List of potential “airborne” dangers (to humans) from reef tanks?

[robanister]

Used to get red face when everything was dying and looking bad.

 

[BubblesandSqueak]

How is that going to stop his face burning. I think it's psychosomatic at this point. See a therapist. Any tank deaths or reasons you hate your tank...

like alcohol sensitivity, when ingested, creates a flushing of the skin face. same would imply to breathing in vapors.

 

[robanister]

like alcohol sensitivity, when ingested, creates a flushing of the skin face. same would imply to breathing in vapors.

Well that's easy too humidity and air quality meter.

 

[Amber.]

*Not a doctor + please have someone present if you do this.


I have to agree to check allergens - try putting a small splotch of your tank water on one arm and mark it where you put it with a picture or marker, and then on the other arm, try holding a brine shrimp cube or other food you feed your fish and take a picture or mark it with a marker. If either turn red, you have somewhat of an answer.

Also check for mold around where your tank is. Mold could also be a huge trigger point for itchy scratchy face and break outs.

I found out I’m allergic to alfalfa/hay. A lot of fish food herbivore formulas contain alfalfa, as well as some dog foods. Every time I’d be exposed to them, I would break out with a rash on my hands and my face would be on fire. Never was able to figure out what the problem was until I visited a friend who had rabbits. Their Bunny had some hay on its back and my hands started breaking out. I grabbed some hay straight from their bag and rubbed it on my arm. Hey- what do you know? I found my allergen. Checked the fish food and the dog food when I got home - hey - they also contain alfalfa - what are the odds?

 

[onlyreefers]

How is that going to stop his face burning. I think it's psychosomatic at this point. See a therapist. Any tank deaths or reasons you hate your tank...

I’ve certainly considered this as a possibility.. not impossible, as I have no definitive answer yet. Could it have been an episodic imprint, possibly. However, I believe I’m well aware and in tune with my mental health awareness. Freak stuff can happen though.

Btw.. I have no subconscious issues with the tank. I had a FOWLR for 2 years, then 2 reef tanks for 3 years, before taking a break, until now, restarting.

 

[Charles Zinn]

Really hoping Randy will see this.. but I’m curious what potential dangers can emit from a reef tank.. not from stirring up the components, but merely existing in stasis..

Maybe..
Salt water ingredients
Some unique bacteria fuming in the air
Plumbing or tubing emission
Unique chemical/gas emission with the tank acting as a “humidifier”

unnecessary backing to question below…

When I get near the tank, my face starts to burn. No rash. No coughing, wheezing, sneezing. Only time it seems to happen. Feels like a chemical peel.

It could be coincidental or some sort of unique first nightmare exposure. I’m aware of hydrogen sulfide, but from what I’ve seen, unless you’ve had direct exposure from a gas exchange, like stirring up a DSB, then there should not be a level of H2S free floating in the air, to the point of causing irritation to a person.

I “eliminated” the led lights as and issue to the skin, as I have bought diffusers and limited exposure. and my face doesn’t get red, just burns and hot, no rash. I have hypersensitive smell capabilities and the sump seems to hit hard when opening the doors. Tried creams and lotions to rebuild skin barrier.

I’ve seen a doctor and dermatologist, but no rash, allergy reactions or redness.. so no answer except coincidental auto-immune or environmental.

Nothing crazy in sump, just mechanical filtration (skimmer) and a bag of carbon. Tank is rock, clowns, mushrooms, hermits and a couple snails..

Do you have zoanthids or palyzoas?

 

[onlyreefers]

Do you have zoanthids or palyzoas?

Nope

 

[onlyreefers]

Following up.. spent a couple days out of town to see rule out an environmental cause. No issues while away, on the way back, stopped at a LFS, dipped my head down to look at frags in the shallow tank.. boom.. the burn came sizzling, tried another store.. same thing. Confident to say there is no “toxin” independent to my tank.

