Oh no...

[auntynatal]

I think I have just wiped out my entire tank

I did all my maintainance this morning, clean up, water change, added a new xenia, fed them, closed up the lid and went and washed my hands and then used an antibacterial hand lotion.

THEN...

and this is so utterly STUPID

I put my hand back in the tank to adjust a powerhead. Well, three fingers actually. My hand was dry, there wasn't wet antibacterial stuff on my fingers, but I have this incredible sinking feeling that I have just totally wrecked my tank.

Any advice or reassurances please.

[CyboRob]

Get more water ready, you might need it.

[bteagle93]

uh oh! think positive for now, just keep an eye on it man! Sorry to hear that!

[ACBlinky]

Keep an eye on things, especially the skimmer (which may overactivate/overflow while trying to remove the lotion), and you may want to run some carbon. I think you'll be fine though. Please post and let us know how things come out, so anyone else who has this issue will know. Good luck

[auntynatal]

I am devastated.

Does anyone have any idea how long it will take to know?
Will everything be dead in the morning?

My husband will kill me

[auntynatal]

I've got carbon running already and my skimmer is nice and empty because I stripped it down a scrubbed it this morning.

I have been so careful too. I could kick myself!!!

[allengy]

Hmm, I do that all the time. My tank seems to be ok except for all the algae growing in it.

[CyboRob]

Fyi, your tank is to small for Tangs.

[Young Frankenstein]

I would not worry too much about that, just run some carbon. Watch for a nitrate spike, if the bacteria colonies were wiped out you will get a nitrate spike first followed by a cycle.

[Runfrumu]

I'm pretty sure antibacterial hand lotion has been proven to not work as good as they claim. It's mostly just alcohol anyway's so it had already evaporated off your hands before you stuck them in. I wouldn't sweat it. Run some carbon if your still worried.

[dwd5813]

if you are overly concerned about it, start doing a series of waterchanges. i dont think it should be too devastating though.

[auntynatal]

Well they seem to be ok!

I didn't know my tank was too small for tangs. I will talk to the LFS and see what they say. How big a tank do tangs need then?

Don't mind buying a bigger tank if its absolutely necessary. I read a couple of articles that suggested a four foot tank would be fine to host them in.

Teach me to only read 2 or 3 articles when I should have read 10 lol

[Bkndsdl]

Originally posted by allengy
Hmm, I do that all the time. My tank seems to be ok except for all the algae growing in it.

auntynatal, as Allengy does, I do this all the time. Sometimes, I even do it 3 or 4 times a day. I have never had any adverse effects.

I think this is one of those 'myths' that sometimes spring up in all hobbies. I seriously doubt, unless you just turned over a whole bottle in the tank, you have anything to worry about. Shoot, I once pulled a real dumb move by using a new sponge to clean my 6g nano........not one ill effect.

[itsthesong]

IMO, tangs should be in a six foot tank. They need a lot of room to swim and a lot of flow.

[auntynatal]

Flow I have, feet I am lacking

Oh, well, I will exchange them if needs be. My regal tang is tiny (which must make a difference) less than a couple of inches from head to tail end, but my yellow bubble is considerably larger. My LFS will take them back without problem.

[CyboRob]

Here is the Reef Central sticky on Tangs.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...hreadid=739380

Good read on Tangs

[Mavrk]

Originally posted by auntynatal
Well they seem to be ok!

I didn't know my tank was too small for tangs. I will talk to the LFS and see what they say. How big a tank do tangs need then?

Don't mind buying a bigger tank if its absolutely necessary. I read a couple of articles that suggested a four foot tank would be fine to host them in.

Teach me to only read 2 or 3 articles when I should have read 10 lol

4 foot is the minimum for a single smaller species tang. Some of the others require at least 5 feet. I think most people don't think of a 40 long when speaking about this. Usually one is speaking of at least a 75 gallon for a single yellow tang. Having more than one tang of any kind requires a very large tank.

According to this post the following is recommended by RC:

Tangs are medium to large, active fish that need plenty of space. On the question of tank sizes, we defer to Scott W. Michael, who recommends the following minimum sizes in Marine Fishes, 500+ Essential-To-Know Aquarium Species, Microcosm Ltd., 1999:



Acanthurus achilles, Achilles Surgeonfish, 100 gal (380l).

Acanthurus coeruleus, Atlantic Blue Tang, 75 gal (285l).

Acanthurus japonicus, Powder Brown Tang, 75 gal (285l).

Acanthurus leucosternon, Powder Blue Tang, 100 gal (380l).

Acanthurus lineatus, Lined or Clown Surgeonfish, 180 gal (680l).

Acanthurus nigricans, Whitecheek Surgeonfish, 75 gal (285l).

Acanthurus olivaceus, Orangeshoulder Surgeonfish, 135 gal (510l).

Acanthurus pyroferus, Mimic Surgeonfish, 75 gal (285l).

Acanthurus sohal, Sohal Surgeonfish, 180 gal (680l).

Acanthurus tristegus, Convict Surgeonfish, 75 gal (285l).

Acanthurus tristis, Indian Mimic Surgeonfish, 75 gal (285l).

Ctenochaetus hawaiiensis, Chevron Tang, 100 gal (380l).

Ctenochaetus strigosus, Kole's Tang, 75 gal (285l).

Naso brevirostris, Spotted Unicornfish, 180 gal (685l).

Naso lituratus, Orangespine Unicornfish or Naso Tang, 135 gal (510l).

Naso unicornis, Bluespine Unicornfish, 200 gal (760l).

Paracanthurus hepatus, Pacific Blue Tang, 100 gal (380l).

Zebrasoma desjardinii, Indian Ocean or Red Sea Sailfin Tang, 135 gal (510l).

Zebrasoma flavescens, Yellow Tang, 75 gal (285l).

Zebrasoma scopas, Brown Tang, 75 gal (285l).

Zebrasoma veliferum, Sailfin Tang, 135 gal (510l).

Zebrasoma xanthurum, Purple Tang, 100 gal (380l).

[auntynatal]

Thanks for the info guys, will do my homework far more carefully in the future!

[IndigoSea]

Getting into the habit of washing your hands right before going into the tank is a good one. I don't really use antibacterial lotion after coming out of the tank, I just wash my arms and moisturize them (saltwater dries out my skin SO badly!)

The Conscientious Marine Aquarist is a great book with all sorts of basic information on tangs and other fish, as well as hardware, chemistry, etc