Strangest useful equipment you own?

[BlueTurquoise]

Hi all,

I was wondering, over your years of fish keeping, What is the one or some of the most strangest, funniest, or out of place bits of equipment that has come in handy for you all the time or once in awhile in your discus keeping hobby? Something humble, small or cheapy that has no relation to fish keeping whatsoever yet it is an invaluable tool for your hobby?

I will give you some examples:

I collect foam! flat, white foam bits from here and there! it's useful for lining the bottom of your tanks and used as cheap and effective insulation material. Whenever I see somone throwing out flat peices of foam I am there baby! hehe

I also have this milk bottle cap that is invaluable to me! I use it to measure exact dosages for water ager! 1 cap full is exactly how much water ager I need to age 80L of water (pre measured dosage) I can't do without it! otherwise I would have to fool around with measuring cups, and that's too fiddly for me hehe. I suppose any sort of cap will do so long as it is the exact dosage.

Electrical and duct tape! oh man so many used for these items in the aquarium hobby it's not funny! the applications are endless. I use tape to hold down hoses and electrical cables so that they don't tangle, or raise the cable higher to prevent water running down the line to the socket. The other cool thing that I use it for is to mark exactly the level where to stop draining my tank to, during water changes. I guess a marker does the same job but heh, I have miles of tape hehe.

Come on my examples are nothing extraordinary. I am sure you guys could do heaps better than that! Put your thinking caps on and perhaps maybe you can help others with unique ideas that they did not think of before. Usually most of the time the ideas are cheap and quite effective!

Chong

I use a rag and a stick to reach those hard-to-reach spots in the tanks to wipe them down. Yes-it's retarded, but i refuse to go and buy one of those fancy-shmancy tank-scrubber things. I don't think they do a very good job. ;D

Dave_C had a syphon/squeegee thing going a while back--what ever happened to that dave??? ;)

[BlueTurquoise]

Hehe hey if it's cheap and it works, noone can put it down!

I forgot one of the most important tools for fish keeping that I so so sooo invaluable is my computer! man it speaks for itself this internet thingy...

Chong

[Jason]

I.V bag set-up and a plastic coffee filter

[brewmaster15]

Hi Chong,
Coat hangers and pieces of 12-14 guage wire scraps... I use them to suspend surge strips above the drip loop of a tank....not pretty...but very useful....

http://a9.cpimg.com/image/05/52/11144709-fb2f-021C0195-.jpg


Razor blades... scrapes the markers off the tanks for easy short term record keeping, and works great on stubborn algae, as well as for chopping food like blackworms, beefheart for fry.


Coffee filters ---paper...for straining Brine shrimp

2 quart empty "fluff" containers..convenient for mixing potassium permanganate.

-al

[yellow sub]

Old plastic credit cards...makes the best algea scraper. After maxing them on discus, no-one will accept them anyway ;D

The 5 gallon plastic buckets for kitty litter.

[nazangels]

Wrapping paper, wrapping paper, wrapping paper!! I have rolls and rolls to put on the backs of my tanks instead of buying those high dollar backers with the pretty pictures, I use beautifully colored wrapping paper. If they get wet, I just replace them with more wrapping paper. Most last for years! Yesterday I found a great way to remove hard water deposits...razor blade scraper from Home Depot. Just moisten the tank and the scraper takes care of even heavy deposits. None of the fish scrapers I've paid major bucks for even come close to getting hard water off. :bounce: I'm the queen of the Home Depot thanks to my fish! Beth

[BlueTurquoise]

Wow, those are great ideas! esp the wrapping paper one! save huge $$$!

Yeah razor blades are handy for many things! Coat hangers, don't start, I can think of 101 uses for coat hangers besides hanging coats!

Great ideas guys, keep them coming!
Chong

[thebaglady]

I use nylon tulle (like for a little girls ballet outfit)-- for cleaning algae in tanks.

turkey baster-- a million uses...moving fry, syphoning out small amounts of food, feeding CBWs from tank to tank. Need a smaller size (like for feeding bbs) use a medicine dropper.

empty yogurt containers-- all sizes, hold various size fish bags while I'm netting the fish out.

