# DIY Plants floating and foreground. (lots of pics)



## dcorolla05 (Aug 12, 2006)

Hello I'm posting DIY instructions on how to create floating plants for your aquarium. This is how I did it.. I partically did this because I was bored but I'd rather create my own plant masterpiece rather than premade plants at the LFS's. There are numerous variations available to work with... enjoy!!

1. Purchase 1/2" pipe, I found mine at TAP's Plastic. I'm certain you could use PVC pipe or any plastic alternative.

2. Cut the pipe to size. My tank is six feet long so I cut mine to about four feet in length.









3. I then purchased some plastic plants from Michaels Craft store. The two bundles cost me about $16 dollars. I could have done it with one bundle but I wanted some extra coverage. I then separated the bundles so I could share the wealth and place evenly through the tank.


















4. I then drilled a series of holes for the sprigs of plants. Once I figured out how I wanted to arrange them I hot glued them into place.


























5. Once the plants were glued in I had to keep the plants into place. My particular tank has a piece of glass in midle of tank. I created 2 loops one on each side of the glass piece. I then used two more zip ties and placed over the glass partition to keep into place.


















6. Picture of the finished product. I pushed the plants back to the middle of the tank. There is enough space in the tank for fish to get to their food and does not hinder the filtration..









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...........................................................Bonus..............................................

Here are some pics of DIY foreground plants. I have cichlids and they tend to dig to remedy this I super glued the plant bases to Terra-cotta pot saucers. Then I figured out that I no longer need to buy plants from fish stores I can get similar plants at Michaels...

1. buy plant from craft store for example Michaels.









2. Cut the stems from the plant

3. Drill holes into Terra-Cotta saucers. I soaked them overnight because I heard it mades it easier to drill and less likely to break.









5. Hot Glue into place.









6. Finished product.


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## KaiserSousay (Nov 2, 2008)

:thumb: SWEET :thumb:
Looks much better than "store bought"!


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## mithesaint (Oct 31, 2006)

Excellent. I like that. I've been using those plastic plants for awhile now, and love how well they work out. Wish I'd thought of the saucer idea. Nice work.


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## Gino Santangelo (Nov 26, 2008)

I'm sure your fish enjoy the sense of cover. Do they behave diffently?


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## SullyNJ (Nov 1, 2007)

Did you take out the metal wire in the plants?


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## R-DUB (Jun 3, 2007)

Very cool! Great ideas. How much did this project cost? Much cheaper than regular plastic plants I'm sure. 
:thumb:


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## slickvic277 (Aug 20, 2006)

I also have used plants from the crafts store,they look alot nicer and are much cheaper to buy then at the lfs.I had some medium sized smooth river rocks that I drilled a hole into the center of them and then I stuffed the base of the plant into the rock and secured it with aquarium safe silicone. Worked great and the heavy rock base kept them in place without having to bury them in the sand.The rock base also made them easy to move around and take out of the aquarium to clean.


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## Riceburner (Sep 3, 2008)

I do that to anchor my drift wood down just the little bit it needs. Hole drilled thru flatish rocks and stainless screws up into the wood. Rocks look more natural than a piece of slate. Will probably do it with the plastic plants I have sitting around...if they ever get used again....silicone or glue into holes in small rocks....even better if it's the same rocks as the gravel.

+1 did you remove any metal inside the plants?


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## kerbchek (Apr 1, 2008)

Riceburner said:


> +1 did you remove any metal inside the plants?


Should these plastic plants from craft stores be safe as long as there is no metal wire? I did an experiment with two tanks, and used plastic plants in one tank and silk plants in the other from craft stores... I made sure there was no metal wires in the center, or waxy type coating to make the plant look more "real" and have had no problem at all... I put the plants in those tanks in July 2008 and it's been about 6 months and no problems.... I was afraid the metal wire might cause a problem, so purchased fake plants with NO metal in the stems... harder to find, but they're out there...


