Life Hacks - Tips and Tricks to Make Fishkeeping Easier

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

Aiken Drum

Moderator
Site Team
Joined
Apr 10, 2019
Messages
6,481
Location
Derbyshire, UK
I thought a thread to collect all those life hacks people use to make their fishkeeping lives simpler could be useful.

Post any of those tricks you use or tips you have picked along the way. Perhaps you have a piece of equipment that makes your life so much easier. Or found a different way of doing something that is much quicker (or cheaper).

Remember that just because something seems obvious to you, not everyone will have come across it before.
 
Bubble wrap when adding water.

Ill kick things off.

When im adding water into an aquarium, to avoid disturbing things in the tank too much i place a sheet of bubble wrap on the water surface and pour the new water onto the sheet. Disperses the water nicely, rises up with the water level as you fill, and also prevents jumpers while you do your water changes.

r8exJ7s.jpeg
 
I have a couple that may help. I like to use a baby's nasal aspirator to fill testing tubes in api testing kit. They cost about $1.25(now)at dollar store, fills test tube way easier than dipping the tube in tank, cleans easily in hot water to prevent cross contamination & the sm one will fit in api testing box.
When I need to dissolve anything that needs to go into tank I use a jar w/tight fitting lid, add some tank water & shake. The works for aquarium salt, meds, fish pellets & flakes to feed fry. This cuts the time to prepare these drastically. Hopefully this helps!!!!!IMG_20220603_101448061.jpg
 
I found out the hard way on how to transport water. I was using the cheaper 5 gallon buckets from Lowes and Home Depot until one split open in the bottom. I switched to Yeti buckets. More expensive, but much better than getting several gallons of water off my floor.
 
Found this seachem prime hack on YouTube. I have several tanks(125 - 5gal). It was major pain trying to measure or even see the cap thread's to dose conditioner(1ml per cap thread). Saw that some people were using squirt bottles to dose prime conditioner for tank. They were claiming 1squirt = 1mil. Gave it a shot & works great.
Knowing that most mass produced products are not exactly the same I decided to check w/api test tube. I counted how many squirts it took to reach 5ml mark. I got 4 so now I know w/this bottle 1 squeeze = 1.25ml & adjusted dosages accordingly. So be sure to check.IMG_20220604_124809912.jpg
 
Found this seachem prime hack on YouTube. I have several tanks(125 - 5gal). It was major pain trying to measure or even see the cap thread's to dose conditioner(1ml per cap thread). Saw that some people were using squirt bottles to dose prime conditioner for tank. They were claiming 1squirt = 1mil. Gave it a shot & works great.
Knowing that most mass produced products are not exactly the same I decided to check w/api test tube. I counted how many squirts it took to reach 5ml mark. I got 4 so now I know w/this bottle 1 squeeze = 1.25ml & adjusted dosages accordingly. So be sure to check.View attachment 323549

This would probably save me so much money. It's probably I overuse more than half of my Prime.

Also like the baby nasal aspirator bulb. It's hard to get just the right amount into the tube!
 
Last edited:
Ill kick things off.

When im adding water into an aquarium, to avoid disturbing things in the tank too much i place a sheet of bubble wrap on the water surface and pour the new water onto the sheet. Disperses the water nicely, rises up with the water level as you fill, and also prevents jumpers while you do your water changes.

r8exJ7s.jpeg

Okay, that's a genius idea.
 
Chop sticks from take out for all kinds of things in the tank, from the squared side for pushing in plants to poking the paper towel for cleaning into tight spots. Also, a family member got me some SS ones.

Dwarf Shrimp
For Dwarf shrimp, tank cleaning, like substrate cleaning, vac'ing or separating shrimp after a water change. Having a white bucket is very useful.

As you get towards the end (bottom) of the bucket watching for babes darting around is much easier with a white background.

A gentle swirl of water in a circle helps direct the mucky sediment, while a baby shrimp will dart about out of the standard circle water swirl pattern. Easy to scoop up or at least know there will be at least "X" many shrimp to keep watch for.

I also buy larger Fluval fine filter pads and trim to fit the smaller overflows, and tuck them into the top overflow of the HOB at an angle (so some water can leave unobstructed) as to not accidently back up water flow if it clogs up before I notice. They are usable numerous times, rinse out and put back.
 
Tip for the next trip away. Get a 7 day medicine pill box and put food in before you go to be fed daily. No chance of your pet sitter accidently overfeeding.

zc1Olwk.jpeg
 
When trying to feed frozen foods or food to different levels of the aquarium, I use a turkey baster. ( $1.25 at the dollar store). It's easy to squirt the food directly towards a particular fish that may be shy or directly down to bottom feeders while the top feeders are eating any floating foods.

Another handy use for the baster, if you get one that has amounts embedded into the shaft, is to more accurately measure out water for medicines ( liquid or dissolved powders).

