I've heard that terracotta pots make good caves for fish and was wondering is it safe to go down to lowes and buy some and put them in the aquarium?
Question about terracotta pots in aquarium
- Thread starter moogle
- Start date
Ive never heard of any mishaps with terracotta pots, seen them around quite abit in tanks. Just make sure you give them a really good washing to get all proctus tags and stickers off and to make sure theres no dust or any other harful drit or stuff on it. On another note, and a cheaper one!, you can get alot more creative using rocks that ya find outside, there free... of course they still need to be throughly washed before adding them to your aquarium, but they will give the tank a more realistic look and the cichlids will feel more at home. Good luck!
yep thats what i did after washing them. some of them i hit the bottom out so they could swim though. i sanded it down it get everything smooth.
I have plenty of rocks in my backyard but my house is new and with all the chemical and others things that were used on and around my house I decided I didn't want to risk that I had heard however boiling them would make them safe for aquarium use and I did boil some rocks but I didn't have the guts to put them in was to afraid of killing my poor fish.And with as expensive as rocks are at the pet store here(3 something a pound)I decided to forget it.But if there is some sure way to make the rocks safe please let me know
I can;t see you running into any trouble when boiling them, but I do see your hesitation and do not blame you at all. I guess I take living right on the ocean for granted sometimes... just being able to take a 5 minute drive and have hundreds of thousands of rocks there at my disposal. Another option that is quite good and fun to do is building cave structures with PVC pipe. I have a thread poseted with the first one I even finished earlier today actually. I just used a regular single t-joint pvc pipe, but you can find alot of interesting ideas online.
Thread of my project:
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=110559
Cool DIY PVC tower project:
http://www.petfish.net/articles/Do-I...nstuctions.php
Lots of other ideas to by searching DIY PVC Caves in any search engine, if you chose to go this route just look at the examples online and then make your own custom creation. A very prideful experience.
Thread of my project:
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=110559
Cool DIY PVC tower project:
http://www.petfish.net/articles/Do-I...nstuctions.php
Lots of other ideas to by searching DIY PVC Caves in any search engine, if you chose to go this route just look at the examples online and then make your own custom creation. A very prideful experience.
Sorry for the dead link, here is the real one
PVC Tower Project
http://www.petfish.net/articles/Do-It-Yourself/PVC_cave_tower_instuctions.php
Also found this cool Terracotta tunnel system that someone made that may be of interest to you:
http://www.petfish.net/articles/Do-It-Yourself/Cichlid_Condo_Tower.php
PVC Tower Project
http://www.petfish.net/articles/Do-It-Yourself/PVC_cave_tower_instuctions.php
Also found this cool Terracotta tunnel system that someone made that may be of interest to you:
http://www.petfish.net/articles/Do-It-Yourself/Cichlid_Condo_Tower.php
Hey Moogle,
I have used taracotta pots in several tanks for many years. All I would suggest is soaking them in water, after you remove the sticker, (pitcher works well for me) for a few days. I added water conditioner, that may be overkill? Another suggestion...if you plan on nocking holes on one or both sides. Make sure you soak them first and I have found that a more blunted object works best. You will need some what of a point but if you use something sharp like a screwdriver or ice pick they tend to crack the pot. Just recently I used a river stone that came to a rounded point to get through and then a tapered metal file to make the holes the size I wanted.
I have used taracotta pots in several tanks for many years. All I would suggest is soaking them in water, after you remove the sticker, (pitcher works well for me) for a few days. I added water conditioner, that may be overkill? Another suggestion...if you plan on nocking holes on one or both sides. Make sure you soak them first and I have found that a more blunted object works best. You will need some what of a point but if you use something sharp like a screwdriver or ice pick they tend to crack the pot. Just recently I used a river stone that came to a rounded point to get through and then a tapered metal file to make the holes the size I wanted.
