Hiding places for RD

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
Frank Castle said:
get two 6" diameter PVC pipe T-junctions from Home Depot or Lowe's or whatever and go find yourself a nice long, wide flat rock from your local stream/river/lake bed or quarry or wherever near you has rocks , a clean source, no chemicals of course.....then you take them and put them in a container they can be fully submerged and boil a big pot of water.

Then you take the pot of water and pour it into the container w/ the rocks and pipes to sterilize it, let the water cool, and remove, rinse and build your cave. You can pre-set them before putting them in the tank w/ aquarium silicone if you want.....simply use the 2 pipes as a base - cover the tops with silicone, place the big rock on top and 48 hours later as long as it is cured and smell is gone, give a quick rinse and put it in the tank.

Alernate method for sterilizing - a bucket w/ 3% bleach, 97% water solution can be used to scrub everything down, afterwards, rinse for several minutes until ALL SMELL of bleach is gone, then set them in a bucket of water with dechlorinator for a few hours, rinse again and place in tank or pre-set. Allow to AIR DRY before using.

Alternate method #2 - (not the most direct or effective) scrub or soak everything down with WHITE VINEGAR , allow time to sit, then rinse for a few minutes and proceed as above

Questions?
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Yeah. I get the cleaning part but what about the rocks and why do i need 2 junctions?

Pics if possible
 
LogiBear said:
Yeah. I get the cleaning part but what about the rocks and why do i need 2 junctions?

Pics if possible
Click to expand...
you need 2 tall sturdy ones to create the sides of the arch/cave, then the big long flat piece of rock forms the top .....you're using the PVC pipes in place of rocks that would need to be so large they would displace 10g of water or more, so the 3-way PVC is longer and wider and hollow as well, creating more free-space. Also, and possibly even more important, it is all perfectly level, as opposed to rocks that will have grooves, bumps, indents, etc....harder to stack rocks safely without silicone than it is w/ PVC...just make sure the PVC are at the bottom - the "pillars" if you will

Note: Unless you do the entire back wall of the tank w/ caves, which will all brace each other for support between the sides of the tank, best to use silicone. if you just want ONE cave for him, use silicone.
 
Frank Castle said:
you need 2 tall sturdy ones to create the sides of the arch/cave, then the big long flat piece of rock forms the top .....you're using the PVC pipes in place of rocks that would need to be so large they would displace 10g of water or more, so the 3-way PVC is longer and wider and hollow as well, creating more free-space. Also, and possibly even more important, it is all perfectly level, as opposed to rocks that will have grooves, bumps, indents, etc....harder to stack rocks safely without silicone than it is w/ PVC...just make sure the PVC are at the bottom - the "pillars" if you will
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So you are saying i take the two junctions, set them so they both look like upseide down Ts, and put a peice of slate over the top of both? A diagram or pic here woukd be great if youre able.

Couldnt i just use a peice of pipe as a cave? Like, a 6-7" diam and like a foot long with a cap on the end?
 
LogiBear said:
So you are saying i take the two junctions, set them so they both look like upseide down Ts, and put a peice of slate over the top of both? A diagram or pic here woukd be great if youre able.

Couldnt i just use a peice of pipe as a cave? Like, a 6-7" diam and like a foot long with a cap on the end?
Click to expand...
no you lay them on their sides so there are 3 ways in and out in each "pillar".....the direction you face them is up to you, I did "IN" the last time I kept fish, now i'm facing the bottom of the "T" outwards with some modifications made to keep emergency exits where the pipe would normally touch the glass and form a trap rather.
 
LogiBear said:
My RD is a bit flighty but that might change, so this thread could be for noting. I will ask anyways.

How can i get a hiding spot for a foot long fish that doesnt take up a huge amount of space? Flowerpots are great but by the time the are big enough the are huge at the opening end... Ive seen ceramic pipe but i ant find any large enough.

He is 5" tall and 11" long
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I use 12" diameter ceramic waste pipe for my tank, got it from the local garden centre for nothing cut it in half, it's made two excellent caves that my fish use for hiding and spawning
 
Frank Castle said:
no you lay them on their sides so there are 3 ways in and out in each "pillar".....the direction you face them is up to you, I did "IN" the last time I kept fish, now i'm facing the bottom of the "T" outwards with some modifications made to keep emergency exits where the pipe would normally touch the glass and form a trap rather.
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Now im even more confused lol sorry if im being an idiot :/
 
LogiBear said:
Ummmm no.

I get that you can use junctions as hiding places and that the have 2 exits, but not sure what you are saying with the slate...?
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lololol just space TWO of the junctions slightly closer than the length of your big flat long rock, then put it on TOP of the damn junctions.....it makes a cave.

The junctions are the walls/sides and rock forms a top. U gotta be screwing with me, Dude.....3 pieces; 2 are junctions 1 is a rock - stack a rock on the 2 junctions ....the 2 junctions support the ends of the rock from underneath.

The space BETWEEN the 2 junctions which is ALSO the space UNDER the rock will be your "Cave"

o-----------------o
cave ^

LEGEND:


o = PVC junction
--- = a ROCK
^ = Look up, numbnuts LOL!!!
 
Frank Castle said:
lololol just space TWO of the junctions slightly closer than the length of your big flat long rock, then put it on TOP of the damn junctions.....it makes a cave.

The junctions are the walls/sides and rock forms a top. U gotta be screwing with me, Dude.....3 pieces; 2 are junctions 1 is a rock - stack a rock on the 2 junctions ....the 2 junctions support the ends of the rock from underneath.

The space BETWEEN the 2 junctions which is ALSO the space UNDER the rock will be your "Cave"

o-----------------o
cave ^

LEGEND:


o = PVC junction
--- = a ROCK
^ = Look up, numbnuts LOL!!!
Click to expand...
Hahaha that made me laugh

Ok ok so im pretty sure i get the idea of it now, at least the gist. Somewhere along i just got a bit turned around ool

Tnx for the laugh hahah
 
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