My favorite is something I've never tried, but Ill post it here anyway because it's such a neat (weird) thing....
A friend who had large geophagines wanted to give them some security of plants, but didn't have a green thumb.

He used strips (1 1/2") of platic garbage bags, natural colors like black or green, heavy gauge which was weighted down with plant ties (or something) and were the height of the tank.

This sounds ugly, but the strips MOVED with the flow of the HOT power filters and looked much like kelp, in the ocean. It was pretty cool.

Garbage bags can also be used as a background, like the wrapping paper idea and they're waterproof.

[discuskrib]

i've recycled my old he-man castles and other toys for decorating my tanks. they also give my fish places to hide.

[thebaglady]

Oh Discuskrib, pictures please!!! :D

[BlueTurquoise]

I was about to say the same thing! He-Discus? Castle Grey Discus? hehe

[discuskrib]

working on the pics. right now the computer doesn't want to recognize any new hardware added to it since the last time it was moved. >:( ???

[henryD]

Chopstick....for some reason I always find really good use for chopstick. I use to to hold back the worms when I was them. I also pick up worms with them. I clean my hoses with chopsticks. I also use it with a towel to clean the algea of tank. My wife caught me using them to pick up worms and now I have a "special worm stick".

[thebaglady]

Dedicated chopsticks...that's funny Kyppyk!

I thought of something else. It's like Chong's milk cap. I use an empty 35 mm film container for measuring out salt for making bbs.

I add one film container (which is about 2 Tbsp.) to approx. 1 gal. of water to cook the eggs in. No measuring spoons needed. :)

[boobar]

syringe (injector).
I use it for sucking up water. it connects beautifully to an air pump hoz.
i use the tube as a Co2 defuzer.
i use it for feeding artemia sometimes.
and i use it to inject meds to the tank and even directly to the fish mouth.

there are so many usages to this instrument i think its a must !

oren.

[BlueTurquoise]

These are fantastic ideas!

Yes I have a dedicated pair of worm sticks too! lol they have green and red duct tape on them to signify "WORM STICKS, NOT FOR NOODLES!" haha

Film cannisters... hmmm i have heaps of those, never thought about it before...

Chong

[Rick_May]

No worm sticks for me, I'm too sophisticated for that, I use a McFork from McDonald's.

[Fisheyes]

Hey how about the wifes panty hose .
They make great peat bags.
Pipe cleaners ect.
Fisheyes
( :crazy:)

[discuskrib]

i use pipecleaners to clean the hard to reach areas of my filters

[Jason]

this might no apply here but I get krill, seaweed, and agar agar from the asian grocery store

[thebaglady]

Agar is a medium, do you raise fruit flies? The other stuff you use for home-made foods??


Fisheyes, I hope those are old, worn out panty hose or you're in trouble Mista! ;)

[Jason]

its used as a binder for foods, works slightly better than knox geletin

[thebaglady]

Thanks Jason, good tip. I heard just today that shrimp works well too. Shells on!

This is my FIRST post for a couple days. There are little birthday people flying all over the screen....very festive.

I feel like it's all for me..I'm now a DISCUS OWNER!!!!!

Julz, Joe and Cary are the best!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[StarChazr]

Hi all :)

Wrapping paper for background of tanks...and to keep it from getting wet..simply cover it over (once you tape it to the back) with tape such as clear packing tape. It works great! I have 6 tanks and all of them are covered with wrapping paper instead of those fancy fake underwater backgrounds. Plus the darker color really show off the brilliant colors of Discus.


Star

A spray bottle with Hydrogen peroxide for neutralizing PP, clean and disinfect glass. dissolve white chlorine and biological deposit on tank top. lift stains from carpet. shoot my cat if he jumps on top of fish tank. Very useful thing around in the fish room.
Agar Agar is also a laxative made by seaweed to help digestion. Good stuff if you have blue diamond with constipation problem.
Jimmy.

