so a cave tank it is...

So I've decided that my now empty Vision180 is going to be a cave tank setup, principally stocked with blind cave tetras.

the substrate will be fine sand, not too deep, and I've a load of nice craggy looking basalt rocks to pile up in caves. I'm not planning to stack them floor to ceiling, but just in a few natural looking stacks of varying sizes. I'm considering making a foam rock to suspend from the top, stalactite-style so any tips on this would be greatly appreciated.

the lighting is something I'm looking forward to experimenting with. I need it subdued so I'm thinking of putting PVC tubing over the bulbs and making holes for a spotlight/moonbeam effect; maybe put something over the holes to soften the light further.

as for tankmates, i think I'll add a few Mexican dwarf crayfish, which i know are not cave dwellers, but they'll go with the feel of the tank and should do pretty well.

any thoughts welcome

I think this is a great and unique project, really looking forward to seeing it.
You were talking about lighting in the other post (which i cannot find now), maybe single led spotlights could be an idea, so that there are "random" spots of strong lights here and there.

I remember a post from probably a year or more ago with a really nice diy stalactite in the centre of the tank, it's the same there though I cannot find the post but maybe someone else remembers the same.

Best of luck,

Andreas

some inspiration for you..

Very nice. That's the kind of look I'm going for, though I'm hoping to take the lighting down a notch. Eerily serene is the mood I'm aiming for

Thats a prity cool lookin tank gav.
So far all your ideas tick my boxes so should be 1 to watch. When I was building the plywood tank I had the same plan for it eventually but in blackwater with just a spotlamp for an eary dark feel... as usual though it never materialised but hopefully yours will be amazing looking

Great thing as well is that it'll be cheap to run. The filter will cost €20 a year to run, the lights only about a tenner (since I'll only need them on when I'm looking at it) and because it'll only be running at 21^o in a heated house, the heating will be negligible. Less than €4 a month... score!

I thought it was a weird idea but after seeing the pic i want one. It really creates an strange athmosphere wich appeals to my cave man side.
Thanks
Anthony

you'll like this then

How do you plan on suspending the foam rock? I've suspended plenty of wood in tanks by siliconing strips of glass across the tank and then using cable ties to hold in place......always worked a treat.

Ger

ger310 wrote:

How do you plan on suspending the foam rock? I've suspended plenty of wood in tanks by siliconing strips of glass across the tank and then using cable ties to hold in place......always worked a treat.

Ger

partly by siliconing some of it to the glass at the back and since it's a Juwel aquarium, i'll attach it to the plastic spar that goes across the middle of the tank. at least that's the theory!

great idea

LemonJelly wrote:

ger310 wrote:

How do you plan on suspending the foam rock? I've suspended plenty of wood in tanks by siliconing strips of glass across the tank and then using cable ties to hold in place......always worked a treat.

Ger

partly by siliconing some of it to the glass at the back and since it's a Juwel aquarium, i'll attach it to the plastic spar that goes across the middle of the tank. at least that's the theory!

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh the good old Juwel plastic brace spar!!!!! I always wondered what that was 'really' for ha

Ger

ger310 wrote:

LemonJelly wrote:

ger310 wrote:

How do you plan on suspending the foam rock? I've suspended plenty of wood in tanks by siliconing strips of glass across the tank and then using cable ties to hold in place......always worked a treat.

Ger

partly by siliconing some of it to the glass at the back and since it's a Juwel aquarium, i'll attach it to the plastic spar that goes across the middle of the tank. at least that's the theory!

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh the good old Juwel plastic brace spar!!!!! I always wondered what that was 'really' for ha

Ger

well up until now all it's been good for is getting in the way when I'm struggling to get a big piece of bogwood into the tank! so it might as well be good for SOMEthing

nice idea look forward to seeing the progress, but them tetras are one ugly looking fish i was just looking st them the other day in a shop

Another brainwave!

I'm decided that the main stalactite I'm making is going to be more of a ridge in the middle of the tank, running from front to back, getting bigger as it reaches the back. But my big brainwave is that I'm going to make a stalactite for the corner where the outflow for the filter goes, thereby keeping it almost entirely out of sight. I might even get an inline heater and that way it'll keep the lines aesthetically clean

sometimes i even amaze myself

Looking forward your project, never seen one so I'm pretty curious. What are you going to use for creating the stalactites? And how are you gonna glue them?

Aroshni wrote:

Looking forward your project, never seen one so I'm pretty curious. What are you going to use for creating the stalactites? And how are you gonna glue them?

insulation foam which I'll cut into shape, paint and then seal with resin. I have access to loads of foam and my father regularly uses resin so it'll be v cheap. I'll just attach it with silicone and cable ties. Should work a treat!

Again, I thought it was a strange idea, but that video and Pic looks really cool, Cant wait to see your progress,

S

Stem12 wrote:

Again, I thought it was a strange idea, but that video and Pic looks really cool, Cant wait to see your progress,

S

Me neither. Ha! I have to clean the tank and paint the back over the next few days and tomorrow I'll be making blocks of foam to start carving from.

Keeps me off the streets...