Hiding pipes

[andyroo]

Creatives,
Our in-wall 230 is 36" tall, and the 1.5" perforated intake pipe comes down from the top through most of that distance. My wife is asking how do we/I make that plumbing disappear?

Currently it's painted & textured to the colour of the back/side walls (mottled concrete grey) and I've planted long filamentous plants around that corner, but the SDs are making sure that's not as helpful as it augh'ta be. I'm trying to plant more & more material to overwhelm, which is sort-of-working. Thoughts? Preferably accompanied by photos?

Tank is messy in these images as I set new long/filamentous, surface & replanted some uprooted last night, still settling.
Next step will be to move the SDs down to the workshop 6' 100, but putting that off until arowana pond is done (long story).
There are also disused/capped in&outlets on the opposing side to "disappear"; I'll likely superglue some sort of of the emergent plant(s) next time I get some at the golf-course, I expect. Without glue(?) the mystery snails haul them down, string or elastic band might be better...



And please don't ask, nor point out, where I'll agree with you: "what are you talking about, this looks great"
I also adore the dancing light in silver-on-grey, but the system was designed for lilies & the SDs are proving more herbivorous than even their reputation, and chicky-boo-aro is nearly longer than the tank is wide so also gotta' move. Heartbreak, but so it goes - gives me an excuse for the bigger pond, clown loaches & eels are in the workshop already. Mysteries will also move as clowns have figured out how to gut them.

 

[Rocksor]

Marineland makes 36" tall bamboo leaves. Maybe you can get those plastic plants locally.

Amazon.com : Marineland Bamboo 3 Feet, Décor For aquariums and Terrariums, Model:47431905481 : Aquarium Decor Plastic Plants : Pet Supplies

 

[andyroo]

Thanks Rocksor (sounds like Rockstar?)
as much as fake plants make me squirm, I have a feeling these (or similar) are going to fit the bill. I'll give the Hive-Mind another 48hrs, then send the link to wifie-pooh for confirmation, finalizing & Amazon'ing. I will not be sending pictures, as this will represent my utter failure as an aquarist

In theory I can glue/tie these directly to the pipe, and the relative stiffness of the plastic leaf shouldn't block the intakes... but let's see. More options, please(!!!).

 

[Rocksor]

Thanks Rocksor (sounds like Rockstar?)
as much as fake plants make me squirm, I have a feeling these (or similar) are going to fit the bill. I'll give the Hive-Mind another 48hrs, then send the link to wifie-pooh for confirmation, finalizing & Amazon'ing. I will not be sending pictures, as this will represent my utter failure as an aquarist

In theory I can glue/tie these directly to the pipe, and the relative stiffness of the plastic leaf shouldn't block the intakes... but let's see. More options, please(!!!).

What about Papyrus-Umbrella Palm (Cyperus alternifolis) that's another live plant option. Propagating seems really easy. I can't tell you how long it would take to get prolific or tall enoughat 36", maybe duanes can. He'll probably know if SD's will ignore it. I find it easy enough to buy at the local Home Depot, but only at 4" tall. More info in this link from Duanes

Alternatives to Pothos

I have used Pothos as a nitrate filtration aid, but it's not the only option. One of my alternative favorites is Papyrus-Umbrella Palm (Cyperus alternifolis). I have used it in Wisconsin in ponds, planted sumps, and directly in tanks, and use it here in Panama, where it is feral, I even place it...

www.monsterfishkeepers.com

There's also horsetail reed plants (used in ponds).

 

[Dalfrey86]

Forgive my ignorance of the planted options available. But is there a plant you could get to crawl up the pipe? Also what about tricking the eye and placing something in the opposing corner so there is no one sole focal point on the pipe in question?

 

[jjohnwm]

There was a thread somewhere on here about painting and texturing a PVC pipe to imitate a piece of wood. Another poster in the native/coldwater section also made his own artificial tree-roots and they looked terrific. Like plastic plants, it will never quite match the real thing...but the results those members achieved were pretty nice, and a big improvement over a naked plastic pipe. Perhaps you could try it on a larger-diameter pipe, and if/when you are satisfied you could just slip it down over top of the intake, or cut off the back side and just stand it in front?

Or...perhaps take a strip of glass or plastic the height of the tank, and just wide enough to span across that corner at 45-degrees to conceal the intake pipe. Finish the plastic the same way as the back of the tank, then use it to cover the pipe.

I hope you post whatever you come up with, I love the look of this tank. What kind of lighting are you using?

 

[duanes]

I don't like the look of PVC plumbing either.
Lately I've been splitting large bamboo branches in half and form fitting them around pipes to cover.

Before, below after

When split the bamboo shrinks, so one must not take out the entire diagonal sections.
I've sunk one in the tank, to add some consistency to the look. (the diagonal piece below).
Also using papyrus to cover unnatural gear, the rstems and oots cover all kinds of evils, and very few fish will eat it, its like eating paper.
Cincelithys pearsei and bocourti will eat papyrus, but don't know about SDs.

Papyrus on the right above, it also sucks up nitrate like a Hoover.
Its root system below

 

[duanes]

By the way, the horizontal PVC is 1.5", the vertical piece on the left end of the tank is 1" PVC.

 

[andyroo]

duanes & Rocksor re: papyrus: Love the idea and I love the stuff (we get both African & American sp./morphologies around here), but I've never been able to get it to thrive if the water deeper than a few inches, maybe 10 if it starts tall. I'm pretty sure it won't be able to do 36". Could use on the capped pipes on the left, but quite shady when tall, and also top-heavy.
duanes re. split bamboo cover: Like this & pitched it early, nixed outright. The bamboo segments at the bottom are slightly less unpopular, defended as the only way the RBS survives with the aro. Me, I love the look of the stuff, as do the fish, snails, amphipods, ostracods, mosses etc etc.
jjohnwm re. texturing the pipe: Like this idea & remember the thread. I did a sponge effect initially, but it looked dumb & couldn't get the colour right. Part of the issue is the blackness of the holes, so seeking to soften generally. I may give texture another go with hot-glue, maybe coconut husk & add moss - let's see though, as likely to look a little contrived if not executed perfectly. Ultimately, gluing/attaching the plastic bamboo to the pipe would achieve similar, particularly if/when interspersed with living plants.
re. visular barrier: next set of fish to replace arowana will be loaches & eels, and I don't want to offer hiding places where I'd never see/enjoy them
re. lights: It's just 3x regular household LEDs, same as through this whole house (wife's an int.architect). Key is that the over-tank area as an 3'x8' box painted in high-gloss white paint, AKA a light-box. Plants seem to do OK (when not being hammered by SD), growing & holding colour, so (hopefully?) not starving for wavelengths. The excessive bulbs & box keep the light somewhat directional & harsh, like sunlight. Overwater flow keeps it dancing, and surface plants & tied-on emergents keep the cross-braces' shadows from being too obvious... usually. I think the lights/bulbs are dimmable, but I've not figured out the timer-dimmer option/fittings (yet). Apparently it's just a different switch, but we've yet to find/source (within budget) - any thoughts on this would be welcome.