So, I believe I somehow developed an uncanny sensitivity to either the intensity or some other component in the LEDs, no issue out in the sun though. Weird.. Tested things out again 2 hours later at home, lights off acclimating fish and corals, no problem.. Turned the lights on, lifted the shade a bit.. face starts frying

Tried testing out different body parts to see sensitivity.. apparently only the face. Might be a new medication side effect or a skin barrier issue from something else. I didn’t have this issue with LEDs 3 years ago and can’t find any circumstantial, similar stories. Going to treat my skin and see how things go once this diffuser comes in. Whatever the case, no issue with my tank specifically, merely a reaction to any tank/system, in this case related to strong lighting. Allergy to saltwater wouldn’t cause burning skin sensations, solely effecting the face, without a rash or other reaction to other skin on my body at direct contact, but I’m no doctor.

Thanks for all the help! It was cool to hear and see some interesting information on the science attached.

 

[Amber.]

Following up.. spent a couple days out of town to see rule out an environmental cause. No issues while away, on the way back, stopped at a LFS, dipped my head down to look at frags in the shallow tank.. boom.. the burn came sizzling, tried another store.. same thing. Confident to say there is no “toxin” independent to my tank.

So, I believe I somehow developed an uncanny sensitivity to either the intensity or some other component in the LEDs, no issue out in the sun though. Weird.. Tested things out again 2 hours later at home, lights off acclimating fish and corals, no problem.. Turned the lights on, lifted the shade a bit.. face starts frying

Tried testing out different body parts to see sensitivity.. apparently only the face. Might be a new medication side effect or a skin barrier issue from something else. I didn’t have this issue with LEDs 3 years ago and can’t find any circumstantial, similar stories. Going to treat my skin and see how things go once this diffuser comes in. Whatever the case, no issue with my tank specifically, merely a reaction to any tank/system, in this case related to strong lighting. Allergy to saltwater wouldn’t cause burning skin sensations, solely effecting the face, without a rash or other reaction to other skin on my body at direct contact, but I’m no doctor.

Thanks for all the help! It was cool to hear and see some interesting information on the science attached.

Could it be photosensitivity to the UV spectrum specifically in certain lights? Very interesting! I wish you the best and thank you for the update - hope all is well.

 

[onlyreefers]

Could it be photosensitivity to the UV spectrum specifically in certain lights? Very interesting! I wish you the best and thank you for the update - hope all is well.

Thanks! Yea, that’s the big question. I’m curious to know the light intricacies, so I’m working down a rabbit hole of info. I want to say I read, so I might be/probably wrong, but that the typical reef LEDs don’t emit the type of UV, if any at all, to really affect skin, some regards to UV-B and UV-C being non-existent. Some talk of blue light affecting eyes, but not skin. I’m sure if you had enough constant direct exposure under one for hours, you might get some repercussions, but not instant reactions.

I’d be interested to know if it’s a certain color in the spectrum or just overall. I’m the only one affected so I’ll turn over some more stones for more answers.. guess I’ll build a custom orange film/acrylic head gear or welders mask when going up to the tank haha

 

[onlyreefers]

Thanks! Yea, that’s the big question. I’m curious to know the light intricacies, so I’m working down a rabbit hole of info. I want to say I read, so I might be/probably wrong, but that the typical reef LEDs don’t emit the type of UV, if any at all, to really affect skin, some regards to UV-B and UV-C being non-existent. Some talk of blue light affecting eyes, but not skin. I’m sure if you had enough constant direct exposure under one for hours, you might get some repercussions, but not instant reactions.

I’d be interested to know if it’s a certain color in the spectrum or just overall. I’m the only one affected so I’ll turn over some more stones for more answers.. guess I’ll build a custom orange film/acrylic head gear or welders mask when going up to the tank haha

Going to try this thing out lol

The orange will probably work with the blue, like the fritz glasses, so maybe a win win

 

[strich]

Seems you're ruling out airborne humidity issues, but just in case that ends up being the root cause: You could look into reducing evaporation through tank and sump lids. If its too hard to fit a lid to the sump due to pipes etc I've seen people put pingpong balls in there which drastically reduce the surface area and evaporation.

