Cat Hair

JustinReef · 08/11/2008, 10:37 AM

I was just thinking the other day that a TON of cat hair must get into my tank. Its an open top tank and during summer the cats shed like crazy. Its been this way for quite a long time now and the tank seems healthy enough but I can't help but wonder if this could have a bad effect on the tank. It also made me realize that a lot of dust and whatnot must also be getting into the water on a daily basis. Anyone know if the cat hair could be bad long term?

Amoore311 · 08/11/2008, 10:38 AM

Not sure what problem it could possibly cause aside from maybe clogging up your pumps.

You would need a ton of cat hair for that to happy lol.

Tswifty · 08/11/2008, 10:39 AM

I notice cat har stuck to my powerheads occasionally. I'm keeping SPS and haven't noticed any negatives. As far as dust and other stuff goes, your skimmer should do a good enough job of pulling it out.

JustinReef · 08/11/2008, 12:34 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Amoore311
Not sure what problem it could possibly cause aside from maybe clogging up your pumps.

You would need a ton of cat hair for that to happy lol.

Oh there is a lot of cat hair...We have a very, very hairy cat. You should see the hairballs he hacks up!

I don't think its enough though to clog up the pumps. I have macro algae that does that for me.

Grunt · 08/11/2008, 12:51 PM

I've seen it get in the tank, but nothing really happened (that I know).

Slakker · 08/11/2008, 12:58 PM

Only one way to find out...

Kitty swimming lessons.

Tswifty · 08/11/2008, 01:01 PM

or a buzz cut

Slakker · 08/11/2008, 01:04 PM

Haha...that could work!

Unfortunately my cat passed before I got the tank (She was 15) and my parents were adamant that I wasn't getting another one until I was out of their house.

Luckily my roommate loves cats as well, so there will be two kittens around the apartment pretty soon...

I gotta start cat-proofing my tank...and my electronics...oh god, there are cords EVERYWHERE...

JustinReef · 08/11/2008, 01:07 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Slakker
Only one way to find out...

Kitty swimming lessons.

Actually I don't think I could convince him to give swimming another shot. He fell into the QT tank last year and didn't seem to like it too much. I think the water was too wet for him.

JustinReef · 08/11/2008, 01:08 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Tswifty8
or a buzz cut

At the beginning of the summer we thought of doing this but for some reason decided not to. I think we should have for his sake and the tanks.

Grunt · 08/11/2008, 01:09 PM

My cat knows her limits with water. I'd rather not get clawed up.

JustinReef · 08/11/2008, 01:14 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Grunt
My cat knows her limits with water. I'd rather not get clawed up.

I think my cat had limits but they went out the door when he realized that he was quick enough to swat fish OUT of the QT tank

Luckily I was home and heard splashing. Ran to the room and my 6" puffer was on the ground, my cat was standing on top of the light fixture over the the tank with wet paws and when I freaked out he tried to run away but fell in the tank. It sounds funny now but man it was stressful. I had a cat in the tank and a fish on the floor.

The cat actually only went about 3/4 in and pulled himself out but I still count it as falling in...

JustinReef · 08/11/2008, 01:15 PM

Oh and the puffer was fine and is still in my tank

maharkona · 08/11/2008, 01:42 PM

I find Dog and Cat hair in my tank at times with no noticable problems. However, the other day I found one of my wifes hair wrapped around my lemonaid, raspberry nasuata and freaked.

flyyyguy · 08/11/2008, 01:42 PM

One of my cats likes to jump up on the lids of my external C to C overflows and bat at the massive amount of surface agitation i have.

So there is surely some cat hair in the tank and I regularly grab a clump out fo the cls intakes here and there.

What scares me wouold be if he were to fall in. He wouold probably get out ok...maybe not, but he would surely splash and pop every halide up there.

Tswifty · 08/11/2008, 01:50 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by justinpsmith
I think my cat had limits but they went out the door when he realized that he was quick enough to swat fish OUT of the QT tank
Luckily I was home and heard splashing. Ran to the room and my 6" puffer was on the ground, my cat was standing on top of the light fixture over the the tank with wet paws and when I freaked out he tried to run away but fell in the tank. It sounds funny now but man it was stressful. I had a cat in the tank and a fish on the floor.

The cat actually only went about 3/4 in and pulled himself out but I still count it as falling in...

My g/f's cat did that too

It was in college, and I was taking a nap on the couch... Next thing I know I get sprayed with water. I jumped up and see a black and white flash shoot under the bed. Looked in the tank, and the puffer was about the size of a softball, and slowly deflating.

