New setup....in progress

[Mortimer]

So I've been building my little guy a nice hiding spot this past week. I made another one a while back and he absolutely loved hiding in there (or at least it seemed like he did!)....it totally blocks the light and he has things to run around. Here are the pictures....let me know what you think! It is totally sealed with aquarium safe sealant and is really sturdy (I can stand on it and it doesn't move).

Front view:

Side view:

I'm putting it in his aquarium tomorrow (I can't wait)....I'll post more pictures then.

Sharon

 

[tigmades]

O____O Wow that looks stunning!!!

If I was another owner's axolotl, I'd be jealous! Lol!

You really need to have a DIY with instructions I'd love to do granite bottom now... but I'm terrified of all that extra weight so I probably will stick to sand. This is quite awesome!

 

[Mortimer]

Thank you! It was my stress-relief project this past week. I found out that I didn't match to an internship site (I spent $5k on interviews), and I have to do an internship to finish my PhD. So.....instead of totally losing my mind, I started building.

I used to have sand, but I was hard for me to clean. And my ammonia levels were not staying at zero. So then I changed to granite on the bottom only, and the problem with that was the little black worms were getting in the cracks and underneath it. It was a pain to clean. But I REALLY liked the look of the granite, and he seemed to like having it in there. I decided to give him a really good hiding spot with it and put a temporary one in there. He ran back and forth in the tunnel and seemed really comfortable with it, so I decided to make a super sturdy one. This one can be taken apart into four parts (so it's not too heavy to put in there). Each part has sealant to prevent the worm problem. We'll see how it goes. I'll post some pictures of it in there later today.

Also, I'll take pictures of each separate part so that you can see how it's put together. I like it because it gives him a second level to run around on and the whole length of the aquarium to hide under if he wants.

Thank you for the compliment! My boyfriend says it looks like a Frank Lloyd Wright house....that was unintentional, but it kind of does.

 

[tigmades]

I'm curious... mind if I ask how much it costs? Seeing as anything decent sized here costs $50+ to buy... I'm thinking of making one for my tank, too. I love the stylish look!

 

[Mortimer]

I got scraps of granite from a building recycling place--they came out to about $40. Then there was the aquarium safe silicone, which was about $7. So, about $50.

 

[Mortimer]

Oh and razor blades to scrape off the extra sealant once it cured--$3-ish.

 

[tigmades]

Thanks for spilling Sharon :3 I'll have to see if I can find some scraps around here!