Sara
Aquarium Advice Freak
Although I know this should probably be posted in the DIY forum, I thought that I might get more of a response over here...but if I'm mysteriously moved over there, I'll understand
Anyway, I will be setting up a new tank shortly and would like to make some river rock structures for my fish. I'm currently in the process of testing the rocks (I'm leaving a few in a bowl of water for a few days to see if any of the parameters change), but would like to build up some big structures assuming that they test OK.
The rocks are between 2-3 inches in size...I know that they are not ideal, but I found a big bag at the dollar store, so I thought for $1.50, I've give it a try. I haven't really done anything similar to this, so I'm looking for a few opinions...
1. Do I need to have something to build the rocks around (like a flower pot or some PVC pipe) or can I just build up the structure slowly without an internal support? I'd like to make a few that are more flower pot-sized than PVC pipe-sized, if that makes any difference.
2. I assume that using aquarium silicone (like the kind that you use on glass) will be OK to use? Is there anything else that I could use that might be cheaper?
3. The rocks are very smooth (but don't look to be chemically polished). Do I need to sand down the areas that I am going to glue, or should the silicone alone do the trick?
TIA! I can't wait to show everyone my finished creations!
Anyway, I will be setting up a new tank shortly and would like to make some river rock structures for my fish. I'm currently in the process of testing the rocks (I'm leaving a few in a bowl of water for a few days to see if any of the parameters change), but would like to build up some big structures assuming that they test OK.
The rocks are between 2-3 inches in size...I know that they are not ideal, but I found a big bag at the dollar store, so I thought for $1.50, I've give it a try. I haven't really done anything similar to this, so I'm looking for a few opinions...
1. Do I need to have something to build the rocks around (like a flower pot or some PVC pipe) or can I just build up the structure slowly without an internal support? I'd like to make a few that are more flower pot-sized than PVC pipe-sized, if that makes any difference.
2. I assume that using aquarium silicone (like the kind that you use on glass) will be OK to use? Is there anything else that I could use that might be cheaper?
3. The rocks are very smooth (but don't look to be chemically polished). Do I need to sand down the areas that I am going to glue, or should the silicone alone do the trick?
TIA! I can't wait to show everyone my finished creations!