DIY Rock caves

[Dragonmommy]

OK here is my idea, i would like to know if its possible.

For my Lake malawi tank I wanted to make lots of rock formations, but large rocks are hard to come by around here. I have tons of smallish river rocks (3 inch diameter). Now I know I could just stack them up in the tank to make caves, call me crazy but I worry about fishie cave-ins.

Is it possible and safe for me to construct caves and stick them together with silicone? I know silicone is soft but my idea is just to stick them together not to make them rock solid.

If I can do this, how long will my "creation" need to cure before I can stick it in the tank? And besides washing the rocks do i need to do anything special to them before adding to the tank? I know from pondkeeping that limestone is a bad type of rock to use (and ironically the one rock I have an unlimited supply of) are there any other rock types I should avoid?

 

[Dragonmommy]

Yay I found some nice river rock, flat, perfect to make caves from. My landlady gave them to me! So can I "glue" them with silicone?

 

[Todd2]

Yes that would work just make sure its non-toxic aquarium silicone.

Another method is to get some PVC pipe or rain gutter and silicone rocks to that. Check out www.cichlid-forum.com in the articles section there's an article on how to do that.
You can also use terracotta pots found at your local gardening store.

I'd let it cure for 24-48 hours. Just the follow the instructions on the tube and you should be fine.

 

[Dragonmommy]

thank you