What's Your Most Useful Non-aquarium Tool (for Aquarium Use)?

What's the most useful tool you use in your day to day (or weeks or months) aquarium-ing that's not an aquarium tool or equipment?
Could be for home hobbyist, casual or professional breeders, fresh or salt.
Not really asking about diy solutions, although those are welcome, but more things you get off the shelf, from the non-aquarium part of your shopping routine.

For me, it's this thing:


Reusable Keurig-style coffee pod. I previously raised some ADF from eggs, and am currently working on Amano shrimp breeding, all as a wee basement project. This filters are great for straining tiny larvae out of cups, jars, water changes, etc, without using a net, and are super gentle on them.

Also 2-3 litre jars from Ikea, in a water bath, for multiple small tanks.

 

ooooh! I don't have a good one right now....but I am definitely going to enjoy reading the replies! Great thread idea!

 

A turkey baster!! Works so well for cleaning up my bare bottom quarantine tank, and for blasting dirt out of difficult places! Oh and for spot feeding and feeding frozen food!! I love the Keurig coffee pod idea I will definitely keep that in mind!!

 

A turkey baster!! Works so well for cleaning up my bare bottom quarantine tank, and for blasting dirt out of difficult places! Oh and for spot feeding and feeding frozen food!! I love the Keurig coffee pod idea I will definitely keep that in mind!!

Oh yes!! And larger medicine droppers work really well for that too! I love mine. I use it so much its in need of replacement actually! haha

 

A turkey baster!! Works so well for cleaning up my bare bottom quarantine tank, and for blasting dirt out of difficult places! Oh and for spot feeding and feeding frozen food!! I love the Keurig coffee pod idea I will definitely keep that in mind!!

Good call! I do love the dirt blasting function.

 

A garden hose.

 

turkey baster for sure. I use it almost daily. helps me spot clean up in my tanks especially since I have some picky fish and keep trying out different sinking type foods. whatever they don't eat I can just suck it back out lol

 

Toothbrush!!!

 

I would have to say it's a toothbrush, turkey baster, mesh sieve, or a colander.

 

Watering can for smaller tanks.

 

My husband. Because I do not lift things. lol

Seriously though, I couldn't do this without his help.

Other than that... TANK TOWELS!!! My mom got her feelings hurt because she gave me these nice towels for my kitchen and I put them in the aquarium cabinet. I had to explain to her the honor of that place.

 

Can you guys elaborate a bit?

A garden hose.

Is this for refilling from water changes? Just the hose, or do you use noozles?

I would have to say it's a toothbrush, turkey baster, mesh sieve, or a colander.

Colander in the tank, or in the sink?

Watering can for smaller tanks.

For refilling?

 

I've used those day-by-day pill dispensers that are labelled Mon, Tues etc for measuring out fish food when we're on vacation. Then whoever is feeding the tanks doesn't have to guess how much or what kind of food to put in each day.

I agree on the toothbrush, and also a straw cleaner or the long skinny brush that comes inside some turkey basters. These are great tools for cleaning inside the filter intake and various tubes/pipes.

I keep thinking of more things every time I hit "post reply" lol.
I have a couple One Gallon juice jugs that I use for water changes on the smaller tanks. No measuring required

 

Probably terricotta pots, they are so nice and easy just to whip out to put in QT’s when something either goes wary or you end up buying a few endlers that you weren’t planning on... they are also very nice for when filling tanks up for the first time. If you pour the water into the pot rather than straight onto the substrate it doesn’t stir up the substrate, thus causing less cloudiness. Makes things so much easier and nicer.

The tubberware tubs are also great, get the big ones and you can use them for QT, get the small ones and you can use them for acclimation.

 

Can you guys elaborate a bit? Is this for refilling from water changes? Just the hose, or do you use noozles?

I have a "noozle" on the one hose which is used for filling the containers in which I keep pre-warmed water ready for water changes. Another noozle-less hose is used for siphoning water out of the various tanks. I rarely carry a bucket.

