DIY- Caves and Hide outs

[Raven]

I know i can make caves from coconuts, but i don't think that would be too good for my cichlid tank. Right now ive also $100 worth the decorations so i think ive spent enough. The only problem is, i still dont think it will provid enough(in number and in size) hiding places. So i turn to you, the local expects, to help my finish off the set up for my tank, and create some final hide outs.

[Ryan]

I have seen these ceramic caves somebody home makes for certain cichlids o=i will find you the url for it. They seem like cool little caves.

[Vallisneria]

In my african tank i used ABS pipes to build caves and hide outs and then placed my rocks ontop of these to cover the pipes. You could just build the caves out of rocks but i was worried about them being stable enough with the cichlids digging. With the pipes i dont' have to worry about the caes collapsing either and it means less rocks in the tank which equals less weight.

I also used to have ABS pipes that i covered in silicon and rolled in gravel. They looked ok but i used them more for smaller fish in my other tanks.

I remember seeing tons of links about making DIY caves, I'll see if i can find them.

[Vallisneria]

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/diy_list.php

Here is the link to the DIY articles. Scroll down to "aquascaping"

[Raven]

Thanks, the ideas are really nice. Is there anymore DIY projects i could do?

[Vallisneria]

DIY ideas for aquascaping or just for aquariums/fishkeeping in gengeral?

FOr another cheap decoration/cave i use terracotta pots. I cut them in half and use them as caves.

[Molino]

Degrassi already mentionned Terra Cota pots. They work great if you don't want to spend much or put in too much effort.

I set mine up a little differently than Degrassi. I just try and break off the bottom (without breaking the entire pot <--that's the hardest part) and the fish have something they can swim into, through and relax in.

I've also made a coconut cave for one of my other tanks. It looks very nice overgrown with Java Moss.

Edited September 1, 2004 by Molino

[Raven]

Lol, know i wish i knew people that liked coconuts, so the milk and meat wont be waisted, and that i could get my hands on some java moss. I think it be great from the cichlids, wont it?

[Molino]

Once you take out the meat and just the coconut shell is left I don't see why it would hurt your fish. It should be similar to any driftwood you put in the tank, and it's so small it shouldn't have much effect on the ph. I boiled the coconut shell for awhile just to be sure anything living in it was dead. I also took off most of the "hair" on the outside, but left some for texture so the plants could grab hold.

If you do try this out, they look much better in planted tanks when they are overgrown and covered in Java Moss. With no plants on them they look out of place.

I don't like coconuts either, so the milk and meat went to waste in my case :blink:

Edited September 2, 2004 by Molino

[Smokey]

A thought from the past. the fellow who first bred the zebra pleco used hex shaped teracotta pipe. they were about 6 - 8 '' long and 3'' in dia.[ If I remeber that far back].

I can not recall where he got them from [ local big box hardware store ??].

[Raven]

Out of all your guys experience, are the pipes that you used always plastic? Im thinking of heading to a home depot soon, once i get my mom to send the tank i need to my dads house. With peacocks and yellow labs what size would i need? How much would it cost, with a tube of aquarium safe silicon?

[Vallisneria]

I use black ABS pipes(like PVC pipes but black, not white). They are found in the plumbing department. You can get them in pretty much any size(1",2",3" etc). I bought 4" pipe for my 90g african tank. I used large rocks and felt the 4" pipe worked better with them. Price really depends on whether you use straight pipes or the bendy connector pipes. I used some corner pipes and connector pieces so each piece of pipe was a couple dollars(but this was for large 4" pipe). You can get the straight tubing pretty cheap.

Not sure how much silicon costs as i havent bought it in a long time. Jsut make sure you buy aquarium safe stuff. You can't jsut use any kind.

What are you planning on siliconning? Are you making a pipe and gravel cave?

[RD.]

Although many people have used ABS pipe in their tanks, PVC is safer long term. ABS is used for waster water so the regs are rather loose as far as the chemical composition.

PVC - Poly Vinyl Chloride (comes in grey or white)

ABS - Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene

PVC is used for cold water supply, and CPVC for hot water. ABS is used for drainage so there are no restrictions on the toxicity of the chemicals added to it. You might want to keep that in mind before you add any ABS to your tank, especially if you have chloramine in your tap water, as it tends to break plastic down over time.

The Mbuna will use the caves (and 2" should be plenty big enough) but most peacocks won't. With the exception of A. jacobfreibergi the majority of haps/peacocks are open water fish, not cave dwellers.

You can get various designs such as a --< joint, and then cover the pipe with rocks. It looks natural, but offers a sturdy cave for the fish to pass through. You'd be amazed at how small of a space these fish can swim through. If you want caves that the females can use to get away from aggressive males, just use smaller diameter PVC. Some people use them just for the females, and when the females are holding they simply lift the cave out with their hands covering each end of the cave.

[Vallisneria]

Here are a few threads about ABS

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showt...5&highlight=ABS

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showt...7&highlight=ABS

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showt...1&highlight=ABS

I have had it in my tank for 3 years+ now and haven't seen any problems with it poisonning my fish. And lots of other people on that forum use it. I'm not really sure on how "scientifically safe" it is but i jsut know that i've used it without problems. I never could find any articles stating it was unsafe to use.

Not really wanting to start an argument about the safety of ABS, just though i woudl post the other side.

[RD.]

Oh c'mon Valerie, let's have our first little board spat.

To be honest, I have no idea if all ABS plastic is made from the same ingredients, or if the US/Canada regulations vary? Not knowing the long term affects of ABS and chloramine treated water, I prefer to error on the side of caution & use pipe I know I can drink from, and not pipe I use to pee down. :P