Solution to Easier Waterchanges

We all know the backbreaking and time consuming way of doing waterchanges the traditional way. We still do it as it's part of the hobby and we love our fishes.

There are alternatives though, some people use automated pumps, and even automated water change systems. It's also possible to run many tanks connected to each other and hence only having to change the water in one spot. Another method that I have used my self is to have a spare tank above the rest filled with matured water, in a rack this can quite easily be transfered to lower tanks when doing waterchanges.

Our Danish inventor friend Rene Bannerskjold has come up with a brilliant yet simple DIY solution and was kind enough to send over these pictures.

This is probably what most of us do, it involves alot of carrying and is also time consuming:

To start of, Rene has modified the hose using a fine net so that no fry or smaller fish will be sucked out:

The water container is here replaced by a drain:

The drain is running out trough the back door, this is a very effectiv eand simple solution that most people can use and modify to their needs, fair play Rene!

I would also like to add that this "fish water" is a really good fertilizer for most plants. I always try to use it up either in the garden or for pots and am convinced that I have seen a difference in plant growth.

Aquarium Rack, Danish Improvements:)

I have been in contact with Rene Bannerskjold from Denmark who has built an aquarium rack and got some inspiration from my post here: Aquarium Rack

I think this is so good, I got help building my rack from Bart of Rainbow Aquatics and now Rene has improved the design even further, maybe someone will take inspiration from Rene's version now (I know I will:)). 

This version features higher openings above each tank to allow easier access, led lights and also air lines running in tubes to each tank. I might “steal” the idea with the air lines in the tubes to improve my own rack if I ever dismantle mine. The filtration system in general looks really neat.

Well done Rene and many thanks for sharing the photographs and letting me post them here!

The end result looks really good, have a look for yourselves below:

Detail of Air line tubes:

And finally some smashing looking tanks:

DIY: Simple tank / aquarium stand

For various reasons I needed a new stand for one of my tanks, and I needed it fast so this is what I (google) came up with.

It's as simple as it gets, no router needed and it takes no time to put together.
All that is needed is some timber (I used 5cm x 7,5cm beams), a hand saw, measureing tape and plenty of skrews.

The idea is that all the weight is held by the wood, the skrews are just holding the stand together not  supporting any weight.

All the wood is recycled and there are only straight cuts done with a hand saw, the legs are probably a bit overkill but they won’t be seen anyway.

At one point I thought about putting another horizontal piece of wood in between the legs for stability but there simply was no need for it.

The  skeleton of the stand was covered with thin boards from an old Ikea shelf. If you wanted to you could use the lower part as a shelf for storing an external filter, tools or even a second tank/sump.

Now I'll only need to cover up the bits just below the tank, nearly there.

Andreas

D.I.Y. simple fry rearing box

This is a very simple, cheap but effective fry rearing box. This example does not have proper floating supports as it's resting on a root in my tank. Floating support or something to anchor the box to the side of an aquarium would be easy to ad.

What you need: plastic box with a lip at the top to hold some air, silicone, carpet knife, filter foam, and a spare small airlift filter:

A hole was cut at one end of the box and sealed with filter foam, attached with silicone. This will drain the box and keep the water level the same as in the tank it is in. The air driven filter will pump in fresh water from the tank into the box:

Side view:

In tank:

From above:

This is a variation of a design that has been used by aquarists for many years. 

The benefit of this type is that air driven filter constantly supplies the fry/eggs with fresh water from the same tank that they originally were laid in/hatched in. This method also keeps the water conditions stable which is extremely important with fragile fish, something that can be harder to achieve in a small 
separate tank.

Another benefit is that the breeder box makes it easy to make sure that the fry eat, the small space makes it possible to target feed fry while fry in a larger tank might not even find the food in time.

Maintenance of the rearing box is still important though and uneaten food and bacteria on the sides should be removed/cleaned on a regular basis. A turkey baster works quite well for this purpose, and a tooth brush can be used to clean the sides.

Depending on species and strength of the air pump used it can also be a good idea to add an air stone for increased water circulation.

Personally I use this type for plecos and corys; I ad gravel/sand from the main tank, some small plants/moss/roots/oak leafs/ for the fry to hide in.

Remember that we want the fry to feel comfortable and not stressed as this increases their growth rate and lowers the risks of deaths.
 

DIY Aquarium Rack

The fish tank rack above was built by myself and my mate Bart from Rainbow Aquatics, to whom I'm very thankful for the help. Without his knowledge, lend of tools and time invested it would not have happened.

A project like this can seem quite daunting the first time you undertake it. Although time consuming it was easier to construct than I would have thought and in the end it was well worth the time spent.
I will try to highlight parts of the design in this post.

The aquarium rack above is designed to support six 72 litre; 60x40x30 tanks but the same design can easily be adopted to hold a different amount of tanks at various sizes. The exact dimensions are not that important as a design for an aquarium rack varies so much depending on space available, size of tanks etc.

I hope to present a more detailed sketch of how a rack like this is constructed but at the moment my notes are a chaotic mess and it has to wait.

The key to this design is the way the joints are fitted together, below you will see some examples from my rack:

Note how the joint of the beams distribute the weight of the tanks across the rack, this structure is capable of carrying very heavy loads.

Each beam was cut by hand with a saw and each cut was leveled using an electric router, the beams were also sanded to create a smooth finish.

I choose to cover up the sides and top of the rack. This creates an insulating effect and also looks quite nice. My intent is to add a piece of styrofoam at the rear as insulation.

The openings for each tank space were also covered with a thin sheet of plywood attached to the rack with small hinges:

The rack was also wired to that each tank space has access to a four socket connection:

As a finish the rack was painted with a wood stain:

It is of importance to mark each joint when the tank is dismantled the first time as wood is changeable enough and none of the beams are exactly the same. It could easily turn into a nightmare to put it back together again unless this is done.

I also opted to install a led light strip running throughout the rack, it does not supply allot of light but it is ideal for breeding fish as it does allow you to see the fish while not disturb them too much:

I would recommend any fishkeeper with several tanks to invest the time to build something like this themselves, It has made my life much easier.

Andreas

See Rene Bannerskjolds improved version here