Tip and tricks of the trade!

Just thought I set up a thread that people can give tips to other people. As fishkeepers we are always learning. The day we stop learning is the day we give up the fish! So this thread might provide some good tips and advise to a lesser extend (we dont want the thread telling people how to cycle a tank over and over!). So feel free to drop a tip,no matter how silly or basic the tip may seem.

Here's my simple but hopefully informative tip!!

When introducing fish to a tank,introduce them in darkness,turn off the light on the tank and leave it off until the next day,its less stressful for the fish and they should settle in better to the tank.

Now its up to the rest of you give your top tips!

Gavin

Dealing with hot weather and over heating tanks ;
Keep the aquarium lights turned off.
Make sure the room does not receive direct sunlight.
Remove the hood and lid from the tank (use caution if your fish are jumpers)
Place a fan so that it blows directly across the water.
Float ice-packs in the water.

Dealing with power failure;
Remove the media from the filter a put it in a bucket with some tank water. If you have a battery operated air pump aerate the media to keep oxygen going to the bacteria to keep the filter alive.
You can also split the airline to keep the tank aerated as well.
If you dont have a battery operated air pump then place the media in a bucket stirring the water every hour or so to get oxygen to the bacteria. You will also need to disturb the surface of he tank water so the fish can also get some oxygen.
Monitor the temperature of the tank. If it starts to cool you can use a plastic bottle with hot water from the storage tank. The storage tank will keep the water hot for many hours. If you have a gas stove you can heat water on this.
Another way is to use hand heating pads available at camping shops. These should be placed in side a zip bag.
Wrap the aquarium in towels or blankets. especially the top were there will be most heat lost.
When the power comes back on place the filter media back in the filter. Don't clean it beforehand because you may wash away some of the bacteria that is still alive.
Don't feed the fish for a day or two and monitor the water quality. Perform water changes if needed.

Take the noise out of vibrating air pumps;
Place the pump on a pad of foam rubber. Put the whole air pump into a net bag and suspend it from a nail or screw in the back of the aquarium stand.

Prevent a flood with leaking external filters.
If you use an external filter drill a small 3-4mm hole in the intake about 50-100mm below the water surface. If the filter starts to leak the water level will only drop to this level in the tank instead of all the water ending up on the floor.
Once the water goes below this level the filter will start to suck in air and no more water. Better a damaged filter than massive water damage to your home.

Keep fish food refrigerated to keep it fresh.
Use a timer on your aquarium lights to give your fish a regular day and night period.
Extra pumps and power-heads can be switched off at night to save energy and calm the flow for your sleepy fish.

platty252 wrote:

Take the noise out of vibrating air pumps;
Place the pump on a pad of foam rubber. Put the whole air pump into a net bag and suspend it from a nail or screw in the back of the aquarium stand.

Nice one!

My top tip would be do not buy fish if you don't know what they are

my top tip would be
dont buy fish on impulse, it can be a disaster, if u want it research it and if it is compatable with what you got then buy it, if you dont then on your head be it.....learned this one the hard way

platty252 wrote:

Prevent a flood with leaking external filters.
If you use an external filter drill a small 3-4mm hole in the intake about 50-100mm below the water surface. If the filter starts to leak the water level will only drop to this level in the tank instead of all the water ending up on the floor.
Once the water goes below this level the filter will start to suck in air and no more water. Better a damaged filter than massive water damage to your home.

My word, what a great tip. Does this 100% work? I'm always paranoid about my externals.

Don’t over feed your fish
It dose your fish no harm to miss a days feeding
It even helps to keep your tank clean, as the fish will scavenge for food

If your bottom feeders are struggling to get a look in at feeding time,feed them sinking pellets or algae tablets at night-time when the lights are off. There will find them as most of these fish do their eating at nighttime anyhow.

If your fry are regularly getting sucked up the filter particularly for internal filter,cut a pair of the missus tights and wrap around the filter intake with an elastic band. It wont wear out the motor as there will still be enough of water getting through.(Ps,use black tights as it easier on the eye!,bring a whole new meaning to the term fishnet tights!).

If you want to clean a length of pipe (say the inlet pipe) tie fishing line to a small lead weight and drop the weight through the pipe. Tie the other end of the fishing line to a small bottle brush/rag/sponge and pull through. Repeat the process as needed.

Buy a power inverter(about €40) so if you have a power cut you can run an electrical lead from the power inverter in your car to the tank. You can then plug in your heater & filter and run them as normal.

Made this post as a sticky !

Keep the recommendations going ! This is great.

Valerie

vinegar:

if you want to test if a rock will effect your Ph a couple of drops will tell you, if it starts to fizz it will effect your Ph. i would also study the rock for any difference in colour and do this a number of times in different parts if required!!

lime scale at water level vinegar again a few drops on a clean cloth and rub gently allow to penetrate and it will remove it. once removed wipe down again with a wet cloth

rabbit droppings. use a finger to make a hole beside the plant roots place one pellet in hole and cover firmly this will feed the plant for a month. but ensure it is firmly covered and won't be disturbed by tank occupants.

if you have set up a new aquarium it will be necessary to put out the lights for about two or two and a half hours in the middle of the day as well as at night. A new tank has a lot of food in the water for algae and you will get an algae bloom if the lights are on all day. This method helps to prevent the problem until the tank achieves a better balance with the plants starting to grow and the fish living in it.

Catching elusive fish

As I spent more than wee while this evening trying to catch an errant danio the solution popped into my head and hey presto I got him soon after and right away this thread popped in as well. I was trying to cause as little damage as possible to the plants and also trying not to upset or stress the other occupants, but the old net did not quite cut it for the evasive and speedy danio.

