Homemade Leaf Hammocks

[Sherleelee]

I LOVE THIS IDEA! its weird cause i was talking to my husband today about wanting to post on here about the leaf hammocks cause i saw it mentioned on a thread :) Ill def be making some of my own awsome awsome AWSOME!

[kpullen89]

Goomba - I have a leaf hammock in the middle section, I just suctioned it to the back of the tank instead of the side.

Sherlee - Can't wait to see what kind of leaf hammocks you make! :)

[Goomba3]

I was considering that, but that's where my filter is, and the hammock won't fit. I'm sure the suction cup will suck to the plastic.

[wallywestisthebest333]

Originally Posted by Goomba3

I was considering that, but that's where my filter is, and the hammock won't fit. I'm sure the suction cup will suck to the plastic.

There's always the front. ;] I don't think a suction cup will suction to a divider. It'll only suction to solid flat surfaces. It has to create a vacuum seal (that's how suction cups work) and it won't do that if air or water can escape through a perforated back. =]

[Goomba3]

My dividers are made of hard, thick plastic, no perforations. There are holes drilled into them for water flow, but enough room between them for one of those cups to stick to it. The plastic is slick, sort of like plexiglass but much cheaper, haha.

[kpullen89]

That would work then I think. I was thinking of mesh dividers, which would not work.

[leeb62]

Very nice setup. I'm going to copy you and use those plants for my betta since my male likes building his nest on plants only.

[turtle10]

I will definitely be doing this! I have a bunch of extra suction cups at my house. One question, are the fake plants at Michael's safe to use? Michaels is a craft store, it may just be in Texas. So are craft-store plastic and silk plants safe to use in water?

[kpullen89]

As long as the plants don't have metal in them, I think they're safe to use. Just make sure the leaves are plain (no glitter, fake rain drops, sequence, etc.). So far I haven't had any trouble with craft store/walmart leaves.

But just to be safe, I also soaked my leaves in a clear container for a while to see if the colors bled and they didn't. If you soak the leaves and see any color change in the water than I wouldn't use them.

[wallywestisthebest333]

Originally Posted by turtle10

I will definitely be doing this! I have a bunch of extra suction cups at my house. One question, are the fake plants at Michael's safe to use? Michaels is a craft store, it may just be in Texas. So are craft-store plastic and silk plants safe to use in water?

Michael's is a national chain I think (it's here in VA) so no worries on that front. =]

As for the safety of the plants like KP said you don't want any of the obvious things like glitter and fake rain and stuff.

Soaking helps too.

Another great way to make sure is to boil your leaves first. I got some fake flowers from Dollar Tree back in summer that I thought I'd use for my boys (I'm not going to anymore though. Too random in a natural tank! :'D) and I boiled them twice then soaked them for days to make sure that they wouldn't leech dyes and were safe. =] No dye leeched so I was good. =]

Hope this helps some. =]