Mold & allergies... what's the chance of my tank causing aggervation?

Becca3711

Becca3711

>
Mar 9, 2007
397
0
16
39
So I have really bad allergies, especially to molds. I recently moved to an apartment where I brought my small 2.5 gallon FW tank with. I never had problems when I lived at home with my parents with the mold allergies, so before I call the landlord to have them come check for mold, I wanted to be sure that my tank is not the source of this problem. I keep it clean, do my weekly WCs, and I don't have old filters or lots of algae overgrowth. What do you guys think? Is my tank in the clear?
 
My guess is mold from the tank was bothering your allergies, mold would have to be on the outside of the tank. I'm sure you would notice that.

My allergies are a lot worse in this apartment, but its because there is a lot of dust outside my apartment building.

Can you get some type of air purifier for inside your apartment?
 
Yeah, the mold would be outside of your tank, though I have found "moldy" looking growth on the inside of my HOB filter.

Also, do you have any carpeting around the apartment? There might have been water damage and the carpets weren't correctly cleaned and dried, causing mold to grow in and beneath the carpets. Maybe the HVAC vents need to be cleaned out. Also check the moist parts of the apartment (windows, doorways, kitchen, and bathroom).

They could also be coming from outdoors.

Hope this helps.
 
Thanks, you guys. The HVAC is kinda crappy in my apartment; there are not any vents to have ventilation blow through in my apartment as i have the underfloor heating and then the AC I have not turned on. There is carpeting, but it was replaced brand new about one to two weeks prior to me moving in and I don't see any sign of H20 damage anywhere. I just didn't want to call the landlord to have them come out and check and have them blame it on my aquarium, that's all. But thanks for everyone's help so far.
 
My daughter has bad allergies, too, so I feel for you. She gets 3 shots twice a week, and the poor girl is only 8. But I've seen what happens if she doesn't get shots.. not good.

anyway, did you get tested for the standard allergens you have reactions too?

You can have mold that you don't see in the walls, roof, under cabnets, in closets. You can also be having reactions from the new carpet, roaches. What covers your windows? Wash any curtains and vacuum any dust from blinds or shades. I'm not a big chemical fan, but I would also dump some bleach down drains and also those little overflow drains that are in bathroom sinks to kill any nasties in there.

Don't forget to change the air filter in your heater/air conditioner.
 
As long as you are good about keeping everything clean and not letting water sit around outside the tank, mold should not be a problem from the fish keeping. I also have very bad mold allergies, but I have 4 tanks at home and one at work that have caused no problems.
 
You would put more humidity in your apartment boiling a pot of water for tea than your tiny tank would put out in a few weeks, so that is definately not the source, particularly if you keep a tight cover on it. HOWEVER, some landlords can be a royal pain and may try to latch on to any excuse, including your tank, to get out of checking for mold sources. I would suggest, because it is so small and easy to do, that you drop your tank off at your folks for a while until you get the situation checked, so the landlord won't see the tank. Good luck.
 
as long as you keep the tank clean there shouldnt be any problems.

i cant really think of any reasons that a tank would create dust, but mold around the filter can be a problem especially if it is a HOB filter that is not cleaned as it should.

i have to keep my tank lid very clean of dust, but that is because my cockatiel is right next to the tank. so if its not cleaned every few days, its like dander city on top of my tank. she's just lucky i like her more than i hate the dander.
 
Omg, your name's Becca? So's mine! But, I spell it Bekah (legally it's Rebecca, but who cares?). And we both have bad allergies and love fish. Cool. Yeah, that was dumb and I am easily amused.

I totally agree with everything that's been said. I wanted to add something, but in my amusement over our name coincidence, I've forgotten. Heh, yeah. Oh, yeah, if you've moved in recently and had no problems before, you're likely allergic to something in the apartment. It may be mold or it may be a new allergy. I always have trouble in new houses. Something about the all the dust from construction. I didn't notice if you said it was a newly constructed building or not...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom