Knic Knacs

[xysti53]

Thought it would be a good idea to get everyone to post up things that they have made for use in their fish rooms which they find makes life a bit easier.

So I am starting the ball rolling by putting up my tank dividers.

I make these using cheap suction cup hooks bought from somewhere like Crazy Clarks / Prices Plus for about $2.00 and remove the hook.

I buy Gutter Gaurd from the hardware shop. The gutter gaurd I use comes in a pack with 10 pieces each 600 x 150mm in size and is fairly stiff.

Add a packet of nylon ties from the hardware and I end up with a number of tank dividers to suit the different tank sizes I need.

I simply cut the gutter gaurd with a pair of good siccers to the size I want and join it using the nylon ties.

I then nylon tie the suction cups to the edge .

Come on everyone lets see your knic knacs

Graeme :cheer:

[Robbies Betta]

Graeme, excellent idea Now I can fit more bettas in :D

[Chuckie]

some of mine don't really call for photos, so I'll list them here. I use (permeable) paper dust masks to strain bbs and VE's. I have also made funnels by cutting the top off soft drink bottles. these are just the right size to pour bettas into 1L milk bottles without them missing the hole and ending up on the floor! I use Franklins green scourers as a filter medium. Generally I keep one in every tank for bacteria to colonise the surface area. I'll get photos of the other stuff :cheer:

[PinkFishy]

For tank dividers I use plastic tapestry canvas purchsed from Lincraft stores - it is clear and the holes very small. To attach to side of glass I slot the plastic canvas into plastic folder spines purchased from the newsagency. As I have yet to find safe silicon to glue them in and I like to move them around I simply hold them in place with rocks. This method is suitable for small tanks - ie. those up to 10 ltr size Lis

[Figure_8]

selly's do an aquarium safe silicon Lis. Its in a blue tube and marked 'aquarium safe'

[Callatya]

An in tank isolation chamber cut and X in the base of a water bottle and wedge a suction cup in there

Floating jars, a good idea, but bad implementation. Use styro or other floaty material that won't get waterlogged.! possibly that round foam gap filler stuff strapped on with cable ties?

BETTA LIDS! for cheapy bowls! Acrylic from the art shop (or overhead sheets) and beds to weight it down so even jumpy bettas can't push it off. Holes for feeding and air exchange

Tank Dividers

I use plastic canvas and the poster hangers from Kmart (cheapest, come in twin packs) to stiffen them. I then either silicone on 'runners' or just wedge it between two suction cups up the top, and bury the base in the gravel.

With smaller tanks, i cut a long notch out of the canvas and use one of these divider supports (about $3 from independant pet shops)

PVC pipe with glass gem feet, stops the pipe rolling around. Not a betta thing really, but great for cray and axies I do the same to pots I also silicone the base hole closed if the fish are big enough to get stuck

http://fishpics.shesapples.net/albums/userpics/10001/TANK%20-%20Breeding%20%20MARCH%202004.jpg

[xysti53]

Heres a simply filter

The good old Coke bottle.

Just cut the bottom 1/4 off and drill a number of holes around the sides of the bottom piece. Place a piece of dacron wool or similar in the neck and fill the rest with filter wool. Put the bottom back onto the top and hold in place with a rubber band twisted around the neck

Add a small powerhead and you have a simple reliable filter.

This one uses an old aquaclear 402 powerhead sits at the back of a 2foot display tank and has worked well for the last 4 years at just about every show in S.E.Qld.

Graeme :(

[VickiPS]

Okay, a few of mine...

1. Tub barracks and trolley

The tub holds 1l milk bottles with holes burned in for water circulation. It sits on a a d.i.y. trolley under one of the big work tables in my all-purpose work room, and hold up to 20 jarred juvies.

The trolley consists of pine t & g boards slotted together and fastened to two pot plant stands on castors (from the Warehouse). I used small copper pipe straps screwed into the boards to hold the whole thing together.

2. Small siphon for fry tanks. Not a new idea, but through trial and error I finally found bits that would fit together Silicone air line is glued (siliconed) into the small end of a mini-power filter outlet connector. A large plastic straw from a McD's drink cup just fits neatly into the big end.

3. Water pre-filter -- I pinched this idea from Mick (bakerman) and adapted it. A 2l juice bottle has holes punched in the base to allow a slow drainage of water. the base is packed with filter floss, then the bottle filled up with carbon.

This is an unrefined trial set-up at the moment, and I'm still working on a more functional set-up, but at present I sit the carbon filter inside a bucket, and sit the bucket in the 70l tub I use for preparing water. A hose (actually, I used the hand-held shower nozzle) trickles water into the top of the bottle. The water drains through the charcoal and gradually fills the bucket, then overflows into the tub. By the time the water level reaches the rim of the bucket, it's almost the right volume for me to add boiled water and salt to bring the water up to the correct temp. (I still have to set up a better arrangement that will allow the filter to sit at the top of, or above, the big tub so I can fill it all the way).

[fuzzy_dragonfly]

Bathroom organiser for toothbrushes and toothpaste $2-3 from K-mart and Big W . Bit small as a perminant compartment but good for if I fish is recovering from an injury or if your introducing a female to a male. You can get bigger ones from Storage shops but they are expensive $12-15, although it allows for optimum water flow.

[fuzzy_dragonfly]

After Christmas get a hold of some of these $1.24 for a pack of 50 small suction cups meant to hang fairy lights on windows. They have 101 uses in the hobby. I've used them to hold down airline tubing as seen in pic and hold down those stubborn corner filters that start floating when they fill up with air. The base of the cup can fit around just about anything because it clips into place.

They normally don't sell around christmas because they are a bit weak to hold lights up and people don't know what they are . I bought this pack last year, I've used heaps of the suction cups and still have heaps more to last me another year . Although they will need replacing every couple months as the rubber tends to go a bit stiff and stop sticking.

Very useful, highly reccommended if you can get hold of them.

[Chuckie]

great idea - so many of my thermometers don't stick any more!

[Robbies Betta]

Vicki, I was thinking maybe add 2 bars going across the tub, so that the bucket can sit on top. Or better yet, a metal grill so that the water flows str8 through the grill ;)

[fuzzy_dragonfly]

great idea - so many of my thermometers don't stick any more!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I can save you some, or better still Chrissy is just around the corner, shops always stock these things a few months before Christmas, I'm sure I can grab a couple extra packets for people who want them during the year or who for some reason run out. They are heaps cheaper then buying them induvidually at LFS.