Home made Hide

I recently had a piece of wood as a cave in my tank but i couldn't get it to stop making the water cloudy, so i decided to make a new hide for Lottie (thanks to cml for the idea)

1)i got a plastic tub and soaked it for about a week (it would have probably been ok if i didn't do this but better to be safe than sorry)


2)i then coated the tub with aquarium safe silicon and then poured sand on it (the same stuff they use to join the corners of the tank together)



3)the sand i used was too fine so it could not get a decent coating of sand, so i decided to make paste like substance out the silicon and sand, i used 60% sand and 40% silicon to make the paste, i could then press the paste on to the side of the tub(the sand already there helped it stick)

i didnt put the paste on the top as i could just put dry sand on top

4)i stuck some plants and rocks on top and to the side for show


5)i let the silicon dry for 4 days as instructed on the tube, , and then i soaked the hide in water for a further day , before finally puting it in the tank and putting sand on the roof

Its looks awesome! Your axies will definatly love it !

It looks really good x

Looking good, the sand layer looks alittle thick, in your tank not your hide

Aaran said:

Looking good, the sand layer looks alittle thick, in your tank not your hide

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does that make any differnce, can take some out if it does??

Dangerous gasses can build up inside, because the sand bed isnt live like in a marine tank it isnt great. Most people advise to 1inch thick at best. Mine is just around this with some parts a little thicker, but i disturb my sand every 3- 4 days

That looks awesome!!!

Yep I would definitely advise reducing the thickness of the sand. If you were using an undergravel filter, I think it would be fine, but otherwise 1 inch thickness is best.

Good work on the hide!

Sounds great to make it yourself

ok got about an inch of sand in the tank now, cheers for the advice

Aww that looks really good. My boyfriend had suggested I do the same with some pipe. Now I know how to, thanks

Love it

Does the hide sink ok or do you need those rocks on top to keep it down? (just wondering for myself is all)

dipsydoodle said:

Does the hide sink ok or do you need those rocks on top to keep it down? (just wondering for myself is all)

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To avoid air getting stuck under the hide its best to drill a hole through the top of the container, to allow the air to escape! This helps alot when submersing as the whole thing will be waterfilled! =)

Or you could just put it in on an angle.. even turn upside down, then place it.

But drilling is fun, I won't spoil that. :happy:

cml said:

To avoid air getting stuck under the hide its best to drill a hole through the top of the container, to allow the air to escape! This helps alot when submersing as the whole thing will be waterfilled! =)

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D'oh of course. I'm an engineer and I can't believe I didn't think of that. I found myself stuff for a good hide the other day but it would have floated...not with a hole though. Silly Dipsy

The Banana said:

Or you could just put it in on an angle.. even turn upside down, then place it.

But drilling is fun, I won't spoil that. :happy:

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You could, but the hide I built is too big for that , I would have to remove all other tank decorations to flip it on its side! And that I cant be bothered with unless its the BIG tank clean day ^^.

dipsydoodle said:

Does the hide sink ok or do you need those rocks on top to keep it down? (just wondering for myself is all)

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it sinks by itself , i didnt need to drill a hole to allow air to escape as i just put it in upside down and let it fill and then turned it while in the water,