# Childproofing tanks



## twoheadedfish (May 10, 2008)

Hi everybody, 

sure has been a while since I last posted. sorry to everyone who's pm'd me over the last four months with minimal/non-existant reponses, but you'll see by the body of my query why i've not been around in a while.

How do you guys secure tanks from the grasps of small children? We have one on the way (sweet! plumbing works!) and i'm curious how various new parents out there have been securing tanks to walls, etc. I'll need to latch the various cupboards and stuff as well. 

How have you gone about kid proofing a house fishwise?


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## kaegunim (Jan 15, 2010)

Alot of childproofing depends on how old your children are.

We have a little girl who is now 10 months old, and into everything. She likes to point at things in the tank, and occaisionally when excited about something, she will poke it. The secret to child safety in this case is to have the tank on a study stand, such that it can endure a good bit of leaning without care. I have a 20 gal, so it is heavy enough not to worry. I suppose that a sub-10 gallon might be light enough to be unstable? 

The bigger concern is for the foods and chemicals that would usually be stored under the tank. Here just keep them inacessible. Unfortunately my stand is without doors, so they are stored in a kitchen cabinet above reach. 

Untill the kids are old enough to know better, any normal stand/table should keep the tank high enough to make reaching in impossible, so I would think this isnt a problem, so long as the tank isn't located near any chairs that could be used as a step up to reach in. I know my daughter is surprisingly resourceful at pulling things around to effect an escape from her play area this way. Fortunately for me our kitchen chairs are too heavy for her yet... Though I do worry about this for the future.

On that note, my tank is in the kitchen, and can be seen from the living room, so hopefully supervision will be enough to prevent any reach-in shrimp snacking!

Best of luck


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## ameekplec. (May 1, 2008)

twoheadedfish said:


> How do you guys secure tanks from the grasps of small children? We have one on the way (sweet! plumbing works!) and i'm curious how various new parents out there have been securing tanks to walls, etc. I'll need to latch the various cupboards and stuff as well.
> 
> How have you gone about kid proofing a house fishwise?


Wow wow, congrats!

That's all - I have no idea how to fishproof a kid tank.


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## UnderTheSea (Jun 2, 2008)

Congratulations.

Keep the food, chemicals, instruments used in the tank out of reach.

Have a look at HD. I picked up a few straps and really good anchors for some wall units a while back. They worked well for the tall book shelves I had and don't see why they wouldn't work for a tank stand.

Don't have chairs or smaller tables the kid can climb up on to get near the top of the tank.

Do a lot of education with them. I maybe just crazy (well besides having two girls now  ) but I think within 24hrs of bringing each daughter home, they were in front of my tank. My 3 wk old just sits there in awe looking at systems. I know they can't see much at this point but something catches her eye. With my 4 yr old I let her be a part of the feeding and maintenance and let her know that the only time that she is allowed to go near the system is when I'm around. This also helps that I have a fish room and can lock her out


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## qwerty (Dec 15, 2009)

Gotta remember that kids aren't that strong... To a 4 year old a big box of lego can be heavy... Big box of lego is what... 5-10lbs most?

5gal aquarium is what, 40lbs at least?

The only risk is your kid running around, tripping, and falling full force into the stand. But I mean... Most solid wood constructs wouldn't be affected by this. It's just those cheap flimsy pieces that don't have a back on them, like Big Al's stingray stand, that I'd be worried about.


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## Riceburner (Mar 14, 2008)

Congrats dude!!!


Put the 10G tank inside a 90G.  




As long as the stands are sturdy and all equipment/food/chemicals is out of reach, you should be ok.


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## twoheadedfish (May 10, 2008)

ok, so seems maybe i was a tad more concerned then i need be. i was really worried about having the tank pulled on top of her/him, but realistically it's quite unlikely. food/chems seems pretty obvious, so i'll have to lock up a cupboard or stick them out of reach.

thanks for the thoughts everyone.


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## Zebrapl3co (Mar 29, 2006)

Heh, congrats. Get all the sleep you can now. After the baby is here, you live a sleepless life until they are at least 5 years old. But the reward is worth it. 
Going back to the topic, there is absolutely no way to child proof your kids or some ones' kid for that matter. But I do keep my kids off limit from the tanks until they are 2 years old.
Like, kaegunim, the only time they are allow at the tanks is when I am with them. Even then, I have to make sure they don't have anything they can hammer the tank with in their hands.
Chemicals, is locked up with a combination lock. But you'll probably be locking up alot more than just the fish chem. Detergent and other cleaning agents are all locked up in a special cabinet. It's a pain, but for their safety, it's worth it.

