# The Average 16-Year-Old's Room



## thelub (Jan 4, 2013)

Wow that's awesome. And this is coming from someone almost twice you age. Keep up the good work! Phones and snap chat is overrated. I'm sure you get far more satisfaction from your room projects than the majority of kids your age. 

And go thank your parents for being so supporting and understanding


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## Aqualady (Jan 14, 2013)

Niceee, well done!


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## jmf3460 (Aug 21, 2013)

keep it up! I taught high school for 5 years and there aren't many kids that are in to things like this, believe me I would have known. This could turn into a career for you someday so learn as much as you possibly can.


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## jbig (Jul 13, 2012)

kudos to you, my friend.

keep up the awesome work.


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## Bushkill (Feb 15, 2012)

My room was all of 8' X 10' when I was 16 and still managed to cram a few tanks in there. That stuff is amazing! What species of orchid do you have in the vivarium?


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## The Trigger (May 9, 2012)

Wow very impressive setups!


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## PlantedRich (Jul 21, 2010)

Very nice! While it would be nice to actually walk up to the folks and say , Thanks, they are very likely to be aware of how lucky they are in all this. Too bad the young that really DO something don't get as much play as the HULK, the JOCK and the doper! 
Carry on, you are far ahead of me!


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## creekbottom (Apr 5, 2012)

The next time you ask the rents for something, go for non-carpet flooring lol!

Nice work!!


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## Lowe (Nov 11, 2011)

White Soxs decor + multiple Finnex fixtures = my new best friend.


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## colaudrey (Oct 4, 2013)

i'm at school right now, lunch time is my favorite TPT browsing time. i can't see the pictures because of school block, but just the descriptions sound amazing! i'm 17 and have 2 fw aquariums running right now, and a lowtech shrimp container. i'm gonna set up a 10g and 20g long within the next couple months. I wish there we're more people locally around my age that i could discuss this kinda stuff with, but chatting with older and informed people is great too!


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## DaveDe (Jan 12, 2014)

Good stuff. I've always had a great many hobbies and interests. 

and yes, laminate flooring should be in that rooms future.


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## lapiana29 (Dec 27, 2013)

Wow love it. I really like the sundew setup. Could you please tell me what kind if plant that is exactly? Thanks 

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## Fishnshrimp2 (Sep 13, 2013)

Very nice set ups, I only had 3 aquariums when I was 17. Now I have 6 in my room and more in other places in the house. 
That 12 gallon is gonna look great when it fills in!


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## canlax (Sep 8, 2012)

Dude, that's awesome. When are your parents building a greenhouse for you?


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## thayes427 (Nov 16, 2013)

Thanks everyone. It's crazy to get so much feedback. My friends think that I should stop growing carnivorous plants with my lights and start growing pot for them, but I ain't about that life. To answer your question about the orchids, I got the following form Andy's orchids: Bulbophyllum / alagense large form, Pleurothallis / trichostoma (cypripidioides type), Stelis / hirtzii, and Haraella / odorata. By the way, I love the Finnex fixtures, they are awesome (as well as the White Sox). As for the sundew setup, on the right from front to back is Drosera spatulata, Drosera adelae, and Drosera Capensis. Inside the terrarium is Drosera Aliciae, Drosera Capensis (normal and red forms) some VFTs, Drosera Scorpiodes, Drosera Spatulata, and Drosera Madagascariensis. If I had to give one piece advise for all of you (even though I'm still a noob), I've found that it is totally worth it to spend the time and money in the beginning to make maintenance as easy as possible down the road. Otherwise, you just won't do it (or at least I wouldn't). I wouldn't be able to juggle these different hobbies at once if it weren't for my automating as much as possible.


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## devilduck (May 9, 2012)

Very cool! When i was 16 my room was a total mess. What does your bunkmate sibling think of your mts?


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## shift (Jan 7, 2013)

Nice setup and tanks! Bedrooms are the perfect place for projects! . Even know I have 3 nano tanks in my room. Keep up the good work and keep us updated


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## That70sfishboy (Apr 2, 2013)

As a 15, nearly 16 year old, my room is almost the exact same thing. Those vivariums are very impressive, as well as the reef. I plan on resetting mine up soon.


