PVC pipe/rock structures
 

Hi, I was wondering about using pvc pipe to create rock structures with.

I have seen some set ups use this methood. Can anyone give me some advice/tips on the best way to go about it? Thank-you for your help.

drill and zip ties. :) i think a lot of it depends on what kind of general structuring you're looking for. For example, there are pinnacles, islands, arches and overhangs, just to name a few. Personally Ive been interested of late in midwater suspended rock structues.

Is there a special type of zip ties to use or will any kind do? My idea is to create caves for the fish to hide in.

make sure the zap straps are either stainless steel latch (the little thing that makes the clicking sound) or all plastic, some cheaper ones use a spring steel clip that will rust away,
also the white ones are not UV resistant black ones are so your lights wiill degrade them over time unless they are black.

Good to know, thank-you.

personally, I would stick witht he plastic ones. The black ones would probably be a bit less visible too rather than the stark white zip ties. Over time they would probably get covered in all sorts of sessile invertebrates and algae, so i don't think UV would be a problem.

plus even if its stainless steel, its not going to be high-grade SS16 so it will probably rust away

pvc structure
 

Personally I'm a fan of this idea from some guy in RC:

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o...r1copy_jpg.jpg

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o...r2copy_jpg.jpg

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o...r3copy_jpg.jpg

you make make 4-5 of these in a big tank and join them together with bridge pieces in between.

frame
 

Hi I used a black milk crate that I modified to make a cave then used the large black plastic zip ties, you can not see any of it.

crate
 

http://www.canreef.com/photopost/dat..._FOR_SALON.jpg

The great thing about a crate is you can cut it down and make what ever shape your wanting and it is very strong.In the picture I made a cave as you can see.

paul

Great ideas, Thank-you for adding pictures.

What size pvc do yoy guys use?

I'm wondering about the glue used to hold the pvc together? any problems with it breaking down, or being in any way toxic to the tank?

Then I think we're all in trouble because I'm pretty sure most use PVC/PVC glue to plumb there tanks... only difference is the outside of the pipe is wet too... would you even need glue??

um, may be a stupid question - I'm pretty green - but I guess I'm just wanting to make sure that everyone is using the normal pvc glue and that there's not something I'm missing here...

I built a couple of stands in my tank for some rocks and to help create some caves, I used PVC and cut some egg crate to fit over top the support so I could put rocks in the middle of it and then used zip ties to hold it together.

I followed a similar approach, used 1/2" pvc for the vertical lengths (with threaded ends and fittings rather than glue, for ease of later design changes ... never changed it, so I'd just recommend going with the glue approach as plain pvc parts are cheaper), and 3/4" pvc for the long horizontal lengths.

Here's a look at the cave I built:

2 shots of the structure on the the test bench:

http://pansy-paws.com/aquarium/images/IMG_3131.JPG

http://pansy-paws.com/aquarium/images/IMG_3132.JPG


2 shots of different versions of the cave:

http://pansy-paws.com/aquarium/images/left_side.JPG

http://pansy-paws.com/aquarium/images/IMG_3237.JPG

I used white plastic ties, which quickly blended in with coralline algae :wink:

Wow, I never really put much thought into PVC structures, or seeing pics of the neat cave work you can do!

There will definitely be pvc caves in my next tank! :)