# Aquarium Secrets



## IUnknown (Feb 24, 2004)

I was wondering what little tricks everyone had for the hobby. I think I got this one from Bill's open house. Using hooks to hold equipment withing your stand. I found some bathroom accessories that worked well with my fertilizer bottles.


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## turtlehead (Nov 27, 2004)

I use a coat hanger on my cabinet door. It holds all my nets, scissors, etc...


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## JERP (Feb 4, 2003)

Always have an bath towel "assigned" for aquarium use that you put on the ground in front of the tank when you clean it. Using a towel keeps the carpet clean. Using an assigned towel keep you significant other from scowling at you as you drop wet, slimy rocks, snails, and plant trimmings on a nice bath towel.

I'm looking at using a fire extinguisher strap to hold my CO2 tank in place.

For water changes. I have a "Y" plug at the hose faucet and a shut off valve at the end of the hose. I fill the hose, shut both the end of the valve and the faucet so that the hose is full of water. I put the end of the hose in the tank and lock the hose on the tank using a plastic hose lock. Outside, I open the the other end of the valve. The water automatically starts siphoning. Sometimes I put a hose on the other plug at the Y to drain into the flower bed. I can then go inside and get whatever mulm I explicitly want gone. To fill the tank, I turn off the outside hose valve and open the faucet, slowly. I go inside and watch the tank, and shut off the hose end valve when the tank is full. I then take the hose back out the window, pop the screen back in, and turn off the faucet. I'm done. Always keep the hose end in a bucket as you walk the hose back and forth from the window to catch leaking water. It sounds complicated, but it only takes a few minutes.

I put a shut off valve on every hose segment so I can disconnect or bypass any component (Filter, Reactor, UV In-line Heater, etc) if necessary. It's come in handy a few times during equipment failure or maintenance.


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## erik Loza (Feb 6, 2006)

Chrome-plated pinch clamp from the carpentry department at Lowe's/ Home Depot. Rubber coated grips that are easy to grab with wet hands, and very handy for holding the gravel vac or fill hose in the tank while you're doing other things.


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## xcooperx (Jun 24, 2006)

well i have my DIY test tube holder for my test kit


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## John N. (Dec 11, 2005)

I use these nifty containers from IKEA to store my dry ferts. Perfect for dosing and you can't beat $2 for each container. More about it here.










-John N.


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## Raul-7 (Feb 4, 2004)

Here's how I store the Python when not in use-


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## bigstick120 (Mar 8, 2005)

Its also a good idea to label the container of the ferts and not just the lid, lids can be swapped!


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## xcooperx (Jun 24, 2006)

yeah, especially on a test kit tube like mine, so i also labeled each test tube


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## pinkrblu (Aug 7, 2006)

I feed my fish treats of live and frozen food several times a week. I have a container similar to those used by John N for his ferts that I use, marked well, and I use a medicine dropper (large size) to feed. It is fun to watch the fish get excited at the sight of the dropper. I also gather live mosquito larve and feed them. *evil laugh* Especially fun!


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## Dewmazz (Sep 6, 2005)

Three picture (small) nails on the inside of my tank stand door similiar to IUnkowns'.
1 for tweezers, 1 for scissors, 1 for nets.


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## wiste (Feb 10, 2006)

The tie wrap stake is something that I have used a hundred times when planting buoyant plants.
I used it today to plant a tiger lotus.
A tie wrap stake is just a tie wrap bent in half and crimped with a pair of plyers. Then cut off the slot and use this to hold the plant until it is properly rooted.
I generally find one or two that I forgot to remove when I tear down a tank.

To help keep the tops of acrylic tanks clean application of a thin layer of mineral oil seems to help.
This may be just an effort to try to find a purpose for the left over mineral oil used for the bubble counter. The tops of acrylic tanks look dried out after many years. This application of oil helps the appearance.


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## AaronT (Apr 26, 2004)

A guppy trap is a must have for catching those pesky fast fish. I don't have a picture, but I'll do my best to describe one.

You need an empty 2 liter bottle, a pair of scissors, and a drill.

1) Drill a few small holes in the sides of the bottle here and there. You don't need to make a lot. Just enough to let it sink underwater easily.
2) Cut the top off of the bottle just before it starts to taper at the top.
3) Invert the top of the bottle and wedge it into the bottom half such that the spout is facing the bottom of the bottle.
4) Don't feed the fish for a day or two.
5) Put some sinking food into the bottom of the bottle and lay it on its side on the bottom of the tank.
6) Now watch the fish swim in and they're usually too stupid to swim back out. Woohoo! You've now caught your fish and spared that scape you worked on for so long.


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

I did the mosquito larva thing a few years ago. Fascinating! The larva drop to the substrate as fast as they can, sit there holding their breath as long as possible, then try a mad dash to the surface....oops...sorry about that! That summer I set out a bucket of dirty water in the back yard to harvest mosquito larva - didn't get a single one. I got mine from a very dirty ditch at the side of my property.

Some good ideas here. I'm gonna take a trip to Ikea again soon.

My contribution: I keep my Greg Watson ferts, still in the baggies, standing upright in a shoebox size box. The nitrate and phosphate are at one end, and the CMS at the other end. Each time I dose, I turn the box 180 degrees so the one to dose next is at the front. Saves my limited memory cells.


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## sarahbobarah (Sep 5, 2005)

1.I leave the spoons in the Greg Watson ferts bags so I don't accidentally dose a tablespoon of something that should only be half a teaspoon.

2. For wet mixes, I use nalgene bottles from the surplus store - they come marked with milileters, and different chemicals go in different colored bottles: CSM = green (so it doesn't get dosed into the shrimp tank), iron = red, excel = pink, phophate = grey.

3. Also at Ikea, they have wall storage units for the kitchen, and I use this to hang nets, make drip loops for cords and airlines.


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## joephys (May 9, 2006)

I don't have a python so I made a hose using clear tubing and put a valve in the middle of the hose. I can start one syphon, drain the tank, shut the valve, move the hose still food of water to the next tank. Open the valve and instant syphon. I put the other end out the front door and can quickly drain every tank for water changes.

I keep most my supplies in a tub in the closet so I can have a bi level tank stand, a 20 on top and a 10 on the bottom.

I grow snails on one tank, use some blanched veggie to catch them, and throw them into my tank with loaches.

I have a power strip that my filters and heaters plug into so I can easily turn them off when doing maintenance on the tank, and the lights into another strip so they can stay on while the other stuff is off. This is a pretty common one, but something a beginner might not have thought of.


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## BryceM (Nov 6, 2005)

Simple trick - installing a light in the cabinet under the tank. The space is MUCH more useable when you can see what's in there.

Biggest "improvement" in my setup so far - hard plumbing the tank so that WC's only require turning a couple of valves. It takes some work & planning up-front and probably only makes sense for large tanks, but the payoff is huge if you intend on being in the hobby for any length of time.

It now takes about 20 minutes to do an 80g WC on the 180g tank. For comparison, the 46g bowfront takes about 35-40 minutes and includes draging a python all over the house.


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## SnakeIce (May 9, 2005)

I write in permanent marker on the metal end of the flourescent bulb the date I put it into use. I never have to remember which bulb to replace since I can just look at the dates.


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