article that stated should) but after spending $40-$50 on a couple different pairs of gloves that never kept water out I said "nevermind!". I try not to touch the corals sometimes I do on the base but grab by the base of frag plug, have touched GSP many times with no issues can't kill that stuff or pulsing xenia.

 

[Nhjmc]

I wear gloves ALL the time.

Learned a Less a few times. Last was the worst.
Something from a Live Rock Pierced my skin finger tip. It was enbedded inside and wouldn't come out.
I waited a few days, and couldn't type of do anything.
After the Trip to the Doctor, (which used a scapel to cut off the tip of my finger. I got the POINT!! )

Sure the Thick Up to Shoulder versions are a pain for dexterity. Those are used for less meticulous work.

For fine work, I use Cheap Surgical Nitrile Gloves

I have a bag of elastic bands, and wrap them over the glove ends at wrist level to prevent water getting in.

Never thought to use rubberbands! Thanks!

 

[Nhjmc]

Well take it from the guy who got a mycobacterium infection from the tanks at work. followed by the surgery and 9 months of antibiotics. You probably do want to wear gloves.

Holy crap!? Think I'll start wearing gloves now.

 

[N1Husker]

Only girly girls wear gloves.

 

[jgvergo]

I use them any time I will have my hands in the tank for more than a second or two. I've had a pair of these since 2016 and they have been worth every penny.

 

[RobB'z Reef]

I seldom wear them, but this topic is timely, as I had to go see the doc, get some antibiotics, some topical steroids, and some anti-histamines for this a few weeks ago:

I had some general swelling of fingers due to bristle worms (not usually a problem), but the main punctures on my middle finger I think we probably from grabbing into some small foraminifera that then inoculated my finger with the surface microbiome on the foram. So next time I go to scrub bubble algae off some rock, I'll be wearing a glove (leather?) for that.
Because I acted quickly (next morning), is started healing pretty quickly, but there is still some skin discoloration a month later.

Sorry you had this experience for sure! I l hope it pans out. That being said I don't think this is the normal. Use your best judgement, but in the end you really can't generalze. Extreme examples are great but don't let those become mainstream thinking. Let us know, hope you recover!

 

[kelp47]

I always wear gloves except for feeding. I don't want to be that person who manages to pick up a nasty bacteria from the tank. And I've developed eczema on my hands, which flares up in aquarium water.

If I'm dealing with something I don't need much dexterity for, I use those thick yellow shoulder length gloves. If I need dexterity, I use large shoulder length agricultural OB gloves (super cheap) for water proofing, with another tight fitting wrist length glove over it for tight fit and puncture protection. The second glove used to be a heavy duty nitrile glove (with a rubber band around the wrist), but I haven't been able to buy any since the pandemic started. Now I use a fabric glove with a rubber coating on the palm and fingers. It has elastic around the wrist and works great.

 

[robert teseo]

i don't wear them when i dive, why would i wear them in a tank?

 

[davidcalgary29]

I almost always wear shoulder-length gloves for anything to do with my tanks. I got a bit of a chemical burn a bit a few weeks ago with some of the dry chemicals for the Red Sea nitrite test, and it was a good reminder to me that aquarium-related harm isn't always found within the tank itself.