So, What other secrets are you all hiding from me???

[Hemmie]

Saran wrap works well to cover those holes that your eggcrate leaves around equip. (as long as your lights aren't too hot!) Use the Saran wrap to wrap your exposed power strips. Secure all power strips upright to the side, under the stand. Wrap the cords with duct tape and just tack them to the wood.

Surgical gloves instead of the bulky AquaGloves for small tank tasks to keep the Bristles away. You can "feel" what you're doing.

A 32 gallon rubbermaid ready with SW for changes sitting next to your tank (Mines behind a chair) Power head with rubber tubing to mix the water and to pump it into the tank. Python the siphon it out.

If you use a Filter such as an AquaClear, put a piece of rock on top of the Carbon/Floss to keep it down.

AuquaClear 500 makes a tiny refugium. Rock, micro algae and pods. (NO sand) You'll be amazed at the pod population after a while, especially if you have small light over it.

Color a mag flashlight with red magic marker for night viewing.

Red rope lights are great for night viewing as well.

Cut a piece or two of styrofoam packing material, measured to fit between the back of the tank and the wall. Jam the stuff in (kind of like a shelf) and it will catch and water drips/spills and protect your floor. It'll also let you know if you have something leaking back there. (drip, drip, drip)

When you mark your cords, duct tape works well. make a duct tape "tag" and use permanent marker.

Test your GFI's often!!

 

[fishpoo]

turkey blaster for RHahn62
http://reefcentral.com/forums/attachment.php?s=&postid=949440

 

[Hemmie]

:rollface: :rollface: :rollface:

 

[chicki]

I siliconed 4 turkey basters together and this way I can reach the brains at the bottom for feeding without getting my hands wet.
here's a pic

 

[TIdoubleGrrrrr]

Chicki, I like that idea! Great thinking
What a great thread, I'm really glad this got started. Keep it up, I too am getting some great ideas here. Thanks for sharing everyone!
Julie

 

[SeanT]

I did something similar to chicki.
I just attached airline tubing to the end of my baster and siliconed an acrylic rod to the tubind and neck of the baster to make it rigid.

I like yours better though.

 

[csmart287]

Tip

Tip

Start your siphons by placing the submerged end of the hose in front of a powerhead.

I've been keeping fish since 1953, breeding FW since 1968. Never heard this. Since my Reef Tank has many Palythoa polyps, supposedly the most toxic organisms on earth, this is a great tip.

Let me add one. Occasionally I use my old cannister filter. Adding a twist open/closed valve (sold by the filter maker) makes it much easier to start.

quick connect twist together two part valve with locking sleeve

Start the siphon (see tip above) twist the valve ends together before too much water spills on the floor, and it fills! No more @#$%^&*@#$%$% filling it to the brim, and turning it sideways while struggling to get the air out

Now, if only I could get better at installing that %#(*&^@ O-ring

 

[Ilsimen]

If you have a cucumber, watch out for the infamous gonad-eating buttfish.

 

[REEFGIRL1]

put a piece of aluminium foil on top of your tank over your overflow to block light, keeps nusiance algae from growing in there and you don't have to clean gunk out of the overflow teeth

use vitamin boxes (the ones marked with days of the week) to portion feedings when someone is reef sitting (then hide the rest of the food), good way to make sure they don't over feed

 

[RicksReefs]

csmart,
or you could leave the return hose in the tank,
then place the intake near a bucket,suck on the
end of the hose (no worries about swallowing water,
the cannister still needs to fill up),once water
is pouring into bucket,stop it with your finger
place in tank,attach strainer,...done.
this is how i prime my vortex filter after placing
the diatom powder in the jar.

 

[boobookitty]

A dime-sized rock placed over a single aptasia kills it in a few days to a week.


Btw, SeanT, that idiotic quote about the problem being impurities and not pollution? It's a direct quote from Dan "Potatoe" Quayle, not Al Gore.


bbk

 

[RHahn62]

Computer UPS systems make a good backup power supply, you can usually get used ones for free. People toss them when the batteries die and buy new, check your local RadioShacks or BatteriesPlus or BatteryZone type stores & ask the manager to hang onto one for you, buy new batteries and presto you have something to run your pumps if there is a power outage.

