Fish elevator, anyone?

[gimme30]

Since I'm laid up I've been doing a lot of virtual window shopping. There's some weird stuff out there. I was perusing a local stores inventory and ran across this:

https://aquarockscolorado.com/products/self-water-top-off

I suppose it could be useful for "water replenishment" as they say, but to claim you can "say goodbye to manual refilling" seems a bit of a stretch since the extender isn't going to refill itself.
This same store also sells-or did, I didn't find it online-a fog machine that creates a mist across the top of the tank. It looked cool in the store but I don't see any practical use for it.

Besides decorations like ceramic cats perched on the edge of the tank, what sort of questionable or outright useless devices have you run across?

 

[Uberhoust]

I miss the treasure chests that open with the bubbles then close when the air escapes out. I would never have one in my tank now, but when I was a kid I always wanted one.

 

[raylove]

It will only replenish the tank water once the main tank level drops below the bottom of the extension. Then surely quite a lot will suddenly glug out until the level in the tank rises again and you'll be left with an air bubble in the extension? As you say, ultimately you'll have to refill it.

This lady tried something similar in an outdoor guppy pond (see about 6 mins 30). I'm sure she eventually gave up on this idea. I didn't trawl through subsequent videos but I think it was because algae became a problem and oxygen rising from the plants caused the level of water to drop.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

I do not do tanks without a lid, ever. The reasons are simple as toi=o the downsides I see to lidless tanks:

1. It means much more rapid evaporation. This makes more work which is not necessary.
2. I mean things floating in the air can land in the tank water.
3. It means you need more expensive lighting so that it cannot get wet from the tank either via splashing or condensation.
4, It makes it much easier for fish to jump out of a tank.
5. It makes it easier to drop things into a tank accidentally.

Also, I do not want plants growing out of my tanks. I use plants in the water and I can keep the lid on the tank and the lights I can use save me a lot of money to buy. I have had as many as 13 planted tanks going at one time, but today is is only 9.

 

[GaryE]

Back in the 90s, huge filtration units with heaters built in were available. Beyond the bulk, the heaters crapped out and people were stuck with units you never even saw second hand.

Anything that has more than one function integrated - tanks with built in power filtrations and or heating, etc doesn't appeal to me. Things fall apart, and a lot of what we spend on is replacement. The less you have to replace, the better.

 

[anewbie]

Since I'm laid up I've been doing a lot of virtual window shopping. There's some weird stuff out there. I was perusing a local stores inventory and ran across this:

https://aquarockscolorado.com/products/self-water-top-off

I suppose it could be useful for "water replenishment" as they say, but to claim you can "say goodbye to manual refilling" seems a bit of a stretch since the extender isn't going to refill itself.
This same store also sells-or did, I didn't find it online-a fog machine that creates a mist across the top of the tank. It looked cool in the store but I don't see any practical use for it.

Besides decorations like ceramic cats perched on the edge of the tank, what sort of questionable or outright useless devices have you run across?

The fog sounds similar to mister used for growing aquatic plants emersed.

 

[anewbie]

I do not do tanks without a lid, ever. The reasons are simple as toi=o the downsides I see to lidless tanks:

1. It means much more rapid evaporation. This makes more work which is not necessary.

This is a real problem.

2. I mean things floating in the air can land in the tank water.

My chocolate cicihld just love when things land on the water.... esp crunchy flies.

3. It means you need more expensive lighting so that it cannot get wet from the tank either via splashing or condensation.

Just hang the lights higher

4, It makes it much easier for fish to jump out of a tank.

This is the primary reason i use lids on most of my tanks. Fish jump. Fish dry out. Fish dead. Me sad.

5. It makes it easier to drop things into a tank accidentally.

Never had this problem.

Also, I do not want plants growing out of my tanks. I use plants in the water and I can keep the lid on the tank and the lights I can use save me a lot of money to buy. I have had as many as 13 planted tanks going at one time, but today is is only 9.

I love having some plants grow out of my tansk and some of them will form submersed tops with the most lovely flowers.

 

[Rusty_Shackleford]

I'm sure that thing is super easy to access and clean algae growth.

Also I would like an explanation on how it increases oxygen circulation. In an above water level box. With no means of.moving the water.

 

[raylove]

I think they're suggesting that more active fish circulates the water faster.
In fact wouldn't oxygen be lower due to decreased surface area?

 

[TwoTankAmin]

At my peak I had 20 tanks year round and another 8 over the summer. It is only a matter of time before something gets dropped into one. When I clean tanks I usually remove the glass top and then I place the light across the top with it resting on the front and rear of the tank. This makes if possible to work seeing what I am doing and making it harder to knock the light off into the water. However, over 25 year I have had a light fall into the water about 15 times.

