I glued my caves in sections like you mentioned. That worked well and it still allows for a little flexibility. I especially avoided permanently gluing anything that would fix the width of the cave opening. I don't how big my fish will actually get or what fish I may have in the future. In the beginning I just used rubber bands to hold everything together for a trial period. I'm glad I did because even after lots of planning and prep, I still made big changes to the configuration.
I mentioned the glass getting scratched because it is *real* easy to scratch the glass just moving the pieces in or out of the tank. My caves are fine sitting still, but it was easy to sway my hand a bit lifting the heavy slate and accidently brush the glass. I haven't scratched anything visible yet. Just an FYI.
Why not wrap some fine netting around the intake itself whenever you have fry rather than dealing with the mesh?
Putting the hammer to the edges wasn't too bad....it was gratifying to whack away at some rocks with a big hammer. LOL
Zambize
Decorating 120g Tank
15 posts • Page 2 of 2
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faile486 - Posts: 65
- Joined: Sat Jun 28, 2008 7:20 pm
Yeah, netting over the intake would work...I was kind of concerned about them getting sucked onto it though. I've heard that weaker fish can get pulled onto the intake and hurt themselves (plus get stressed) trying to get away. I figured blocking off a small area would prevent anything like that. I'm never having kids, so I *really* want to take good care of the fish ^.^
I can see what you mean about scratching...although so far none of the rocks I've split have been too sharp - I had a worse time setting up my python cleaning system than doing anything with the slate >.> It's taking a LOT more work than I thought it would though...and on a smaller scale I'm liking the idea I had, but I think it's going to take WAY to much work to make a wall of this stuff for a 120g....I think I've got enough split to make a nice backdrop for my 20g.
I'm going to see if home depot will take back the extra. I doubt my husband will be pleased. I might be appreciating our new couch for a bit lol
I can see what you mean about scratching...although so far none of the rocks I've split have been too sharp - I had a worse time setting up my python cleaning system than doing anything with the slate >.> It's taking a LOT more work than I thought it would though...and on a smaller scale I'm liking the idea I had, but I think it's going to take WAY to much work to make a wall of this stuff for a 120g....I think I've got enough split to make a nice backdrop for my 20g.
I'm going to see if home depot will take back the extra. I doubt my husband will be pleased. I might be appreciating our new couch for a bit lol
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faile486 - Posts: 65
- Joined: Sat Jun 28, 2008 7:20 pm
I found a picture!! This is kind of what I was going for:
http://s349.photobucket.com/albums/q399 ... nBeige.jpg
I wanted something like that all over the back, with caves built in random areas. They would just protrude a bit more at the top/bottom than the rest of the wall. I think this will be fine for the small neons and pleco that I have in the 20g, as they won't grow much more and I can approximate the final size of the caves. Neons shouldn't really need the caves, but it might be helpful for keeping fry around, and it should look nice.
After thinking about it a bit more, I don't think that'd work well for cichlids, since they'll grow quite a bit after I get them and I wouldn't know the final size the caves would need to be.
http://s349.photobucket.com/albums/q399 ... nBeige.jpg
I wanted something like that all over the back, with caves built in random areas. They would just protrude a bit more at the top/bottom than the rest of the wall. I think this will be fine for the small neons and pleco that I have in the 20g, as they won't grow much more and I can approximate the final size of the caves. Neons shouldn't really need the caves, but it might be helpful for keeping fry around, and it should look nice.
After thinking about it a bit more, I don't think that'd work well for cichlids, since they'll grow quite a bit after I get them and I wouldn't know the final size the caves would need to be.
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Zambize4899 - Posts: 499
- Joined: Sun Feb 24, 2008 4:35 am
Aw, don't take the slate back! I had a bunch left over, too, but I kept it and it was only about a month and it was all used as I kept "enhancing" my design.
I don't know a lot about fry, but the ones I've had all preferred the surface. I guess it's nearer potential food. I put a large floater plant in and the fry were quite good about staying in it until they were large enough to venture out.
The mesh...I bought a very small fish net and cut the mesh part out. I attached it to the intake with a wide rubber band. Worked beautifully, I never found a fry, or other fish, anywhere near it.
However, I bought a mesh divider once to separate some fish and it was impossible. There was absolutely no way to firmly secure the divider against opposite sides of the tank such that a fish couldn't wiggle between the divider and the glass somewhere. These weren't tiny fish, and I tried really hard. Maybe it was just me.... LOL
Zambize
I don't know a lot about fry, but the ones I've had all preferred the surface. I guess it's nearer potential food. I put a large floater plant in and the fry were quite good about staying in it until they were large enough to venture out.
The mesh...I bought a very small fish net and cut the mesh part out. I attached it to the intake with a wide rubber band. Worked beautifully, I never found a fry, or other fish, anywhere near it.
However, I bought a mesh divider once to separate some fish and it was impossible. There was absolutely no way to firmly secure the divider against opposite sides of the tank such that a fish couldn't wiggle between the divider and the glass somewhere. These weren't tiny fish, and I tried really hard. Maybe it was just me.... LOL
Zambize
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faile486 - Posts: 65
- Joined: Sat Jun 28, 2008 7:20 pm
I've heard of people getting plastic school binders with the flimsy plastic covers and the seperate plastic spine thingy and then using silicon to secure the spines on opposite sides of the tank to hold plastic mesh in place. If the fish are large, you might need to use something to glue the mesh to the spines, or it might be knocked free.
