[scarhbar]

Alright, I've been an aquarist for almost 10 years now, and I've always loved the hobby, but I'm now starting to wonder if I should get rid of the tank for a few reasons. I'll make a list, and maybe you guys could give some input.

Why I shouldn't keep it:
-takes up a good portion of room in our little town home
-I can't put a whole lot of time into the tank with school, work, and life
-and most importantly, my daughters safety. I'll explain below

Why I should keep it:
-I've spend a good amount of money on it, and would definitely not make that money back
-My daughter and wife both like it too. My daughter gets hypnotized by it for some reason ha
-I worked hard to convince my landlord to let me have it in the first place

As I mentioned above, my daughters safety is the main reason I'm thinking of getting rid of it. She's 10 months old now, and often likes to crawl up to tank and hold on to the stand. I'm pretty sure she couldn't push it over at her current weight, but I'm worried when she's able to run and climb. She'll weigh more too. We do a really good job at keeping her off of it, but there's been a few times where she's pulled herself up on it, without us knowing. Part of me doesn't want to sell it, because I could never find the shrimp a new home (or really catch them all for that matter ha) and because I won't make hardly any money back, but most of me wants to get rid of it for my daughters safety.

What do you guys think? Can you think of any other solutions?? Or would it be best just to get rid of it??

 

[scarhbar]

Oh and here it is. My Nerite snail actually ate all the Kylon fusion paint off the background!! That's why it's so dang ugly now. Surprisingly, he is not dead. And the shrimp leave the background alone

 

[scarhbar]

 

[scarhbar]

29 gallon? Walmart stand?

I had purchased that 29 gallon stand for my 29 gallon tank and took it back. it just seemed a little too flimsy for me. I went on craigslist and bought a pair of matching solid oak end tables. I'm 230 pounds and i can jump up and down on them. They cost me 35.00 and the measurements are perfect for a 29 gallon or a 20 long. and there are 2 of them so I can add a matching 29g to the other side of my bed. It helps that they match my bed fairly well.

The bottom two drawers are modified. They are just the faces held into place by supports. the back panel was removed so I can fit my canister and wiring where the bottom 2 drawers slid into and still have use of the top drawer for food and such. I plan on hinging them and adding magnets when i have time so i have front door access.

Get a new stand if your daughter is a concern. something sturdy. You can also build your own for cheap. Home depot will do all the wood cuts if you don't want to buy extra tools.

Ha yep, that one. And it's not so much the weight it can hold, I think height is more of the issue. Even if it were sturdy I'm still scared of her pushing it, since it's top heavy. Building one is a possibility! But we have such limited space, I'm not sure if I could set up another tank to hold all the fish and shrimp. I would love to have built one! Ha

 

[scarhbar]

what about working out a way to make it safe? OR down sizing? I'd hate to see you lose all the work and money, plus, everyone enjoys it. I would downsize and low tech, so all it needs is a weekly water change, maybe 1x week ferts.

Ya, I thought about that too, but even down sizing would be kind of tough, just because I wouldn't have anywhere to store the fish while I set up the smaller tank. Though a 5 gallon tank seems very tempting for my dresser if I were to get rid of the big tank!

 

[scarhbar]

Even if you raised her to understand not to touch it, like you would the oven or toilet bowl.. there is still the chance for accidents. I'd try to move it to an area where she doesn't play and attempt to barricade it with a baby gate/fence if I had to. If you can't relocate it or make the situation safer somehow, then I'd take it down for now. You can start it back up again when you feel its time.. but that's just my opinion. Move it out of the way. Or maybe a new stand with a larger base is in order?

Ya, I'm starting to think that's my option now. There's really no where else in our small town home. And a bigger stand is out of the question for the reasons mentioned above

 

[scarhbar]

Is that a 29 gal? Well it does seem pretty tall and I had a similar worry with my kids, but my stand has a nice stand with a lip on it to keep the kids from knocking it over. That is something I would recommend. But no one can really tell you what to do for the safety of your young ones, honestly I would get another stand, move it or get rid of it if its too much risk. But it is rather diffcult to knock a tank over that weighs close to 250lbs by 25lb baby unless the stand is shaky or not secure

Ya it is a 29. And I notice it does slightly shake when I push a little. It is a very tall thing!

 

[scarhbar]

I like that idea, childproof the stand. Though I would never trust Home Depot to make cuts anywhere near accurate enough to build one. I consider myself lucky if they produce cuts within 1/2" of my specified dimensions.

Ha ya, I started doing that with a 125 gallon a long time ago, but the cuts were too weird, so I had to make everything shorter ha

 

[scarhbar]

When my Grand daughter was little I had the same fear with my 20 gallon tall. I did as suggested here, and upgraded the stand.

Course now she's 4, and has learned not to lean/knock/etc. on the tank.

The end table idea is great!



Good luck with the little one.

Thank you! And it's looking like getting rid of it will probably be the best idea. Just not enough space here :/

 

[scarhbar]

Well as we age some thing come and go... Then some things come back, down the road. Hope it works out for u and ur family

Thank you! Me too

 

[scarhbar]

It looks like getting rid of it is the best thing to do in my situation. Actually I think putting the tank and parts in our little crawlspace is probably what I'm going to do, but my question is, how do I catch as many shrimp as possible to sell?? The substrate is fluval stratum, so they can hide pretty well, I understand that I can't get all of them, but I want to get the most as possible. I've tried making a little trap from a bottle of soda in the past, that only works so well. Any tips??

 

[scarhbar]

I know it's pretty late, but my father in law actually helped make the tank stand really sturdy against the wall, so we've decided to keep it. Now the problem is getting this thing looking nice!

 

[scarhbar]

Having two boys myself tanks are great for kids. I had a little 15 gallon in an apartment when my first was born. I attached the stand to the wall. Took about 10 minutes and solved all the worries.

Getting a really nice looking tank with very young children is tough. Most days you're too tired to mess with it after work, dinner, bedtime, baths, etc.

Good luck

Oh ya, I'm very familiar with that situation! Before work, I'm like "oh wow, I really need to trim those plants" then I get home and put my daughter to bed, and I'm like "it can wait for tomorrow" ha.

And yes, kids love aquariums! For my daughter's first birthday, we're taking her to the Aquarium near our town