The Gloves thing to me as far as just hand ones that are only to the wrist,
never made much sense to me.
I mean, your going in the water, if it's just to keep from touching some stuff with your bare hands, I'd think in most cases people know what not to touch and some things you have sometimes anyhow. You just keep it to a limit as much as possible.
Trying not to put your hands in when you don't have to.
But the only gloves that ever made any sense to me, were the ones that go up to your arm pits. Those ones actually keep all skin contact out of the water. Which was the point as I could see.. protecting the tank.
I would be more worried about things on my skin getting into the water, as opposed to the water touching me. That's why the LONG gloves make sense. Nothing washes off you in to your tank. (dry soap you can't see, minute chemicals, oil on the skin etc..) getting into your water. The kind of stuff that may make corals close up longer when they are exposed. So the long gloves make sense to me because they protect the reef tank when you have to get your hands/arms in it.
But short, "hand only" gloves with the rubber bands to hold them on...
They still leave your arm exposed... which could still wash things in your skin into the water.
I don't see what good they are for the tank, unless the reason you use them is just your fingers- that you don't want to touch something.? Just because you don't like it?
The long arm length gloves are made to protect the reef tank environment.
Short ones, (if your arm skin still goes in) I don't see what good they are doing.
Personally, I usually don't use any. However, if I were to, I'd go with the long style. But that's just IMHO.
Just sayin'
Of course, even if bare handed, one MUST remember to be careful when touching certain corals such as Zoanthids and others. As later on, a hand swipe to the face or lips just wiping or itching etc..in an innocent way could get a toxin into you in an unplanned way. Some things are poisonous... Especially with an open cut, open pores, or tasting it (like an off metal taste) in your mouth. Be cautious of that.
