DIY Stone Cave

[Oscarr19]

I'm thinking of taking small pieces of slate and building a small cave for my rams and keyholes. All I would need is silicone to glue the pieces together right?

 

[jcolon]

Yep ... Aquarium safe silicone and some imagination. You can really get elaborate with caves, terraces, columns ... etc. Really does add to an aquarium!

 

[Oscarr19]

Ok i already have the silicone. I'm having trouble finding the right stones/slate though.

 

[jcolon]

Ok i already have the silicone. I'm having trouble finding the right stones/slate though.

Your best bet are landscaping stores .... I find two types of slate. The ones used to make roof tiles that are fairly thin and thicker slate that's used to make a slate fence or a walkway.

I lucked out an a neighbor across the street had extra he didn't need.

 

[Oscarr19]

I actually came across some good sized rocks outside. If I were to boil them for 5min each would they be ok for my tank?

 

[adadkins1]

I think they should be okay as long as you boil/bake them in order to kill any unwanted pathogens.

 

[Tracie6283]

We used rocks from our yard. Baking doesn't do much, so I've heard, but boil and do the vinegar test and you should be ok. That's what we did and everyone is happy actually have my first holding female!

 

[Oscarr19]

They are currently soaking in a bucket. I can't really boil now since my mom is cooking but once boiled i'll start siliconing some together and i'll post some pictures. I kind of have an idea of what i want to do.

 

[Sssea]

Depending on the size of the rock, you may want to let them cool in the water after boiling. Slow temperature changes are key, cooling them off too quick can cause them to explode.

 

[Oscarr19]

since i'm boiling one at a time due to pot size can i boil one then place it in a bucket allowing it to cool for a few hours and then start siliconing them together?

 

[Sssea]

Should be okay, they shouldn't need hours to cool. Just be careful, those suckers are gonna be hot!

 

[adadkins1]

I would think so, just pour the water the rock was boiled in into the bucket. This would keep the rock's temperature from chaning too quickly. Just make sure the bucket will be able to handle the temperature of the hot water.

 

[Oscarr19]

Caves? DONE.

Ok after a couple of days and tests the rocks seem to be good. I siliconed them together and heres how they turned out!

The big one is for my 32 gallon and the smaller one is for my 5.

 

[jcolon]

Looks good ...I think the big one will add a nice touch ... you have two openings where I would think your fish could swim through.

 

[Oscarr19]

Thanks! i think the cichlids will claim it first haha i can picture this being my bolivian rams territory right out of the bag.

 

[kdpuffer]

Came across this thread a little late. When siliconing the rocks together throw a little sand on the exposed silicone then gently press it in thus hiding the silicone. Can still be done by adding a fresh layer and pressing sand into that. make sure you let the silicone cure for at least 24 hours before adding it to your tanks.

 

[Oscarr19]

Hasen't been 24Hrs yet but the silicone is dry. I don't know if i'm going to add a new layer with sand but i might go and get another small rock to hide the side that you can see silicone. It doesn't bother me that much though.

 

[buzzgp]

rocks

Some rocks are not good at all even if it be rocks from the ocean,they leak chemical and have harsh metal content,another tip to look for is the weight,u really don't want to split your tank by real heavy ones especially toward the middle.

 

[Oscarr19]

Thanks for the warning but the fish seem fine. If you want to see a picture of the tank click on the link of my 32G planted in my sig.