What can I use to cover a bare bottom tank??????????

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
D

doubledragon

The House Of Endlie
MFK Member
Nov 19, 2006
2,311
1
38
ohio
I want to go bare bottom in some of my tanks because the water quality will be so much easier to maintain, but I would also like to have decorations and such in the tank.
The smaller fish aren't really a problem. It's the big fish I'm worried about moving the ornaments and messing up the silicone and causing a HUGE problem. The only thing I can think of so far is to cut pvc tubes and make a rectangle with elbows and have them set up on the inside bottom of my tank so that the ornaments cant effect the silicone if they push them around the tank( yes large catfish!!!!).

Any other ideas would be greatly appreciated. Indoor/outdoor carpet???? Anything to cover the bottom, but not let waste get under it, and protect the silicone from puncture wounds, or having things pushed against it...
 
You could cover the bottom with eggcrate maybe.. That way you could still siphon and junk wouldn't get stuck under it.
 
Ok I'm a noob too so you'll have to talk it through with some of the more experienced guys...

But when setting up my tank, I was thinking about tiling the bottom of the tank, with the kind of slates you often find used on kitched floors. You get a lot of really natural looking stones and they come in perfect squares, so I don't see why you couldnt cover the entire floor of your aquarium in tiles...

It would look great, I'm thinking of trying it myself in my next tank with these kind of tiles...

tiles3.gif


If you were really adventurous/insane.... you could even go for the chessboard look:

tiles22.jpg


Seriously tho, there's millions of beautiful natural tiles available... It's just an idea, but personally I like it.
 
Peter McFarlane;1303776; said:
Ok I'm a noob too so you'll have to talk it through with some of the more experienced guys...

But when setting up my tank, I was thinking about tiling the bottom of the tank, with the kind of slates you often find used on kitched floors. You get a lot of really natural looking stones and they come in perfect squares, so I don't see why you couldnt cover the entire floor of your aquarium in tiles...

It would look great, I'm thinking of trying it myself in my next tank with these kind of tiles...

tiles3.gif
Click to expand...

dude that's a great idea, with some slate rocks to complement. i wonder if they would be safe for the aquarium though. post some photos up if you ever try this.
 
most tile are fish safe as there really are no chemical remains after cutting and washing. but as far as using it to keep the bottom cleaner, the junk could still hide under the tiles easier than the gravel because of the bigger surface area
 
This is something I've wanted to try but haven't gotten around to yet. There is a Canadian product called Gator Sand, which you can find in many landscaping places. Basically, it's a mixed particle sand combined with a wettable polymer. When you get it wet, it solidifies. After solidifying, it looks like sand but is solid. It's used to fill between pavers, rocks, etc.
 
duke33;1303380; said:
I can't see where a fish can mess with a good bead of silicone. Ever tried to scrap that stuff off?
Click to expand...

I'm not worried about my fish themselves messing with the silicone. I just know they are going to push the decorations around and ram them into the silicone, and I dont want them to damage it. It only took my two channel cat's a little over a month to pull out five out of six of my undergravel filter tubes, and they move the decorations around as it is, even with gravel in the tank.
 
:uhoh:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom