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I can't keep my child out of my tanks!

4K views 26 replies 13 participants last post by  Kerohime 
#1 ·
Arrrghh! I can see why people downsize after having children for a while or go hide everything in the basement.

Sadly I have already downsized and don't have a basement. XD

She is -forever- getting into my 75 gallon. She won't fall in because there isn't enough space between the 90 on top and the hight of the tank but she's been pulling plants out, smacking the tops and everything. :(

I am terrified she's going to hurt herself for the most but she could smash the glass, or hurt the fish...

Don't get me wrong.. I love how she enjoys fish as much as I do. (maybe even more) but my goodness! I am getting more and more grey each day. :rolleyes:

I think I am going to bungiee my glass tops or something.. I try to keep her very involved in everything I do with the tank.. which is part of the problem. She likes to do maintenance LOL

What did you guys do with your kids? Did you all ever have issues or have any nightmare stories? :)
 
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#2 ·
I move everything down to the basement. And when I live in the condo, I put chairs infront of the tank and never let her near it. The rule is, she can't got near it when I am not around. But they have to be a bit more older to understand that.
I am not sure about raise the tank. I worry about it falling down on them.

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#3 ·
Thankfully it's a double stand with a 90 and a 75 on the bottom so I doubt it will she will fall in or it will fall on her.. However, just like you said she isnt allowed near the tanks if I am not there.

It's just a matter of watching when she sneaks over. If I put chairs she will climb them, if I put stuff in front she'll move it. lol

But I did manage to remove the handles to the glass tops and make it so they sit flush in the top. It's harder for her to open them now. I also ran some rope across the tops as well and tied it to the stand.

Seems to be working! :D
 
#5 ·
:DLOL we used the playpen thing when they were little so that it would teach them boundaries. None of my kids ever go into our tank without me asking first. :cool: Worst I had was my 2-year-old kept on playing with the mag-float and sending it off into the tank. Unfortunately it was hard for him to get away with it because I'd always found out. A good firm word and being sent into the corner (and made to stay there) finally taught him that it's not worth it. Most of my kids are pretty strong-willed and needed a firm hand.
 
#6 ·
LOL you should see how many play pen things I have in my apt at the moment.

One goes around daddy's glass tv stand, the other around the computer desk.. The kitchen is gated off and so is my room since it has our bird and turtles there.

She she figured out how to get this tank open i'll probably set something up short term. I am doing what 50 is now, she does love that mag float lol.

Distraction is working well, just hard to teach her no when I have my hands in there all the time too. I'll try to be firm about only helping when mom's there :)
 
#7 ·
LOL you should see how many play pen things I have in my apt at the moment.

One goes around daddy's glass tv stand, the other around the computer desk.. The kitchen is gated off and so is my room since it has our bird and turtles there.

She she figured out how to get this tank open i'll probably set something up short term. I am doing what 50 is now, she does love that mag float lol.

Distraction is working well, just hard to teach her no when I have my hands in there all the time too. I'll try to be firm about only helping when mom's there :)
LOL you are raising the next Lara Croft- willful adventurer extraordinaire :D
 
#8 ·
Cid,

While I don't have kids a thought came to mind. Arn't there like those bungee jumper harnasses or those firemen overalls for babies/kids with the D ring behind it?

My thinking is if you're busy (ie cooking with a few burners on, chopping veg, on the tele asking your other half to find x-y-z in the grocery store because they don't know what you're talking about while they're walking the isle) is to use say a bungee cord with one end tied to something the kid can't physically move at thier age (hmm...40lb couch would work and it's 4 foot solid gournded me thinks) and the other end you clip them to thier harnass.

They have special D carabiners at MEC (or online if you don't wanna travel as much because of the little one) which are locking carabiners by you twisting the spring clip area till it locks. That way the kid is unlikey to open the D carabiner till you're less busy to give more full time attention to them so they get into less trouble.

My worry is if she's getting into the 70 and pulling out plants is that horrific moment if the kid goes under and does not come back up and not breathing. I'd hate for that event to happen and hear of it on the news. I've learned with kids is they are curious and they will find ways to get into things even if you ask them not to do so say if you're not around. That is why I bought the gun safe for if my cousins come over I put my batteries, sharp stuff, flamable camping stuff, and or sentimental/fragile itemsI don't want damaged in there. I use those motion sensor gun locks tied to a string so if something moves it's another layer of protection. If I can fit things into a bag that can be locked I'll lock up the items into a smaller bag inside the safe so it's like multi layers of locks to prevent things from happening. Last layer is to tell them not touch or mess aruond with the stuff. I don't really have anything really valuable other then my LED projects which costed a lot of time to make and just the 9v batteries which I've heard stories of kids taking them and playing lego with them (shorting uot the cells and causing a fire. 9v is one thing but when you've got like 8 or so that's like 72v) or eating it, pushing the +/- of the 9v into a metalchair or such and short/exploding/setting fire to it.

