Islandoftiki's pvc burrow recreation..

[Calappidae]

Copyrighted to him..

I'm really inspired to recreate the burrow he made for betty for my own O. scyllarus.. (with all the sand and rubble on it for camo)

What kind of glue would be safest? (silicone, coral glue whatever it's called, pvc cement, etc etc..)

Would a 3in be enough? as luck would have it.. nobody within 50 miles of me has 2 inch pvc..

Would a 1' piece with elbows on each side be long enough or go bigger?

Just asking since the last attempt for a mantis setup didn't go well by a long shot.. The setup is a 30g acrylic (for relative's peace of mind..), and it's 3 foot long giving extra space. one side of the sandbed is an inch high while the other side is 5 inches high (slants down.)

Thanx!

P.S... I sandpapered the ink off the 3" pipe I already got, I can still go a different route if that won't work.

[Islandoftiki]

Epoxy and aquarium safe silicone are both good options. I'm sure there are a few other good choices. I used Loctite brand quick-set epoxy.

Make sure you have the right kind of PVC that doesn't float.

[Calappidae]

Is that really safe? I researched that brand in the past and heard it shouldn't be used in continuously wet areas or water immersion.

Atleast it says that from here: http://www.loctiteproducts.com/p/13/6/epxy_qset_s/overview/Loctite-Epoxy-Quick-Set.htm

[Reefer54]

dow corning 795....takes a bit to cure, but it is the best adhesive ive used.....for my sump baffles.

i wish i would have covered my burrow in rock rubble and such as now that it has been uncovered by my goby, i see pvc all the time. but, i did use a 8 inch full clam shell from a friend from when he broke down his tank to make as the main compartment, and it has 5 doors so to speak.

[Islandoftiki]

I used the same loctite epoxy on the tiny mantis burrow in the pest tank. It's still holding up good after a year and a half.

[Islandoftiki]

Loctite also makes a marine epoxy.

[Calappidae]

Loctite also makes a marine epoxy.

I just bought their silicone at lowes. It says "aquarium safe" right on the front :)

[Adetia]

I used regular old PVC cement for mine, even used it to coat the outside/inside of the tube in sand so it would blend in with the substrate. As long as you leave it enough time to properly cure (I think like 48 hours or so) there's no issues with using it.

[Calappidae]

I got the Loctite waterproof silicone. It says aquarium safe right on the cover which will help me sleep at night! (I'm very cautious with putting contaminates in the tank.)

How long should I let it dry before putting it in? I says cures in 24 hours while the other stuff at the lfs says use in aquariums only after 48 hrs..

Right now I'm sandpapering the price tag off the black pvc elbows.

[Kharn]

All my burrows are like this

[kegogut]

I used 3" for my peacock,hes about 4" and he seems like it. He did put a bit of rubble inside of it but thats standard.

[Calappidae]

I'm looking at 2" pvc and it looks like it can't even fit it's antennal scales in it.. 3" is easier to obtain for me also.

[Kharn]

Don't forget that its important to have flow within the pipes I am remaking all my DIY PVC Burrows into fake walls and within the wall will be pump(s) attached to the burrows for flow, this is very important.

[Calappidae]

If I drilled out a hole in the back of the pvc, what GPH pump/powerhead would be good to attach for airflow in there?

[Kharn]

If I drilled out a hole in the back of the pvc, what GPH pump/powerhead would be good to attach for airflow in there?

Waterflow :)

But I go with tiny ones like Eheim compact 300

[Calappidae]

Waterflow :)

I guess it would be a good idea to keep it in water :D

[arnoldrew]

Is Islandoftiki even on this forum? I hope so. That guy seems to really know what he's doing.

[Islandoftiki]

Is Islandoftiki even on this forum? I hope so. That guy seems to really know what he's doing.

Lol. I'm no expert. We have several folks on here with more experience than myself. And of course, we have Dr. Caldwell on here, who is one of the premier stomatopod researchers in the world.

I just read a lot, and ask questions if I can't find the answers myself.

I was given my first mantis, a hitchhiker G. Viridis in March of 2012. I've been hooked ever since. I always want to know more and learn whatever I can and help folks and educate people when I suspect I might have correct answers.

[arnoldrew]

Lol. I'm no expert. We have several folks on here with more experience than myself. And of course, we have Dr. Caldwell on here, who is one of the premier stomatopod researchers in the world.

I just read a lot, and ask questions if I can't find the answers myself.

I was given my first mantis, a hitchhiker G. Viridis in March of 2012. I've been hooked ever since. I always want to know more and learn whatever I can and help folks and educate people when I suspect I might have correct answers.

Ha, I didn't even see you replied to the thread.

[Calappidae]

Although I lost half of the sand.. I managed to get it built.

I'm having ALOT of trouble with the waterflow however.. I researched the pump kharn suggested and no one has anything like it nearby and the weakest pump around here is 170 GPH.. the LFS ain't getting anything in until janurary and I'm stuck with the O. scyllarus already waiting in her (assuming) holding tank for the burrow to be finished :facepalm:

Any other ideas by chance? I might still have the pump from my fluval spec 2 gallon, but it is encrusted in reef buffer (I was a maniac with buffers at the time..) and after several vinigar soaks its still encrusted on there.. (Infact the glass of the tank itself was encrusted and i had to throw it away.. never used buffers since)

[Islandoftiki]

Although I lost half of the sand.. I managed to get it built.

I'm having ALOT of trouble with the waterflow however.. I researched the pump kharn suggested and no one has anything like it nearby and the weakest pump around here is 170 GPH.. the LFS ain't getting anything in until janurary and I'm stuck with the O. scyllarus already waiting in her (assuming) holding tank for the burrow to be finished :facepalm:

Any other ideas by chance? I might still have the pump from my fluval spec 2 gallon, but it is encrusted in reef buffer (I was a maniac with buffers at the time..) and after several vinigar soaks its still encrusted on there.. (Infact the glass of the tank itself was encrusted and i had to throw it away.. never used buffers since)

The stock fluval spec pumps (both 2 and 5 gallon) are really tiny and don't flow much at all--not enough for a marine 2 gallon tank, IMO. They're fine for a freshwater filtration system, which is what they're intended for, but I doubt it'd be of much use for what you're doing. I'm running a Mini-Jet 606 pump in the my Spec, which is a discontinued pump now (I bought a spare before the supply dried up).

Anyhow, I'm a little behind the curve here, what are you setting up exactly and what are the problems.

[Fartin'Gary]

Just order one from Amazon.

[Calappidae]

Anyhow, I'm a little behind the curve here, what are you setting up exactly and what are the problems.

I'm basicly building exactly what you made, and I'm trying to add water flow to it. The pipe is 3" and is a foot long white pvc (because our black pvc is a little bit different and looks strange.. I don't trust it.) then it has 3" black elbows on each side. I sand papered any ink or debres I could find and even smoothed out the edges.

Monday the LFS is giving me an O. scyllarus so the burrow would have to be ready by then.. I could possibly put it on hold for a couple extra days but idk if my ride will be too happy about that... I didn't exactly take full reasponsiblity with the last one and I accept any scolding for it.. but this time I want to be prepared and fool proof. I finally got everything in the 125g, and now the 30 g (3'x12"x18") is freed up..(except it got turned into a starfish holding tank for harlequin shrimp.. but that really shouldn't matter anyway worst case is they become feeders to the wrong predator ;) oh and three damsels (1 velvet, 2 domino) I even made sure that there is a 40 gallon refugium on the 125 incase something went wrong again, and I'm still connecting refuges on all the other tanks as well.

I'm going to see what my lfs might have and try to lower the flow somehow..( I probably sound foolish but either way I'm not an expert with water flow.. I blow glued on xenias off their rock sometimes :D)