glass and crockery aquascaping?

Linden

Linden

A box of animals way off the ground
Jun 11, 2006
81
0
6
Minneapolis
I am converting my basic 4-foot long, 55-gallon to cichlids. Thanks to the advice I got here, I will be going with smaller Lake Mbuna fish (http://cichlid-forum.com/articles/cookie_cutter_55g.php)

Here is my plan:
Step 0: Get you folks to recommend a good book on cichlids (that's for another post)
Step 1: Set up fast, cheap, not so pretty, "rock" work - no PVC.
Step 2: Get the fish and see how they do
Step 3: No matter how the fish do, eventually create gorgeous rock work, since I love the idea of it.

So, I am planning step 1. PVC would be good "fast, cheap, not so pretty," but I don't have a power saw to cut the stuff. I DO have access to lots of glass tumblers, bottles etc and a I can get a bottle cutter cheap. I was thinking of coating the glass things with silicone, pressing on gravel and assembling them into structures. I would coat any sharp edges with silicone blobs.

Here are some questions:
1. Does anyone know of any problems with bad stuff leaching out of glass?
2. What about crockery like coffee mugs?
3. Since I haven't read a book yet, should I be aiming to make caves or tunnels?
4. Is there a cheap equivalent to the $2.30 per ounce Aquarium Silicone I just bought at PetsMart?
 
Oh yeah! I love mbuna tanks! Just a word of advice though, don't follow those cookie cutters. They are usually off. The mbuna ones aren't too bad but I think you can do better.

Anyway, for cheap rock be sure to check landscaping places. They usually have rock pretty cheap. Places like Home depot or lowes can provide you with the silicone. Just make sure it's 100% silicone with no additives or anti mildew stuff.

Glass should be fine in the tank. I'm not sure about the mugs but I would assume anything that is food grade would be fine in a fish tank.

Mbuna like nooks and crannies. Just stack stuff and they will make use of it.
 
IMHO the fish are going to do much better with the rockwork right away. They'll need all the nooks and crannies possible.

To answer one question though many people use either the GE 1 or DAP silicone. As long as it's 100% silicone it should be safe. Just make sure there are no anti-mold/mildew chemicals.
 
Thanks for the quick replies.
--I assumed that I would have to investigate the safety of any landscaping rock, and I didn't want to take the time and the trips to the stores to do that. Maybe I will just buy a bunch of cheap landscaping rock, assuming there is such a thing (I live in an apartment so I have no clue) and pile it up in the middle to start with. I hate shopping. Especially for rocks.
--I really appreciate the silicone advice!
 
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