Child-Proofing Aquariums And Equipment

[ZoddyZod]

My son has recently found his crawling feet and it's only a matter of time until he takes an interest in all the wonderful things he can grab in and around my tank.

Anyone got any tips on how to make the tank and stand/cupboard child-proof? I'd be very interested in knowing how to keep the tank lid closed before any bleach/shampoo/toothpaste is added to help 'clean' the fish

 

[SuperColey1]

TThe equipment/cabinet is easy. Get a cupboard lock and fit. Will cost about £3.

The tank is another matter. Yes if you have a lid that has a top opening you can get another cupboard lock for that but then you would need to waterproof it on the inside. That or put a padlock and fitting on the outside which wouldn't look too nice.

However What should be addressed is why it is a worry about a child's crawling feet becoming a problem around athe fishtank.

It is a problem that I nearly got divorced over (see following pictures) due to my wife having television goggles plus a telephone addiction and not supervising the children properly. The satellite TV was promptly cancelled by me!!!

I know they can't be watched 100% of the time but it shouldn't be such a problem that they have time to get up to the top of the tank and put anything in it.

If that is a problem then the fish tank must go!!! Forget the child putting something in the top that will kill fish yes and upset you but no harm in general to the child.

The main concern would be that if they can reach the top of the tank without being stopped that they are a few mm of glass and a huge weight of water from being soaked and possibly lacerated by broken glass. Forget the material damage to the house/carpets/flooring etc. The child could be injured pretty badly.

Silicon is pretty stron. It has to be to hold the weight of water eithin the tank but I would not like to add the kind of force even a small child climbing (holding the top rim) to the water weight.

As I say I nearly got divorced over this issue. Not because of the damage to the aquascape and death of fish but because my wife was not supervising the children properly. I am not suggesting that you aren't supervising the children properly. Just that it si a concern that should have already been addressed i.e. childproof latches on cupboards. Plug covers etc. It is something that most people have already addressed by the time the child is at crawling stage although I don't blame anyone for taking caution.

My wife had called me on my morning break at work to inform me that my eldest (3 years old) had poured washing up liquid into the tank and all the fish were dead. Not even a thought crossing her mind that it was her fault for not watching them, just that it was my fault for not having a lock on the tank lid!!

Needless to say (due to the current employment environment) I am now a househusband and no such things happen!!! The cupboard is locked yes but that has the filter, heater, chemicals including Formaldehyde and therefore I don't want them even being able to 'take a peek'. Add to this I am now open topped too!!!

Occasionally one of them (now 4 and 5) gets too close for comfort and is immediately told to move away. By that I don't mean they are looking at the fish with their hands and face against the glass. That isn't a problem to me. What I mean is one of them about to try and drop a toy or other objkect into the tank.

Moral of the story? If anything happens there is only one person to blame. precautions can be taken but that doesn't mean that your guard can be lowered

From this:

Take care and sorry for the rant. I have strong feelings on this issue

AC

 

[OldMan47]

Sorry you are holding back on your feelings SuperColey.

I also have strong ideas about adult responsibilities with children, but my son is alive and a father today because I happened to come home at the right moment and seek out my wife and son at the right moment around the apartment complex swimming pool. I fished him out from swimming at the bottom of the shallow end of the pool before my wife became aware that he was no longer hanging around her and her friends a few feet from the pool. That taught me more about how fast a child can move than about my wife's concern about her son. He was fast even then, at about 1 year old, but did not recognize the hazard of open water. His mother did not realize he was missing because she had become distracted by friends.

If you have anything that you believe poses a threat to a child, take positive and thorough actions to prevent any troubles. You will constantly think about it afterward if you fail to prevent a problem up front.

 

[SuperColey1]

After reading my wbove reply again I think I have come across a little bad

I don't mean to assume others are as I experience myself.

In my case I suppose it is a longer story and the fish tank is one of many things that I have had issues with.

I know children can creep off and also that people can be distracted and maybe people think I am a crazy man as I am always looking all over the place. lol

However in my wife's case it wasn't so much distractions that were the problem. It was a basic lack of understanding of her responsibilities as a parent and a general ignorance of potential dangers. I have spent years trying to reason with her but still to this day she doesn't seem to understand.

So please don't be offended bymy post above. It isn't meant to sound like a generalisation although I guess that is the way it sounds.

However there isn't really too much you can do without removing the hazard

Its a bit like asking 'how do I childproof the oven or my top notch music system or the PC.

Ther is no super way of protecting them from kids other than try and educate the kids of what they should and shouldn't do and keep your eyes open at all times

Even after all that you may stil find crushed biscuits in your CD player and a loud 'ouch' from the kitchen. Can't stop every little thing from happening but just have to be as aware as possible

Sorry for going overboard.

