DIY Rock Cave help...

[BigAds]

I picked up ~15lbs. of red slate today and want to build a cave for my cories to hide in and my angels to be able to claim the top of if they give any eggs... I've made sure to clean the rock well and have some safe silicone to bond the rocks together, but I'm worried about having the rocks pushing down right on the glass bottom of the aquarium (assuming it will settle down through the gravel over time). Can I simply put a thin layer of silicone all across the bottom edges, can I bond rubber or foam to the bottom? And finally, how can I color whatever I put on the bottom of the rocks to match the rocks themselves, or at least blend in with the natural colored gravel I have?

Thanks for any help or suggestions you can give.

 

[ibr3ak]

15 pounds is not alot, most new glass tanks have a tempered bottom which is hard to break.

If you're still feeling uneasy you could take a piece of flat slate and stick the cave on top of it and let it sit on the bottom, you could also use styrofoam or what most people use who have alot of rockwork in their tank an eggcrate, you'll only need a small peice for the cave to sit on rather than cutting it to fit the entire tank bottom.

Either way though I wouldn't worry about it, your tank can handle alot more weight.

How big is it?

 

[BoredAgain]

:iagree:

 

[BigAds]

I'm currently working on a 36 gallon bow front (already showing signs of MTS) and the cave should end up about 8"wide 6"tall 6"deep, and I'm planning on putting the cave near a back corner. I know that at least the front glass is tempered, but haven't seen or read anything if the bottom is... it is a brand new tank. Either way, I'm not really worried about the tank not handling the weight, I just want to make sure and protect from scratching the glass and the like. I think I'll check into the eggcrate after work today.

If I can only find white eggcrate, how can I color it grey/black or brown to blend in with my gravel?

Also, I'm seeing some places saying that eggcrate comes in styrene and acrylic... are both safe or is one a better choice?

thanks.

 

[ibr3ak]

Your bottom is tempered as well, any reason why you'd want to protect the bottom from scratching? Unless you're using it as a bare bottom noone will ever see the scratches

I use eggcrate that I cut to fit the entire bottom of my tank and even though it was white and my substrate is white I never see it pop out through the substrate, even with cichlids who dig ALOT.

Theoretically you could just get a can of Krylon Fusion (you can find it in any auto body part shop, I know for sure Strauss Auto and Autozone has them in different colors) and spray the eggcrate if you can only get it in white.

And yea I don't see any problem with using either styrene (since they make plastic kiddy aquariums out of it and plastic kitchenware) or acrylic which is also safe to use in aquariums.