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Make Your Under Gravel Filter Work Better

To make your under gravel filter work a lot more efficiently, get some filter floss and completely cover the filter grates with it, about an inch thick, then add the normal layer of gravel over that.
 
This will increase the available area for the 'good" bacteria to grow.
 

This really works well.
 
And while you're at it, take a look in the crafts section of any local department store, they should have some large bags of "quilt batting" which is exactly the same thing as filter floss, but at only about a tenth of the cost.

Stop Gravel Digging Fish

To save your under gravel filter, or to just keep large fish from digging up the gravel.
 
Get a plastic webbing type material from the crafts section of just about any department store. This stuff is inert so it will not affect water quality.
 
To use the webbing , cut it (with scissors) to the appropriate size and shape. Then place it on top of the gravel and add some more gravel to hide to hide it.
 
No more fishy aquascaping now! This material also makes a great spawning grate for fish such as zebra danios and tetras.

Cheap Substitute For Charcoal

Pick up a 10 pound bag of "Lava Rocks" from your local Home Depot or Lowes.
 
Crush it up to use as a substitute for charcoal or use it like "Live Rock" for a freshwater aquarium.
 
This rock has an abundance of surface area for colonization by the "Good Guy" bacteria.
 
Doesn't look too bad either.

Cheap Airline Connecters

Sometimes you might need to make an airline longer.
 
To make quick and easy airline connecters, just get a length of rigid airline tubing and cut it into pieces about an inch long, or use the little plastic handles that come with the ice cream treat called "Fred Flintstone's Push Ups".
 
Yabba Dabba Doooo!

The Best Fish Food

The best fish food available is the common earthworm.
 
Although they are supposedly the most nutritious when fed live, I prefer to freeze them first and then chop them up for feeding to the fish.
 
You might be able to dig some up in your yard but its much easier to just buy them from a bait store.
 
The method I use with earthworms is to separate them from the dirt etc, which usually involves rinsing a few times in a large mesh net, I then put the live worms into a sandwich/freezer bag ( I think this is a humane or painless way to kill them). Then I break off a piece of frozen worms add a little water with the worms in a disposable cup and use scissors to snip , snip , snip until I have mostly bite size chunks. I then use a turkey baster to feed them to the individual tanks.
 
This is the absolute best spawning conditioning food available for any aquarium fish!

Aluminum Foil

Aluminum foil has a couple of uses for the aquarist. Crinkle it up and then staighten it up again to make a textured background for the tank. Just tape it to the back of the aquarium.
 
Another use, line the inside of the reflector to make your lights brighter.
 
Another idea submitted by kevin
Aluminum foil is also useful for covering parts of the hood that are left empty (for filter, heater, etc.)