AC

 

[ian]

I think the little one has an eye for a scape supercoley, the second scape looks more like a biotope than the first, it's just a pitty about the bubbles.
J/k lol

 

[ZoddyZod]

AC,

To be fair I could quite easily take your post as offensive as you are assuming that I haven't got my sons safety at the forefront of my original question. This is quite a light-hearted forum and I therefore phrased my post in a similar manner. However, no offence taken.

My main concerns are around the chemicals and foodstuffs that are within the stand, although to be fair I really had not considered the possibility of my son pulling the tank down - a very valid point.

When I use the term 'child-proof' I am not assuming that there is a 100% sure-fire way of preventing any safety issues in terms of the tank & equipment, but more in the terms of reducing the associated risks. As with any child 'proofing' equipment I dont intend to rely on them to protect my son from harm, but they should offer the vital few seconds that can avoid disaster.

So for the cupboard/stand, that seems pretty straight-forward. I'm fitting the kitchen with similar locks at the weekend. For the tank lid? I was imagining some kind of clamp but maybe this would work?
http/www.homebase.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=20001&partNumber=857028&Trail=searchtext%3ECHILD+SAFETY

 

[Curiosity101]

Where is your tank actually located? Can you re arrange decor to give it a 1m radius free of anything that can be climbed on? This could help avoid the climbing onto/into the tank as by the time he's tall enough, he will be old enough to definitely know better.

 

[ZoddyZod]

Where is your tank actually located? Can you re arrange decor to give it a 1m radius free of anything that can be climbed on? This could help avoid the climbing onto/into the tank as by the time he's tall enough, he will be old enough to definitely know better.

that has already been put into place....but it only takes the pusing of a foot stool/toy drum/tractor into the vicinity and the risk is back. I'd rather have something permanently securing the lid to be on the safe side.

 

[Curiosity101]

I'm not saying dont, just making sure all the bases are covered
Those clips from BnQ look quite good.

If it were me I'd be tempted to put a bell or something on top of the tank, secured by a sticky pad or something. Or basically something that makes a decent amount of noise when moved.
Perhaps (and you may laugh), but would a tilt sensor alarm be entirely out of the question. It wouldn't be an issue to you as you'd either have the key/code whenever you needed to go in the tank.

But if any little hands moved it then it'd start wailing
1. The sneaky attempt to put whatever in the tank is probably going to be abandoned.
2. You know straight away someone has opened the tank.

 

[ZoddyZod]

I certainly hadn't thought of a bell/alarm. Quite like the bell idea, think a tilt sensor is a bit OTT and also quite expensive, but I applaud your innovative thinking!

 

[Curiosity101]

Just thinking outside the box. I'm often surprised at how smart children are, and I would presume if they're adept enough to think about putting stuff in the tank (in a house where they have presumably been taught not to put stuff in) then although they don't think about consequences. Deep down they'll know it's wrong, and if what they're doing results in a loud sound (that will alert mummy n daddy... I reckon it'll be enough to hopefully avoid them finishing whatever they're up to before you're there.

If anything they'll be on the other side of the room with wet hands but playing with toys pretending to be innocent.

Oh n I think you'd be looking at £20 ish for a tilt sensor alarm...(had a quick ebay)

 

[ZoddyZod]

had a look on eBay as well.....the tilt sensor is about £20 but then you have to fit it to something that actually makes a noise. A klaxon mod would be great, although I'd probably have high child-psychiatry bills due to the induced shock.

 

[Curiosity101]

But the fish would be safe

Yeah alright, maybe the tilt sensor isn't the best idea. But I carried on thinking... how about lining up lots of photframes on top of the tank. These would require moving to get into the tank and would probably clatter n such if knocked over.

Maybe even photframes with bells attached... lol.

 

[ZoddyZod]

Maybe even photframes with bells attached... lol.

photoframes are already 'deployed'. Hadn't thought of them as an alarm.

All this talk of alarms is probably making it sound like I leave him on his own for hours on end and I'm installing something that allows me to do that. That's not the case though, what I was thinking more about was being able to let him go near the cupboard, tank etc. without having to yank him away each time. If securing devices have been attached I can let him do that whilst keeping a close eye on him not doing anything 'extra'.

I've already raised the TV/DVD high out of reach, not sure Homebase sell any floating shelves that will take 150kg of fish tank though. Not that I'd trust them if they did since my bedroom cupboards started disintigrating after 2yrs! (nothing at all to do with the way I put them together )

 

[Curiosity101]

I'm not suggesting you leave him alone for ages. Or that you want to.

What I'm suggesting is that you don't have eyes in the back of your head, but can hear loud sounds from anywhere.

I'm also suggesting you've just nipped to answer the phone... or to make a cup of tea... or you're making his lunch (and he was with you but you've just stuck your head in the fridge to look what to give him).

I can't see any reason you'd need more than clips to be honest. But at the same time the 'noise' alarm can't be a bad back up