Question for the experts and/or smokers

[LilGreenPuffer]

I just got a very nice little 5g bowfront with a biowheel filter, heater, and all kinds of stuff from a guy on craigslist.org, for hospital/QT. The problem is, he must be a heavy smoker, because everything, and I mean everything, smells like a giant cigarette butt. Will this hurt fish? And how the heck do I get rid of the smell? He cleaned it. I rinsed it. It still reeks, and I still have to leave the window open. Help!

[StormySkiez]

Bleach it. 10% bleach mixed with water.

[Pufferpunk]

Oxyclean.

[edmlfc1]

+1 for the oxyclean. I'm a smoker but I don't smoke in my home. I can't stand the smoke smell.

[thekarens]

Vinegar is always my first choice, but the bleach solution is my second choice.

[LilGreenPuffer]

Okay. I was planning OxyClean for the disinfection, but I wasn't sure about the smell.

+1 for the oxyclean. I'm a smoker but I don't smoke in my home. I can't stand the smoke smell.

Really? I thought people who smoked didn't notice the smell. My mom told me that my grandmother would tell everyone that she was quitting, but she'd smoke in the bathroom before dinner and didn't understand how everyone in the family knew she'd snuck a cigarette, because she couldn't smell it. (She died of lung cancer before I was born. She finally quit when she got the diagnosis, but not in time.)

[TheBlueMeanies]

Vinegar and real lemon juice it what i used to clean my tank you could even add a little Baking Soda for any crusted areas

[coldmachineUK]

I always use baby sterilising tablets in warm water when I'm cleaning my tanks (e.g. if I take one down - on the very rare occasion that's happened!). Gentle bleach. Then I rinse, rinse, rinse.

[edmlfc1]

Okay. I was planning OxyClean for the disinfection, but I wasn't sure about the smell.

+1 for the oxyclean. I'm a smoker but I don't smoke in my home. I can't stand the smoke smell.

Really? I thought people who smoked didn't notice the smell. My mom told me that my grandmother would tell everyone that she was quitting, but she'd smoke in the bathroom before dinner and didn't understand how everyone in the family knew she'd snuck a cigarette, because she couldn't smell it. (She died of lung cancer before I was born. She finally quit when she got the diagnosis, but not in time.)

I can't smell it on my clothes or other people unless I'm in a confined area like an elevator. But if someone smokes in a house and I walk in it gags me! Weird I know. But yes in a closed in place: house, car, elevator, hotel room etc. I can smell it. Even if I go to a hotel and there are smoking rooms on that floor as soon as I get off the elevator I smell it. I guess I just have a good nose.

[Jase]

I've always wondered why smoke doesn't effect fish or coral. My RC president is a heavy smoker, and his stuff looks awesome. He'll even be smoking, set the cigarette down and reach in the tank with the same hand. I just don't understand why all those chemicals don't hurt...

[LilGreenPuffer]

I know. It's confuzzling.

[jimi]

how does one do that, i smoke and lately with loans and dealing with the land for my resterant and the economy and all that ive been realy smoking and my room smells like it but not my reptails fish or turantula. there tanks smell like a fish store lizard or peat. but on the other hand i try not to smoke around there little lungs so much.

[jimi]

ps i recommend vinegar and lemon, for cleaning and the smell. citrus kills all things smell.

[Dadof4]

I've always wondered why smoke doesn't effect fish or coral. My RC president is a heavy smoker, and his stuff looks awesome. He'll even be smoking, set the cigarette down and reach in the tank with the same hand. I just don't understand why all those chemicals don't hurt...

Well, Nicotine is actually a insecticide that they use in some bug bombs. The amount that is exhaled and unused by a smoker is minimal and the amount that is given off from a sitting cigarette is high but dissipates rather quickly, that's why it really doesn't affect the fish and coral. Now, if your keeping reptiles and/or birds that can be an entirely different story...

[mrgreen]

I always use baby sterilising tablets in warm water when I'm cleaning my tanks (e.g. if I take one down - on the very rare occasion that's happened!). Gentle bleach. Then I rinse, rinse, rinse.

My kids are now 11.5, 9.5 and 7.5. Back in my day, we just used a washcloth and soap. You younguns and yer newfangled contraptions!