Any ideas for DIY decor for a 55 gal tank?

[Bubba27350]

I'm wanting to put a bit more decoration in my tank, right now all I have is a few fake plants and a couple bubblers. There are a ton of fish decorations out there but I'd much rather make my own (really make it my tank). Any suggestions?

 

[ocean]

Rocks, they can be stacked or siliconed to make caves, shells, coconut caves flower pots. Wood depending on what kind. Google 'home made aquarium decor'.

 

[bmckee727]

What kind of fish are you keeping in it?

 

[PolyptRus]

I am going to try to sculpt a figure i want in clay and make a rubber mold out of it and pour silicone in the mold. I seen it online and thought it looked fairly easy

 

[Bubba27350]

I have a freshwater tank, with gouramis, tetras, mollies, and loaches. I thought about stacking some big stones for it but I'm lost on what's fish friendly.

 

[PolyptRus]

I have a freshwater tank, with gouramis, tetras, mollies, and loaches. I thought about stacking some big stones for it but I'm lost on what's fish friendly.

You can always do a Styrofoam rock formation of you look it up online you can get some ideas on how to do it. But if you want to go with real rocks you can always go outside and pick a few off the ground that's what i do. All you gotta do is wash them in some hot water i usually scrub them with some vinegar and a tooth brush too. To be safe don't pick up any from the side of the road or near train tracks they might have some nasty stuff on them that would be really hard to get off. Also make sure the rocks you choose won't start to disintegrate in water. You can always test this out by leaving them in a bucket of water for a few days or a week. If you can find granite or quartz they work well

 

[Mebbid]

I found slate to be a fun rock to work with. You can buy nice sized tiles from home depot for a few dollars a piece. Other than that you can use pretty much any rock, just give them a good scrub down, boil, and do a vinegar test on it to see if it bubbles or not.

Some of my favorite rocks to use are Lace rocks They stack really well and are easy to make some really nice looking caves. Here is a pic of my 55g with about 65 lbs of lace rock.

 

[PolyptRus]

I found slate to be a fun rock to work with. You can buy nice sized tiles from home depot for a few dollars a piece. Other than that you can use pretty much any rock, just give them a good scrub down, boil, and do a vinegar test on it to see if it bubbles or not.

Some of my favorite rocks to use are Lace rocks They stack really well and are easy to make some really nice looking caves. Here is a pic of my 55g with about 65 lbs of lace rock.

So that's what this kind of rock is called i might be wrong. But It looks just like the stuff i find down at the beach its kinda whiteish and has little holes all in it kinda like lava rock.
The beach by my house has some pretty unique rocks piled all the way around the shore line apparently they got pushed there from a glacier many many years ago. There are even some that are green like jade, maybe they are jade :s haha i don't know but its pretty cool to look at all the different rocks.

 

[Bubba27350]

Yeah the rock I have at home are granite I think their the ones you piece together to make a walkway

 

[PolyptRus]

Yeah the rock I have at home are granite I think their the ones you piece together to make a walkway

I won't say this is advice but i had a peice of granite that was too big and to make it smaller i smashed it on a big rock by throwing it... Although i don't recommend that to anyone haha

 

[Bubba27350]

Should I glue them together or would just stacking them be ok?

 

[Mebbid]

If you can't stack them securely then by all means glue them. The lace rock I used in my mbuna aquarium I managed to stack together securely and it hasn't had a problem for a few months now. The slate I used had to be glued together for them to work. Just push it lightly in every direction and see if it moves or not.

 

[PolyptRus]

Should I glue them together or would just stacking them be ok?

You could use glue or silicone if you want i have always just stacked them