What tool do you use for in water maintenance?

S

splix

New member
I'm starting to think that having my arm in the tank every day isnt such a good idea anymore. Whats a good idea for a long tool to reach the bottom of my 24" high tank?
I'm always either flipping a snail, picking off a tube snail, wondering *** is that, etc. You know....
 
Hands go in tanks. Its all good. Just make sure to wash your hands from teh gunk of the day.

I use silicone covered tongs for cooking to handle stuff like that so my arms arent in the tank to my pits and so it doesnt rust. :lol:
 
Dollar Store grabbers for most things. But a rod from an old slat blind works great for poking things upright or nudging things over a bit.
Also have long gloves. They do the job of protecting my hands and arms but they are a hassel to dry out if they get wet inside, even a little.
 
I use long grabber tongs the most, any petco or LFS will have them, bamboo tongs sometimes.
It is a good idea to keep hands in tank to a minimum for both you and the tank.
 
I use long wooden marshmallow skewers left over from the summer. They are 34 inches long and great for nudging things or flipping snails. Toss them when when I think they are getting gross. Just throwing that out there haha
 
I feel your pain... My next tank will be a wide, long, shallow tank... 24" is a PITA..

I was at RAP this year and met Jason Fox.. that guy will beat you if you point your finger into his frag tank.. some high dollar vendors are VERY picky about nothing touchs their water..
 
I use shish kebab skewers. Cheap and easy.
Also useful for poking at my maroon clown when she bites me. I think she thinks its a game.
 
I found some tongs on BRS that work pretty well. I also, found a telescoping handle with interchangeable scraper & rake attachment.
 
joshbrookkate said:
Dollar Store grabbers for most things. But a rod from an old slat blind works great for poking things upright or nudging things over a bit.
Also have long gloves. They do the job of protecting my hands and arms but they are a hassel to dry out if they get wet inside, even a little.
Click to expand...

I agree with you about the Dollar Store grabber.Paid $3.00 and you can lift some pretty big pieces of LR around in the DT with it.A few years ago I purchased some grabbers from the LFS and they were $20 in comparison,and not nearly as good IMO.
 
I used tongs but I hardly ever have a need to use them as I always glue everything down. When it comes to doing waterchanges though I make sure I haven't handled any cleaners or potentially harmful chemicals the day of, I also don't wear deodorant that day which is why I almost always do them on sunday, finally right before doing the waterchange I stick my arm under a shower head running hot water.
I'm pretty paranoid about chemical contamination.
 
i've found that these eheim tongs are good for light duty:

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/eheim-plant-tongs.html

picking up frag plugs, retrieving small chunks of rock or coral that i dropped, etc...

i also have a variety of other metal tongs, tweezers, scissors, wooden skewers, syringes, etc... my toolkit is constantly expanding.

next on the list is a larger pair of grippers for moving rocks and the like.
 
If I just need to reach in quickly to do something I use nothing. If I need to be doing something deeper in the tank that will take some time I use the Dollar Store grabber.
 
I had a dollar store grabber in my hands thinking that it would be exactly perfect for the tank. I decided against it due to thinking they might be using brass bushings which would cause copper contamination.
 
The truth of it is, I use one tool more than any other when it comes to anything to do with my tank. IMHO, you cannot have a successful system without it. Everybody already has this mystery tool, yet so many seem almost afraid to use it to it's full potential. It also costs nothing and requires minimal maintenance. It has served me so very well over the years.

And what is this tool, you ask?

Your BRAIN. Think before you act. Be aware of what you are doing, and more importantly, WHY you are doing it.

hth
 
billdogg said:
The truth of it is, I use one tool more than any other when it comes to anything to do with my tank. IMHO, you cannot have a successful system without it. Everybody already has this mystery tool, yet so many seem almost afraid to use it to it's full potential. It also costs nothing and requires minimal maintenance. It has served me so very well over the years.

And what is this tool, you ask?

Your BRAIN. Think before you act. Be aware of what you are doing, and more importantly, WHY you are doing it.

hth
Click to expand...

Next time an astraea has a goof and needs flipped, or I notice a frag doesnt like his recommended placement. I'll use "the force" to fix it. :strooper:
 
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