Coconut Caves

[freerunner416]

Howdy,

Righto this is probably easier than i am thinking but thought i would ask if its worthwhile to do before commiting to it.

Does anybody make them? How would you go about it?

Cheers

C

 

[KraKen]

I remember seeing a link to a good tutorial somewhere on this forum...

 

[Rooster]

Buy a coconut, crack it in half... continuous tapping with a heavy knife whist rotating the coconut will give 2 decent halfs.
Remove the flesh - with a knife or spoon if you want to eat it.... 30 seconds in a microwave will make the job a LOT easier if you dont !
Boil the shells for as long as you can in an old pan - changing the water every 20 mins or so to remove the tannin... the water should be reasonable clear when done.
Sand off the hairy stuff, as well as any sharp edges - dont forget to make a "doorway" if the shells parted straight.
Add to tank ! Look a lot better with a little java moss added.
Dead easy.

 

[freerunner416]

Cheersy the Roostery dude!!

Think i will have a blast at it over the next week. I was planning on hiding them under some bogwood anyway to give alot of shelter.

Cheers for your help.

 

[ICEEGRL]

You can also tie plants to them just as you would with wood.

I used a small saw to cut mine. I poked a hole to drain the milk & used a saw to cut one end to make the doors. Then cut it in half. The rest I did the same as above.

 

[Inchworm]

I saw a picture of ICEEGRL's cave and it looks really nice! In fact, it inspired me to try making one too, so I bought a coconut last week. It's on my kitchen counter now. I succeeded growing some java moss on a piece of wood and hope it will grow on the coconut too.

 

[freerunner416]

Coconut bought!!

I am going to have a bash at this and see what happens. It cost me 0.70p for the coconut and they are selling for £3.00 odd on ebay this now so i think even if it goes wrong and i have to try again it doesn't matter.

Does the coconut shell have any affect on the water?

Stupid question which i will find out anyway later, but does the shell not float??

Cheers for the info.

C

 

[ICEEGRL]

It does not float. It will leach tannins just like wood. You will want to boil / soak it just like you would wood.
I have some that are plain, and some that have plants, and some with moss growing on them. They are really cool. You can use them for so many things. I have even used silicone to make things with the little pieces.
I forgot to mention that I did put a hole in the top of all of mine to help a little with water flow.
I have these in all of my tanks. Some you can see very well, and others are hidden under stuff. I even built a hill with them and covered them with the substrate to give me a whole other level to the tank.

 

[freerunner416]

I have made my first two!!

They look good. My plecs went straight into them. Think i am going to put a few more in. Cheers for the tip on the holes at the top. one already has that and i will add it on the other. Wicked. Will post pics at some points

Thanks for your help

 

[ICEEGRL]

Glad I could finally be of some help to someone.
I would love to see how they turned out.

 

[kribensis12]

Hey ICEGIRL, can you show me some pic's of yours? Mine are just basic halves sitting upwards, my cons really like them.

 

[Da_One]

How far should you sand / file the hairy stuff down to ?

to the next layer or until there are no more hairy stuff showing through?

 

[DarkEntity]

If you search the forum, there is a number of threads on how to make a coconut cave including one with pictures im sure

 

[hollyp0p]

If you search the forum, there is a number of threads on how to make a coconut cave including one with pictures im sure

I think I have a spare old hamster one somewhere......do you boil them first before adding them?

 

[BigC]

Buy a coconut, drill a good sized hole using a holesaw (drill attachment) cut coconut in half with a fine toothed saw, scoop out the innards, and boil both halves.
stick halves to a piece of slate/glass or perspex (will act as foot to bury in gravel) disguise cave.
Buy a ladys hairnet and cover the cave, (leave the opening free) now place Riccia/Java Moss under the hairnet. Yes it will look messy at first but once the Riccia takes hold the cave looks natural and not like a submerged coconut halve.

Regards

BigC