Page 1 of 1

pipe caves ???

Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2005 8:38 pm
by jacew
can anyone help???
ide like to make a few additional hiding places for my pleco's
L75 /L134/ L201/ L37 / Bristlenose and of corse my zebs.
does anyone use or does anyone know if it would be possible to put in plastic 1 1/2 " waste pipes into the water without it leeching chemicals into the tank water ?? if so could they be considered as spawning caves. :oops: i just thought id ask. i really dont know.

thanks in advance for the info
cheers john

PVC

Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2005 9:45 pm
by alga
If you are using PVC that is used for potable water you will be fine. I would also consider 1 1/4 inch and 1 inch PVC and let the fish make a choice. Also buy the caps for the ends to make them true caves and not tunnels if that was not already what you were going to do. Just find a way to stop them from rolling around the tank. :lol:

Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2005 12:41 pm
by Plastic Mac
Any plastic used in a tank should be soaked for an hour or so to allow any chemicals to leach out, even if it's pvc piping used for water.
better to be safe than sorry.

Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2005 7:35 pm
by hamish99
i made these a few month back, my queens love them

Image

Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2005 7:59 pm
by jacew
thats great hamish / cool whats it made of??

Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2005 8:36 pm
by hamish99
its made from a big chunk of slate from homebase drilled out with a coredrill, i havent had time to make any for the zebs yet so i dont if the will like them or no

Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2005 8:52 pm
by jacew
thought it looked like slate, but wasnt sure because the holes are so round. errmmm got a core drill :)

Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2005 9:49 pm
by hamish99
i thought about making some to sell but the one you can see would be a bit heavy to be sent through the post

Posted: Tue Oct 04, 2005 5:32 am
by NetsuaiAngel
I currently have black plumbing pvc in my tank. I used safety zip ties and window screen material to make backs for the caves. I cut the ends of the zip ties and tipped the ends with aquarium silicone. A thin layer of silicone was used on the edges of the window screen material to secure it to the pvc. Be sure to allow 48 hours to let the aqurium silicone fully dry and release all chemicals.

So far during the cycling of my tank, I have not lost any fish. I'll let you know if my zebra will like the caves or not once the tank is cycled.

Posted: Tue Oct 04, 2005 8:17 pm
by jacew
many thx
cheers