As for lighting issues: The UV spectrum kicks in at about 380nm (UV-A), but its typically not considered harmful until around 315nm and below, where it goes from UV-B to UV-C. I don't think any common reef lights go below 380nm with some using a little 365nm. If you look up your lights you'll find out exactly what you're getting. I don't really know about the medical side of things, but blue light (400nm range) is the most powerful visible light due to its ability to penetrate matter (which is why reefers use it). You could simple use way less blue light on your tank for awhile and see how it feels.

 

[onlyreefers]

Seems you're ruling out airborne humidity issues, but just in case that ends up being the root cause: You could look into reducing evaporation through tank and sump lids. If its too hard to fit a lid to the sump due to pipes etc I've seen people put pingpong balls in there which drastically reduce the surface area and evaporation.

As for lighting issues: The UV spectrum kicks in at about 380nm (UV-A), but its typically not considered harmful until around 315nm and below, where it goes from UV-B to UV-C. I don't think any common reef lights go below 380nm with some using a little 365nm. If you look up your lights you'll find out exactly what you're getting. I don't really know about the medical side of things, but blue light (400nm range) is the most powerful visible light due to its ability to penetrate matter (which is why reefers use it). You could simple use way less blue light on your tank for awhile and see how it feels.

This is very helpful! Helped me start looking in the right direction. Looks like blue light can indeed affect the skin, looks more like long exposure, but wide range of info to sort through. I have the Noopsyche Pro 3’s. Not much data on their nm, but looks in line with the typical others.

I can’t adjust said “pink” light.

 

[strich]

Ah that's a shame, and I guess you're running a heavily blue aquarium. Assuming this is your medical issue, you might want to consider transitioning to a naturally lit white lit reef style (which I think is better anyway).

You should do more to verify the medical side before making any big changes to the tank - I would try taking the lights off the tank, setting them up in a different safe room with a similar amount of light wash and visibility as your tank, and testing yourself against them something like 5 times across 5 days. If its 5/5 issues then I would go buy naturally lit lights for the tank and start slowly transitioning the tank from the blues to the white light.

 

[onlyreefers]

Ah that's a shame, and I guess you're running a heavily blue aquarium. Assuming this is your medical issue, you might want to consider transitioning to a naturally lit white lit reef style (which I think is better anyway).

You should do more to verify the medical side before making any big changes to the tank - I would try taking the lights off the tank, setting them up in a different safe room with a similar amount of light wash and visibility as your tank, and testing yourself against them something like 5 times across 5 days. If its 5/5 issues then I would go buy naturally lit lights for the tank and start slowly transitioning the tank from the blues to the white light.

Yea, I’ll start seeing what I can do to lower the blues. I only have some softies and fish in there right now. I really limit my exposure. I’m hoping this diffuser will dial back the isolated intensity, if not I’ll have to do a DIY canopy over a rimless tank with vaulted ceilings :/

I have shades on them right now, but no acrylic sheet under. Lights are already on pretty low though.. really just want the blues at night to see the corals pop

 

[BubblesandSqueak]

antibiotics will cause a skin sensitivity, tetracyclines, sulfonamides etc... usually says sunlight or led with natural mimic light. like you said any medications you take will list this. would think though you'd have some issues in bright sunlight. so is your plan to just turn the lights off whenever you go near the tank? if you go through each individual light spectrum and turn it off to see which one, you could just make 2 settings and flip between them when your home vs away.

 

[onlyreefers]

antibiotics will cause a skin sensitivity, tetracyclines, sulfonamides etc... usually says sunlight or led with natural mimic light. like you said any medications you take will list this. would think though you'd have some issues in bright sunlight. so is your plan to just turn the lights off whenever you go near the tank? if you go through each individual light spectrum and turn it off to see which one, you could just make 2 settings and flip between them when your home vs away.

