Quote:
Originally Posted by E.intheC
I'm going to bump this thread.. this morning when I was removing corals from frag plugs (including zoas) I accidentally hit one of the zoas and some brownish liquid came out. None of it (or anything else actually) came up and hit me, but it was in the water bin that I was using to hold the frags.
I've read that the palytoxin is a white substance.. My question is.. what is normally done to clean up surfaces and hands/etc? I've read that soap/water is the best bet.. Also, how long does the toxin stay in the air/on dry surfaces? Let's say the plug got some toxin on there, and it's on my work bench in the basement (dry).. I read the half-life is 55-85 minutes.
How about the tank.. when is it "safe" to put your hands back in the tank after introducing freshly cut zoas, or ones that have been removed from frag plugs?
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Those are hard questions!! It'll all depend on the concentration found in that particular colony/frag and the exposure.
To clean the surfaces where I've fragged them I first remove the excess with a wet paper towel and I use clorox spray. After the clorox I also give it a wet cloth treat to remove excess clorox. The clorox will kill bacteria also, so that's a plus on cleaning.
It is so important to keep your mind on the project and place all the instruments and table away from children and pets!! Also you should use the table only for the aquarium purposes, not food or such.
To clean my hands I simply use regular detergent and wash/rinse really well.
To clean the instruments I use running water only and place them in a safe place.
I believe the toxin won't be in the air unless you boil water and hit the zoanthids, "released as a gas". I guess it will actually bound with the water molecules and be suspended in the air. It will be dissipated and not concentrated after a while, settling somewhere, depending on the environment. Again that will all depend on the situation, but you won't do that after knowing, right? So, basically there will be no toxins in the air if you are only fragging in normal conditions. No boiling water on the zoas, please!
Most of the time the toxin is in the fluid that comes out of the polyps and you'll need to discard your gloves and clean really well the table where you did the fragging or handled the polyps.
The polyps can release the toxin when you touch them, yes, and even if you won't see any white substances it could be present on the outside of the polyps (wet or dry).
I do believe the skimmer removes the toxins from the tank water after a while and that is another reason to keep them running and doing their great job!! The time for the skimmer to remove will depend on the system as well, besides the amount/concentration of the toxin, of course.
Keep it safe and have fun!
Grandis.