Building A Cave

[smokeyjo]

This may sound a bit stupid but I want to build a cave in my tank and I was thinking would some rocks from my local river be ok to go in there and would I have to clean them etc?

 

[Juggler75]

Most of them will be ok but some may change your water (look for things like fools gold or other deposits that could poison your fish and are a definate no no). You could test for those which would be safe for some aquariums but they would harden the water (limestone etc)by dripping acid on them (vinegar) and see if they bubble.

When you are happy they would be safe then pour boiling water on them and give them a scrub.

All you'd have to worry about then is them falling on the fish (or the glass) if the cave collapses.

 

[smokeyjo]

Oh yeah didn't think of them changing the water ill check them for that how could I secure them so they don't fall over ? Thanks for the quick reply

 

[Juggler75]

some people rely on sturdy structures (but even the best constructed caves can get demolished by certain big fish), others use aquarium silicone or even super glue. Super glue or super glue gel needs to be 100% cryanaclytate (spelling?) to be sure of being aquarium safe as far as I know.

 

[Clown23]

To keep your cave secure you can use a sealant for your stones but this can be hard to get a good effect, while staying strong for some time, what you can do is use a clean tupperware tub and cut any enterances that you want and then simply stack the stones on it, around it and stick them on, that way they will have something to stick to and will never fall on your fish. If you do it right it can look really natural, you can also use pipes from the plumbing dept at b&q etc.

 

[smokeyjo]

Ok thanks I think ill try the tuperware tub because I preferably don't want to put sealants in the I want a natural looking set up so I think it could be difficult if I use them but if I'm having problems getting them to stay together ill try the superglue thanks guys