Is PVC safe?

[GouramiFanatic]

My poor Pleco is growing so fast that he seems to be cramped while he's 'hanging' out in his favorite hiding spot. I've been trying to think of something that I can make or something that I can bug relatively cheap that could be used as a good hiding spot for him. I'm not a big fan of the sunken ship/skull, etc. structures sold in stores so I'm trying to stay away from them. I work for an HVAC company so we have plenty of large PVC pieces in stock that I could us if it was safe to. Any other recommendations or ideas would be appreciated.

Thanks!
- Mandy

 

[flamingonhot]

yep it's safe.
you could also glue rocks together with aquarium sealant.

One time I made a cave out of gravel and used a hot glue gun. It took forever for a little one but kind of looked good.

 

[ChileRelleno]

Yep, perfectly safe, just rinse it well.
Slather the PVC with aquarium safe silicon and encrust with your tanks substrate, it'll look great and blend in almost invisibly.

 

[bosk1]

I would just get some fine sandpaper and make sure you lightly sand the edges if the pvc is cut so that there aren't any sharp edges.

Also, fyi since you are looking for alternate ideas, I have a small flower pot turned on its side in my tank. I'm planning on getting some small clown loaches and/or a pair of rams, and I anticipate either the loaches or the rams making it a home.

 

[DugOut]

I used 3" pvc pipe for my caves. I toke a jigsaw and cut a slit end to end down one side. Then I toke a heat gun that you can get at any major hardware store and heated up the opposite side of the pipe while slowly pulling apart at the slit. Pvc can be shaped in all sorts of ways with a heat gun. I even drupped the ends down so it wouldn't look so rounded.

 

[Tolak]

I use pvc instead of slate with my breeding pairs of angels. Never had a problem.

 

[Michael]

Have you considered a good size piece of driftwood?

 

[GouramiFanatic]

Thanks for the input! I think I'll give it a shot. I feel so bad looking at the Pleco all bent in the current cave.

I've thought about drift wood, but I'm not patient enough to get it soaked enough so that it won't float anymore. A friend of mine got a medium piece with the slate screwed at the bottom and after 3 weeks she took it out of the tank because it still floated to the top.

- Mandy

 

[bosk1]

I've thought about drift wood, but I'm not patient enough to get it soaked enough so that it won't float anymore. A friend of mine got a medium piece with the slate screwed at the bottom and after 3 weeks she took it out of the tank because it still floated to the top.

- Mandy

Depends where you get it, I guess. I found a nice looking piece I really liked yesterday. I was soaking it in a tub of freshly boiled water (to kill any creepy crawlies), and noticed it didn't appear to be very buoyant. After soaking it about an hour, I decided to try plopping it in the tank, and it sank.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

hi...

Making your own caves is a pretty good idea, but time consuming. I just started a project myself, building 2 caves for my 2 fire eels, which are getting big. The biggest is 10 inches and growing. These caves I'm building will be temporary, and when I get my 135/150G, will build even bigger caves for them. For my current caves, I went to Safeway and bought a couple Ziplock containers and using sealant to rock the sides of it. One will be rock, and the other I'm using pool filter sand, which is what my substrate is. Here's some pics of my progress.

 

[Garou]

flamingonhot, did you use standard hot glue gun glue sticks, or is there a special kind that you used? i've been looking to make a cave as well and if I could use those, it would safe me having to run to the LHS!

Thanks,

 

[Lonewolfblue]

For me, I'm just using Aquarium Safe Silicone which I got from the LFS.

 

[flamingonhot]

I just used regular glue sticks. Just make sure you get all the strings of and soak it a bit. I was told that if the little strings come off they can get into the fishes gills and harm them.

I glued each individual piece of gravel together. You can try what the other person did on the other page with the tupperware container. I tried but i Didn't get it to work. You could try silicone, might work but im not sure with plastic..... All I know is silicone does'nt work on acrylic.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

So far it's working great.

 

[Garou]

sweet, thanks. I have tons of gluesticks that need to be used! Now I have something to keep me occupied and my mind off nicotine (trying to quit smoking)