PlanetCatfish.com

Hi all,

Have posted this on another site as well.
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Hi,

Have got my new tank and currently undergoing sorting it out however what is bothering me is that the heaters and four pipes, for the filters, will be on show inside the tank.

There is the consideration of hiding them behind rock wood etc but im thinking that when and if i have to get the pipes or heater out i may have to disturb the deco- which i maybe reluctant to do.

Has anyone any ideas on hiding them or any pictures would be better? How have the outlets been set up cos i cannot figure out for the life of me how the best way or even with the bits supplied to do it! ( i have two aquaone 1200 externals these are filtering a 620ltr bowfront).


I have a thought of using two of the units that sit in a Juwel rio 400 tank and then inserting the heater, intake and outlet into these and then these are positioned in the corners. These can then have the rock work or wood leaning agaisnt them and i wouldnt have to worry about having to move it in the future.

Any suggestions would be gratefully recieved. The back wall will have the right 3d background when i find it!

Cheers

Paul

I have "replace" my RIO 400 internal filter with an external filter, but I kept the filter housing for the very reason of hiding the pipes [and the heater lives in there too].

For other tanks, you could of course use a similar method of a "box in the pipes" without actually getting a Juwel filter housing - you could for example make a housing from sheets of slate or flooring tiles [using aquariums safe silicon to "glue" it together]. Or you could use a large plastic pipe to hide the stuff [e.g. guttering/drain pipes in black, perhaps?].

I'm just thinking out loud on the above, but perhaps it can give you some ideas.

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Mats

I saw a nice idea the other day. I piece of perspex was siliconed into the corner of a tank in a bow (like a quarter circle). All the equipment was inside - there were perforations at the bottom to allow water in & a hole at the top to allow the outlet from the internal power filter. Over the top of the perspex was siliconed a sheet of green mesh with a hole size of 2cm square. In this was amounts of java moss & java fern which created a "living wall". It looked really good but must've taken a bit of effort.

You could try to create something like Haavard Stoere does in his tanks which look amazing (you can search in the loricariid forum to find his posts)

Thanks for the replies guys

I use slate in my tanks, regularly. You can provide a nice place for fish to hide, and a nice to place to hide unsightly pipes, hoses, and other assorted implements. ;)

Ceramic floor tiles with a stone finishes are aquarium safe and could be use to form an area to conceal heaters and the like.