Tongue is constantly numb near my fish tank...

jay24k

Active member
It sounds wierd but I'm not sure why. I thought it was the ozone but people have said ozone has no taste. I noticed it happen quicker if my head is under my tank but it could be possible it isn't. I made my wife smell the ozone from our sanders 50 mg/h unit so she knew what it was. She noticed that sensation a bit later as well. I have it unplugged now for about 15 hrs. The only thing running is a co2 tank for my calc reactor.

I wake up this morning and tongue is fine. I go in the room by the fish tank and I notice the tip of mytongue have this funky taste and tongue feels slightly numb. Do you have any idea what this might be? What gases could be causing this if it is a gas? We only have electric at our house so no chance of being monoxide and the internet doesn't really pull up much when I google tongue numb in house lol.

Thanks Randy.
 
Wow, curious problem. I'd be very concerned, but I don't have any good ideas.

I'd leave the O3 off for a few days and see if the effect goes away. Then turn it back on and see if it increases.

No rotten egg smell (hydrogen sulfide)?

Does it happen when the lights are off?
 
no salt spray that I can tell. The ozone has been off abbout 18 hrs now. I wouldn't think the ozone would stay that long in the air and people stated that ozone has no taste correct? It almost is like a dry mouth and a very very slight tingle. I would compare it to a almost dead 12v battery on your tongue. It's obviously not that much but it is just a wierd taste/feeling. I'm not sure what else it could be.

I notice it with the lights off and on. No difference.
No sulfur smell at all.
 
It isn't only ozone that might do it, but other toxins that might get into little droplets. Toxins might be ozone byproducts (bromate, etc), or they might be organic toxins from tank creatures.

The numbness sounds like an organic toxin to me. Do you have a skimmer? If so, you might shut it off for a couple of days and see if the effect goes away. Running GAC may also help if that is the cause.
 
I'll run some carbon. I wasn't running it with the ozone because alot of people stated they have been doing it with 0 affects. It's also a decent amount of time before it hits the return pump.

I have a ASM G3 skimmer. I've noticed my skimming has dropped the last couple weeks but not directly related to the ozone.

I'll try a few of your suggestions unless you can think of something else. I'll keep you updated.
 
You don't have Fugu fish do you?:lol:

Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢m being funny, but seriously do you have one?
 
Ozone poisoning, hydrogen sulfide also
Chlorine gas can cause this.
Did you combine any cleaning products?

It can and will also cause you to have a sore throat, dry mouth and dry irritated eyes. Maybe something you cleaned the floor with caused fumes to build up under your stand.

I would also be very concerned especially because it is effecting more then one person.

GOOD LUCK.
 
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Well, I don't have any of that. We mainly have tile so either a damp mop or that swiffer wet cleaner we use. I was working with the ozone and I've never smelt it before. I did take a good wiff of it and that was when I first noticed it but it went away fairly quickly. Can a large amount of ozone cause that on your tongue? I wouldn't say it is a dry mouth but is similiar. My eyes are not irritated and I had laser lasik so I would think I'd notice it more so.

My wife doesn't notice it anymore and I was outside all day at a park with my kids. It hasn't gone away at all. I thought maybe my water but I was gone for training and drank my own water there in a bottle for awhile.

I even tried some potent mouthwash that burned the crap out of my mouth. After that wore off in a fewminutes, no difference.

I have a luft pump and I noticed the other day the dryer beads cap busted off and it was pumping full blast. Can the air the luft pump pushes cause that? I would assume that is just regular air from the room.

All my calcium chloride mixtures, magnesium mix, hexahydrate are all stored in my garage and sealed very well.

I'm gonna get some carbon tommorrow and run that and see. My fish appear normal and no changes in any of my sps.
 
...do you know anybody at your local fire department? They may have a PID (photo ionization detector) that can be used to "sniff out" organics. These puppies are expensive but most good fire departments have one on their hazmat kit... Just be ask a friend, if you ask a random person, you may end up with yellow tape around your house and guys in white tyvek suits running around.
 
lol. My neighbor is actually the hazmat guy for the county fire department. Odd thing is he just dropped by for a home owners petition and he just let us know that 3 days ago. I guess it was some promotion. Wierd huh?
 
Have him bring a PID or similar organics sniffer over... leave your ozone off for a few days before hand, then have him test. Fire it back up... test again.

Bean
 
I would try drinking some Cranberry juice for 2 or 3 days and see if that flushes out any Toxins in your system. You may have been exposed to Ozone for awhile and that last Wiff pushed your blood chemistry over the limit. If that does not work see a doctor get blood tests done, they should know what to look for.
 
Do you have white patches or a velvety appearance to your tongue? It could be a Candida yeast infection (oral thrush). Your family members would likely have it as well. The yeast would react with airborne organics from your protein skimmer.

Get someone outside of the family to test the area.
 
Copper poisioning, from alot of stray current.
Hepatitis, Oral contact.
poor oral hygiene (not being a smart arse)
Vitamin B-12 deficciency.

Does your tongue go completely NUMB? or is this a dull feeling of peristalsis? (pins and needles)
Brian
on your ozonator do you use an air purifier? If not it could dammage the machine causing any number of problems.

Good luck
B
 
Heh, that happens to me too, but that's because I'm always drinking ice cold Diet Coke when I"m hanging out doing tank stuff.

Seriously! :)
 
I'm dead!

Actually I talked to a HVAC guy who runs ozone and works with it. He said it is normal to have the taste in your mouth and it is actually a metal taste that goes away after a few days. He was right and it is gone. I noticed it is the same as buying one of those oreo pies at the store in the aluminum pans. That metal taste you get slightly is what I experienced. I'm wondering since the unit produces some heat, if the tip where the hose hooks onto was releasing some type of metal? I'm still not sure what caused it but he did say it was normal and he saw it in about 30% of houses running ozone. He did mention there are people running much more ozone through their AC then my little unit so this report that is due might be a shocker for some people.

I'm having no more issues with ozone other then the fact 50 mg/h with the beads exhausted do not raise the ozone in my tank at all full force with a luft pump behind it. Once I have the beads baked, then it seems to work fine.

Do you know if pushing ozone about 5 ft through tubing decreases the effectiveness? That's the only thing I can think of.
 
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