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## Art by Stef* (Jan 27, 2013)

OUTSTANDING!
and kudos to your parents, too.
(Had my butt tanned plenty of times for sneaking critters -snakes, tadpoles, etc. in my room in my youth.)
I don't need to wish you much success-it's pretty apparent that it is already successful.
Most adult/veteran set ups aren't that nice.

Keep up the eye candy!
-Stef*


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## GuppyGuppyGuppyGuppyGuppy (Feb 11, 2012)

thayes427 said:


> As you will quickly realize, this title is sarcastic. I am not the average teenager. Instead of being attached to my phone, I'm attached to my hobbies. Whenever people walk into my room, they are stunned and have no idea such things existed. My room is easily recognizable even from outside the house because it’s a constant daylight spectrum supernova (a supernova funded by my parents’ ever increasing electric bill). The hobbies that I'm most interested in are reef aquariums, freshwater aquariums, poison dart frog vivariums, and carnivorous plants. The worst part of having all of this stuff in my room is that some of the lights go on at like 7 in the morning so I can’t really sleep in on the weekends. On the flipside, the lights help me wake up on school days. The sound isn’t a problem. The humming of various pumps and the trickle of the waterfalls in the vivariums actually helps me sleep. I just thought I’d give you a look into what almost all of my free time revolves around.
> 
> Obviously I don’t treat my carpet well- that burn mark is from an aquarium heater stupidly left on the floor. Those stains are from various spills of nasty water. I once spilled 5 gallons of RODI water on the floor and it began dripping through the lights beneath my room onto the living room floor .


Haha, every hobby I've ever been in!

Currently I do CPs and I have a GH full of Nepenthes... Are you a member on any CP forums? You should join one if you aren't. What species of Nepenthes do you have?

If you're interested in seeing my greenhouse... http://www.youtube.com/user/Nepenthesis

Just getting started back into FW after an expensive 4-year SW ordeal... 2expensive4me. It's awesome to see someone my age with all the same interests lol!


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## Oto Guy (Jan 3, 2014)

That is cool. I am in junior high and am trying to convince my parents always to let me get another tank. I have a small shrimp nano, a 5 gal with African dwarf frogs, a 15 gal tank with otos and tetras, and a container pond with goldfish.


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## GraphicGr8s (Apr 4, 2011)

thelub said:


> Wow that's awesome. And this is coming from someone almost twice you age. Keep up the good work! Phones and snap chat is overrated. I'm sure you get far more satisfaction from your room projects than the majority of kids your age.
> 
> And go thank your parents for being so supporting and understanding


Amen.


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## Woody0229 (May 19, 2011)

Beast mode kid. Jealous.


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## Meganne (Sep 3, 2012)

and on top of what the others have said.... you have an extreamly artistic eye, the balance in the plantings of your work is impressive.


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

man when I was 16, I was smoking umm and drinking umm and well nevermind.
You're on to something. I was lucky to keep my gold fish alive considering I cleaned the tank with soap detergent every now and then. (which lived 6 years in a 1g hex)


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## lamiskool (Jul 1, 2011)

Great setup! Always happy to see other young hobbyist (my gf always tell me fish keeping is for old people lol)


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## KimberlyDiaz (Jan 11, 2014)

The tank looks pretty great. You really have a very colorful thing going on in there. Brilliant job. And yeah great pictures as well. Thanks for sharing.


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## ipkiss (Aug 9, 2011)

Thumbs up! I like your sundew setup! I can't seem to keep my sundews alive for long outside. Perhaps its time to give them something more controlled like yours.


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## Charrr89 (May 15, 2013)

when I was 15.... I had guinea pigs.. dogs.... fish... but no plants! very good of you to have found that to be your anti drug... the only plants I knew about growing in door was mary jane. haha. :[ life in Hawaii though. Enjoy it while youre still home doing it !


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## THE V (Nov 17, 2011)

When I was 16 I had a growlight and was figuring out how to propagate shrubs. When I was 17 well let's just say girls came into the equation strongly that year. Hot identical twins lived a mile down the street. 

Fast forward 20 years and I now work in vegetable crops and plan on being in 10 different countries this year around the world. I spend time in greenhouses and in the field. For 7 years I was in plant breeding before this job.

A lab manager I work with has kept flytraps in culture for 15 years now as a hobby. 

Hobbies at your age can convert into careers.


