mouseturd13 Posted January 7, 2021 Share Posted January 7, 2021 I am curious what everyone uses for their fish tank that is not necessarily made for this hobby. Maybe it’s something from Amazon maybe you made your own specialty tool maybe it’s upcycled from the trash! Show me your favorite most used tool and tell me what it’s for! Mine is one of those forks they use in flower bouquets to hold the card. It’s great for poking around the tank or rolling my moss balls around when I don’t feel like sticking my hand in. 14 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MickS77 Posted January 7, 2021 Share Posted January 7, 2021 I made this for refilling tanks so I don't have to lift a bucket, splash water everywhere, disturb substrate, etc. It's a Cobalt MJ1200 pump, some push connect fittings, 90° barb, silicone tubing, and a switch on the outlet to control it. I use an extension cord to keep the switch in my hand. 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrozenFins Posted January 7, 2021 Share Posted January 7, 2021 I use a rubber spatula to turn my sand over (Don't worry its not like I use it in my kitchen) 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrozenFins Posted January 7, 2021 Share Posted January 7, 2021 I also plan on using the bendy part of a plastic straw to attacth airline hosing in a circular or square shape to keep the amazon frogbit in one spot. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mouseturd13 Posted January 7, 2021 Author Share Posted January 7, 2021 7 minutes ago, MickS77 said: I made this for refilling tanks so I don't have to lift a bucket, splash water everywhere, disturb substrate, etc. It's a Cobalt MJ1200 pump, some push connect fittings, 90° barb, silicone tubing, and a switch on the outlet to control it. I use an extension cord to keep the switch in my hand. That is smart! I am starting to get tired of lifting the bucket to fill my tank. Might look into doing this! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MickS77 Posted January 7, 2021 Share Posted January 7, 2021 3 minutes ago, mouseturd13 said: Might look into doing this! It's quicker than hooking up the Pthyon for small fill ups. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fonske Posted January 7, 2021 Share Posted January 7, 2021 1 hour ago, MickS77 said: I made this for refilling tanks so I don't have to lift a bucket, splash water everywhere, disturb substrate, etc. I use a similar (simpler) tool for the same reasons. Another DIY thing I use all the time is the chopstick-extended toothbrush, for cleaning the tight spaces like tank corners, insides of internal filters, crevices in wood, etc. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mouseturd13 Posted January 7, 2021 Author Share Posted January 7, 2021 15 minutes ago, Fonske said: I use a similar (simpler) tool for the same reasons. Another DIY thing I use all the time is the chopstick-extended toothbrush, for cleaning the tight spaces like tank corners, insides of internal filters, crevices in wood, etc. I’m diggin the toothbrush chopstick! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H.K.Luterman Posted January 7, 2021 Share Posted January 7, 2021 I attach bamboo skewers to the ends of my siphon hoses with elastics so that I can stir up the mulm but not suck up the sand while doing water changes. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schwack Posted January 7, 2021 Share Posted January 7, 2021 What do you all use on the end of your refill pumps to spread the outflowing water? I picked up a little cheapy with just enough head lift on Prime Day, but even at the lowest setting it's still pretty violent. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Posted January 7, 2021 Share Posted January 7, 2021 15 minutes ago, H.K.Luterman said: I attach bamboo skewers to the ends of my siphon hoses with elastics so that I can stir up the mulm but not suck up the sand while doing water changes. That's a great idea! I'll be using it next water change. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mouseturd13 Posted January 7, 2021 Author Share Posted January 7, 2021 31 minutes ago, H.K.Luterman said: I attach bamboo skewers to the ends of my siphon hoses with elastics so that I can stir up the mulm but not suck up the sand while doing water changes. Totally going to try this! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chiclid addict Posted January 7, 2021 Share Posted January 7, 2021 2 hours ago, MickS77 said: I made this for refilling tanks so I don't have to lift a bucket, splash water everywhere, disturb substrate, etc. It's a Cobalt MJ1200 pump, some push connect fittings, 90° barb, silicone tubing, and a switch on the outlet to control it. I use an extension cord to keep the switch in my hand. I just use a garden hose since I’m on a well and my tap water is basically the same as what comes out of my garden hose and it’s also gonna cycle and have water conditioner anyway 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charose Posted January 7, 2021 Share Posted January 7, 2021 3 hours ago, MickS77 said: I made this for refilling tanks so I don't have to lift a bucket, splash water everywhere, disturb substrate, etc. It's a Cobalt MJ1200 pump, some push connect fittings, 90° barb, silicone tubing, and a switch on the outlet to control it. I use an extension cord to