What are the most dangerous aspects of this hobby?

[Lebowski_]

An electrical fire caused by a piece of equipment shorting out
I'm going through this right now
So far over $400000 in damage

Wow, what shorted? Where did the fire happen? Wiring/outlet or the equipment?

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Either the dangers to my bank account or the dangers of starting an electrical fire

 

[JohnD4g]

A tank leak. Been there..... wasn't pretty. But I got a new tank out of it.

 

[badsmitty]

Wow, what shorted? Where did the fire happen? Wiring/outlet or the equipment?

I was using a digital Aquatics controller it shorted out and started the fire
I'm lucky to be alive, the smoke dectors never went off. I hired an electrician and now they're all hardwired

 

[Lebowski_]

W

I was using a digital Aquatics controller it shorted out and started the fire
I'm lucky to be alive, the smoke dectors never went off. I hired an electrician and now they're all hardwired

we’re they all running on dead batteries?

 

[Stephen8169301]

Explaining to your spouse why you need to travel 1hr plus to meet with a random person giving a free coral away that you want badly always worth the risk

 

[eglabrescens]

Bankruptcy

And getting devoiced !!!

 

[curt]

Palytoxin never had a problem myself but know of a few people that have.

 

[CoralB]

Just to keep things in perspective, cooking may be at least as dangerous as reefing, but here are some:

For reefers:
Muriatic acid
calcium hydroxide
sodium hydroxide
bleach
some test kit ingredients can contain toxic heavy metals such as cadmium

For kids and pets:
many/most might be a concern if a kid ate them

What about your mention about FIRE . Other than overloading a circuit what other potential fire risks should we be looking for

 

[Cichlid Dad]

What about your mention about FIRE . Other than overloading a circuit what other potential fire risks should we be looking for

Salt water hitting power Strips, cheap overseas lights, trigger eating power head cords, hot lights coming in contact with combustibles, jealous wife or husband........

 

[Garf]

Revelling in ones own magnificence is usually a precursor to disaster, and messing with stuff that don’t need messing with.

 

[Miami Reef]

For reefers:
Muriatic acid
calcium hydroxide
sodium hydroxide
bleach
some test kit ingredients can contain toxic heavy metals such as cadmium

You forgot formaldehyde. LOTS of people are using it for uronema (a fish disease).

 

[Cichlid Dad]

You forgot formaldehyde. LOTS of people are using it for uronema (a fish disease).

What is so scary is when I was a kid, the doctor prescribed it to soak my feet in when I had athletic foot

 

[Miami Reef]

What is so scary is when I was a kid, the doctor prescribed it to soak my feet in when I had athletic foot

That’s horrible. I remember reading how often it was used before.

 

[Cichlid Dad]

That’s horrible. I remember reading how often it was used before.

That was 45 years ago, finger's crossed

 

[TinyFish]

Randy, what are some commonly used chemicals in the reef hobby that need to be handled safely and with respect?

At my old club, a reefer got Gorilla Super Glue on his eyelid because he wasn't being careful while fragging. Lots of people seem to run fast and loose with safety while handling bleach and muriatic acid in this hobby as well.

I honestly don’t know. I’ve always wondered what would happen if you consumed a bunch of dosing liquid. Like if i drank a whole bottle of alk would i be ticking out my eyes the next day?

 

[Lebowski_]

I honestly don’t know. I’ve always wondered what would happen if you consumed a bunch of dosing liquid. Like if i drank a whole bottle of alk would i be ticking out my eyes the next day?

This is the reefer version of "what would happen if I just swerved left off the side of this bridge?". Metal.

 

[bluerun]

Many of us have heard of a Palytoxin (If you haven’t, read this).

Lionfish and urchin toxicity is also pretty widely known about.

Corals and anemones have stung people badly enough to cause numbness, pain and scarring.

Water and electricity…drip loops people!

What are some other risks which can make this hobby dangerous if not respected?

The sheer amount of water that is being held together by some glass and glue. Keeps me up at night.

 

[Reefer Matt]

So let me offer a controversial opinion. GFCI is a risk in of itself and I don't trust them for my aquariums as they trip too easy (sometimes for no good reason) risking losing your entire tank if your away even a day or two. I have them in all my bathrooms and kitchen outlets though (already there when I moved in) and I know the behavior. I'm an engineer and certainly not a master electrician but I know this much from experience. At the slightest hint of a fault breakers in my panel trip instantly. Just last week I dropped the end of an extension cord in some water outdoors. Result was instant breaker trip and I have observed that behavior numerous times. 30 plus years and never an aquarium related shock (knock on wood). Now all my power is pulled through EB8's/EB832's which also have breakers and are plugged into properly wired and grounded outlets and the tank water is grounded with a titanium probe. If you're going to use a GFCI at least get the best quality one you can find and not some of the import junk that is out there.

In my opinion, if a new gfci keeps tripping on a tank, there is a short somewhere. I have a gfci and ground probe on all five of my tanks, with the oldest being five years. None of my gfci outlets constantly trip. To me, personal safety is more important than the safety of the tank inhabitants.

 

[j.falk]

Leaks and tanks exploding are my biggest fears. I have dreams about it all the time.

That never happens...