125 Gallon and a toddler in the same room?

[KathCH]

Hi @all,

what are your thoughts about a 2 year old toddler sharing a room with a 125 gallon reef?

It is my boyfriend's son and he stays with us one night per week. Due to tight space and too many tanks in the house, we can't move it out of my little home office where I will still have my working space too.
We were considering to build a proper light cover which would of course also make sure that miraculously flying items or liquids won't land in the tank.
But still, there would be 125g saltwater in a tank around a toddler, all alone in the night. What are your thoughts? Can we risk this?

Thanks

 

[lapin]

Metal toys or baseball bat hitting tank?
Kids climbing up on stand and tank?

 

[KathCH]

Metal toys or baseball bat hitting tank?
Kids climbing up on stand and tank?

We are in Switzerland, no baseball around Most of his toys are plastic, not worried about that. He couldn't climb on the stand, all covered and the doors can be secured....

 

[Dburr1014]

Secure doors, keep bed away from tank. I wouldn't even keep test kits in the room.
How old is the child?

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

Personally, it sounds like a risk I wouldn't take. Everything would need to be locked down for safety of the child and the tank.

 

[Arego]

Careful of fidget spinners. If they hit the glass just right the bearings will break it. Heard this and another had his cracked at a local frag swap. They may seem harmless but keep them away if they can end up sporadically flying around.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

the parent in me is cringing at the thought.

But ,I was a toddler in the 70's, in those days we subjected to much more dangerous things than just being left with a secure piece of furniture that I'm sure you'll both be checking on often. If you have no choice then there's no choice, dont feel bad about it, just make it as safe as possible.

 

[TritanopiaReefer]

At 2, there is absolutely no way the little guy is capable of understanding how dangerous it could be to climb on or hit the tank with blocks or little cars. If somehow he managed to break the tank he could injure himself. Not to mention I've never met a 2 year old that couldn't get themselves into a sticky situation in 30 seconds flat, no matter how well supervised.

 

[Cell]

Depends on the toddler.

 

[Mhamilton0911]

I have a very rambunctious 2.5 year old and my tanks are in the dining room and living room and it's a challenge there. He enjoys pushing chairs over and opening the lid to splash the water. I've had to baby lock everything, including now the glass lids. He also loves driving his cars, trucks, airplanes,etc on the glass. And it's annoying to say the least. He has now noticed that magnets hold the power heads to the glass and now that's the new challenge. However I have 3 older kids that never messed with any tank or it's equipment. This one's just difficult, lol.

 

[KathCH]

I have a very rambunctious 2.5 year old and my tanks are in the dining room and living room and it's a challenge there. He enjoys pushing chairs over and opening the lid to splash the water. I've had to baby lock everything, including now the glass lids. He also loves driving his cars, trucks, airplanes,etc on the glass. And it's annoying to say the least. He has now noticed that magnets hold the power heads to the glass and now that's the new challenge. However I have 3 older kids that never messed with any tank or it's equipment. This one's just difficult, lol.

Made me laugh

I think I overestimate his understanding of the tank, on the other hand he grows up with horses in his Mom's house, so he has some understanding for animals. I have no clue, what to so yet

 

[Tamberav]

I wouldn't. My worry is if the tank failed too... like a panel gave out or something.

Even supervised, I would rather have an acrylic tank around children.

lots of power cords + saltwater - ehhh

I would lose sleep over all the "what if's"

 

[SmCaudata]

As others have said, if that's the only option make it safe. Can you get a tumbling mat or something similar to wrap around the tank and anchor to the wall? Fish won't care and it may make the tank less enticing to the little guy.

 

[Sean Clark]

One day a week... close the door. I would be way more concerned about the horses at mom's place the other 6 days than the tank.

 

[ClownSchool]

Hi @all,

what are your thoughts about a 2 year old toddler sharing a room with a 125 gallon reef?

It is my boyfriend's son and he stays with us one night per week. Due to tight space and too many tanks in the house, we can't move it out of my little home office where I will still have my working space too.
We were considering to build a proper light cover which would of course also make sure that miraculously flying items or liquids won't land in the tank.
But still, there would be 125g saltwater in a tank around a toddler, all alone in the night. What are your thoughts? Can we risk this?

Thanks

My two-year-old granddaughter visits over night about once a week and my 55 gallon, open top tank is beneath the wall-mounted tv in the living room.
She absolutely loves her ‘fishies’ and has already learned not to hit the tank. She does get close and will place her hands on the glass.
It shouldn’t be a problem at that age, but as the child gets older, you’ll want to be more careful and make changes accordingly.
I hope that helps.

 

[TheBiochemist]

It depends on kid. My son (3 yo) loves our tank. He is able to feed the fish, helps with maintenance and spends a lot of time by staring on the tank. In contrast, my daughter (6 yo) is not interested at all. Anyway, both know what they can and cannot do in the room and have my 100% confidence. But, we have had a lot of visits with kids expressing different levels of destructive behavior. Everything is about parenting. Taken together, if you trust the kid, lets go for it. I do not see the risks too high (but I understand they exist).

 

[jwill4400]

Hi @all,

what are your thoughts about a 2 year old toddler sharing a room with a 125 gallon reef?

It is my boyfriend's son and he stays with us one night per week. Due to tight space and too many tanks in the house, we can't move it out of my little home office where I will still have my working space too.
We were considering to build a proper light cover which would of course also make sure that miraculously flying items or liquids won't land in the tank.
But still, there would be 125g saltwater in a tank around a toddler, all alone in the night. What are your thoughts? Can we risk this?

Thanks

If all is locked down. The child can't climb on or hang onto the tank and stand...then I might risk it. It's a great time for a child's wonder of nature to start to grow. A time to start boundary lessons. I'd be sure to put toys etc into another room so he won't get into the habit of playing by it. Let us know how it goes.

 

[Kellie in CA]

I agree that it depends on the kid. My daughter would have been ok, but she was never the type to put stuff in her mouth, stick things in outlets, etc. She has always been incredibly strong-willed, but if we told her not to do something because she could get hurt, she listened (most of the time).
We live in a smaller home and have always had a tank in the main room, the door on the stand has a child lock. My concern would be flying objects at the glass. We have had some close calls! Also, make sure there is nothing anywhere near the tank that can be climbed on.

 

[KathCH]

Thanks so much guys, also for the insights into some of your wonderful families. Still some weeks to go before this arrangement starts, but I think we'll just try and see how it goes. Blessed day and happs reefing

 

[Gp!]

If the room is big enough make a barrier / fence around it so he can't get within 3 feet