I agree with Platylover, clay pots are multi-functional and invaluable. They were once easily found and very inexpensive; not so much today, to the point where I will no longer break them up into caves and retreats the way I used to do.

 

I use one of those kids small ml plastic syringe. Works well for getting frozen food and for slurping up prime out of the bottle instead of useing a cap.

 

5 gal buckets! .

 

Chopsticks for adjusting plants and target feeding individual fish.

 

Skewer sticks for poking the substrate. Chopstick tips for picking fungussed eggs out from viable ones. The eggs or fungus stick to the wood.

 

I use a rice steamer as a lid for a tank - does that count?? Lol

 

I use a rice steamer as a lid for a tank - does that count?? Lol

Oh! Glass from Picture frames for tank lids

 

Straws! lol use it in all my tanks, I use them as feeding rings and also my bettas love building bubbles nest in it.

 

5 gal buckets! .

AGREE!! My dad brings back like one a day from home depot. So I got many stacked up. If my tank ever explodes I would say a 5 gallon bucket with sponge filter and heater. Like petsmart does sell Top Fin buckets but for that price?! Never! Also works for keeping gecks in

The time I forgot about draining a tank and it over flowed...

 

A grout brush is good for scrubbing algae off of rock's.

 

I've used those day-by-day pill dispensers that are labelled Mon, Tues etc for measuring out fish food when we're on vacation. Then whoever is feeding the tanks doesn't have to guess how much or what kind of food to put in each day.

I just used this hack when we were at Disney last month! My friend who was watching the tanks was proud to report everyone was happily fed and alive haha

 

Can you guys elaborate a bit?

Is this for refilling from water changes? Just the hose, or do you use noozles?


Colander in the tank, or in the sink?


For refilling?

Yup. Refill.

 

All of the tables and furniture that has been moved and used as tank stands..

 

We use one gallon milk jugs we cleaned and sterilized to keep conditioned water in so we can easily do water changes!

 

This may be way off but I would say my well pump. Gives unchlorinated water to the whole house so its invaluable to do water changes. No conditioner or dechlorinator needed.

 

Toilet bowl thing to clean the larger tanks glass where the magnafloat can't get!

 

Demeter, I just came up w the chopsticks myself tonight! Fed frog bloodworms for the first time and needed something - because I was not going to touch them!

Re: Buckets, I just thought. I have one with wheels I bought awhile back. Can't use it, but may invest in another clean one. Not sure I can pull off a hose from such a distance.

 

I use a baby nose dropper for cleaning out babies noses to draw up enough water to test my tanks parameters instead of trying to fill each vial individually.

 

turkey basters (sucking up debris/poop/food/dying plants and water for refilling my hobs, also used for acclimation), watering can (I transfer conditioned water from a gallon pitcher into a watering can to disperse the water and create a rainfall effect that my bettas love), pitchers (for water changes and holding stuff from my tanks, including all my aquascaping tools lol), measuring cups (same), buckets (water changes and holding stuff), plastic syringes (measuring water for test tubes), medicine droppers (feeding frozen daphnia), tiny ziploc cube containers (frozen food storage and thawing), dish scrubbing tools (scrubbing rocks), paper towels (I go through so many paper towels omg...), x-acto knife (scraping off extra silicone or when I tear my tanks with built-in filters apart lol), white vinegar (for cleaning hard water stains off of glass lids), glasses lens cleaner (for cleaning the outside of the tanks), amope battery-operated foot file (for filing down driftwood and decorations -- this is probably the weirdest one lol), and mr. clean magic erasers (for cleaning algae and other stuff off of glass)

 

Re: Buckets, I just thought. I have one with wheels I bought awhile back. Can't use it, but may invest in another clean one. Not sure I can pull off a hose from such a distance.

