Yeah it can be a hassle. People in fish stores know absolutely nothing about DIY and people in hardware stores get real skittish when I mention the fact that I'm using it for an aquarium.
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- Thread starter Thalan
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You know I spent 20minutes at Michaels staring at that stuff but it came back to the guy working there not knowing anything about fish and evading the question of wether or not it would be toxic or permanent once submerged.CJH;2672663; said:
You've gone into uncharted teritory with this project. You are going to have to experiment to find the answers. You can't really expect someone at Michaels or Home Depot to answer a question about fish tanks. 
The clay material is a new one so you'll have to experiment to see what is going to stick to it and stay on it for the long term underwater. It is still a mystery what you are really calling 'clay'. It seems like it isn't the ideal material in the first place and you are going through a lot of trouble to make it work. If you have a boat or canoe, I'll give you my wood collecting locations on the St. Johns. There is a lot of really nice cypress out there. I don't know how the water levels are out there though. I haven't been out there since the storms last year.
The clay material is a new one so you'll have to experiment to see what is going to stick to it and stay on it for the long term underwater. It is still a mystery what you are really calling 'clay'. It seems like it isn't the ideal material in the first place and you are going through a lot of trouble to make it work. If you have a boat or canoe, I'll give you my wood collecting locations on the St. Johns. There is a lot of really nice cypress out there. I don't know how the water levels are out there though. I haven't been out there since the storms last year.Yeah it's getting pretty complicated and at this point it's almost as expensive as buying a piece. But once I get it nailed down I can continue to make new pieces for cheap. I'm ok with trial and error on this as long as the error isn't the death of my fish.
The project is on hold for now since I've spent over $2k on rent and getting my new place this month. I was planning on moving this weekend but now I don't even have the money to rent a truck so.... yeah. Everythings on hold for another week.
The project is on hold for now since I've spent over $2k on rent and getting my new place this month. I was planning on moving this weekend but now I don't even have the money to rent a truck so.... yeah. Everythings on hold for another week.
Oh and just for reference this is the clay I used.
http://www.michaels.com/art/online/displayProductPage?productNum=gc0594&channelid=
http://www.michaels.com/art/online/displayProductPage?productNum=gc0594&channelid=
Let us know how the clay works out. It would be cool to be able to whip up some new decorations without breaking the bank. Beware, people are going to ask about the cost. LOL
I was kind of worried about that. That clay will turn to mush with the slightest bit of water seepage. I was hoping you were going to say something like plaster of paris. What you could do is use the current pieces to make molds, and then use the molds to make plaster copies.
I'm going to try to go out on the river tomorrow. If the water has gone down, I'll look around for some roots or branches. What size is your tank?
That sucks about moving. I spent last weekend moving some friends. If I never have to do it again, it will be too soon.
I'm going to try to go out on the river tomorrow. If the water has gone down, I'll look around for some roots or branches. What size is your tank?
That sucks about moving. I spent last weekend moving some friends. If I never have to do it again, it will be too soon.
I know the clay on its own would last maybe 5 minutes in water, thats why I'm looking for something to seal it with. It was the easiest media to work with that I could think of. So once I get the waterproofing done the whole process will be easy and I can crank these out in any size or shape I want. Better clay types exist but they require firing which adds what can be a difficult and expensive step.
As far as getting actual driftwood I have a few small pieces I'm still prepping (though new ones are always nice) but I was really doing this to see if I could find a good way around the whole brown water thing.
Oh and I'm currently doing all this for my 75g.
As far as getting actual driftwood I have a few small pieces I'm still prepping (though new ones are always nice) but I was really doing this to see if I could find a good way around the whole brown water thing.
Oh and I'm currently doing all this for my 75g.
Ok update time. The clay developed a huge crack so I stripped it all off. When I say stripped I mean beat it with a hammer.... So now I'm back down to the skeleton which is covered in Great Stuff. I hit it with some paint and now it looks like a reallt lumpy, oddly shaped rock. Maybe I'll use it maybe I wont I haven't really decided yet.
I do still have two small caves made of the clay. I'm still trying to waterproof them as an experiment if nothing else so we'll see how that goes. I have pics of the whole process but my computer at home is busted so I've only been posting from work lately. Maybe one day if I can get some results I'll put the whole thing up.
I do still have two small caves made of the clay. I'm still trying to waterproof them as an experiment if nothing else so we'll see how that goes. I have pics of the whole process but my computer at home is busted so I've only been posting from work lately. Maybe one day if I can get some results I'll put the whole thing up.
