Clay for cave building

[James83]

Has anyone tried building their own caves out of clay and would it be safe to use in an aquarium?
I'm not a massive fan of flower pots and the like and i've seen some of the clay pleco caves online but was wondering how hard it would be to make something myself so it fitted in with my tank. Obviouslly it would have to be the kind of clay that could be baked hard in an oven as I dont have access to my own kiln but would this be ok in the water all the time and do certain clays contain any dodgy chemicals?

[Bully]

Admin Bob will be the one to answer your question, he's very good with his clay

[Bob Mehen]

Hello.

Most clays are safe in aquariums if fired properly - I make my own logs, caves, and bogwood effect planters for my tanks and have done for years without trouble. Unfortunately the oven 'fired' clay you mention is not suitable - it contains resins and will not vitrify sufficiently at 200oC - my kiln fires most of my work at over 1000oC and some considerably higher, often up to 1300oC at which point the correct clays become almost glass like and totally inert in water.

[James83]

Thats what I thought, oh well thanks for the info. Looks like its back to trying to find ways of disguising flower pots and stuff

[fletch88]

Hi James,

I'm not sure how possible it is for you, but maybe you could get in touch with a local college that has an art department and ask them if they will fire your stuff for you? I have a friend who works in an art department and she does it quite regularly for amatuer potters etc. as long as they don't take the mick and bring huge amounts in.

Might be worth a try if you really want to make your own?

[James83]

Thats not a bad idea, theres an art college just down the road and it wont do any harm to ask

[AnnP]

Have you not thought of making some from slate using aquarium sealant. They can be as big as you want. A bag of slate 25kg is only £4

[paulacg]

Have you seen this? - I absolutely love it:

http://www.ratemyfishtank.com/photo-main.php/8719

Paula

[James83]

AnnP - The pleco's I want the caves for are pretty big and most slate caves i've seen are too small, I would need a lot of big bits of slate to make something thats a decent size and doesnt look like a mess of smaller bits stuck together. Might have to go down B&Q get some slate floor tiles then have a go at splitting and cutting

Paula - That tank is excellent, really different

[paulacg]

I thought you would find it amusing. You may find that some DIY stores may be willing to cut slate to size for you. Another thing that some garden centres stock are slate paddlestones, which are flat and have rounded edges and might be suitable to build something.

Paula