# Temporarily housing in closets **long post**



## tokyo (Jan 19, 2010)

Alright, so I live in an apartment that doesn't allow tanks bigger than 25 gallons, and I'm supposed to have renters insurance if I'm going to have anything, which I don't have. I just found out that next friday they are putting new windows in all of the apartments. So I need to hide all of my tanks and fish. Hopefully it will only be the people installing the windows who will be in the apartment, but I don't want to risk having the maintenance guys stop in.

Here are my tanks:

1 55g
1 45g long
1 30g
1 20g long
1 20g standard
1 10g
1 big sump that consists of a 37g rubbermaid bin and a 30g compost barrel.

I can at least leave the 10g out, because they told me that i didn't need the renters insurance if I was just going to have a small tank. I could probably leave one of the 20g tanks out too and be ok.

I figure if I empty the tanks I can stand them on end and leave them in a corner with a cloth over them. Then if they see them, atleast they aren't in use. The sump can be used to house some of the fish if I move it into my big closet. Then I would need to keep the rest of my stock in buckets and bins. Here's all the fish I have currently:

13 Ps. saulosi @ 1.5-2"
5 Aulonocara jacobfreibergi @ 2.5-3"
1 Aulonocara jacobfreibergi @ 5"
8 Aulonocara jacobfreibergi fry @ 3/4"
5 Syno multipunctatus
6 Motaguense @ 1.5"
6 Geophagus pindare @ 1.5"
4 Ameca splendens @ 1-2.5"
10 small community fish @ 1-3"

So, if I put bins and buckets in my closets to hold the fish for the day I should be ok and not get evicted. :lol:

Luckily I just bought 12 sponge filters. So I will start seeding some of them today.

But basically I need to know how long the fish can be kept like this and how many buckets and bins I will need.

Another concern will be noise from the airpump and air stones. I won't be able to use my new air pump because its fairly loud, but my old one is pretty quiet and could be used to run several sponge filters. Then I also have two small powerheads that could be used to run a couple sponge filters. Then I also have two small aquaclears and two TOM canister filters(20g filtering capacity). The aquaclears could be used to filter the 10 and 20 gallon tanks I'm leaving out and the TOM canisters could be used on bins because they are pretty much silent.

Ok, now to break up the fish into groups for bin storage...

The aulonocara fry are going to be left out in the 10g, and the community fish will be left out in the 20g.

I figure the saulosi could be kept in the 37g bin from my sump,
The jacobfreibergi can be kept in the 30g barrel from my sump along with the synos.
The ameca splendens could be kept in a 20g bin.
The motaguense and pindare would probably each be good in their own 20g bin for the day.

Alright, I think that covers it all. I'm going to take the day off from work, if I can, so I can make sure no one goes snooping in the closets.

Good thing this happened now and not when my 75g plywood tank was finished and my motas had grown out. :lol:

But seriously, I am trying to find a small warehouse I could rent for cheap because my hobby is expanding and I don't like having to sneak around about it. I'm thinking if I can find something at least around 16' x 13' I could have all the space I want, at least for the next year or two until I outgrow that. :lol: Then I could rent out my spare bedroom to cover the costs of the rental.

Ok, thought I would share this fun little mishap with every one. I'll post pictures when everything is up and running, or down and running I guess.

Oh, and any idea how long the fish can stay in this sort of situation for? It wouldn't be for more than 24hrs, and could be as little as 8hrs. I would fast them all 36hrs in advance to limit the amount of waste buildup.


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## lmhollist (Aug 7, 2009)

I would highly recommend picking up renter's insurance. It averages about $8 to $9 a month so it's hardly a noticeable loss. And most of the time, your insurance starts protecting you immediately. If that's the only thing preventing you from legally having larger tanks in your apartment then all the more reason to get it. And of course there's a multitude of other reasons to have renter's insurance, fire destroys your belongings, water damage, hailstorm breaks a window causing loss of fish or other property from extreme temperature changes, etc.

For the fish going in plastic/rubbermaid bins, be sure to attach your heaters to plates of glass and NOT the plastic. Or suspend the heaters from a board so that they are submerged in the water column and not touching any part of the bin. You don't want to risk the plastic melting or warping from heat and then sploosh! water everywhere (you're really going to want insurance then)!

Good luck!


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## tokyo (Jan 19, 2010)

I've been meaning to get renters insurance since I first moved. I'm just a bad procrastinator when it comes to this sort of thing. I can make time any day of the week for a water change but I can't take ten minutes to call up the insurance company. Go figure

Although, even with renters insurance I'm not allowed to have anything over 25g and I'm supposed to let them know what I have.

