Childproofing ????

[logansmomma1228]

So I just read IndyReef's thread about their son killing off everything in the tank, and it got me thinking, is there even a way to childproof a tank? Besides keeping things out of reach. I am curious now as to if anyone has used any methods to deter this.

 

[Crepe]

A good talking to should do the trick. If you really don't feel comfortable though you could drill a hole in the lid and get a bike lock to keep it shut.

 

[sarahh]

rigorous beatings... lol
ours is 17 months old, and we are worried about this for the future.. i think she gets "the tone" though.. "no ma'am!!!"

 

[mfdrookie516]

I plan on getting one of those play pin things that is just a series of gates that keep a kid in... except it'll be around the tank to keep him out. mine is pretty tall though, so it would definitely require a chair for anybody under 5' tall

 

[mgamer20o0]

good parenting often does the trick lol...... you can make a lock... keep the food up high where it cant be reached.... a wooden hood which is a little heaver then plastic hood might help a little too.

 

[CA_BroncoFan]

A strict discipline regiment should do, maybe some shock treatment or even a water board. Hahaha jk obviously! But I think if they grow up with the constant warnings like "no touching" they will get the hang of it but it will require you as a parent to monitor this and I'm sure you do!

 

[WhiteDevil]

My kids dont touch my tanks, they have their own that they are not allowed to touch either LOL.

I just told them no and so far its been good 3 years strong now. Im suprised cause my kids dont listen for beans.

Even with the discipline and constant reminders they will attempt something when the back is turned just out of nature, we are pack animals and arent much different then wild dogs. The young always try and challenge the alpha's.

If that dont work, pistol whip em.

 

[mommytron]

ok, no matter how good of a parent you are, accidents happen. i don't care what anyone says, you can be the best, most watchful, most disciplinary parent around, but you just never know. in that light, i like mfd's idea about surrounding it with a baby gate. however, that could get annoying and may take up too much space. all of our fish stuff is locked up underneath the tank in the stand, along with all of the wires and the power strip, so there is no way our daughter can get to it. the top of the tank is covered, and too tall for her to get to without having something to climb on. the couch is right next to the tank however, so she can get to the side of it. i'm not too too worried about it because she'd have to be standing on the back of the couch to really get into the tank, and i would definitely catch her before she got that far. so i guess just keep all of the dangerous stuff like chemicals and fish food out of reach or locked away, make sure there is no way for a small child to reach the top of the tank, and just teach, teach teach. fishies are for looking, not for touching! that's what we tell our toddler when she starts tapping on the side of the glass. she doesn't do it much anymore, so hopefully when there is actually fish in there, she's learned not to smack on the glass, or we may have some very disturbed fishies

 

[mellawson]

Goldfish crackers should only be given under strict supervision...just a tip.

 

[eyring2210]

I have used the locking straps you can buy for refrigerators to keep the lid locked closed before. That worked pretty good (if you have a hood)

 

[Lowryder]

Get a spray bottle with water and squirt them, works with my cat...

 

[sarahh]

my husband's ideas to keep the baby away from the fish stuff...

leave the door open with a small amount of cichlid salts in a bowl?
put her fingers in the cichlid tank and see how much she wants to pet the fishies after that?
put HER in the cichlid tank and scar her for life?
electrify the tank stand..

ok, obviously silly.. we're going to go with strict supervision to prevent stuff happening.
We're considering putting a sign up on the front door.. if you can't control yourself or you children near our fish, please come no further...

 

[Craigthor]

I put locks in the cabinet doors and have glass tops on the tank. Also being a tal tank nearly 5' from floor to tank top it will be hard to get in it.

Cost was only a few bucks per lock and all the locks use the same key.

 

[ChileRelleno]

Having three kidz, ages 11yrs, 4yrs & 22months, we're blessed that they have trained up very well, both in aquarium and firearm related rules/safety.

Only one incident, our baby girl after learning to crawl, managed to worm between a tank cabinet and DVD cabinet, and being fascinated with the red light on our heater's thermostat controller, played with it.
Tanks having already been checked that evening, overnight we lost half our 55gal SA community's population

Our cabinets have locks & food is kept either out of reach or locked up.
Electrical Utility strips, powering filters/lights and our heater's thermostat controls are kept 'out of sight/out of mind', and hard to get to, behind a sheets of veneer.

Rigid discipline & allowing our children to be involved with feeding and maintenance has meant they've become disinterested in the 'work' part of keeping fishies.
And are less likely to want to mess with'em.

 

[logansmomma1228]

good parenting often does the trick lol...... you can make a lock... keep the food up high where it cant be reached.... a wooden hood which is a little heaver then plastic hood might help a little too.

Lol well I am not worried about the parenting thing, I definitely keep an eye on my little one.

ok, no matter how good of a parent you are, accidents happen. i don't care what anyone says, you can be the best, most watchful, most disciplinary parent around, but you just never know. in that light, i like mfd's idea about surrounding it with a baby gate. however, that could get annoying and may take up too much space. all of our fish stuff is locked up underneath the tank in the stand, along with all of the wires and the power strip, so there is no way our daughter can get to it. the top of the tank is covered, and too tall for her to get to without having something to climb on. the couch is right next to the tank however, so she can get to the side of it. i'm not too too worried about it because she'd have to be standing on the back of the couch to really get into the tank, and i would definitely catch her before she got that far. so i guess just keep all of the dangerous stuff like chemicals and fish food out of reach or locked away, make sure there is no way for a small child to reach the top of the tank, and just teach, teach teach. fishies are for looking, not for touching! that's what we tell our toddler when she starts tapping on the side of the glass. she doesn't do it much anymore, so hopefully when there is actually fish in there, she's learned not to smack on the glass, or we may have some very disturbed fishies

You know, when I got my tank I wasn't even thinking about all this stuff yet because my little man is just now starting to get mobile. That is another thing that made me realize that I need to babyproof the tank as well as the rest of the house. My tank is on a very short table next to the couch which is basically me asking for a dead fish lol. I plan on reitirating the fact that he cannot play with the fishy (literally), put stuff in the tank, etc. but I have a feeling he is going to be a handful.... It's hard enough keeping track of him now that he wants to play with everything and taste it lol.

Get a spray bottle with water and squirt them, works with my cat...

lmao.