I found the perfect thing for covering up those holes and weird spots after finding my bulldog pleco happily munching away on the inside of my filter.
It's called plastic canvas, you can get it in any craft store. It's a plastic sheet that has a whole bunch of holes in it to form a grid. It cuts easily and is fairly flexible. I made a filter opening guard, for the intake when I had to take it off to hatch the cory eggs that were attatched to it, I used fishing line to sew it. The other guard is slotted into the opening of the overflow on the filter, it's an open mesh so the water flows through it and the bulldog doesn't. I also used it to cover up the gaps around the top of the heater where it hangs over the edge. I'm using the rest of the 12x14 inch sheet to make some cory hides for the tank, you can also use aquarium sealant to build with it. If it's cut right, you don't have to weight it, it just slides into place and kind of locks onto the edge of the filter. I'll see if I can get a decent picture of the hides when they are done. It's an inert plastic and doesn't harm the fish or the water quality at all, I did rinse it well before using it though.
Nikki