Thanks, I was debating whether or not to even use heaters. Its been so hot lately I've had to keep the A/C on just to keep the apartment temperature under 80Ã‚Â°F. I usually keep it set to 75Ã‚Â°F which means the rooms(and closets) are around 78Ã‚Â°-80Ã‚Â°F. I don't even heat either of the 20g tanks, or the 30g right now. I do have a heater coming tuesday for the pindare though.

My sump bin has a 300w titanium heater just laying in it and I have had no problems with it. Although your right, I wouldn't want to risk it on multiple bins without the constant flow of water that my sump has.

I just went and bought two 27g super heavy duty bins at HD. I hadn't seen these there before, they must be new. There is no or little bowing on the sides when I put all my weight on it, plus I think I could actually stack them if I had to becasue I put all of my weight(kneeling) on the lid and it didn't even bow in. I also bought two 12g bins which aren't as eavy duty, but will be good if I need them.


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## lmhollist (Aug 7, 2009)

My boyfriend and I use a variety of Rubbermaid stock tanks for our sumps, growouts and turtles (a 300, a 150, a 50, two 70s and two 100 gallons). These things are *heavy duty* (as in meant for cattle watering troughs out in a rocky uneven field kind of heavy duty) but you still aren't supposed to use anything but a caged heater (or a heater attached to glass like we do) in them because the plastic just can't handle it.

If you aren't using heaters then this isn't going to be an issue. Sounds like you have a good plan with the sponge filters, they'll help keep the surface agitated and provide filtration for your fishies.


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## Bearbear (May 8, 2010)

I'd throw sheets over them where they are and tell them mind their own business. :dancing:


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## cindylou (Oct 22, 2008)

OMG, Good Luck..


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## tokyo (Jan 19, 2010)

Bearbear said:


> I'd throw sheets over them where they are and tell them mind their own business. :dancing:


I was considering doing this with at least my two 4ft tanks, but we are required to make space around the windows and both tanks are near a window.


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## kingdave (Mar 9, 2007)

I'd honestly leave everything out in plain view rather than risk the lives of my fish. If it's only the window installers coming in, then they wouldn't know or care what your lease says. If management finds out, then maybe they will not even care since it would cost them money in lost rent if they kicked you out and had to try to find a new renter for your apartment. You can't possibly keep living in fear that someone will find your aquariums and have to stash them every time there is a chance of management entering your place.

If things went badly, then maybe that's the wake up call you needed to start looking for a place where aquariums are allowed.

And get some renters insurance whatever you do... there are too many good reasons for me to list why you need it.

Anyways, good luck with whatever you decide.


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## tokyo (Jan 19, 2010)

Even if I left them out I would still need to tear them down and move them to make room for the installers to work. To do that I would have to temporarily keep the fish in bins anyways. So why not wait until the window installers are done to set them back up, otherwise I would be adding a step to the process.

I am currently saving up for a down payment on a house. I would like to avoid moving until I can move into my own place.

I'm not "living in fear", this is just a freak occurance where I think it would be better to hide the fish than to risk eviction. In most cases if my landlord wanted to come into my apartment it wouldn't be an issue because none of my tanks are in the main living area, so all I would need to do is shut a couple doors and not worry about it.

I think I may leave the 45g out though. I'm pretty sure its far enough away from the window that I won't be required to move it. I'm still waiting for the details on how much room we need to make.


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## Darkside (Feb 6, 2008)

I doubt they can evict you for having fish even if it is in the lease.


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## tokyo (Jan 19, 2010)

Still, I only have about another year and a half until I will have the money for a down payment on a house. I don't want to risk being set back any more than I already am.


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## newforestrob (Feb 1, 2010)

my property management checks all the apartments monthly ,they don't care about aquariums, just grow-ops :?


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## eric (Jan 1, 2002)

It's just not smart not to have renters insurance and its so cheap!


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## tokyo (Jan 19, 2010)

Everything went off without a hitch. I left out my two 10g tanks, my 20g standard, and my 30g and no one said anything about them. I still had to tear down all but the 10gs to make room for the installers to work, but I didn't hide them. I used my two sump containers to house all of my malawians and my multipunctatus. The motaguense had their own bin. All the bins had sponge filters and were run off of my new high powered air pump.

I ended up putting all of the bins in the kitchen and then moving my living room furniture in front of them because I had to move it away from the windows anyways. I also stored all the tanks in the kitchen and covered them with a drop cloth.

After the installers were done I set the tanks back up and transferred all the fish back. They are all doing well.


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## jakkenglish (Aug 20, 2010)

For me, you must get renters insurance yes it's true getting insurance is very affordable and besides you can guarantee that all your things will be in a safe.


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