I have never gotten a shock retrieving it, the fish have not been shocked either and the light did not go off, Mostly I did this with standard fluor bulbs. I never had it happen with a power compact or with the LED lights I have gotten in the more recent past. I now have 3 of these but on smaller tanks- 5.5, 15 and a 29. I have only had lights fall into a tank with a single top.

Very early on I was taught that almost any light will grow plants and illuminate a tank. However, I tended to want full spectrum and high CRI bulbs. They are great for plants and make fish colors pop like they would in natural sun light.

I am not interested in hanging lights as our ceilings are vaulted and that make doing this impossible, I also have tanks on racks where there is only 12 -15 inches of space above the under tank.

I do what works for me. Ad while I do a lot of planted tanks I am first and foremost a fish keeper. So the plants are there to make things better for the fish. They also look good. My high tech planted was my only foray into wanting to have some of the more exotic stuff and that tank had pressurized CO2. That tank used a canister which sat under the tank and made it hard to have another tank there.

Also, since the main house has no basement. I do not have a fish room. My tanks are spread out across 5 rooms and two buildings. The 2nd building used to hold. I did carve out an area in a storage room, had a utility sink installed and this was like a mini fish room. I called it a fish space. At most, it held 8 tanks and for the last 15 years it held 6 tanks dedicated to plecos. The tank lights were only turned on when I had to work in a tank. When done they were turned off.

 

[anewbie]

At my peak I had 20 tanks year round a\

By all means you should do what works for you - i was just presenting an alternative view. Btw the plant 3.0 is quite water proof - like all led lights there are pro/cons to htis model (and there is a new plant 4.0) just noting that if you wanted to leave the top off the fluva plant is an option. Mine has fallen into a the tank a couple of times when i was clumsy (naturally i learned to be less clumsy but it seem to have no negative impact over the past 4 or 5 years since the lsat time it fell in.
--
I currently have somewhere between 19 and 21 aquariums and while my focus are on uncommon dwarf cichild that are usually difficult to impossible to replace (hence they come first) i do appreciate some plants that flower. I was running a 40b wit 1/2 a lid to allow the plants to flower but alas one of my dithers jumped and i promptly put the full lid on though i coudl see a future time when i run an aquarium with only bottom fishes and allow the plants to grow out of the aquarium - it isn't a focus but when one is running enough aquariums there is room to experiment.
-
I haven't finialize plans for my move but i definitely going to aim towards larger aquariums since most of my dwarf cichild do much better in a 65 or 100 then in a 20 long or 29. Basically increase the floor space from 360 sq inch to 768 or 1152 sqft. One of the most interesting thing was watching my ortegai male with 3 females in a 65 - there was virtually no violence between the males and females and the male would spend the day going to each female territory to examine how things were going (all 3 females did manage to breed at the same time).
--
Anyways it is what it is but those flowers can be pretty darn nice.

 

[gwand]

By all means you should do what works for you - i was just presenting an alternative view. Btw the plant 3.0 is quite water proof - like all led lights there are pro/cons to htis model (and there is a new plant 4.0) just noting that if you wanted to leave the top off the fluva plant is an option. Mine has fallen into a the tank a couple of times when i was clumsy (naturally i learned to be less clumsy but it seem to have no negative impact over the past 4 or 5 years since the lsat time it fell in.
--
I currently have somewhere between 19 and 21 aquariums and while my focus are on uncommon dwarf cichild that are usually difficult to impossible to replace (hence they come first) i do appreciate some plants that flower. I was running a 40b wit 1/2 a lid to allow the plants to flower but alas one of my dithers jumped and i promptly put the full lid on though i coudl see a future time when i run an aquarium with only bottom fishes and allow the plants to grow out of the aquarium - it isn't a focus but when one is running enough aquariums there is room to experiment.
-
I haven't finialize plans for my move but i definitely going to aim towards larger aquariums since most of my dwarf cichild do much better in a 65 or 100 then in a 20 long or 29. Basically increase the floor space from 360 sq inch to 768 or 1152 sqft. One of the most interesting thing was watching my ortegai male with 3 females in a 65 - there was virtually no violence between the males and females and the male would spend the day going to each female territory to examine how things were going (all 3 females did manage to breed at the same time).
--
Anyways it is what it is but those flowers can be pretty darn nice.

How do you move 20 tanks?

 

[anewbie]

How do you move 20 tanks?

Very carefully. Contact me in 20 to 28 months and i will tell you.

 

[gwand]

Very carefully. Contact me in 20 to 28 months and i will tell you.

How far are you moving?

 

[anewbie]

How far are you moving?

Approx (+/- 100 miles) 1,200 miles. Or for those people who are backwards or forward depending on ones perspective nearly 2000 km.