Under Gravel Tunnels

[Fishkeeper26]

Hey I was wondering if anyone had ever done tunnels under the gravel made of PVC. I know there would be issues with moving the water under neath, but do you think its a possibility? Thanks!

 

[alLexX]

i want to try something like this in my soon to be tank,and as long as the fish go in it i see no problems,whats your stock?

 

[Fishkeeper26]

I was thinking of doing it in 15g shell dwelling cichlid tank with 6 l. Brevis but right now my sand bed isn't deep enough. I want to try it this summer, I currently have some fry in with them so I can't yet. What's your stock gonna be

 

[alLexX]

some swordtails,a rainbow shark,a very nice crayfish,some rosy red minnows(starter fish i was gonna get rid of but became attached to),a golden CAE,and some more that is yet to be decided(im doing minimum 55 gallons).i think it will work with your stock.

 

[Fishkeeper26]

I hope so, the only issue I could see would the tunnels being filled with sand. So I'll havta make sure there are multiple entrances

 

[alLexX]

i doint know much about cichlids,but if they take up residence in them wouldnt they clean out the sand?

 

[Fishkeeper26]

Yeah but they move the sand around, so they could possibly burry themselves in

 

[alLexX]

that would be very bad.

 

[Fishkeeper26]

Exactly so I may have to put a power head down there

 

[mfdrookie516]

I seem to remember a thread a LONG time ago talking about something like this... It was the general consensus that it was a bad idea... Waste, and possibly dead fish, could get trapped in there and cause all kinds of problems.

 

[alLexX]

i saw that thread(on my computer its the second from the to if go to the similar threads at the bottom)but im pretty sure the op meant the tunnels would be fairly short,not like the ones in the other thread.

 

[Fishkeeper26]

Yea nothing extensive, just like little caves.

 

[andresdeo]

Maybe a pvc pipe cut in half (as when making caves), but with an acrylic or glass wall on the longitudinal side and placed just next to the front and sides off the tank. If its privacy you want to goce then you can place a small curtain or piece of wood to cover it, but gives you the chance to check what their doing and if anything is building up down there or casualties. Dont know if my explanation is good enough. Get what I mean?

 

[jetajockey]

I have PVCs with end caps on them that i use for breeding tubes in my peacock gudgeon tank. I've had 2 black corys go into them and get stuck and die, so I took the end caps off and it seemed to resolve the issue. Otherwise I think it'd work, maybe just make some hills and put the tubes through the hills so that the sand level isn't above the openings, reducing the chance of a cave in.

 

[Fishkeeper26]

Yep!!! Thatd be a great idea