For those who breed fish and have multiple tanks of fry, using the baster to feed live foods, such as newly hatched brine shrimp, can be a handy way to feed them without cross contaminating tanks. Just keep the baster above the water level and spray at an angle so no splash back. I used to feed 100 tanks of fry in under 5 minutes using the baster. It's a real time saver. (y)
 
Whenever I have to clean intake & output lines on canister filter I use a window blind rod. It's 32in long & has a hook on end.
I attach a piece of floss or rag to hook & push threw. If I get a tuff spot I simply twist. If line is to long i can complete cleaning from other end. IMG_20221217_184603011.jpg
 
I like to use nylon stockings for bio media bags. A pair of knee high nylons(1$) can easily make 6 - 6x4in bags.
Great for canister filter trays & hobs by simply cutting to sz fill w/ bio & tying ends. It's cheap, sturdy, easily cleaned by swishing filled bag in tank water. Great for media like matrix, biohome Alfagrog & bio rings. Plus keeps media compact for easy removal when doing maintenance.Screenshot_20230117-110921.jpg
 
I use a gravel cleaner with a hose that is long enough to go out the door and onto the lawn.

I bought 20 meters of clear plastic hose that was big enough to fit nicely on the top of a 1, 1.5 or 2 litre plastic drink bottle. I cut the bottom off the bottle and throw the bottom bit away. The remaining bottle and hose is my gravel cleaner. It worked great for any tank that is 3 foot or bigger. In smaller tanks I use a normal gravel cleaner and smaller diameter hose.

My fish room had 3 tier stands along the walls. The bottom and middle row of tanks had fish in, the top row of tanks was used for water holding. I used a hose made from black poly pipe (irrigation tubing) to fill the top tanks with tap water. They were dechlorinated and aerated until needed (usually the following week).

I used black poly pipe because normal garden hoses have a softening agent in them that is toxic to all life forms, and especially poisonous to aquatic life. The more expensive hoses that are guaranteed not to kink, usually have more of this softening agent in compared to cheaper hoses that kink all the time. The softening agent leaches into the water in the hose and if you use this water for fish or animals, you can poison them. In hot weather, more softening agent is released compared to cold weather. If you turn the tap on and let water run through the hose for 5 minutes before using it, then you should remove most, if not all of the softening agent present at that time, and reduce the risk of poisoning your fish.

When I did water changes, I simply drained water from the top tanks into the lower tanks to fill them up. Then I filled the top tanks up again with tap water. Gravity did all the work for me. :)

In a home with one or two aquariums, you can use a wheelie bin or a couple of plastic rubbish bins or buckets and bring it inside and put it near the aquarium. Fill these with tap water, add dechlorinator and aerate the solution while you gravel clean and drain the tank/s. Then use a small water pump and hose to pump the water from the buckets into the aquariums.

I made a U shape from pvc pipe and fitted that to the outlet of the hose I used to fill the tanks with. The hose goes on one side of the U and the other side of the U goes in the tank. The U hangs over the edge of the glass. I also had a tap in the end of the hose so I could slow or stop water flowing. This meant I could hang the hose on a tank and let it fill up fast or slow and do other things besides holding the hose on the tank.
 
I use a gravel cleaner with a hose that is long enough to go out the door and onto the lawn.

I bought 20 meters of clear plastic hose that was big enough to fit nicely on the top of a 1, 1.5 or 2 litre plastic drink bottle. I cut the bottom off the bottle and throw the bottom bit away. The remaining bottle and hose is my gravel cleaner. It worked great for any tank that is 3 foot or bigger. In smaller tanks I use a normal gravel cleaner and smaller diameter hose.

My fish room had 3 tier stands along the walls. The bottom and middle row of tanks had fish in, the top row of tanks was used for water holding. I used a hose made from black poly pipe (irrigation tubing) to fill the top tanks with tap water. They were dechlorinated and aerated until needed (usually the following week).

I used black poly pipe because normal garden hoses have a softening agent in them that is toxic to all life forms, and especially poisonous to aquatic life. The more expensive hoses that are guaranteed not to kink, usually have more of this softening agent in compared to cheaper hoses that kink all the time. The softening agent leaches into the water in the hose and if you use this water for fish or animals, you can poison them. In hot weather, more softening agent is released compared to cold weather. If you turn the tap on and let water run through the hose for 5 minutes before using it, then you should remove most, if not all of the softening agent present at that time, and reduce the risk of poisoning your fish.

When I did water changes, I simply drained water from the top tanks into the lower tanks to fill them up. Then I filled the top tanks up again with tap water. Gravity did all the work for me. :)

In a home with one or two aquariums, you can use a wheelie bin or a couple of plastic rubbish bins or buckets and bring it inside and put it near the aquarium. Fill these with tap water, add dechlorinator and aerate the solution while you gravel clean and drain the tank/s. Then use a small water pump and hose to pump the water from the buckets into the aquariums.

I made a U shape from pvc pipe and fitted that to the outlet of the hose I used to fill the tanks with. The hose goes on one side of the U and the other side of the U goes in the tank. The U hangs over the edge of the glass. I also had a tap in the end of the hose so I could slow or stop water flowing. This meant I could hang the hose on a tank and let it fill up fast or slow and do other things besides holding the hose on the tank.



the thing i struggle with when using the hose to fill my tanks up is temperature matching. It would kill my fish if i fill my 86 F tank with 72 F water
 
There are hoses for RV / camping which are supposed to be safe for drinking, anyone know if they are ok for fish too???
Its a safer option than garden hose. Here in UK blue hosing is certified as being for drinking water. Much cheaper than lengths of PVC or silcone hose bought from the fish store.
 
Back
Top Bottom