Yea, I’ve taken doxycycline before and stayed out in the sun coaching some baseball games, skin turned practically purple, but that was 10 years ago. Started a new med in January, for a medical condition (not autoimmune), no potential side effect history regarding photosensitivity online. The only other thing I can think of is getting a facial back in December, where they did a light peel, the lightest one at like 1%, and it messed up my skin barrier.. but skin is supposed to shed and reform within like 6 weeks, so it shouldn’t matter now. Or.. age and freak reaction. My assumption is blue light apparently has longer wavelengths, which is why my face doesn’t get red. Sunlight UV is shorter and really tags less deep into the skin, aka sunburn, dermal reaction. Super strange.

My plan is to cover my face (got a ski mask somewhere lol) near it until the diffuser comes in. I may cut a small hole on one side to see if I can localize the irritation and further prove it. If the diffuser doesn’t help and light still comes through, I’ll build a canopy.. let my wife do the under light stuff. Hopefully by the time all that’s said and done, I’ll have some more info from the doctors on what it is and what can be done.

If none of that works then I’ll sell it and have a mental breakdown of disappointment..

 

[BubblesandSqueak]

Yea, I’ve taken doxycycline before and stayed out in the sun coaching some baseball games, skin turned practically purple, but that was 10 years ago. Started a new med in January, for a medical condition (not autoimmune), no potential side effect history regarding photosensitivity online. The only other thing I can think of is getting a facial back in December, where they did a light peel, the lightest one at like 1%, and it messed up my skin barrier.. but skin is supposed to shed and reform within like 6 weeks, so it shouldn’t matter now. Or.. age and freak reaction. My assumption is blue light apparently has longer wavelengths, which is why my face doesn’t get red. Sunlight UV is shorter and really tags less deep into the skin, aka sunburn, dermal reaction. Super strange.

My plan is to cover my face (got a ski mask somewhere lol) near it until the diffuser comes in. I may cut a small hole on one side to see if I can localize the irritation and further prove it. If the diffuser doesn’t help and light still comes through, I’ll build a canopy.. let my wife do the under light stuff. Hopefully by the time all that’s said and done, I’ll have some more info from the doctors on what it is and what can be done.

If none of that works then I’ll sell it and have a mental breakdown of disappointment..

I was informed by my allergist that your body chemistry changes about every 7 years. so reactions can come and go. found out the hard way I became allergic to nuts almost over night.

 

[onlyreefers]

I was informed by my allergist that your body chemistry changes about every 7 years. so reactions can come and go. found out the hard way I became allergic to nuts almost over night.

Wow, nut allergy is nothing to play with either!!! Science is weird. Aging sucks. Such is life.

 

[robanister]

Yea, I’ve taken doxycycline before and stayed out in the sun coaching some baseball games, skin turned practically purple, but that was 10 years ago. Started a new med in January, for a medical condition (not autoimmune), no potential side effect history regarding photosensitivity online. The only other thing I can think of is getting a facial back in December, where they did a light peel, the lightest one at like 1%, and it messed up my skin barrier.. but skin is supposed to shed and reform within like 6 weeks, so it shouldn’t matter now. Or.. age and freak reaction. My assumption is blue light apparently has longer wavelengths, which is why my face doesn’t get red. Sunlight UV is shorter and really tags less deep into the skin, aka sunburn, dermal reaction. Super strange.

My plan is to cover my face (got a ski mask somewhere lol) near it until the diffuser comes in. I may cut a small hole on one side to see if I can localize the irritation and further prove it. If the diffuser doesn’t help and light still comes through, I’ll build a canopy.. let my wife do the under light stuff. Hopefully by the time all that’s said and done, I’ll have some more info from the doctors on what it is and what can be done.

If none of that works then I’ll sell it and have a mental breakdown of disappointment..

Try spf 90 suntan lotion.