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## TBemba (Jan 11, 2010)

Issue is kids tend to bang on the glass and try pulling themselves up using anything they can get their hands on like canister filters and hoses. They can get tangled up on cords and choke on small items. Biggest issue is low level tanks and buckets of water. Little ones are top heavy (big heads)and can fall into to lower tier tanks or water buckets and drown.


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## Ciddian (Mar 15, 2006)

Everyone mentioned the biggies that I can see  My brother used to climb on everything... thats all I would be afraid of. He managed to pull a dresser down on his own but he was a beefy toddler at that time. (and he pulled out all the drawers too.. :/)

Congrats!!!  I want photos!!!! I hope your kiddo loves fish, we need to grow the hobby! lol

I do hope your other half does well with everything and you make sure she rests and takes things easy. Get her lots of good food and don't fart in the car with her in the morning.. that's just cruel. My hubby is a mean one lol


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## AquaNeko (Jul 26, 2009)

Congrats on the population increase by 1.   

Most kids I've dealt with are mostly 5yrs+ and more teens. Never really thought about making the tank child resistant till now. 

How cosmetic do you like your tank to be? You could always gun tape foam around the tank and gun tape a screen of plexiglass in front if you want to view the tank or seal up 3 sides with the 4th front side with a folding on/off foam piece. 

Yah not as visually appealing but off the top of my head it'll help if things get thrown, swinging around (home made kid bolas!!   ) things, bumped into (headheads? ), etc

Also on a side note it'll also help save energy on the side by being more thermo insulated. 

Some of my ideas are a bit odd looking or whacky but heck IMHO I think it'll work. Low jolts of electricity like hacking a disposible camera into a mini stun gun over wire wrapped around insulated fish tanks and voltage tamed down (resistors) so that it's a light static shock which will help ward off climbers wanting to cliff hang off the tank while bouncing around and possibly having the tank fall over and on top of them. 

Just an idea.. tweaking definately needed.


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## twoheadedfish (May 10, 2008)

ok, all good suggestions here. I have a lot of awful scenarios running through my head. nervous parent to be and all...

lol @ aquaneko, it's not a bad idea at all. tad on the fugly side but it's worth considering.

I as well hope he/she is a fish fan. One of the things i'm most excited about is getting to share my hobby with the child. That and coaching his/her novice hockey team to victory! oh, the plan, the plans. it'll be born with skates on and a python water changing system in its hands.


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## Octavian (Sep 30, 2009)

Sometimes you have to childproof when they become teenagers.


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## AquaNeko (Jul 26, 2009)

twoheadedfish said:


> ok, all good suggestions here. I have a lot of awful scenarios running through my head. nervous parent to be and all...
> 
> lol @ aquaneko, it's not a bad idea at all. tad on the fugly side but it's worth considering.
> 
> I as well hope he/she is a fish fan. One of the things i'm most excited about is getting to share my hobby with the child. That and coaching his/her novice hockey team to victory! oh, the plan, the plans. it'll be born with skates on and a python water changing system in its hands.


Hey it may be fugly but after 5-6yrs well you'll have some savings from the effiency of the insulation which can be put back into the early days of feeding the kids with the baby food or money back into food in the long run. I'm sure after 6yrs old the kids would have a grasp on the tank safety and to avoid it then that you can remove the insulation to have a better look. Better safe then sorry there. I wasn't joking around about the ideas either. I've had some parental thoughts for a while (not a parent) but just making a place more safer sometimes helps when you have some family and kids visiting sometimes it does worry me at time. Never underestimate kids and the power of curiosity. In a way unless you handcuff yourself to them or on a short coiled lanyard it'll always be on the back of your mind.

One thing that's awesome about kids is that it's an excuse sometimes to have a second childhood to relive doing things you liked to do before and if anyone asks you're protecting the kids  (which you are) while also enjoying yourself as well. Nothing like an excuse to go buy stuff and enjoy 'honey.. why is there a 50" screen and a bunch of video game systems in the tv room?' reply 'oh well I thoguht I'd help the kids out with their hand eye coordination at an early age. I also got some bikes while I was out so we can keep fit as well'.    Muahahhaha...



> Octavian Sometimes you have to childproof when they become teenagers.


Oh man.. that was BAD... I really felt bad for the guy but could not help but have a slight giggle but still aweee.. damn.


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