Hand Sanitisers & Aquariums?

[Balticbob]

Due to the covid 19 that’s happening currently, there lots of folks, myself included now use hand sanitisers quite a number of times during the day every day

Have been reading about hand sanitisers and the ingredients of those seem to be high in alcohol and Aloe Vera as swell as other chemicals that helps deodorise smells etc

Obviously those are dangerous for our fishy friends.

If one was routinely using hand sanitiser gel throughout the day and forget to rinse or wash hands before putting hands into our aquarium, is this truly dangerous for our livestock?

What cures or recommendations would you suggest if something like this was to happen to one of our members?

For example I would suggest the following-

Large water changes
Adding active carbon

Would even moving the livestock to a new tank be recommended as would the hand sanitiser cling on surfaces in the aquarium?

Also will the beneficial bacteria and/or filter media be affected?

Lots of questions and not much answers from my google searches so far.

I would not be concerned about this,.
1. The Alcohol evaporates from your hands so there is no trace of that left,and 2,the other ingredients would be in so small concentrations that it would not be noticed by your fish.Its just a simple fact of ratios,water to these other ingredients,it so minute,it would probably be different if the whole bottle of sanitizer went in,but whos gonna make that blunder?. Just my opinion,I'm sure others will think differently.

 

[kwi]

I would not be concerned about this,.
1. The Alcohol evaporates from your hands so there is no trace of that left,and 2,the other ingredients would be in so small concentrations that it would not be noticed by your fish.Its just a simple fact of ratios,water to these other ingredients,it so minute,it would probably be different if the whole bottle of sanitizer went in,but whos gonna make that blunder?. Just my opinion,I'm sure others will think differently.

But alcohol is not the only main ingredient in use, the most common alternative biocide,benzalkonium chloride, is highly toxic to aquatic life, the second most common is an very effective aquatic herbicide and causes deveopmental issues in fish.

Two of the biggest brand named sanitisers in the states, Purell and Germ-X are not alcohol based and are still selling in large quantities despite not being on the American CDCs approved list, they contain benzalkonium chloride.
(Though I have noted Purell is now using ethyl alcohol.)

The Irish government bought a load of hand sanitiser that is harmful to human health and has had to close schools over it, the hospitals in Northern Ireland have also bought the same stuff so it is now languishing in a store room.

If all sanitisers were just alcohol and aloe then this probably wouldn't be an issue, but they're not and it is.
(Some sanitisers are just Tea Tree oil.........I'll sell you some rose quartz infused water if you think that's effective.)

 

[itiwhetu]

We are all mad, why would we do this!!. This whole sanitizer thing is to protect life not destroy it.

 

[CassCats]

We are all mad, why would we do this!!. This whole sanitizer thing is to protect life not destroy it.

Gotta go overboard, that's why lol
And shortage of the usual stuff in them.

If given the choice to use hand sanitizer or wash hands with soap and water, much rather use the soap and water with a good thorough Scrub and rinse.

 

[kwi]

But then there is also this concern........

Larne man summons devil after accidentally using "hand satanizer"

A County Antrim man has inadvertently summoned Lucifer from the pits of hell after buying some dodgy hand sanitizer on Facebook. 48-year-old father of none Billy Lumford purchased the liquid from South-East Antrim Buy 'n Sell last Tuesday, apparently unconcerned that the label on the bottle sai

theulsterfry.com

 

[Jim Sinclair]

I would not be concerned about this,.
1. The Alcohol evaporates from your hands so there is no trace of that left,and 2,the other ingredients would be in so small concentrations that it would not be noticed by your fish.Its just a simple fact of ratios,water to these other ingredients,it so minute,it would probably be different if the whole bottle of sanitizer went in,but whos gonna make that blunder?. Just my opinion,I'm sure others will think differently.

Have you actually read this thread before posting a reply to it?
Members of this forum have posted in this thread that they have personally lost fish due to hand sanitizer exposure.
Graphic descriptions and pictures have been posted here.
Are you saying they made all that up??

 

[Jim Sinclair]

Data point: I just stopped by my favorite LFS to buy another air pump. This is not the same LFS that I called for advice on the day when my favorite LFS was closed, and the guy told me he'd had a lot of customers have problems because of using hand sanitizer and then putting hands in fish tanks. This was a different LFS.
After completing my transaction, which I paid for in cash so he was handling physical money, the guy squirted some hand sanitizer onto his hands from a bottle that was sitting on the counter. I asked him if he'd had, or heard about, any issues involving hand sanitizer use and aquariums. He said no, that was the first thing he thought of back in February when hand sanitizers began being strongly recommended, but he had not had any problems. He said he makes sure it is thoroughly dry on his hands before he handles anything that goes into a tank.
I looked at the ingredients on the brand of sanitizer he uses: nothing but alcohol, glycerin, and hydrogen peroxide.