Anyways.... the other idea which may work out well but might get parental frowns is chicken wire the whole tanks thing and put an electric fence on it with a low zap feel. Keeps livestock out. Should keep the kid from wanting to get more 'buzz's' after learning shocks are not good. :rolleyes: Pincess Auto sells the fence thing.
 
#10 ·
hahaha! a baby leash? Awee yeah.. Sometimes I get looks as it is with her monkey harness. Its a monkey backpack thing and you can hold it's tail.. She will bolt sometimes and if I am in a super busy place sometimes its nice to have that monkey thing.

Especially since she's good at hiding her hands so I can't grab them.

A indoor lead would be out of the question, I never leave her untended and if she had something like that she might get tangled up in it.

I am not super stressed about her falling in the tank since the space is not wide enough for her head to fit through but you never know. I can never leave her alone for longer than a few seconds these days since she is very smart and curious :)

The distraction and redirection is working well, plus making the glass lids flush to the trim so she can't lift it.
 
#11 ·
Well ok, indoor leash may get tangled up pending the length. An alternative and cheaper pending where you go to find it is with the baby harness thing again and a pair of handcuffs at the local o_O;; boutique or army surplus. Cuff harness to the playpen railing but stay within line of sight. IIRC I saw a pair of Smith & Wesson used cop issue cuffs at Kings Sol army surplus for like $5 but that was years ago when they're going out of business.

Perhaps extended folding hingle handcuffs so you don't have the tangle up factor and give a little more movement room.
 
#12 ·
Just use a drawer lock on the tank lids. When you are done just scrape the tape off. If the tape won't work or you dont want to use it, use a dab of silicone. Again, when you are done just scrape it off with a razor blade.

And my 2 yo once dumped a scoop full of rabbit litter into a bottom tank. Took forever to get right again.

Good luck.

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#13 ·
Ohh no rabbit litter! O_O that would take a long time. She did almost put a handful of silicone kitty litter into my filter while I was cleaning it. LOL

I've learned now to keep the new little bin away in the closet. X)

I think when she does get a bit older/sneakier I'll pick up some of those locks. I did use tape already and she got most of it off.
 
#17 ·
Ohhh ya! I did something like that for a while. XD

Just goofin around when we were setting up our bird cage. hee hee No babies harmed of course :)
 
#18 ·
nice pic

lol nice pic of the little monster , lol
post a pic of the tanks u are having a problem with maybe the pics will help with some ideas to help keep your child out .if u have a two tier stand how about a big piece of plexi glass in front of both tanks , not sure of your set up tho
tom
 
#20 ·
Sure I can :D but she's not even two yet... No means the same as yes as far as she cares LOL

Thanks tom! The plexi is a great idea!
 
#22 ·
if you have any children tables, set up a "craft station" and have assorted papers, tools, glues and other things like beads or whatever for her to keep herself busy.

of course you got to do a few examples of some things so she can follow by lead but these have to be fairly easy things to do or else shes going to bug you all the time for help and at the end you are just going to end up doing the whole thing for it

i would also try to look very stress and disgusted whenever you maintain the aquarium. kids see this and will think that maintaining tank is not such a fun thing to do. think about it, you buy a kid a toy and if they dont know how to play with it they find it boring but the minute they see you having fun with the toy then they really really want that toy badly. same goes for the reverse situation, if you act like maintaining is more of a hassle than something that satisfy you (i.e. seeing a nice clean tank and happy fish) than she would more than likely avoid just the maintainence aspect
 
#24 ·
Awee... it's hard for me to hate tank maintenance LOL :3

Funny you mentioned crafts! I just picked up paints and that was a hit... Lots of paint everywhere but keeps the kiddo out of the duckweed all the better :D
 
#25 ·
its hard for all of us :).

yes mess = fun. i sometimes purposely make a mess on the ground and cheer the kids on to collect the toys and slam dunk them back in the basket

i work at a summer camp this year but they also have a daycare with toddlers and another hit is..."ripping old newspaper into tiny shreds" game
 
#26 ·
This thread reminds me of the time I jumped onto our living room sofa and smashed head first into my dad's precious discus tank (while he was at work). This was probably almost 15 years ago but I still remember my neighbors lined up with buckets to help catch the water. LOL. I was completely unhurt but all but two of the fish died.

Your baby's adorable btw! :)
 
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