Stone Cave

[robbo1078]

I want to make a cave for my pleco i bought the other day, but have not enough money to just go and buy a cave/rocks so wouldnt mind having a go myself, in my garden are plenty of rocks/pebbles/old bricks/old concrete slabs but would these be safe putting in my tank? or would i need to soak them somehow in water first? im not sure, but i was thinking of just smashing up some old slab, and try and make some kindof a cave from that? Any ideas?

 

[SchottayB]

I think you can boil it to remove some muck and what not? Not 100% sure though but I'm sure there are people who do use it

 

[DrRob]

Concrete is very high in lime, and will harden your water, probably amongst other things it'll do to the water.

Some bricks are OK, but they can be sharp and need to be clay not concrete based ones.

Boiling rocks does kill stuff, but can make them explode if they have gas or large liquid pockets in them.

 

[OldMan47]

A nice short piece, say 6 inches long, of 1 1/2 inch diameter PVC pipe with a cap on one end makes a great pleco breeding cave, but is not as pretty as most are. Why not just make one and lay a flat rock across the top to hide it?

 

[Aquamaniac]

Some people use a half coconut shell with an entrance cut on one of the sides. Actually some shops sell theses one's. Also you can attach whatever plants you want on it to disguise it or even hide as much of if possible under the sustrate.