keep the switch in my hand. great idea, get you a smart plug 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdamTill Posted January 7, 2021 Share Posted January 7, 2021 (edited) 2 hours ago, Schwack said: What do you all use on the end of your refill pumps to spread the outflowing water? I picked up a little cheapy with just enough head lift on Prime Day, but even at the lowest setting it's still pretty violent. Double pvc elbows. Going to swap this for a spray bar soon though. It’s worked well enough for a year, but a spray bar would be even more gentle. Edited January 7, 2021 by AdamTill 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdamTill Posted January 7, 2021 Share Posted January 7, 2021 (edited) Sink hook for pumping out change water, tube connects to right side below counter level like in the post above this one Edited January 7, 2021 by AdamTill 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FriendlyLoach Posted January 7, 2021 Share Posted January 7, 2021 I have a diy airstone, it is a air tube that is kinked at the end with a rubber band and holes poked in it. It does not stop there though, then I have it rubber banded the bottom half of a old HOB filter that I uncliped from the main unit. Yeah, it is pretty crazy. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrozenFins Posted January 7, 2021 Share Posted January 7, 2021 I also use a tooth brush that I use to scrub the algae off in the corners of the corner or on the decor. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maggie Posted January 7, 2021 Share Posted January 7, 2021 I'm not handy with making stuff out of other stuff, but have commandeered a whole lot of kitchen items! My two favorites are an old turkey baster, useful for vacuuming the shrimp dish between gravel vacs, and a little 1/4 cup acrylic measuring cup with a spout and handle that is perfect for scooping water for testing. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Billy Posted January 7, 2021 Share Posted January 7, 2021 Here is my water change closet. Its simply a 2x10x16 pressure treated board from lowes. I cut it in half to make the top, and the other half i halfed it again to make the legs. I have an air pump with spliters and some small 5 gallon heaters i use to pre-warm and oxygenate the water while i wait for chlorine to evaporate. On the back wall you can see my sump pump ( hanging up to dry out )with tubing and a repurposed washing machine hook i use to drain my buckets into my tank instead of lifting the buckets. I also use a paint tray liner to set my wet heaters and airline tubing in to dry out while not in use. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Billy Posted January 7, 2021 Share Posted January 7, 2021 (edited) I also made a hospital / quarantine tank from a storage tub i bought for $5 at target. I drilled holes in the top and a slit on one corner for hoses and wires. I interchange my water change heaters and air pump for my quarantine tank and use an aquarium co-op nano sponge filter. I also marked 1 gallon increments on the side with electrical tape. In this picture you can see i am curing some drift wood for future aquascaping. Edited January 7, 2021 by Will Billy Spelling error 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mouseturd13 Posted January 7, 2021 Author Share Posted January 7, 2021 These are all awesome! I just thought of another one I use. It’s one of those tiny pipe cleaner brushes for reusable straws. I use it to scrub gunk off of the never clog air stone felt and just in general to scrub around small items. Don’t worry it’s a fish only scrubber it does not return to the kitchen 😂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JettsPapa Posted January 7, 2021 Share Posted January 7, 2021 I drilled holes in the sides of a measuring cup, and I hang it over the side of the tank to disperse the water when pouring it in from a bucket. I use a 2.5 gallon bucket instead of 5 gallon, by the way. I know it takes more trips, but I don't mind. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mouseturd13 Posted January 7, 2021 Author Share Posted January 7, 2021 31 minutes ago, JettsPapa said: I drilled holes in the sides of a measuring cup, and I hang it over the side of the tank to disperse the water when pouring it in from a bucket. I use a 2.5 gallon bucket instead of 5 gallon, by the way. I know it takes more trips, but I don't mind. Okay that is way smart. I’ve been using a soap dish with holes in it and I hate holding it. Might go to the dollar store and get one of these to drill some holes in! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JettsPapa Posted January 7, 2021 Share Posted January 7, 2021 9 minutes ago, mouseturd13 said: Okay that is way smart. I’ve been using a soap dish with holes in it and I hate holding it. Might go to the dollar store and get one of these to drill some holes in! I'm glad you like it. I've actually made two of them, and that's the first. I don't have a picture of the second one, but it has fewer holes and works just as well. After using this first version I realized that because of the way it hangs in the tank very little water was coming through the holes near the handle, so version 2 has them mostly on the side opposite the handle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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