Slate Caves Part 2

[rfisher]

Hi All,

I have just made a couple of caves with slate and I would just like some opinions. I got hold of some Hagen Silicone so I know that it is fish safe. The slate was boiled for nearly two hours and then scrubbed with cold water, when they had cooled down obviously and then boiled again for another half an hour. The bigger cave has had any small hole's filled in so the fish have one way in and one way out. The smaller cave has not had any of the holes filled. Just to give an idea of scale the bigger cave is approx 3 1/2 " high by 5"wide by 5" deep. The smaller cave is approx 2 1/2" high by 4 1/2" wide by 3" deep. Any criticisms or opinions or other comments would be appreciated.

Hope this link works havent done this before.

Thanks,

Richard

 

[Die_Grinder]

nice, looking good. they would look rearly good with java moss on it.

in my experience silicone does not stick rock well. the rock tends to came away from the silicone.

DG

 

[rfisher]

nice, looking good. they would look rearly good with java moss on it.

in my experience silicone does not stick rock well. the rock tends to came away from the silicone.

DG

Thanks I will bare that in mind.

Richard

 

[Neal]

I'd like to see what it looks like in your tank before I judge it really, at the minute it looks more like a wall rather than a cave, but who knows what it looks like in a tank?

Neal

 

[SkiFletch]

in my experience silicone does not stick rock well. the rock tends to came away from the silicone.

Agreed, tough to glue rocks. Epoxy works the best, but even that can be hit or miss. I like the formations though, looks good

 

[Phoenixfish]

nice *claps*

 

[Chris_Wood]

I agree about the silicon, may give problems with rock!

I really like the formations, they will look really natural in the right setting, especially with some moss etc growing on them! Much better that those ones that look like bus shelters!

Nice one!

I always like a more natural look... ...my tank looks like a jungle!

CW

 

[RadaR]

Dude! I love them! Really cool. Nice little alcove for fishies. If at all possible, some Riccia would look well good.

 

[anvil63]

look good. I made some similar caves for my small tank. The only problem I had was that I was not as careful with the silicone as I should have been. As the rocks began to change color with the growth of algae that always occurs you could still see the bright light gray color through the few spots of silicon you could see on the side. Ended up redoing them as it was an eyesore. Looks Ok now.

Carl

 

[Miss Wiggle]

i think they look really good

Ian does caves with silicone too

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=132950

 

[rfisher]

I'd like to see what it looks like in your tank before I judge it really, at the minute it looks more like a wall rather than a cave, but who knows what it looks like in a tank?

Neal

Hi,

I will post some pics of the caves in the tank as soon as I can.

Regards,

Rich

Hi All,

Thanks for all the comments. Glad you like them. Will be making a few more soon maybe even tonight. Thanks again.

Rich

 

[Neal]

Chris_Wood: "Much better that those ones that look like bus shelters!"
Miss Wiggles: "Ian does caves with silicone too"

Lol, doesn't look that natural in my opinion, but better than what I could do!

Neal

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Silicone works fine on slate- but you need to let it cure for a day or two. I have two large rock retaining walls I made using silicone which have been in a tank for about 5 years. Not one piece has come off.

The tank doesnt look like that pic which was taken a few years back, but the walls are still intact.

 

[Neal]

Silicone works fine on slate- but you need to let it cure for a day or two. I have two large rock retaining walls I made using silicone which have been in a tank for about 5 years. Not one piece has come off.

The tank doesnt look like that pic which was taken a few years back, but the walls are still intact.

That wall on the first pic looks flipping awesome, does it have a cave inside or is it do-able? What did you use to make the wall apart from silicone?

Neal

 

[rfisher]

I agree that look's awsome. Somewhat grander than my own attempts, but we all gotta start somewhere.