Home made PVC cave

[finz]

2 black PVC elbows
1 bag polished rocks from the craft store
1 tube silicon aquarium sealant
1 hot glue gun &glue to hold rocks in place while silicon cures.
a bit of gravel to fill in here and there


[img:2b756d1f47]http://home.earthlink.net/~jimkphoto/elbowcave.jpg[/img:2b756d1f47]

[SGypsyMermaid]

that is very cool!! but how do you use the hot glue to hold in place temporarily? where do you put it? do you remove it afterward?

[finz]

Remove it ? No I just put a dab on the rock, stick it to the pipe and seal around the rock with silicon. A little sand or gravel hides the silicon.

[SGypsyMermaid]

so long as you're sure that there's no way for anything harmful to leach out into your tank if the silicone seal fails, i guess that would be ok. :?

[finz]

I've been using a hot glue gun to make aquarium decorations for a long time. I've never noticed any adverse effects on the fish.

[img:b5bb6efdb5]http://home.earthlink.net/~jimkphoto/tankcave.jpg[/img:b5bb6efdb5]

Notice the flower pot covered with gravel in this picture. I used straight hot glue to attach the gravel. It has been in this tank for months. I also use hot glue to glue gravel to the base of plastic plants. If the fish dig them up, they dont float and if you use the same gravel that's in the tank, you can't tell the plant was dug up.

[SGypsyMermaid]

those are great ideas!! i just love that gravelly flowerpot. :D

[finz]

A little research turned up some interesting info. Hot glue sticks vary in composition. The following info is from the MSDS for the clear craft hot glue sticks I used.

Section 3 - Physical and Chemical Properties

Physical State: 100% Solids.
Appearance and Odor: Translucent/clear with slight odor.
Vapor Pressure: Not applicable
Vapor Density (Air=1): Not applicable
Specific Gravity (H2O=1, at 4 °C): .98
PH: Not established.
Water Solubility: Nil
Boiling Point: Not applicable.
Melting Point: 185°F (85°C).
Viscosity: 11,000 centipoise @ 350°F
% Volatile: Nil.
Evaporation Rate: Not applicable.
Note to Physicians: This adhesive was determined by a toxicologist to be non-toxic.

Section 5 - Stability and Reactivity
Stability: Stable
Polymerization: Hazardous polymerization will not occur.
Incompatibilities – Materials to avoid: Strong oxidizing agents.
Hazardous Decomposition Products: Thermal oxidative decomposition of Ad-Tech 220 can produce carbon monoxide and/or carbon dioxide.

this type of hot melt glu is a rubber based polymer. (plastic)

some types of hot glue might not be so safe for aquariums but this kind seems ok.

[SGypsyMermaid]

what's the brand name on yours?

[finz]

Adhesive Tech

[Glaive]

The hot glue is not what you should be worried about. I have a lot of experience moding tanks with glass, plexiglass, and silicon. I have been playing with viquariums for my amphibians for a long time. Like many adhessives and paints silicon offs gasses, many of which are toxic to sensative critters. If you use silicon try to be patient and give it 24 hours after it sets to gas off(the majority will occur it this time). While it is rather unlikely that one cave would cause probs you can never be too sure.

PS my last project was a stream bed using pvc eaves cut down to size.

[finz]

Thanks for the heads-up!

[Overawed]

Very neat stuff Finz!

I use hot glue to weigh my plastic plants down. I glue gravel to them so they will not float away after a cichlid digs it out. My cichlids like to build a wall of plants up near the front of the tank, so they can hide better.

Now, I build my own plants and use concrete to anchor them. Of course I let the concrete off-gas for a few days in water.

Thats a great picture as well. You take some nice photos. We should start a project together!

Are those live plants in there?

[finz]

The plants are all plastic. I put some live ones in once and wound up with a serious hydra infestation. eeeewww. I too have been hot gluing gravel to my plastic plants to anchor them, it works quite well.

I'm open to any projects. Photography is my passion.

[Overawed]

Cool! I'll PM ya later after the day slows down a bit.

[BlackCamaroSS99]

I just did this project....I'm letting it all set for about 2 or 3 days before I place them into my tank...

One word of advice DO NOT get aquarium sealant on your hands...it was a pita to get off....the tube busted near the end of its run and my hands got covered....when something isn't really water soluble its not an easy thing to get off:hmm:

[maxx]

What kind of alterative sealant can you use instead of aqua. sealant? Or can you use anything else? I'm working on a pvc cave with lava rock and need to adhere it to the pvc. Please give me some names of sealant.
Thanks.......
Maxx

[Jennifer]

Finz I was wondering if you could post the link to the gravel covered flower pot again it won't work for me, I'd love to see it. I was going to cover some pvc pipe with playground sand. (that's what I use in my tank) and set them into the tank so they looked like little sand caves in my tank:D

Thanks Jennifer

[SGypsyMermaid]

Originally posted by maxx
What kind of alterative sealant can you use instead of aqua. sealant? Or can you use anything else? I'm working on a pvc cave with lava rock and need to adhere it to the pvc. Please give me some names of sealant.
Thanks.......
Maxx

http://www.twolittlefishies.com/tlf_prod_access.html

[SGypsyMermaid]

Originally posted by Jennifer
Finz I was wondering if you could post the link to the gravel covered flower pot again it won't work for me, I'd love to see it. I was going to cover some pvc pipe with playground sand. (that's what I use in my tank) and set them into the tank so they looked like little sand caves in my tank:D

Thanks Jennifer

sand caves sound nice...i might try it, too.

[Jennifer]

I thought it would look net:) I am just not sure of what to use as a glue to make the sand stay with out harming my fish any ideas?:confused:

Jennifer

[SGypsyMermaid]

aquarium silicone