DIY plants for a fraction of the cost

[billberet]

all my raw materials, i pick up plants at michaels, make sure to choose the plastic ones.
then what i do is cut out all the wire at the bottomof the plant, and what i am left with is many different lengths of plants that i can mix and match. I've been making them this way for about 20 years, so i figured i would share. After the finished product, i soak them in a bucket for a week as a final test, then it's off to the DT.

add gravel to bottom of water bottle, it's just for weight

add your silicone (aquarium safe)

top it off with your current substrate, i have sand in my tanks so i use that

here is my final product, i just finished this batch so i'm waiting 48 hrs to dry, then they go in bucket and soak for 7 days. if water is clear, off they go into the tank.

 

[Regz8000]

Wow never thought of this might try it

 

[billberet]

just remember, NO WIRE.
if you get a plant with a wire, just cut it where the plastic seems firm, there is usually a little bulge, this is where the wire meets the plastic, quick snip and your done.

wire usually is at thebase of the plant, snip it then take all the branches off where the wire is located, you can use all those filler branches for any gaps you might have

 

[billberet]

then i put my plants in my QT for a few days to soak, there is no water discoloration so we are good to go, next they get added to DT.

 

[butterfly_koi]

I love these! Very pretty and I will have to try this. I'm always looking for good diy projects for my tank
Thanks!

 

[Liz_H]

Love these! I have wondered about using plants from a craft store, so I'm glad I read this post about removing the wires. Great post, thanks!

 

[emerald76]

Cool! Looks great
Can we have a pic of a tank with these?

 

[billberet]

sure thing, i'm currently soaking them for 24 more hrs, i leave them in the 20 gal for a few days just to make sure, you can never be too careful.
If no water discoloration then it's off to the DT

i'll see about posting those pics up this weekend


*****edit******
i wanted a little more weight, so after i removed the plant from the water bottle, i covered the base with silicone and dipped the base into a bag of gravel, sort of like adding sprinkles to an ice cream cone. This helped double the weight of the base. if you are happy with the size of your base, you do not have to do this extra step.

 

[butterfly_koi]

*****edit******
i wanted a little more weight, so after i removed the rocky base from the water bottle, i covered the base with silicone and dipped the base into a bag of gravel, sort of like adding sprinkles to an ice cream cone. This helped double the weight of the base. if you are happy with the size of your base, you do not have to do this extra step.

I just had a thought, what if in the set up of the rocky base you put a stainless steel washer in the bottom and put more rock on it to hide the washer? And then silicone it all together. It won't rust and will add the extra weight that you may need.

 

[billberet]

i try to keep anything metal out of my tanks. including stainless steel.
depending on the grade of the stainless, it does not mean it is rust proof.
i've seen stainless steel screws rust away under water if they are not of the highest grade.


what you can do, what i am doing now, i have alot of rocks i have collected over the years as my decor changes. i am breaking down those rocks, drilling a hole and using that for my next DIY, so you have plants growing out of the rocks. fill hole with silicone and stuff with plants. it's so simple, it's silly, lol

 

[CPA_Wannabe]

just remember, NO WIRE.
if you get a plant with a wire, just cut it where the plastic seems firm, there is usually a little bulge, this is where the wire meets the plastic, quick snip and your done.

wire usually is at thebase of the plant, snip it then take all the branches off where the wire is located, you can use all those filler branches for any gaps you might have

Why is it so important to get the wires out?
Is it getting toxic water.

 

[Guppylove85]

this is really cool, i love diy and crafts, i may just have to make some

 

[MrPillow]

I always considered trying this but never got around to it. Good work

 

[billberet]

Thanks for the comments, as for the wire, you never want to put metal in your tank, the last thing u want to do is have that metal break down and poison your fish.

 

[MrPillow]

Depending on what kind of metal it is, it could be aquarium safe. I wouldn't risk it though, good call.

 

[billberet]

yea, i was going to go into detail with metals, but then i thought of the store it's comming from, 'Michaels'
who knows what people stick inside these fake plants, so it's better to be safe and have no metal contact.

and i must say, the plants are looking AWSOME, soon they will be in the tank.
then i'll post some more pics.

 

[billberet]

ok here is my final setup, i am extremely happy with the results, looks very natural.

love my octopus looking plant

here is my 40 gal with a few smaller plants

here are both tanks all setup

left side of the 90 gal, barbs love to swim thru the plants

here is the middle of the 90 gal

full shot of the 90 with all plants added. i must say i was speechless

pictures don't do it justice, what you can't see is the swaying of all the plants because of the high flow of my FX5.
gives it more of a authentic look

 

[msumeg27]

awesome work! cannot wait to give these a try

 

[billberet]

it will take some trial and error to get your technique down when it comes to the base, what i did was add silicone after i removed the plant from the mold, then dipped the base into a bag of rocks, just like adding sprinkles to an ice cream cone, then i packed on another layer of rocks by doing this. And it hid the silicone , but you can't tell because it's burried under the substrate anyway.


it's funny cause i have 22 fish in my 90 gal, but you can't tell by looking at it.
they LOVE to swim in the plants and hide, lol

here is a better pic, i didn't get all of them, but i did get alot

 

[Tcal01]

IM not a fan of fake plants bit these look surprisingly good!!! What a great display of creativity, ingenuity and macgyver-ness lol