Hollow artificial rock/aquarium ornament

[krlw]

I recently bought a large Universal Rock outcropping as the centerpiece of the new tank. These artificial rocks are hollow inside, and the only opening is the bottom plane that rests against the substrate and/or aquarium bottom.

I'm concerned this may create a problem with either trapped air or trapped water inside the ornament. As for trapped air, I'm concerned with anaerobic bacteria development. The trapped water could become stagnant and create issues that way.

Am I worried about nothing? Would drilling a few vent holes in the ornament solve these problems? Has anyone else used this brand of product specifically? Thanks.

 

[PB_Smith]

aren't there already holes in it to allow air/water to escape?
usually ornament have holes in them for just that purpose. Have you tested it to see if it does or doesn't have holes in the top somewhere?

Otherwise, yes it would be fine to drill a small hole or two in the top and is the exact thing to do. A tiny hole at the highest points should work, but maybe test a spot under the base to test how easily it drills.

 

[Mebbid]

Unless you drill a hole and run airline tubing into it there's not much that's going to prevent it from becoming anaerobic. However, that's not necessarily an unhealthy thing, especially because anaerobic bacteria are quite useful for a number of things and are a main reason why salt water tank are successful.

I would just move it around a bit during your weekly cleaning and leave it at that.

 

[PB_Smith]

Yes, and even if it does develop anaerobic bacteria in there, with a few holes drilled into it just natural migration of the water will help prevent it from becoming nasty.

 

[krlw]

This is the ornament I wrote about. When prepping it for the tank, I discovered it had a few small holes already hidden in the surface. I did my best to make sure I didn't trap any air when sinking it into the tank.


I hope this will be enough to keep it from getting stinky.