BJP

It's a really neat idea but some type of final sealent should be included. The lime and stuff in raw concrete is going to react with the water in a closed system like a tank to elevate the PH while rapidly deteriorating, even faster in soft acidic water. We have to replace the cinderblocks in moms pond forming the diverter walls every five to 10 years. In between the look gets ragged quickly. Concretes also not the easiest substance to get algae to release from for cleaning purposes.

The cheapest full tank decorative scheme I can think of starts with one of each of the plant types the local store has. Whichever one's survive grow fast enough usually to fill a tank from clippings and babys. My one brazilian sword has grown to fill almost half the tank and has two babys just grown enough to reach the surface now and a third about ready to be cut free from mom's surface shoot thing.

You can usually find rocks either for free just by wandering around places rocks like to hang out or inexpensively at garden centers and quarries used to pricing truck loads.

You can crank out your own driftwood in six months just by taking time to collect it from the wild and prepare it.

I've also set up theme tanks with stuff around the house. My favorite is the football theme where I raid my display cabinet for aquarium safe items and set up the background scene with Sports Illustrated covers and such covered by Saran wrap to protect theme from moisture. Those extra coffee mugs and ceramic flower pots make great breeding sites or caves.

Have some fun, try it, change it to something new in six months to a year. Once you quit fiddling around, it's just another decoration.

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davidbrum77

I think i just wasted 10 bucks and a couple of hours making a concrete cave...

I live in Florida so its hard to find proper rocks (too much limestone), I guess Ill buy some to glue (silicone obviously) together.

Hey, is lava rock a good choice or does it actually scratch fish as Ive read elsewhere?

dannyLTJ

concrete is fine but it does need to 'cure' before becomming inert, i once saw an article that could clear this matter up, if i can find it i will post it here. whatever you make, epoxy resin (not polyester resin) is inert once cured and could seal just about anything you care to construct, I once shaped a tree root out of polystryene foam, textured it with domestic filler, airbrushed it with acrylic paint and then sealed it with epoxy resin...I never used it because it looked terrible lol! but the epoxy coating would have sealed it all up.

davidbrum77

OK, I just put 12 starter goldfish in the tank and they are dropping like flies...

My parameters are fine, WHAT IS GOING ON???????

davidbrum77

There is a white stringy mucous-like film coming off the fish. Its on the filter intake as well. There has got to be some mystery chemical doing this.

BJP

You could simply have purchased sickly weak feeder style goldfish. That happens a lot with feeders much like you describe.

Clear ammonia is cheaper, measurable and you don't have to deal with disease issues to cycle a tank. Hopefully whatever you've introduced will pass clear before you start adding fish you really want and getting them sick.

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