 

[vee]

1. Go to home depot, buy a GFCI outlet, junction box, 15-20 AMP cord with an outlet. Assemble them together and you have a portable GFCI outlet.

2. I learned this from somebody else. It'll help people with single chamber Calcium Reactors maybe people with dual chambers as well. Get a specimen container, the stuff the LFS uses to hold the fish before they put them in the bags. Drill a few holes on the bottom of the container. Fill it with aragonite. Hang the container in your sump and drip the effluent from your Ca reactor into it. It should raise your Ph a little and help with reducing amount of Co2 that gets into your system.

3. Another tip for feeding. Get a 2 Liter Bottle. Cut the top 1/3 off. Drill a hole in the cap big enough to put an airline through. Silicon the connection of the airline with the cap. Stick a rigid tubing at the end of your airline. Now, you can pour whatever you'll need to fit into the top 1/3 half of the 2 liter bottle and target feed wherever you point the tubing.

4. Use a MaxiJet with flex tubing to blow sand/detritus off your rocks.

5. If you have a deep tank, invest in a small step ladder. (2 or 3 steps) Instead of having a chair around, use the ladder to access your tank.

6. For feeding clams with DT. Instead of moving the clams into a container outside your system and worry about temperature fluctuations, use a specimen container and hang that inside your tank. Then move the clams into the container to feed them therefore keeping the temperature constant.




hope i didn't repeat any tips


Victor

 

[theearthling]

Place rubber matting underneath all of your equipment. It comes in 4 foot wide rolls at most hardware stores and is indispensible. It protects the floor beneath and helps isolate vibration. It's grooved surface helps control spills. You can curl it whereever it meets a wall to keep water from leaking out.

Also, here's a great source for test tubes, flasks, specimen containers, bottles, droppers, funnels, and all sorts of other lab equipment you wish you had from your chemistry classes:

Carolina Biological Supply

 

[holeinone1972]

marking thread

 

[quest4JC]

i think it was mentioned before but at the bottom it says subscribe to thread...in n out without a trace

 

[mgk65]

rob:

Do you follow me around?

One important TIP for everyone: If you every have power problems, buy a gasoline powered generator!

I was without power for 20 hours a couple of weeks ago. Thankfully, I fired up my generator, and I was good to go. We were toasty and the corals were sunning themselves.

mgk

 

[CAT]

3 things I've found very useful for my tank...

1 - I put a tag on each plug so I know which is which when doing maintenance.

2- I have timers on all my lights -even some house lights.

3 - I use long (to the armpits) disposable gloves to work in my tank. I buy a bag of fifty of them from the my 'large animal' vet - they use them to examine cattle and horses -I have horses so I already knew where to find them.

 

[Hemmie]

Just a tag here on CAT's post.

Make friends with your local Veterinarian. You can get a lot of supplies from them, (many things that they throw away after one use) you can ask them to save for you.

Surg gloves, syringes, (many sizes and tips) airline tubing, IV bags with different types of lines, pipettes, the long "up to the armpit" cow gloves, hemostats and forceps (instruments that work well, but not good enough for Surgery)

Pill bottles, (good for storing food), specimen cups, old siphon hose from suction bottles, suture material, plastic mats from heating pads, small styrofoam boxes for shipping critters, blood tubes for measuring water while testing params....

Take a empty salt bucket or two in to trade for some stuff. Vets are always looking for buckets with lids for storing sharps and medical waste.

Laws probably vary as to what they can give you and what they have to account for and toss.

 

[icebear]

Plastic onion nets...

just replace the aluminum binders with plastic zips and stuff with "tang heaven" or other live, loose-leaf macroalgae that your tang likes. Tie one end securley to something so it dosen't float all over the tank. If the algae pieces are large, tear one or two small holes in the mesh so the tang can haul out bites.
Works like a haybag with horses.