Does anyone make their own fake plant decorations?

[DesktopTankDiva]

I tried searching this DIY forum but only came up with years old posts. I saw a video where craft store bought fake plants were propped up in a small styrofoam cup whose bottom was filled with concrete. The concrete dried, you peel off the cup, and voila...homemade fake aquarium plants. Another poster suggested the bottom of the plant be weighted down with a fishing weight in lieu of concrete-in-a-cup.

Has anyone tried this? I'm curious about any toxicity of a fishing weight as well as any wire the fake plant may contain in the stem.

I have a tiny tank and floor/gravelbed space is at a premium. I would like to combine a lot of fake plants in a small base to maximize floor space. In the past I've drilled holes in bases of fake plants and used aquarium sealant to glue additional fake plants in, but some bases are difficult to drill through.

DesktopD

 

[okapizebra]

If the plants have wires they would need to be removed. You could always zip tie the plants to a little mesh bag of gravel and bury that in the substrate. Even panty hose would work.

Personally I like getting plants from hobby lobby, I use them for my reptile tanks. They should be perfectly safe for aquariums as well as long as the wires are removed. They usually have a huge variety there. And cheap too!