will drywall dust hurt saltwater tank?

[Hendersonracing]

we have been dywalling our frag tank in the wall but have alot of drywall dust after sanding...we have covered the main tank with a sheet but still get a small film over the top of the water....most of which goes into the sump....has anyone evry had this happen...everything seems normal but just asking????
Thanks Joe

[abigtroutt]

Joe thats funny because I was preping the wall behind my nano tank for paint this past week. When I pulled the nail out of the wall a huge chunk of drywall and a lot of dust fell into and covered the tank. I just skimmed a bit more and added some filter floss for several hours and nothing happened. I hope that helps

[Hendersonracing]

that helps...just a small film...I get worried about things like this...lol
Thanks

[abigtroutt]

Joe me too. When the huge chunk of drywall fell in the tank I freaked out. I have My eel and my clown fish in there and I didn't want to hurt them. Hows the tank look today after it had a day to clean up?

[Hendersonracing]

just like normal...but we still have 2 days of drywalling to do...so I hope all goes good....I see a few bbiiggg water changes in the near future..

[creativereasons]

the only thing i can think of is that when drywall gets wets fro a long period of time it puts off a toxic gas called hydrogen sulfide which really txic if there is aot of it then there is the foaming agent that is used in the drywall but i can't be to certain that it is toxic.

[Wiskey]

I have had it get into my tank too from time to time, mostally when mounting that hanging pendint, it never really hurt anything but I did make and effort to remove it via wet skimming and water changes.

Whiskey

[Hendersonracing]

thanks

[Wiskey]

No prob.

Whiskey

[tdwyatt]

Gypsum board dust and drywall joint compoundis relatively safe and non-toxic, even in water (very hygroscopic though), the only one that might be a problem are greenboard sheets treated with an antifungal or antimildew agent, then all bets are off. The only real issue with the dust i when it is inhaed, see

http://www.jtbaker.com/msds/englishhtml/c0497.htm

and

http://www.carolina.com/stcms/acroba...E_MSDS_set.pdf

for joint compound. Not all joint compound is only plaster of paris, usually a blend of several ingredients to build bulk and volume while maintaining a bubble-free mix. I could not find any toxic ingredients with a brief search, but keep in mind that it will supply a source of calcium ions, and as such may drop your alkalinity in a balanced system. I do not doubt that the thin film you see in your water is calcium carbonate forming as the calcium sulfate dust meets the surface and dissolves (much higher solubility than CO3 salts, and carbonate is much more reactive with calcium than sulfate).

HTH

[Hendersonracing]

ahh

[Hendersonracing]

Mine happens to be greenboard for mildew resistant and waer proof...figured it would be best for the salt....but the dust is from the compound itself....we will be done in a few days and Ill snap a few shots!!