Also, almost had her go through glass tops on time jumping off a desk onto them.

My new setup is away from all furniture, and has a wooden canopy on it

Here's a video of what my cat does for hours:

Tswifty · 08/11/2008, 01:53 PM

oh yeah, just so you don't watch the whole thing... what I'm talking about is around 20 seconds from the end of the clip.

JustinReef · 08/11/2008, 01:57 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Tswifty8
My g/f's cat did that too

It was in college, and I was taking a nap on the couch... Next thing I know I get sprayed with water. I jumped up and see a black and white flash shoot under the bed. Looked in the tank, and the puffer was about the size of a softball, and slowly deflating.

Also, almost had her go through glass tops on time jumping off a desk onto them.

My new setup is away from all furniture, and has a wooden canopy on it

Here's a video of what my cat does for hours:

I think what happens with puffers is that they are so freakin friendly (and curious and hungry) and will great anybody at the water surface including the cat...the cat thinks cool, I bet he wants to play, Lets go play on the floor though...

JustinReef · 08/11/2008, 02:00 PM

Your yellow tang doesn't seem to like the cat too much but the Powder Blue doesn't look too scared. My cat does that too except swats at the fish from the top. I think I need to put some kind of netting over the tank...Im probably pushing my luck. The puffer that he scooped onto the ground won't go near the cat anymore though. He seemed to learn a lesson from his time on the hardwood.

Harry_Fish · 08/11/2008, 02:55 PM

I have 2 cats.

The older one could care less,
the younger one watches the tank and TV

Sk8r · 08/11/2008, 02:57 PM

just vacuum. The number of things of a volatile nature floating through your house (Windex, Murphy's Oil Soap, WD-40 and smoke from that potroast) that ARE lethal are far more a worry.

Slakker · 08/11/2008, 03:05 PM

O.o

Cooking fume/smell really that big of a danger? Every time I cook something in my apartment, the place smells like it for days...as you can imagine it constantly smells like a variety of foods. Does this pose a threat to my tank, or is it just when things get a little out of hand and start actually producing smoke?

Alaska_Phil · 08/11/2008, 07:00 PM

You could try a Furminator pet brush. They work wonderful pulling loose hair off my Malamute.

Speaking of which, I doubt very much that your cats shed half as much as my dog, and that hasn't caused any problems for the tanks.

Phil

Rustylugnuts · 08/11/2008, 08:19 PM

Sorry i couldn't resist

limitdown · 08/11/2008, 08:41 PM

I'd only be worried if you were using flea and/or tick treatment on the cat.

08/11/2008, 10:37 AM	#1
JustinReef Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 3,715	Cat Hair I was just thinking the other day that a TON of cat hair must get into my tank. Its an open top tank and during summer the cats shed like crazy. Its been this way for quite a long time now and the tank seems healthy enough but I can't help but wonder if this could have a bad effect on the tank. It also made me realize that a lot of dust and whatnot must also be getting into the water on a daily basis. Anyone know if the cat hair could be bad long term?

08/11/2008, 10:38 AM	#2
Amoore311 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Ulster County, NY Posts: 2,521	Not sure what problem it could possibly cause aside from maybe clogging up your pumps. You would need a ton of cat hair for that to happy lol. __________________ 30 Gallon FOWLR 2004-2006 90 Gallon LPS Reef 2006-2008 180 Gallon SPS Reef 2008-20012 100 Gallon Custom Rimless Mixed Reef 2012-2014 29 Gallon Biocube Reef! Current Current Tank Info: 29 Gallon Biocube, StevesLED Upgrade, Neptune Apex

08/11/2008, 10:39 AM	#3
Tswifty Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: PA Posts: 14,022	I notice cat har stuck to my powerheads occasionally. I'm keeping SPS and haven't noticed any negatives. As far as dust and other stuff goes, your skimmer should do a good enough job of pulling it out. __________________ "Enough light? Heck I could go barebottom and grow SPS in the stand!" - DiscoReefRover

08/11/2008, 12:58 PM	#6
Slakker Premium Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Southeastern Wisconsin Posts: 4,521	Only one way to find out... Kitty swimming lessons. __________________ -Tyler Oceanic 58RR display/20H sump/fuge thread...follow the red house. Current Tank Info: Oceanic 58g, 20H sump, AquaC EV-150, 175w Hamilton 14k + 2x39w T5HO Actinics

08/11/2008, 01:01 PM	#7
Tswifty Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: PA Posts: 14,022	or a buzz cut __________________ "Enough light? Heck I could go barebottom and grow SPS in the stand!" - DiscoReefRover

08/11/2008, 12:51 PM	#5
Grunt Premium Member Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Springfield, MO Posts: 1,038	I've seen it get in the tank, but nothing really happened (that I know).

08/11/2008, 01:04 PM	#8
Slakker Premium Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Southeastern Wisconsin Posts: 4,521	Haha...that could work! Unfortunately my cat passed before I got the tank (She was 15) and my parents were adamant that I wasn't getting another one until I was out of their house. Luckily my roommate loves cats as well, so there will be two kittens around the apartment pretty soon... I gotta start cat-proofing my tank...and my electronics...oh god, there are cords EVERYWHERE... __________________ -Tyler Oceanic 58RR display/20H sump/fuge thread...follow the red house. Current Tank Info: Oceanic 58g, 20H sump, AquaC EV-150, 175w Hamilton 14k + 2x39w T5HO Actinics

08/11/2008, 01:09 PM	#11
Grunt Premium Member Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Springfield, MO Posts: 1,038	My cat knows her limits with water. I'd rather not get clawed up.

08/11/2008, 01:15 PM	#13
JustinReef Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 3,715	Oh and the puffer was fine and is still in my tank

08/11/2008, 01:42 PM	#14
maharkona Moved On Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: cerritos Posts: 78	I find Dog and Cat hair in my tank at times with no noticable problems. However, the other day I found one of my wifes hair wrapped around my lemonaid, raspberry nasuata and freaked.

08/11/2008, 01:42 PM	#15
flyyyguy King of the white corals Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 5,239	One of my cats likes to jump up on the lids of my external C to C overflows and bat at the massive amount of surface agitation i have. So there is surely some cat hair in the tank and I regularly grab a clump out fo the cls intakes here and there. What scares me wouold be if he were to fall in. He wouold probably get out ok...maybe not, but he would surely splash and pop every halide up there. __________________ I like holding hands, snuggling, and long walks on the beach

08/11/2008, 01:53 PM	#17
Tswifty Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: PA Posts: 14,022	oh yeah, just so you don't watch the whole thing... what I'm talking about is around 20 seconds from the end of the clip. __________________ "Enough light? Heck I could go barebottom and grow SPS in the stand!" - DiscoReefRover

08/11/2008, 02:00 PM	#19
JustinReef Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 3,715	Your yellow tang doesn't seem to like the cat too much but the Powder Blue doesn't look too scared. My cat does that too except swats at the fish from the top. I think I need to put some kind of netting over the tank...Im probably pushing my luck. The puffer that he scooped onto the ground won't go near the cat anymore though. He seemed to learn a lesson from his time on the hardwood.

08/11/2008, 02:55 PM	#20
Harry_Fish Moved On Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Liverpool, NY Posts: 1,461	I have 2 cats. The older one could care less, the younger one watches the tank and TV

08/11/2008, 02:57 PM	#21
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	just vacuum. The number of things of a volatile nature floating through your house (Windex, Murphy's Oil Soap, WD-40 and smoke from that potroast) that ARE lethal are far more a worry. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

08/11/2008, 03:05 PM	#22
Slakker Premium Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Southeastern Wisconsin Posts: 4,521	O.o Cooking fume/smell really that big of a danger? Every time I cook something in my apartment, the place smells like it for days...as you can imagine it constantly smells like a variety of foods. Does this pose a threat to my tank, or is it just when things get a little out of hand and start actually producing smoke? __________________ -Tyler Oceanic 58RR display/20H sump/fuge thread...follow the red house. Current Tank Info: Oceanic 58g, 20H sump, AquaC EV-150, 175w Hamilton 14k + 2x39w T5HO Actinics

08/11/2008, 07:00 PM	#23
Alaska_Phil Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: North Pole Posts: 986	You could try a Furminator pet brush. They work wonderful pulling loose hair off my Malamute. Speaking of which, I doubt very much that your cats shed half as much as my dog, and that hasn't caused any problems for the tanks. Phil __________________ Don't be afraid to fall - if you're not falling down once in a while, you're not trying anything new and probably not having much fun. Current Tank Info: 50 gal mixed reef, 65 gal freshwater planted.

08/11/2008, 08:19 PM	#24
Rustylugnuts Powdered Toast Man Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Peoria, IL Posts: 813	Sorry i couldn't resist __________________ And now back to my regularly scheduled lurking. Drill It! Current Tank Info: Buncha parts and tanks of various size. Nothing currently running :(

08/11/2008, 08:41 PM	#25
limitdown Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 640	I'd only be worried if you were using flea and/or tick treatment on the cat. __________________ All I want for Christmas is to stay employed... Current Tank Info: 200g display + 50g sump FO