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## aquarist (Aug 29, 2012)

Awesome stuff! If only I could keep my room that clean!


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## roadmaster (Nov 5, 2009)

At sixteen,I was in Reform school with bunk bed's much like the one in the photo.
Great job with the tank's and plant's!


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## Chrisinator (Jun 5, 2008)

Man, now I wanna move back home instead of in a dorm (even though all my animals are still setup like this)


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## ptowntank (Dec 22, 2013)

I wish my room looked like that when I was 16! Very nice


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## jbig (Jul 13, 2012)

I wouldn't rule out growing pot for your friends. Depending on what state you live in, that could turn into a very profitable career for you as well  Someone with talent like you could definitely come up with some...well, amazing medicines


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## Aquaticz (Dec 26, 2009)

To much work come harvest time


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## Elli (Sep 7, 2013)

Wow! Thanks for sharing the inspiration!


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## Betta132 (Nov 29, 2012)

That is awesome...
Kind of looks like my room, but I have fewer carnivorous plants and more bones. 
You mentioned you're considering a clown goby for your reef? I'd go for it. They have a lot of personality. Not sure if you know, but they come in yellow, orange, reddish-brown, green, and green-blue, as well as a rare black one or two. My personal favorites are the blue-green ones, but they're all under an inch and a half, peaceful, and can probably be considered reef-safe creatures. They're really neat.


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## MERSF559 (Oct 18, 2013)

I wish igot into the hobby earlier in my age lol instead of playing video games. since igot into planted tank I've just been glued to everythn about it.


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## lemonnoodle (Apr 1, 2013)

It's an expensive hobby! do you grow stuff and sell it?


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## thayes427 (Nov 16, 2013)

Thanks everyone. I am actually a little surprised that I got into these hobbies this early myself because neither my family or friends are into these hobbies. It all started with that first betta bowl...


lemonnoodle said:


> It's an expensive hobby! do you grow stuff and sell it?


Last summer I sold aquarium plants for a few weeks and made a surprisingly large amount of money. However, during the school year, I really don't have the time. I wish I did. It's pretty cool to have a hobby that financially sustains itself.


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## tetra73 (Aug 2, 2011)

Where is the TV? Where is the computer? Where is that Xbox One or PS 4???


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## GraphicGr8s (Apr 4, 2011)

At 16 I had half of a full size bed full of electronics experiments, breadboards and soldering irons. No tanks whatsoever.


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## thayes427 (Nov 16, 2013)

tetra73 said:


> Where is the TV? Where is the computer? Where is that Xbox One or PS 4???


Those all reside in another room, but I don't really play video games as much as my siblings. I spend all my time on forums and doing maintenance .


GraphicGr8s said:


> At 16 I had half of a full size bed full of electronics experiments, breadboards and soldering irons. No tanks whatsoever.


I wish I knew more about computers and electronics. So often I wish I had the skills to build an arduino sequence that would automate everything.


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## shift (Jan 7, 2013)

You should try it! it really isnt that hard.. my first real arduino project was building an automated controlled dosing system Most of it isnt too hard to learn and there is a ton of tutorials to get you stated


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## Mizuhuman (Mar 16, 2013)

Wow! your tanks are beautiful. you have more artistic sense than me. keep it up


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## DaveK (Jul 10, 2010)

I think what you have would be impressive no matter what age you were. I'd say that very few people could pull that off. So many areas of interest too. 

I have a few mixed feelings though. Part of me wants to say keep up the good work, you never know where this interest will lead. At the same time, part of me says, this has got to take up a lot of time, which you have now, but college is only a couple of years away, and it's going to be tough to maintain you hobby with that going on in your life. 

Think carefully where you are going to be in a couple of years and what you are going to do with all your great setups. It's going to be hard to find anyone else to keep all that going, while your off at school. 

I'm not trying to be a downer here, but it's better to work this out now, while you still have time, rather than at the last moment. 

Good luck!


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## Drewsplantednutz (Jan 25, 2012)

I thought I was the man at 16 (only a little over 10 years ago) when I had a 30 gallon with a giant tiger oscar and clown knife that ate small goldfish. Holy crap, I feel like I was in the stone age compared to you. I even grew crappy pot in the desk I had the tank on top of, I can clearly see your not going down that road. Even at my age now I couldnt imagine having such a collection. Its clear that you will have a tank with something in it forever.