[Fisheyes]

When I use to make my own tanks I would use duck tapeon all edges to create a border look . Worked great. Fisheyes( :rolleyes:)

[thebaglady]

Been watching too much of the Red/Green show on PBS??

10001 uses for duck tape!! Anybody besides Tw. Cities persons get that?? Jen K.

[Steve_Warner]

Hi all,
I'd have to say my old tooth brushes. They work great for cleaning filter parts, tank corners, driftwood, pots, discus's teeth ;D <-----------see ;)


Steve

[DougJ]

Hi Jen K.

Years ago I lived in Eagan. I'm guessing what you mean is duct tape. You betcha. ;D

[thebaglady]

Ya, you betcha DougJ We could've been neighbors!! IGHts. for me. It's a small world, especially between fish heads!! Favorite store...WOF? Forest Lake Pets? Aqualand? Wet World?

Oh my Gosh..Were you part of the Aq. Soc.? You might have known me....I sell the fish bags! Jen K. (BAGLADY!!)

[DougJ]

Jen,

It was 27 years ago I lived up there. God I'm old :-\. I was young and broke and not a member of anything. The only lfs I recall was in Richfield. I enjoyed my time in the Cities. Well, except for the winters and state taxes.

[thebaglady]

LOL Ya the taxes are a bit high. I hear ya, but great quality of life to be sure. Good schools etc...

That LFS is still operational in Richfield, World of Fish (WOF) Same building and everything. Can't really go into the place on the weekends...too busy. Prices are high, but they still have some amazing stuff coming and going through their store. It's been there more than thirty years I'm sure cause I used to shop there too!!! Way back when....I'm old too! :-\ :( but happy :) Jen K.

[ReeferKimberly]

hmmm, a tampon ::) ::) ;D for cleaning filters..

turkey baster for feeding worms,

and a bent fish net with a sponge rubber-banded to it to wipe the tanks
kimberly :-*

[Smokey]

One item I ''made'' was a pipe/hose cleaner.
I used the speed odmeter cable from a Kenworth .
The cable is brass wound, very flexiable and is easy to attach a cleaning rag/bruch to.
I let the cable soak in different soulations and finally let the cable soak in Isopropl alcohol. Completely cleaned and dissinfected.
I have been useing the same cable for over 7 years and find is a great tool!!!

Smokey

[BlueDolphin055]

Pantyhose!!! They are cheaper than media bags. I like to put peat in mine to soften the water...however, if your a guy people will look at you funny :)

[BlueTurquoise]

Heheh Daniel, I am a hoarder of my wife's old panty hose! you can also use them to tie aroudn filter intake ends to prevent fry from being suked into the filter.

Cool these are great tips! I will never throw away my old toothbrushes again, that's a neat tip!

Chong

[boobar]

;D ;D ;D a good one...

[BlueTurquoise]

Cool!

One side note: I have noticed that Winter panty hose is better than summer panty hose. It's thicker, stronger and much more suited to heavy duty work like filter intake wrapping etc.

Morale of the story: Don't chuck out ald panty hose!!!

Chong

[April]

im sure i havent bought a pair of pantyhose for 15 years. lol. wouldnt know how to. id rather buy the aquaclear bags...they look nicer. lol.
chong ....winter pantyhose? you guys dont have winter. lol you mean leotards?
turkey baster is invaluable for moving tiny fry. or for bbs.
best thing i have right now is a big bucket with three wheels on it. no lifting. lol. just roll it to the toilet and dump.
and i have some fantastic gas siphon hoses with a long hard tube to siphon the bottom..and a squeezy red thingy to start the siphon with. only 2. 49 at the hardware store.

[BlueTurquoise]

No, defiantely known as winter panty hose. It's like normal cept 2-3 times thicker. Leotards are diff material? lol I dunno

Never thought I'd ever be caught discussing panty hose!!! :-[ ;D

Chong

[spartyblaze]

I use a fork to feed my other cichlids a weekley dose of cucumber. I always used to just wedge the cuke under a rock, but that way the fish can only eat half of it. Now, I wedge the cuke solidly onto the fork and make sure all of the 'meat' is exposed. My guys then feast away......