[bruceaction]

greetings to you lot...lot of great thinkers,,willing to experiment. and share your thoughts.
well done...I will develop some idears from this good work of yours

 

[RobertTheFish]

1) Someone WILL jump all over me for replying to an old thread.

2) Don't care.

3) Your hide turned out AWESOME and my bettas need one just like it.

So far I have been living by the theory of KISS, but I'd like something fancier like the condo you made with those spindle covers.

Here's my KISS hides: (edit: the hide in the middle was purchased at PestMart. My KISS idea was using the coffee mugs on the left)

 

[snail]

This thread seems to have turned into a classic. There have been a steady trickle of replies since it was started, it's never really gone dead.

 

[majerah1]

Agreed,its not really dead.Its a very helpful thread.The spindles are great Ideas.I also like the cups and your betta ladies are pretty!You should send the dragon girl my way though,I have a male who matches her quite well!

 

[RyLuci1021]

This thread has got me thinking as I was reading it. I'm gonna have to start trying some stuff. Anyone know if copper is aquarium safe? Not as in a full copper hide out, but just some accents. I am a metal worker so I thought it would look kind of need once it oxidizes.

 

[RyLuci1021]

Ok.... so I did some searching. Copper isn't a good idea in an aquarium. So scratch that idea.

 

[snail]

I'm afraid metal and aquariums are not a great mix. Stainless steel might be your best bet but even that I would be hesitant about.

 

[RobertTheFish]

It would be worth the time to experiment. Likely there is either copper or aluminum wire in all your aquariums. Power supplies for heaters, pumps, etc. The thing is that it's encased in vinyl and other inert materials.

I would like to just coat a piece of copper wire in silicone and then submerse for a while. My hypothesis is that if it really is completely encased, no oxidation can occur. Just like with our submersible heaters, where no oxidation or electrocution occurs because the copper never touches the water.

 

[bruceaction]

creating caves, yes a cup or mag will do,,but come on ,,we can be more creative than this, a bit more effort ,with more natural to the fish normal local.
live plants instead of plastic ones. real plants breath,,and remove toxens from the water. how ever in the end its up the individuals tastes..and there sis plenty of that...*old dude*r2

 

[Sweetgreenleaf1369]

the cave found its way into the tank today


I stacked a few more rocks up and made an extended ledge too

my ADF seems to like it; it took him all of 2 minutes to dart inside and hide, lol. you can see in there through the side hole

Now if we could get the Flintstones to*r2 great job*cool-dude*h/b

 

[Tiw]

You all have given me some great ideas! I even have a tube of silicone lying around....... Now to narrow the list of items to glue stones and such on.

 

[snail]

Here is an interesting technique for making wood effect caves and backgrounds:
higbeeiso - Aquarium Backgrounds Diy
Again not mine, just found it while browsing and thought others might like it too.

 

[Razmear]

Great thread, never would have thought to use CD cases as a base.
I recently made a 'Loach Motel' out of broken up 6x6 slate tile:


It came out more boxy and bunker like than I had planned it to be, but it still looks much cooler than the giant fake stump/fish death trap that it replaced.

I took pics thruout the construction if anyone is interested but it's pretty much just smashing slate with a hammer and then glueing it together. I built it on about 2 inches of 'pylons' on the corners so the loach can get under it without using one of the doors.
I also used a hot glue gun instead of silicone which worked surprisingly well. Got a few fingertip burns pressing pieces together and probably went thru about 40 glue sticks to construct the whole thing. I'm guessing it's around 10x10x7 in size.

Heres one more pic of the completed motel before it was put in the tank.




eb

 

[toommm]

I know the last post in this thread was almost over a year ago but I just had to revive this thread. I went through it all and it inspired me to make a refuge cave of my own, well it's more of a tunnel than anything lol.
It's really basic and natural looking but that's what I was going for. I made it using some stones from a previous aquarium setup that I originally retrieved from a nearby lake and some aquarium safe silicone I found lying around.
It's been sitting for about 24 hours now and I'm going to be placing it into a bucket of aquarium water for the next couple of days to ensure any residues and whatnot come off.

I can't wait to put it into my tank! *banana dance

Here's some pictures of the completed cave (sorry I didn't take any while I was constructing it) *sh

 

[snail]

I really like the natural look of that. Thanks for sharing.

 

[RyLuci1021]

well.... after reading this thread again yesterday, I was motivated to try my hand in this. I grabbed a chunk of styrofoam that was in a box in my garage that originally held a lamp and I started cutting. I have alot of shape to it so far, and once I figure out how to post pics on here I will.

 

[RyLuci1021]

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here is what it looked like when it started with a little bit of trimming.


Here is what it looks like as of now. I still have some more shaping that I want to do to it.


Here is an underside shot showing what the inside looks like.

Questions? Comments?

 

[toommm]

That looks really awesome! I like how the styrofoam allowed you to shape the cave however you liked. I do have 2 questions though: How do you plan anchoring the cave down so it doesn't float? Also, do you plan on painting it or covering it at all?

 

[RyLuci1021]

I have done some more shaping to it since I posted those pics. I will probably be covering it with some sort of grout or cement and then sealing it. To weigh it down, I will add rocks to the top, or add some sort of weight to the inside. There is a pocket inside that I should be able to add something to it.

 

[RyLuci1021]

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Done Forming...... now on to the coating and sealing......once I get the stuff.