how to hides a bubbler decoration's air hose?

[jfoust]

Hi all! I'm back! The last time you saw me, I bought my son a 2gal desktop tank that: A) probably had too many fish in it and B) only had UG filtration, so it was a disaster to keep up.

We since upgraded to a 10 gallon acrylic tank that fits perfectly on his nightstand. He picked out the decorations and after it cycled, we re-located everyone. That was a week ago and today the PH/Nitrate/etc levels are great and the fish are happier and more active than ever!

One of the ornaments he bought is a small volcano with a bubbler in it. Luckily his old tank with the UG filter had an air pump and hoses, so I'm just reusing that in the new tank. The problem is getting the air hose concealed as much as possible! I tried stuffing it under the gravel, but it never seems to really stay put and it still looks ugly going up the back of the tank! I figure that if I can get it to stay put, I can run it behind a plant up to the top of the tank so it will be mostly covered.... What do you folks do to hide your hoses?

 

[neilanh]

Welcome Back!

how deep is your gravel? I've always just hid mine under there, using a suction cup if necessary to keep it down if the gravel is deep enough.

To hide it going up the back of the tank, pet stores usually sell rigid airline tubing. Get a piece of that, and using a lighter heat it up and you can bend and shape it. Then, you can shape it so it fits tightly in the corner seam of the tank, being concealed by the silicone seams. Then just use regular flex airline to attach the rigid to the ornament and pump.

 

[jfoust]

Aaah thanks! I'll have to check the store for some of that rigid tubing. That would be perfect! It's an acrylic seamless tank, but it should work just the same.

I didn't measure the gravel, but it's a good 2.5" or so... 20# of gravel in a 10gal tank.

BTW, thanks for all the great advice here! I'm pretty sure we would have had a major disaster by now if not for the info I've found here

 

[mike47517]

hey sorry i dont have an answer for your question that is real helpful but i had the same problem and i solved it by painting the tubing green, and since my tank has alot of green in it it looks like part of the plant. Hope that might help if you end up not doing what neilanh.

Oh and i saw your sig i would suggest getting a couple more neons (preferably 2). and maybe another rasbora. normally both rasboras and tetras (in your case neons) do best in groups of 5 or more. they love to school.

Good luck. (yes you were over stocked before but everyone makes mistakes its just natural)

Oh and if you want to keep the 2gallon i would suggest a couple of nice plants and your guppy. And maybe some shrimp if you like that type of stuff.

 

[korith]

Could try something like this product Aquatic Gardens Plant-Air at PETCO. It's basically an air hose disguised as a fake plant.

 

[mike47517]

Just curious how long were all those fish in the 2 gallon tank.