Home Depot has wheeled platforms for garbage bins!


midnathat’s quite the list! Love the filing driftwood idea. And +1 for pitchers, I have about 5 myself, yay dollar store.

 

non scratch scourers for cleaning algae off the glass.

 

Lol I have chop sticks on top of all my tanks.

 

I use boot trays for my back ground keeps splashes and drips in tank here are same boot tray two different times.

 

Toothbrush, syringe, wooden skewers, pot scrubbies, a pickle jar, super glue, thread, a magnifying glass, paint scraper. I tried the straw thing for my frogbit, it didn’t work due to so much circulation but it was a great idea. I like seeing other ideas, nice post!

 

Sterilite 6qt shoe storage boxes.


I initially bought 6 from HD for a buck a piece and had to go back to pick up 10 more a few weeks later. HD raised their prices but Target still has them for a buck ea. I use them all the time for everything. I have a few to store food, ferts and extra parts and gizmos for the hobby. I have a few that are used to hold plants and decorations while scaping. I use them as overflow trays when I get new fish. I've used them to wash gravel too.

 

View attachment 531348

Straws! lol use it in all my tanks, I use them as feeding rings and also my bettas love building bubbles nest in it.

I don't know why I didn't think about this. Thank you for mentioning it. Years ago I bought a package of 100 of the bendable straws and still had most of them. I have now made cages for my dwarf water lettuce. Such a simple thing to do. So much easier than anything I have tried up to this point.

 

I use airline hose and a suction cup to make those. I did have to buy some connectors but it works the same. The suction cup holds it in place.

 

1 gallon milk containers, when cut as pictured its very sturdy when using the handle.

Top use: Cleaning sponges!
I found myself cleaning sponges in the water drained into a 5 gallon bucket couldn't get all the gunk out because the whole volume of water was instantly contaminated.
Now I use the milk jug scoop out .5 gallon (fits into 5 gallon bucket easily) squeeze sponge in there, dump into another 5 gallon bucket and repeat.

Other: Fish moving/ acclimation ect, small water transfer
Net /wet stuff storage

Maybe: small fish breeding rack tanks?

 

Rubbermaid bins/clear totes. I use them as extra tanks when I need something temporary, and to age my water for water changes. I use wheeled totes so I can move them between tanks.

Containers with perforated holes to use as fish isolation boxes. Add styrofoam to float it, or clip to rI'm of the tank.



Shower poufs as DIY media bags, whatever else you need netting for, like building banks in the aquascape. Take em apart from the middle and you have an endless tube of mesh.

 

Home Depot has wheeled platforms for garbage bins!

I just bought a 20 gallon trash can and wheeled dolly for water changes (Amazon). I toss a table cloth over it when done and it passes for an accent table.

 

Chopsticks - I wonder if they might also work with plantings?

View attachment 531535 I use boot trays for my back ground keeps splashes and drips in tank here are same boot tray two different times. View attachment 531532

Wow that's something. I love the juxtaposition of the fresh plants growing so tropical like and the snow on the trees outside the window!

 

Toothbrush, syringe, wooden skewers, pot scrubbies, a pickle jar, super glue, thread, a magnifying glass, paint scraper. I tried the straw thing for my frogbit, it didn’t work due to so much circulation but it was a great idea. I like seeing other ideas, nice post!

I forgot about super glue!!!

 

Wow that's something. I love the juxtaposition of the fresh plants growing so tropical like and the snow on the trees outside the window!

Thanks and yes quite a contrast of two extremes.

 

Small rubber tipped dust pan is great for removing gravel.

 

Two chopsticks superglued together to make one long stick. Need to poke at the substrate to release gas bubbles but don't wanna get your arm wet? Chopstick. Need to stir around the Equilibrium mixture before adding it to the tank? Chopstick. Need to brush some debris off of your plants? Chopstick. Need to shove a plant back into the gravel? Chopstick!

Quart size tupperware and mason jars are great for all kinds of uses too.

 

A metal kebab stick just to push things around