Fish are clever little divils in noticing nets and probably have an un-nerving sense that this thing in the tank is going to remove them from their current abode - quick & easy solution =

USE THE EMPTY LID FROM YOUR TEST KIT

you can corner the fish quite easily, towards the glass, bring it open-side up (beware of jumpers ) and then you can always hold it in place with a magnetic algae scraper as you scurry away to photo, medicate, examine or remove....

Andrew

Great thread worthy of a bump

A few short ones

Don't use eSHa with shrimps, it contains copper and kills them.

Mouthbrooding Bettas like B simplex and B edithae are great jumpers.

To replace gravel/sand in a tank with new or different gravel or sand, there is no need to empty the tank, syphon it out with a hose into a large bucket, let it settle pour the excess water back and repeat until all the old sand / gravel is removed.

Thanks John I should really add a tip to re-read your posts before submitting and then take heed of it myself.

"Snad" was also meant to be "sand"!

never rat on your friends and always keep your mouth shut

Which trade is that a tip or trick for, Politicans, Bankers or Lawyers?

My top tip for what its worth is....

I use a regular 'turkey baster' to take up sample water for water testing.

It means you can get the exact amount of water you need for your API test tubes as there is a 'ml' measure on the side and you don't get your hands wet or contaminate the water.

Also, for medicating smaller tanks, I use a plastic 'ml' measured syringe holder instead of the little plastic droppers supplied in the box.

Its a more accurate dosage then.

(They give you these syringes in the pharmacy to give babies oral antibiotics/medicines)

Good tip. Turkey basters are also great for transfer fry around or baby shrimps. I also use on for feeding brine shrimps to differnt tanks.

There are quite a few "kitchen" items that I find better use for in the fishroom, like meauring jugs, the more the merrier they just keep going missing.

Weighing scales. Not used that often thankfully but after getting caught weighing a dead 2 lb Koi on it, it was not wanted back in the kitchen

Tupperware containers or all shapes and size for storage food in freezer, raising microworm and other live food, the baking bowls are great for transfering fish from tank to tank.

Teaspoons for sticking through chucks of cucumber and courgette to make it sink.

Vinegar for cleaning tank glass.

Bread soda for raising pH.

I am sure there are more things if I looked around the fish room that used to live in the kitched


Daragh

after cleaning filters[a quick squeez]i put dirty water into watering can and fill it up then water flowering plants outside:)

Need to feed multiple tanks with a single air-pump?

The T-junctions and multi-gang gadgets can be all very well and good, but here is what I use:

using an old empty bottle of water conditioner (I happen to use Tetra AquaSafe....and the shape of the bottle is ideal for this)....

wash it out and place the top back on it.

using a sharp tool, make a hole that is just smaller than the diameter of the air-line (make this on one side as your 'air-in' pipe).

then make as many output holes as you need.

Cut your airline to length and tie a weak knot in each air-line.

Place your air-lines where you need them and simply tighten the knot in the air line slightly to allow for varying depths of water or having air-stones of different density.

If you only want two outputs then a T-junction is probably best, but if you want quite a few then this method is better as it allows easier balancing of air-outputs.

ian

My advice, take platy's on the tip with drilling a hole in the intake. I had this happen in a 400ltr SA Cichlid setup a while back and came home to a destroyed floor, two half dead Oscars and a broken heater. Managed to save them, despite herself having a canary whilst I was ringing round a couple of lads who I knew could house them until I got the mess sorted. Which leads me to my next tip, NEVER burn your bridges with people in this hobby, you never know when you might need a favour...

Jay

stefo wrote:

after cleaning filters[a quick squeez]i put dirty water into watering can and fill it up then water flowering plants outside:)

as an extension to this, I take the output of my siphon and attach it to my hose and water my plants with it!!! Just need to make sure that as it goes to the window and out, it is all sloping gently downwards....if you have sections of hose going up its hard work to siphon it out!

Catching fish in a planted tank. Once a week or so put some food in a net and let the fish eat it to become used to the net. Then when you need to catch them it can be easier as they will enter the net for you.

My tip is research research research before making an investment on any fish or equipment.
PROPER PLANNING PREVENTS POOR PREFORMANCE
And allot of money in some cases

Do you have one of those cascade filter systems built into the tank?

The ones where there is a glass partition at the back of the tank, and water enters at the top from one end and is pumped out near the top from the other....

water goes in through a grill at the top; then goes downward over filter material in the first cascade; then upward (maybe without any filter material) in the second chamber; then downward over filter material in the 3rd chamber and then upward into the pump chamber (you could have more chambers).

...sometimes the output pump is pumping water out than it is coming in (possibly even a clogged first filter chamber): that can be a noisy problem (and may even reduce the life of the pump).

Being glass means that, maybe, you can't simply and easily drill some extra intake holes.

This tip allows helps buffer the intake and at least help the filter if you cannot drill extra intake holes:

get either a short piece of plastic u-bend (about 1/2 to 1 inch in diameter) OR normal aquarium external filter tubing.

hold the tubing under water until it is full of water; place your fingers over both ends.
Then suspend one end in the main tank and the other end into the second chamber (or whichever is the first chamber to have no filter material).
The size of the tank will dictate the length of the tubing, and you'll need to improvise on tying the tubing in place

What will happen is that if the first filter chamber retards water flow then the siphon action of the tubing will still allow a flow of water into the remaining chambers and help the pump.

If the pump is still pumping too fast for the incoming water flow, then a more serious overhaul of the system is required (eg cleaning the filters more regularly).

ian

This is dedicated to my good oul pal Kev

NEVER!! over stock your external with filter media

try involve family and teach them wat to do incase of a disaster, just my exp: mine started to flood and i told the youngest fella how to knock off the valves but he had no idea and the gaff flooded