I am still using soap and water on my hands immediately upon coming into the house and before handling anything to do with fish.

 

[FFGuest6357]

Data point: I just stopped by my favorite LFS to buy another air pump. This is not the same LFS that I called for advice on the day when my favorite LFS was closed, and the guy told me he'd had a lot of customers have problems because of using hand sanitizer and then putting hands in fish tanks. This was a different LFS.
After completing my transaction, which I paid for in cash so he was handling physical money, the guy squirted some hand sanitizer onto his hands from a bottle that was sitting on the counter. I asked him if he'd had, or heard about, any issues involving hand sanitizer use and aquariums. He said no, that was the first thing he thought of back in February when hand sanitizers began being strongly recommended, but he had not had any problems. He said he makes sure it is thoroughly dry on his hands before he handles anything that goes into a tank.
I looked at the ingredients on the brand of sanitizer he uses: nothing but alcohol, glycerin, and hydrogen peroxide.

I am still using soap and water on my hands immediately upon coming into the house and before handling anything to do with fish.

just getting back into the hobby, and previously I was under the impression that soap residue was bad... is it just a thorough rinsing that makes it safe? Or was i given bad info?

I just rinse completely with water only for an extended period of time no matter what, is that enough?

 

[CassCats]

just getting back into the hobby, and previously I was under the impression that soap residue was bad... is it just a thorough rinsing that makes it safe? Or was i given bad info?

I just rinse completely with water only for an extended period of time no matter what, is that enough?

I rinse thoroughly too, twice as long as I Scrub. Then dry completely.

As I've learned, can't be too careful.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

But then there is also this concern........

Larne man summons devil after accidentally using "hand satanizer"

A County Antrim man has inadvertently summoned Lucifer from the pits of hell after buying some dodgy hand sanitizer on Facebook. 48-year-old father of none Billy Lumford purchased the liquid from South-East Antrim Buy 'n Sell last Tuesday, apparently unconcerned that the label on the bottle sai

theulsterfry.com

This bit was the best;
" “After it arrived, I urgently needed some ski equipment, a welding mask and a horse blanket, so I thought I’d check out Lidl’s middle aisle,” he explained."

 

[Ch4rlie]

Went to Sainsbury’s store to buy sandwich and drink for my lunch, used their hand sanitiser before entering store and again when I left the store.

During lunch I licked my fingers, and that sanitiser left a horrible taste, and had to drink some OJ to take taste away and still had a nasty bitter aftertaste.

No wonder our fishy friends have a reaction to hand sanitisers when we put hands into the tank water.

If I have a reaction after just one second then imagine what our tank livestock have to go through as the residue of whatever it is on hand sanitisers will continue to be present in water column so they will breathe this in constantly!!

Please, please ensure you wash or rinse your hands and arms before adding to aquarium,

Actually would in fact recommend doing this before you eat too!

 

[CassCats]

Found one of my household sanitizers.
Not the one used with my incident though, but just throwing some thought fodder out there

Ingredients

 

[Jim Sinclair]

just getting back into the hobby, and previously I was under the impression that soap residue was bad... is it just a thorough rinsing that makes it safe? Or was i given bad info?

I just rinse completely with water only for an extended period of time no matter what, is that enough?

Soap residue would definitely be bad for fish.

But so would residue from other things that soap is designed to remove from your hands--like motor oil, insect repellent, any kind of lotion, hand sanitizer even! Soap is very effective at getting all manner of crud off your skin.

You should absolutely use soap. Lather and scrub thoroughly.

Then rinse very thoroughly to get all the soap off.

But please don't skip the soap.

 

[Jim Sinclair]

I am a poll worker at elections. This past summer at my state's primary election, polling places were supplied with hand sanitizer as well as bottles of a disinfectant solution for wiping down pens and voting equipment between users. I was looking at the label on the bottle to see what brand they were using and what the ingredients were. Someone from the Board of Elections happened to be there checking in on our station. She told me that the stuff in the bottle wasn't actually the product indicated by the label. They were refilling empty bottles with whatever new disinfectant solution they purchased in mass industrial quantities. And when I asked what brand they were using to refill the bottles, she didn't know.

(If someone will post a reminder for me on November 3, I will ask again what brands of hand sanitizer and disinfectant are in the bottles and will report back on whether anyone knows the answer.)

Okay, I am working at the polls today. As before, there are plastic spray bottles, one labeled "hand sanitizer" and one labeled "disinfectant." When the person from the Board of Elections came by to check on this station, I asked her what brands of products were in those bottles. She didn't know.

 

[CassCats]

Some lasting damage showing signs now things on the mend, one of my weitzmani cories is blinded in one eye.

So add that into complications and symptoms of this. Seems to hit the eyes hard.