PVC tubing & sand caves/shelters for CPO's "how to" with pics

[jawasnack]

I didn't want just plain PVC pipe/tubing in my tanks, but I needed some caves/hiding spots for my CPO's as I plan to breed them. My solution was to cover the pvc tubing with 100% silicone and then roll them in sand. Pretty simple, and I think the photos explain what I did (note I scuffed up the pvc tubing with a file to give the silicone a roughed place to stick to, but it wasn't needed)

I put the sand (after I rinsed and dried it) on some wax paper on a cardboard box, then slipped my hand into a used fish bag from the pet store and applied a generous portion of silicone in my palm on top of the bag, rolled the pvc in the silicone till it was covered, then lightly rolled the pvc tube in the sand to get it coated, then I rolled it a few more times applying more pressure each time to make sure I got it covered.

I'll update this thread with some pics of them in the aquarium after they have had time for the silicone to fully cure... (24hrs)

 

[FINJOY]

HI JWASNACK, A WHILE BACK I HAD THE SAME IDEA EXCEPT ONE I COVERED WITH GRAVEL AND THE OTHER I LAID PIECES OF SLATE TO COVER THE PVC. THE BN's FAVORED THE SLATE, GO FIGURE...

 

[Inglorious]

I did something similar in my tank a while back too, and I agree that the caves look much better when covered with the sand then just the plain pvc, more natural. One extra step I took was to cut the pvc at an angle so the caves actually angled into the substrate as opposed to just sitting on top.

 

[drdud]

I would allow a longer cure time. I used PVC, GE Silicone 1 and rock and also siliconed more rocks together to make a cave. I placed them in a 10 gallon tank after a 24 hour cure and ended up with a total fish kill within 24 hours. Maybe a bigger tank would have diluted everything. Maybe my file had some other chemical on it.

If I were to do it again, I think I would allow a much longer cure time. Then, seal it up in a sealed container for a few days and perform a 'sniff' test to see if it smelled like 'solvent'. Then I would soak it in water for a while doing some water changes. Probably "WAY OVERKILL". I probably cross contaminated with something else. Anyway, my two cents worth.

(Just one more thing, the rock was small granite landscaping rocks purchased as a large bag. I had used these in various tanks before I siliconed them together. I don't think it was the rocks.)

 

[drdud]

BTW - the caves look great. Anxious to see what they look like in the aquarium.

 

[jawasnack]

ok, here's what they look like in the tank!

 

[Skillet_007]

I was actually going to do the same thing for my new shell dwellers except I was going to make a large chamber with a small entrance and bury the chamber part

 

[jillofalltrades]

Wow very neat looking, I was getting some items to get started on mine, where is the best and cheapest place to get the safe Silicone at? Cant wait to show off some of mine.

 

[hope4peace]

Wow very neat looking, I was getting some items to get started on mine, where is the best and cheapest place to get the safe Silicone at? Cant wait to show off some of mine.

My local walmart carries aquarium safe silicone for just a couple bucks a tube.

 

[spirofucci]

Wow! cool idea and looks great!