ceramic tank decor

[crazyfishlady]

Because most manmade tank decor is horribly gaudy I've been thinking of making my own. All of my tanks are decorated very naturally, but the artist in me longs for 1 totally original "out there" kind of tank.

So my question is this: Has anyone ever tried (or resisted for specific reasons) making ceramic decorations for their tank?

I'm thinking of using white lo-fire earthenware clay & lead-free, foodsafe lo-fire glazes.

I was thinking that if terra cotta pots are OK then....why not?

I guess I'm more worried about the clay than the glaze, and its not possible to cover every inch of a piece with glaze, so part of the clay body would be exposed to the water.

Any thoughts?

[tbrodale]

I dont really know for sure but it seems one of the best things for cichlids to put in a flower pot so who knows.

[pgdark19]

i've painted ceramics for my fish tank decorations...i was looking for a cheap alternative. there were no problems with water quality. the only thing with ceramics that i can tell is that after time, the paint wears away. the fire-glaze stays on but your limited in the colors and detail of specific peices....if i remember right...you can only use a few colors and they get swirled together during the process. so if you want a house or something like that, there would'nt be much detail if you fire-glazed it. just a marbled house....not very natural...i've sinced ditched the 'ol ceramics.

caves on the other hand work better....just find a piece that might make a good cave...use your imagination. my cousin once painted a cornucopia for a cave...his fish loved it...

anyways good luck with what you decide to do.

[crazyfishlady]

Cool. Thanks for the response. I will actually be building the pieces myself from clay, not buying the premade objects, & I have quite a bit of experience w/ glazing, so I'm not worried about the look I'll get. I just wondered if there was any reason not to. So, thanks for the input. I think I'll try it & if it looks good, I'll post pics.

[Watcher]

i use pots.

lay a bunch of gravel out on a cookie sheet. put silicone all over th epot. rool the pot all over the gravel and now you have a gravel covered pot. grand total. 5 bucks.