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## Andrew. (Dec 27, 2013)

There's no way my parents would allow me to have poison dart frogs


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## thelub (Jan 4, 2013)

I don't think poison dart frogs are poisonous in captivity because they don't eat the flys that give them their poison like they do in the wild.

At least that was something I heard about them a while ago.


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## Andrew. (Dec 27, 2013)

it wouldn't matter my parents would hear poison in the name and test me for drugs for thinking of such a dangerous thing


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## thelub (Jan 4, 2013)

So just call them pretty frogs 

parents: Aren't those those poison frogs?

You: No, they just mimic them


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## ctaylor3737 (Nov 14, 2013)

Yea they are not poisonous grown in captivity. I have a pair. They are awesome pets. Very colorful

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## adive (Oct 30, 2013)

thayes427 said:


> If I had to give one piece advise for all of you (even though I'm still a noob), I've found that it is totally worth it to spend the time and money in the beginning to make maintenance as easy as possible down the road. Otherwise, you just won't do it (or at least I wouldn't). I wouldn't be able to juggle these different hobbies at once if it weren't for my automating as much as possible.


I agree with you. Try to use natural processes for the automation where possible (e.g. of what I am saying: have a planted tank in which you dont have to siphon/filter dirt, the plants are doing the work 4 u, as against a non-planted one) , that will only take you even a step closer to lower maintenance/cost. Do thank your parents for supporting you! Nice work.


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## FischAutoTechGarten (Jul 11, 2003)

There is no shortage of folks building aquarium controllers using Arduino on the Arduino fórums. So many, that I think one of the last threads I read was entitled: "YAAC (yet another aquarium controller)".

Here's a cool one where the guy shares EVERYTHING, even how to Access it all via a webpage. Automated Reptile Control System: http://forum.arduino.cc/index.php?PHPSESSID=6r901d3ca4pvliere5ueh7e516&topic=140740.0

Wow.. I've lurked around this site since July 2003... This is my first post!


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## Tropical_Wannabe (Aug 19, 2010)

thayes427 said:


> This is my new iwagumi 12 gallon long freshwater aquarium. Well, it's not an aquarium yet. I'm just waiting for the carpet to fill in before flooding the tank.


I really hope this doesn't constitute hi-jacking a thread (very sorry if it does), but what exactly is happening in this picture?
No water in the tank! Filling AFTER the carpet grows in? What type of plant is that, and won't it melt when you submerge it?
Thanks!


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## Aether (Feb 25, 2013)

looks like HC.

it's an aquatic plant, and if you keep the tank sealed and very moist it has no problem growing with all the available gaseous CO2


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## intelsuit (Aug 22, 2011)

Awesome! Simply Awesome! Keep up the great work.


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## sinthesis (May 23, 2012)

Well done! Especially like the terrarium with the open lid and the vivarium below it.


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## Aquatic Delight (Mar 2, 2012)

i never thought that at 28 i would be jealous of a 16 year old's room. fantastic bro! just amazing


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## cifinest33rd (Apr 30, 2012)

Sweet setups keep it up!

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## Bserve (Nov 4, 2012)

Nice job bro! I love your 20 gallon Viv, makes me miss mine. But I totally 100% agree, age shouldn't make a difference! In October I became the youngest person to enter in a professional aquascaping contest (legally, because before I was only 12, and there are like internet laws and stuff preventing me until entering until I was 13, so I entered a week after my 13th birthday). 

You should join the TPTeens Club!


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## DeeFromBrooklyn (Jun 18, 2012)

Being into positive hobbies like this are worthy of a higher electric bill.


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## Adri. (Sep 6, 2012)

Ha! I need to show this to my parents. "A third fish tank would probably be too much," they say. No, no it's not too much.


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## Oto Guy (Jan 3, 2014)

Adri. said:


> Ha! I need to show this to my parents. "A third fish tank would probably be too much," they say. No, no it's not too much.


Haha. It looks like I am in the same position. My parents always say that.:hihi:


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## emmynk (Jan 21, 2014)

I'm 16 too, I have 4 tanks in my room but they're all freshwater tanks! Haha cool room! 

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## SmellsFishy (Dec 9, 2013)

Awesome man! My room is nothing but fish and reptiles


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