The drawing only has the basic structure of the back and the middle. I'll try to use real driftwood as part of the supporting structure in the front so that it will look as natural as possible. I have no idea how well this will work out, but it should be an improvement.
The plant box and main cave will made of a 10” PVC pipe split in half. The plant box will be sealed off on both ends and will have aquarium water pumped into it. The water will exit the plant box through a filtered overflow and the water will cascade back into the aquarium. The plant box will have a sand and peat moss substrate. The plants will get additional fertilization from the contents of 6 canister filters that I'll dump into the box when they are cleaned. I'd like to try to grow some edible plants that the fish will eat, if anyone has any suggestions, I'd love to hear them.
The inside of the caves will be spray painted black. To spray paint the inside of the 6” pipe I'll have to saw that pipe in half also. This is something that I wish I did with the current island caves because having white caves look terrible. Since the main cave and the 6" cave are so large, I will putting many removable 2" PVC caves inside them. This way I'll be able to remove fish easier in the future.
The goal is to add some aesthetics and more functionality to the river tank. I want this island to look as natural as possible, like a big hollow tree trunk that split in half and has fallen into a river.
I guess I should also mention the problems with the old island.
- the bristlenose plecos and clown loaches have been nibbling on the cement and styrofoam. Hundreds of small styrofoam pieces are now floating on the surface of the water. Cleaning up this mess is becoming a constant PITA. I've already tried using epoxy putty to plug up the bad spots, but is still seems like an endless battle.
- it's really difficult to catch and remove fish when they are in the main cave. With this new design it should be much easier.
