Petfish Tips, Tricks And DIY Projects

Make Your Under Gravel Filter Work Better

To make your under gravel filter work a lot more efficiently, get some filter floss and completely cover the filter grates with it, about an inch thick, then add the normal layer of gravel over that. This will increase the available area for the 'good" bacteria to grow. This really works well. And while you're at it, take a look in the crafts section of any local department store, they should have some large bags of "quilt batting" which is exactly the same thing as filter floss, but at only about a tenth of the cost.
 

Stop Gravel Digging Fish

To save your under gravel filter, or to just keep large fish from digging up the gravel, you can get a plastic webbing type material from the crafts section of just about any department store. This stuff is inert so it will not affect water quality. To use the webbing , cut it (with scissors) to the appropriate size and shape. Then place it on top of the gravel and add some more gravel to hide to hide it. No more fishy aquascaping now! This material also makes a great spawning grate for fish such as zebra danios and tetras.
 

Cheap Substitute For Charcoal

Pick up a 10 pound bag of "Lava Rocks" from your local Home Depot or Lowes. Crush it up to use as a substitute for charcoal or use it like "Live Rock" for a freshwater aquarium. This rock has an abundance of surface area for colonization by the "Good Guy" bacteria. Doesn't look too bad either.
 

Cheap Airline Connecters

To make quick and easy airline connecters, just get a length of rigid airline tubing and cut it into pieces about an inch long, or use the little plastic handles that come with the ice cream treat called "Fred Flintstone's Push Ups". Yabba Dabba Doooo!

The Best Fish Food

The best fish food available is the common earthworm. Although they are supposedly the most nutritious when fed live, I prefer to freeze them first and then chop them up for feeding to the fish. You might be able to dig some up in your yard but its much easier to just buy them from a bait store. The method I use with earthworms is to separate them from the dirt etc, which usually involves rinsing a few times in a large mesh net, I then put the live worms into a sandwich/freezer bag ( I think this is a humane or painless way to kill them). Then I break off a piece of frozen worms add a little water with the worms in a disposable cup and use scissors to snip , snip , snip until I have mostly bite size chunks. I then use a turkey baster to feed them to the individual tanks. This is the absolute best spawning conditioning food available for any aquarium fish!

Cheap Betta Bowls

To easily make nice Betta bowls, just get an empty 2 or 3 liter plastic cola bottle and cut the top part (just after it starts to taper). Rinse it out thoroughly! If you use a "Pepsi" bottle you'll have a black plastic piece on the bottom of the bottle, you can pull this same piece off of another bottle and make a nice matching top for your betta bowl.
Note: Pepsi has since stopped making the black plastic bottoms.
 

Aluminum Foil

Aluminum foil has a couple of uses for the aquarist. Crinkle it up and then staighten it up again to make a textured background for the tank. Just tape it to the back of the aquarium.
And line the inside of the reflector to make your lights brighter.
 

Quieten That Noisy Air Pump

There's 2 ways to make air pumps quieter. 1. Place the pump on a pad of foam rubber, and 2. Put the whole air pump into the sock portion of a piece of pantyhose and susupend it from a nail or screw in the back of the aquarium stand.  
 

Really Cheap Plastic Plants

Though I prefer live plants; I once saw a tank "planted" with pieces of green trash bags cut to resemble plants. It might sound goofy, but the result was immpressive. The plastic naturally floats so you have to glue or attach the plastic to a rock or some other heavy object. But the wieghtlessness of the "plant" makes it move with the flow of the water and gives a nice upright stance and surprisingly lifelike appearance. Try it, you've nothing to lose but a trash bag.  
 

Plastic Plant Anchors

Soft drink bottle caps, rocks or pebbles, silicone. Super easy. Submitted by Rich  
 

Quick Tips

• Use a timer for your aquarium lights, and you won't have to worry about them.
• Mix several different types of flakes and freeze dried foods into one large container, it wil give your fish a good mix of food at every feeding.
• If your aquarium water sometimes has that thin film on the surface you can get it out by laying a paper towel on the surface, wait a few seconds and lift it out.
• Join a local Aquarium Society, or if there's not one near you join a national organization that covers the fish that interest you the most.
• Swap aquarium books with a local Aquarist friend.
• Email your tank pictures to Petfish.net for posting on the Tank Pictures From Around The World page, it's free and the whole world will be able to see your tanks.
• Look for slightly damaged merchandise at your LFS (local fish store) ask for a discount and you can probably get a deal on it.
• Most fish will jump out of uncovered aquariums, always use a cover.
• Acidic water loving fish will love a few dried oak leaves in their tank, it will slightly tint the water and release tanins that make these fish feel at home.
• Clay flower pots and/or boiled coconut shells make good caves for shy fish or spawning some cichlids.
• Try to let the fish adapt to your water instead of changing your water with chemicals. Fish are very adaptable to most water as long as it's consistant.

 
Please email me with any simular gadgets or ideas you might have, I'll certainly give you credit for the contribution.