Creating more hiding places

[sen5241b]

I'm obsessing with this silly issue. My small 29G tank needs more hiding places and I've had difficulty using LR to create more places. Its hard to find precisely sized and shaped LR to really maximize the number of hiding places and besides I already have plenty of painstakingly arranged LR in there and I'm getting ready to add more.

What else can be used to create many hiding places? I've thought of using a little stack of short PVC pipes, hidden under the rock to create many little tunnels but this is not ideal. Ideas?

 

[yote]

Why not use a hammer and chisel to bust the rock into the sizes and shapes you need?

 

[cthegame]

Ye break the rocks to the size you want. Fish will find a fiding place out of anything in the tank so if you have enough rock, that'll do just fine

 

[Rcpilot]

I have a 30g tank, so I feel your pain.

You have to try and stack shelves and caves. I have several caves, several overhangs and many holes through my rock work. Most of the rocks I used are either flat or small baseball size. I have a couple 10-12lb base pieces, but everything else is either baseball,golf ball, or softball size or flat and broad.

 

[lightcs4]

You will drive yourself crazy trying to find the "perfect" arrangement. However, you can do a lot to create the environment you want. I have seen people drill holes in their rock, then attach it to other rock via some kind of reef safe rods (kinda like dowels). It allows them to create a lot more caves.

 

[sen5241b]

Apparenlty a lot of people use PVC pipe to aquascape.

Just finished doing that today and it turned out great. The tank looks worlds better and I tripled the number of hiding places for fish. I drilled a lot of small holes in the PVC pipes to ensure there was some flow thru them but not too much. Recall nitrobacter needs stagnant water to exists.

I over estimated the PVC I needed and probably wasted about 10 bucks but not too bad. You need to think how you will get the LR to sit on the PVC pipe. LR tends to slip off the slick surfaces of PVC. The little holes helped hold the LR.

Also, I noticed all the PVC had some sort of slightly greasy, industrial residue on it. I put it all thru the dishwasher with NO soap and whatever it was --it was gone.

 

[yote]

Pics?:D

 

[sen5241b]

PVC pipe created more hiding places but also lifted the LR up higher.

BEFORE ...

(smaller pieces of branch coral were hidden in back in the previous image. Also note the Koralia in the lower left putting flow behind and under the LR)

AFTER ...

and ...

PVC is hidden well but you can see a little deep in the holes ...

 

[RyanG]

Looks great Sen, I like the conch shells too.

Your quote is dead on too.

 

[dustin_P74]

looks worlds better

 

[Piggy]

It make the tank look fuller.