Safe Air Fresheners??

[tripnbili]

So, one of the first things I was taught was to never use aerosols or scented candles in the same room as or near my reef, as this can cause an innumerable amount of problems, and for obvious reasons...

I was just wondering if anyone has found any "safe" way to use any type of air fresheners or something of the like. I used to like the Glade scented oil plug-ins, but haven't used any since starting my reef.

Any thoughts?

 

[HighlandReefer]

Without scientific testing, it is pure speculation as to whether the air fresheners can cause problems. Certainly you would be talking about ppb if not ppt in a tank from the proper (reasonable) use of air fresheners. The chemicals used in these fresheners have not been tested in aquatic environments, just tested to see if there were problems using mice and rats that I am aware of. FWIW, the chemicals in air fresheners have quite a very low toxic to mice. One might extrapolate from this, that they may not be much of a concern in reef tanks, although this is a jump. Personally I am not concerned about reasonable use of air fresheners. I would not use them heavily around a tank. I have used them though without problems.

 

[Allmost]

I have one of those air freshners that plug in .... its on low, on all times, in the same room as the fish tank.
I also smoke heavily inside the same room,

no Ill effects yet. (meaning no die offs, or whipe outs) but maybe some of the minor Issues could be caused by this ! not sure, just following along

 

[bertoni]

There could be a wide variety of ingredients in an air freshener, but I wouldn't expect a low dosage to cause a problem with a tank. If you're worried or see bad effects, you could try a carbon air filter on the skimmer, if the tank has one.

 

[tripnbili]

The guy at my LFS warns everyone against them....says they cause PO4 and NO2 and NO3...

I'd like to be able to use a plug-in here and there....what do you think?

 

[bertoni]

Have you chosen a specific product? We could try to take a look at the ingredients.

 

[tripnbili]

http://householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/household/brands?tbl=brands&id=19001162&query=glade&searchas=TblBrands

http://whatsinproducts.com/information.php?brandNo=19-001-162

 

[bertoni]

I don't think that product is likely to cause any problems, but I might watch the tank carefully for a bit. I would avoid dropping the container into the water.

 

[tripnbili]

I don't think that product is likely to cause any problems, but I might watch the tank carefully for a bit. I would avoid dropping the container into the water.

Ok, one is in a bedroom away from the tank...the other in the kitchen about 10yds away and on a low setting....think it will be ok with close observation?

 

[daveonbass]

I have many dogs...so my house can get smelly if not kept clean...and I use air fresheners all the time. Granted I'm not spraying into the tank proper, but I mist a lot in my room (room with two tanks). I have yet to see any negative effects on anything.

 

[evsalty]

I have an Airwick plug-in always on high that is on my kitchen island right behind my 14g bio and used to have an open top 5.5 sitting there before. No issues at all and we are talking within inches of the tank. When I spray any air freshners around any of the tanks I just make sure to spray down and away from the tanks.

 

[bertoni]

The only real risk is that one of the natural scents might happen to irritate a coral, but that seems very unlikely, given the amount that's in the air. I wouldn't worry very much.