Dirt - was a great AIC record...

[Crawdads57]

So I'm starting up a couple more smaller tanks. A frag tank and a tank I intend to be a stand alone refugium (lets see what happens) food tank. Both are going to be rimless / lidless.

So I have a couple dogs too - 2 boston terriers. Not terrible shedders, but still, they don't take their shoes off when they come inside. My ol' lady is a fiend for the vacuum cleaner. And this all gets me thinking.

So I get on RC and search "dirt" then I search "dust" then I search "hair" and "dog hair."

Please go search "fuzz" on this forum - lol! I'm sure you can see what I'm getting at - and I wouldn't be surprised if other new-comers were embarrassed to ask the same thing. What is the deal with open top tanks and air-borne, house detritus? Should I be worried? Does no discussion exist because I should just somehow magically know what is too much "dust"? Or is it taboo because of the complication of the Orkin-man? He comes to my house. He says he stays away from, "the entire wall and the window that is by my tank." But does he? How the hell would I know -I'm at work!?

Experiences with dirt, insecticides, or fuzz? Please give me some peace of mind at the very least. Or scare the hell out of me - I'm ready!

[OrQidz]

My tanks are all open top, and honestly I've never noticed too much in the way of dog hair/lint. Some probably gets in there, judging by stuff that gets glommed onto the powerheads, but compared to all the stuff already in the tank it's no big deal. I think I had more issues when I had pugs (and they are shedding machines!). I would say it's kind of a non-issue really. There are plenty of other things to worry about, trust me :)

Insecticide....very very bad for your tank. Is your bug guy outside or inside? If it's outdoor bug spray it's probably not good for you either if it's getting into the house. I don't spray anything inside the house. I think you have to be really careful if you do, but I don't know too much about it.

[Crawdads57]

I hear ya. And I don't want to get too far off the regular house dirt thing, but I am in Florida, and some amount of barrier protection is really an absolute must. Unless you are cool with roaches... well... everywhere. Complication: I live on a horse farm. Its not like there's horse **** on my house, but its within 50 yards.

So let me put it a different way. I, we (she) dusts. Like dusts furniture and such. You know, like regular household "dusting." What is happening to the dust that goes in to my tank that must be in the same volume per sq/in as I carefully wipe off my lights?!?!?

[OrQidz]

Oh Florida...yeah you are in bug central there! I would probably just seal myself into a bubble if I had to deal with that many bugs.

As far as dust, I really wouldn't worry about it. I'm sure it gets in the tank, but you will never notice it. There is so much other icky gunk, unidentified weird stuff and hitch hikers both good and bad, that dust will quickly float right out of your list of worries I think.

[Crawdads57]

And on the topic of Orkin-man: he sprays all the door jams from inside - and all the window sills inside that are, "not by the tanks." And they spray like crazy outside for fire ants etc. Unless you are living in a rural area you won't really have a clear picture, but I have not seen any detriment to my tanks - either freshwater or salt.

But that's not what this is about - I'm really just asking about dirt and fuzz. If it doesn't do anything - great! SO WHAT HAPPENS TO IT?!?!?

[Crawdads57]

Oh Florida...yeah you are in bug central there! I would probably just seal myself into a bubble if I had to deal with that many bugs.

As far as dust, I really wouldn't worry about it. I'm sure it gets in the tank, but you will never notice it. There is so much other icky gunk, unidentified weird stuff and hitch hikers both good and bad, that dust will quickly float right out of your list of worries I think.

lol - thanks, but I'm just posting this here because it doesn't rightly belong on the chemistry forum. I get the bigger picture, but I'm really not convinced that there isn't any repercussion of dust in the tank on small systems. Does household dust break down to N? Or P? or ***? This is really my question.

[OrQidz]

Well, I have to say I don't know the answer... I've literally never heard of anyone worrying about dust before. First time for everything though! I'll be curious if anyone has more input.

[Crawdads57]

LOL - I know! That's what I'm saying! Noone is worried about dust, but weigh it! We are blah blah blahing about strontium at 8ppm. I bet the dust in your tank is way fing heavier than 8ppm! IDK.