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## Stickzula (Sep 14, 2007)

The metal in the stems pose no problems. First off, they are coated in plastic. Really the only place that the metal is exposed is where you make the cut and occasionally where the stem is bent. Sure it will rust a bit, but the amount of rust that actually leaches into the water is incredibly low. There are trace amounts of rust in the lake anyway and regular water changes remove amounts that may be in excess. I have used craft store plants with metal stems nearly exclusively for several years and there have been ZERO ill affects in any of my aquariums. If it is that much of a concern, put some hot glue or silicone over the exposed areas.

Obviously it is your tank and you will take the risks that you are comfortable with. This has been my experience take it for what it is worth.


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## mithesaint (Oct 31, 2006)

Stickzula said:


> The metal in the stems pose no problems. First off, they are coated in plastic. Really the only place that the metal is exposed is where you make the cut and occasionally where the stem is bent. Sure it will rust a bit, but the amount of rust that actually leaches into the water is incredibly low. There are trace amounts of rust in the lake anyway and regular water changes remove amounts that may be in excess. I have used craft store plants with metal stems nearly exclusively for several years and there have been ZERO ill affects in any of my aquariums. If it is that much of a concern, put some hot glue or silicone over the exposed areas.
> 
> Obviously it is your tank and you will take the risks that you are comfortable with. This has been my experience take it for what it is worth.


Couldn't have said it better myself.

If you're that concerned about contaminants in the water, better look into RO. Keep in mind that from the moment your water supply leaves the treatment plant, it goes through steel and copper pipes the whole way to you tap and aquarium. The water you put in your tank is basically percolating in metal pipes. That bothers me more than the tiny wire in the plants.

I've used plants with the wire it in for years. No problems.


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## kerbchek (Apr 1, 2008)

Sweet - that's awesome to hear. I thought I was the only one who tried using craft store plants in their tanks :lol: :lol: :lol: They're much cheaper... I did worry about the metal wire in the middle and avoided them... but I guess it makes sense to not be so concerned!!

by the way, those DIY plastic hanging plants on the plastic pipe is a great idea, I like the look of them hanging from the top. I will try that oneday!!


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## dcorolla05 (Aug 12, 2006)

sorry for the delay in responding

1. I think I spent less than 20 total for all plants and the terra cotta saucers. The floating plants alone were 16.99 for two bundles. (at the store with "smart pets" they had a fake floating plant for 16.99, I think I have 4x as much coverage as that one particular plant they had)

2. I wasn't too worried about the rusting of the metal in the tank for the fact that it would be minimal, however when I hot glued the plants in place I covered the end with hot glue.

3. The fish seem to like it ok. It definatly looks better and in some cases would appear to be more like their natural environment.

4. I'll never buy a plant from a LFS again. On a side note now the guys in this forum have no reason to fear craft stores again. I think we can justify going there with our wives now.


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## JWerner2 (Jul 7, 2008)

Nice! To bad I cant get my wife to justify going to the fish stores :x :lol:

You should snag the most vital of shots IMO for this project. The top/over head shot.


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## dcorolla05 (Aug 12, 2006)

JWerner2 said:


> You should snag the most vital of shots IMO for this project. The top/over head shot.


I'll do that tonight when I get home. Its not much to see but I'll take the pic anyways.


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## BurgerKing (Jul 1, 2008)

Nice DIY, looks great.


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## football mom (Feb 19, 2006)

What about the silk plants from craft stores? Has anyone used them safely?


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## JWerner2 (Jul 7, 2008)

I used them and actually dont like them as opposed to some that love them. I find they collect more brown algae and are harder to clean than the harder type of artificial plants.


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## dcorolla05 (Aug 12, 2006)

as promised here is a picture from above. As you can see I just wrapped the zip tie around the glass and attached. I then pushed back under the light so its not seen as much..










btw silk plants work fine too. The foreground plants I photographed were silk.


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## JWerner2 (Jul 7, 2008)

Ahh thanks, a bit blurred but oh well. I just wanted a clear idea how things looked attached in the tank you know what I mean?


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