An interesting thought concerning cigarette smoke and my fish tank...

Brandon1023 · 03-11-2008, 05:58 PM

Yes I am a smoker, and without going into all the bad things involved with the common health concerns, I wonder if you guys can ponder something with me.

I was smoking just now, inside my apartment. This is the first time I noticed this, too, which is what prompted me to start this thread.

Some of my smoke was drifting towards the tank and hovering between my light fixture and the top of the water. So...should I be worried about the water absorbing any of that?

I did quit smoking for awhile and recently started up again, it's a very hard habit to kick. I used to smoke inside before though, and probably the same thing happened because my smaller tank was setup the same way with the lights. To see how I have it, check the pics here:

Full View - 3reef Photos

Also, never mind the ugliness of the tank in that pic. It was taken back in November and so much more has developed/grown/been added

aquaboy · 03-11-2008, 06:07 PM

the fish will just be nicotine addicted and jump out of tank when a pack of marlboros comes by.........

Godbert · 03-11-2008, 06:09 PM

hmm interesting thought, probably cant be good for em, have you seen it actually touch the water?

bmshehan · 03-11-2008, 06:14 PM

I'm sure it touches the water, but one would think you will be fine. I thought about this also, but since my wife got pregnant I only smoke outside anyways, so I'm not too concerned!!
If anything dies just sue the cigarette brand of your choice for not having a surgeon general's warning about second hand fishie smoke

!

Brandon1023 · 03-11-2008, 06:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aquaboy

the fish will just be nicotine addicted and jump out of tank when a pack of marlboros comes by.........

Quote:

Originally Posted by bmshehan

I'm sure it touches the water, but one would think you will be fine. I thought about this also, but since my wife got pregnant I only smoke outside anyways, so I'm not too concerned!!
If anything dies just sue the cigarette brand of your choice for not having a surgeon general's warning about second hand fishie smoke

!

And congrats on the bun-in-the-oven, bmshehan!

And yea I'm sure it touches the water too, but I don't know if it's long enough to get absorbed or anything.

Marty · 03-11-2008, 06:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aquaboy

the fish will just be nicotine addicted and jump out of tank when a pack of marlboros comes by.........

What did the potato chip say to the pack of marlboros?

aquaboy · 03-11-2008, 06:19 PM

^ it said "HOLY $$(&*(&^$(#&@^)(&^!(*&$^)*(&#@$)(*&!$^)(*!&#@$^ A PACK OF MARLBOROS!"

Calawah · 03-11-2008, 06:34 PM

I think this brings up the bigger question of indoor air quality in general. Think about all the dust that accumulates on your fans. That same stuff is landing in your tank, you just don't see it. Hopefully he skimmer takes most of it out of the water.

omard · 03-11-2008, 06:53 PM

Good point/question.

Nicotine is without question a deadly nerotoxin.

Here is test I found on internet....

Determine viability of zebrafish as toxicity model using known neurotoxins

Goals

Determine viability of zebrafish as toxicity model using known neurotoxins
Apply model to marine cyanobacterial extracts to detect biological activity and characterize their pharmacology

Zebrafish
(Danio rerio)

Experiment

Place fish in 100 mL of water
Expose fish to toxin in increasing amounts until response is observed
Isolate fish overnight to observe recovery
Verify response on other fish
In some cases, increase dose to obtain a more pronounced response

Amount of Toxin Required to Induce Response in 100 mL of Water

Ethanol: 33 mg
Ouabain: 3.27 mg
Nicotine: 0.25 mg
Caffeine: 0.68 mg

Responses Observed

Ethanol: Fish at bottom, often bouncing
Ouabain: Fish circling, may also go to bottom
Nicotine: Fish circling beaker at surface, tilted upwards, quivering Caffeine: Fish holding at bottom

Does not sound good to me. Don't know concentration required.

Regular water changes should think, would dilute any possible concentrations from smoke.

BIGGER CONCERN:

Nicotine is going to concentrate on fingers from smoking or chewing tobacco (in my case

). Could definitely increase toxicity in tank when putting hand in. Or worse, handling food.

I try to always remember to wash hands before putting in tank and try to never touch food.

Recommend caution.

ReefSparky · 03-11-2008, 07:13 PM

Interesting question, I've seen this topic get lit up time and time again. Without checking facts, I'd venture a guess that nearly all components of smoke--a solid--are not water soluble. Nicotine, however is (and has a pH of 8.5 BTW, pretty close to what we all try to maintain in our tanks).

The health risks associated with smoking cigarettes or breathing any foreign particles for that matter, usually manifest themselves as ailments which decrease the lung's ability to get oxygen to the body (like emphasema, COPD, or eventually cancer). I think in this respect fish are not affected. Not only because fish have no lungs, but because the gills work differently. Water flows over them, and oxygen extracted. At risk of sounding far fetched, in this way, gills may be thought of as self rinsing. Even if smoke were to settle on the water, the amount of particles that become waterborne and have the ability to flow over the gills is probably not comparable to how solid airborne particles like smoke hinder our lungs.

This is not to say that smoke isn't detrimental, but who knows if these carbon-based micro particles of smoke do not break down over time and become dangerous to fishes?

As Omard alluded to in his post; these things can't be good. Maybe a controlled experiment is in order. You'd have to have two tanks with identical parameters and conditions in every respect, except that one is exposed to smoke. I'd be interested to know the outcome.

That said, forigive me, but off the record, and to do exactly what the OP asked not to, here goes: I smoked over 20 years and quit almost 6 years ago. My friend, who simply cannot quit after repeated attempts, and who's dedicated himself to education and quitting, says I'm in the elite 5% of smokers who've quit, and can say confidently "I'll never pick another one up as long as I live."

I got very angry at cigarettes over time. My attitude became a mixture of "I'll be damned if someone is going to get rich over me killing myself," combined with, "The only reason I smoke is to satisfy an urge that I'd never have had, had I never picked one up in the first place!" Sorry, but I get passionate about cigarettes. They suck, and there is simply not a single #%*^)# reason to smoke.