[Shirleythebetta]

Okay here's the latest creation. Me and my husband made this together out of aquarium sealant, PVC pipe and aquarium gravel that matches the kind I have in my aquarium, It's a low cave which I though a cory cat would probably love. What to you guys think and how can I improve on this in your opinion? I have another one that I am going to make that I want to stick plants in. It has pre-drilled holes I can put a fake plant in and my hubby had the idea of making a bigger one for bigger tanks and partly covering it with moss.

 

[Shirleythebetta]

forgot the pics ooops.

 

[Shirleythebetta]

here it is in a tank. I need to figure a way to better cover the white.

 

[sparkyjoe]

That is BRILLIANT!

I'm setting up a new 5 gallon and am struggling to find a "cave" that I like, that "betta safe", and that won't dominate the take and drastically reduce swimming area or displace large amounts or water.

I was gonna head up to Petsmart, maybe I'll look at picking up some smooth gravel to try something like this.

 

[Shirleythebetta]

totally, the sealant was 6.50 at petsmart. the PVC was a free new piece the plumbers left behind when they re routed my sewage and the gravel was smooth brown gravel that was in I think a 5 pound bag. I took it out of my aquarium that is a bit down right now (only has two fish) and made that cave out of that. You have to let the cave dry for 24 to 48 hours and rinse it real good before adding it to the aquarium. Oh and make sure you rough up the PVC (sand it) so the gravel and silicone stick better to the surface, no gloss. start at the top in the middle so it looks more natural as you head downward. Glad you liked it. I thought it was fun to make and I am going to have neat looking caves for cheap! No one hardly makes handmade stuff. One of the things I liked was it was more natural and not so obvious looking.

 

[Shirleythebetta]

OH! I just saw you are in central ohio too! even better. Then the price I gave you on the aquarium sealant will be about the same .

 

[sparkyjoe]

Heck, I was thinking of just using the pvc pipe!

I dunno that I'll be industrious enough to do this right now, but someday.

 

[Shirleythebetta]

You could do it. The cave is PVC cut in half and it about 5 inches maybe 6 inches long. with a couple holes drilled in the top It took me a couple of hours after dinner. Totally easy. Oh and I think the pipe was 6 inches wide? I'm a total girl at times and stink at measurements. Still have no clue as to how I passed a college math class *scratches head* I think max time was probably... 2 or 3 hours for the rocks and hubby took maybe ten minutes or so to cut the PVC in half and add the holes and rough it up. You could do just PVC. A lot of people on here use it.

 

[ZergyMonster]

I see the holes but I was thinking you drilled like 1-2 inch holes in there so that there are more access points for fish to go in and out. Either way, it is pretty cool, I was thinking about doing something similar with terracotta pots but they are impossible to drill through(makes a loud shrieking sound). Maybe you can get some moss to grow on it if you ever decide to get real plants in there.

 

[Shirleythebetta]

I want to do real plants hopefully this summer. I am setting up a 29 gallon and after I get that set up I am thinking about practicing my hand at real plants in that tank pictured above. I don't know why but real plants make me nervous. Thanks for the idea. That would be neat. Taking a bigger piece of PVC and drilling larger holes *writes that down* I don't like the shrieking sound either. Maybe you could get creative with PVC or something and see if you could come up with your idea with the larger holes? That would be neat. Like a bettafish.com collaboration. Thanks ZergyMonster for your input and that idea. Any ideas on how to better cover the white without piling a ton of rocks? Maybe a layer of sand on the silicone first then the rocks? hmmm....

 

[ZergyMonster]

You can always try to use a lighter gravel to cover up the white so that it looks like it is part of it rather than what it is sitting on. I will probably be doing something more vertical for my tank because I have a lot of short plants and I would like something to be higher in the tank.

 

[Shirleythebetta]

Hmm okay, I am going shopping this weekend at the fish store so I will check that out. Thanks again. It would be neat to make a tube with the holes you were talking about with the gravel cover and the tiny holes to add plants. Cover the top of the tube with plexiglass and then the stones or something.... Your sparking my mind a little

 

[sparkyjoe]

Hey, do you think this would cave idea would work with one of those PVC elbows?

I was thinking it would be nice to have something in the corner, maybe drill some wholes in it and try to grown some moss over the top.

 

[Shirleythebetta]

Oh yea, that would totally work I think. It would be nice to because it wouldn't have to be in the middle of the tank like other caves. The moss is nice too, Hubby really wants to try that I think. Oh, our drill sucks and the bits were long and skinny so he had to go slow when he drilled the holes. Just something to be cautious about for safty reasons.