[randpost]

A shrimp trap moved around with the right food should help get most over time.

Fish on the other hand are tricky for me without removing plants. I removed 25 (had 26) fish the other day, but I still have a single Zebra Danio I have yet to catch. I'm trying to starve him out now, but he seems to be a resilient fish. If I look at the tank, he darts to cover.

 

[AshNeon93]

Maybe get a stand with a better centre of gravity, like a short wider one so there is less chance of tipping it, you could always build some sort of a frame on the back to securely hold it n place?

 

[WANNABE_LIMNOLOGY]

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??

If it's unsafe....I would get rid of it so I could rest easy, and take my gal out for lunch....

But here's another idea...... if you love the hobby, tight on space, your family enjoys it, and you want something safe. Why not downgrade? You could sell your gear and get a slick 5-10 gallon aquarium and do amazing things with it. I have a 5g rimless on my computer desk...and I love the thing.

 

[burr740]

My thinking is if your daughter seems fascinated by it now, then it would be a real treat to have for her to experience as she grows up...assuming it could be made fall-proof, obviously.

The simplest thing to do might be anchor the stand to the wall with some large metal "L" brackets or something.

If the walls are something like sheet rock or paneling, then you'll probably need to first run like a 2x6 horizontally, flat against the wall, being sure to hit a few studs (with screws) so it's nice and secure. The L brackets would then attach to the stand and into the 2x6.

Do it right and you can climb the thing yourself if you want to

 

[1987]

Why not move it to the kitchen counter

 

[ctaylor3737]

A strap to keep televisions from tipping over, work for this reason. I've caught my son standing on the stand reaching in it with a net and it never moved. Or a larger more stable. Stand will work to. I got my strap from my fire station they give them out for television's and tippable things.

-Chris

 

[ctaylor3737]

But don't get rid of your tank shell love it when she gets older. My son always counts the fish.

-Chris

 

[Bushkill]

A strap to keep televisions from tipping over, work for this reason. I've caught my son standing on the stand reaching in it with a net and it never moved. Or a larger more stable. Stand will work to. I got my strap from my fire station they give them out for television's and tippable things.

-Chris

From a safety standpoint with little guys running around, strapping the tank to the wall behind it is the only real solution. And as ctaylor suggests, it applies to any top-heavy piece of furniture. The youngest of my three is now in his third year of college, so I've was there........for a long time. Honestly, it's the safest route regardless of the home's inhabitants. I don't stop worrying about tipping a free-standing tank until it goes bigger than a 75G.
There's no right or wrong answer to this. You're the only one that can make this call. I've had fish tanks for more decades than I'd care to admit to. When I finally had my own house, I thought that would be the dream solution to all the fish tank dreams I had as a kid. Yup, I had to drain them all for a few years as work became an all-consuming part of my life. Not my kids. 80 hour weeks took a toll; on me and the tanks. Setting priorities is just a 100% individual process none of us has a perfect answer to.

 

[K8xp]

I'd get/build a very sturdy, heavy stand and if it won't fit where it is now, maybe move it to another location or arrange the room it's in.

 

[aquarist]

There's two options, build a stand with a lip on it like most 120+ gallon aquarium stands,or buy a cheap night stand or table that is sturdy and has a large foot print and screw in some boards to creat your own lip.

The large foot print will prevent the stand from being toppled over and the lip will keep the aquarium from being able to slide off the stand. See how the aquarium sits inside the stand and not on top of icon the photo? You could design something similar to that to fit your needs and wouldn't cost nearly as much as it would to re-buy your entire setup a few years down the road.




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[Rider]

A more sturdy stand is going to take up the same amount of space as area of the tank. A 20L would not be as top heavy, but a stand with a wide base of support would still be safer. Since you have a small place, a stand that also provides some additional storage for your home would be great. World Market, Home Goods, Pottery Barn (especially outlet mall locations), Craigslist, some unfinished furniture stores, and thrift stores might provide some good solutions at an acceptable price. When I lived in smaller places, everything had to do at least double duty. Tanks can provide such great learning experience for children and you can sometimes even find ways that they can "help" when you are doing maintenance or just having them name the fish or feed them. Of course, you can also catch Nano hysteria (self-professing addict) and just break it down into a few smaller, low maintenance, low tech tanks. Nano addicts call them vases and home decor. The fact that you asked the question on this forum, says Daddy needs to find a way to protect his child first, but also needs his hobby.

 

[Rush3737]

Why not just put mounts on the wall at the top and bottom rims of the stand and run straps around it? That way it couldn't be pushed or tipped? You could keep it a few inches from the wall, and still be fine.

 

[Steve002]

You really shouldn't be asking other people to make this decision for you. Yes there are ways of making it safer for your daughter and remove that as a concern to you but what I noticed was your reasons for keeping the tank really suck. No where do you mention that you are enjoying it and that you like to work with it. You only say that you won't get your money back out of it, and I can't believe you actually ever believed you would. That you took a long time to convince the landlord you should have it, so what? That your wife & daughter like it, do they like it enough to actually keep it?
If you don't have the enjoyment of the hobby anymore then get out of it. You can always just put the tank and stand away tilyou get bitten again.

 

[Schreckeng]

Steel "L"brackets screwed into stand and wall. Make sure you hit studs.

 

[Bushkill]

Steel "L"brackets screwed into stand and wall. Make sure you hit studs.

THE safety fix for any 12" wide tank on a store-bought stand. Any 12" wide tank is a tipping hazard and they only differ in degree by the amount of water they hold. The L-brackets will barely set you back $10 and even if you don't have little ones running around, will buy a LOT of peace of mind.

 

[AnthonyW8822]

THE safety fix for any 12" wide tank on a store-bought stand. Any 12" wide tank is a tipping hazard and they only differ in degree by the amount of water they hold. The L-brackets will barely set you back $10 and even if you don't have little ones running around, will buy a LOT of peace of mind.

Big fan of the L-brackets. They have innumerable uses haha

 

[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!

 

[metageologist]

That's good I put a modular fence around my take to keep my one year old from climbing around and under my 75 gallon tank.

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[AquaAurora]

2 L braces, bolt that bugger to the wall and don't worry it.

 

[THE V]

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!

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