Using Lego's to build aquarium items

26320 Views 10 Replies 7 Participants Last post by WhiteDevil, Oct 2, 2009

panther685

Discussion Starter · Oct 2, 2009

Has anyone ever tried to use Lego's to build aquarium decor?

I was thinking of building a castle out of lego's and putting it in my tank.

I would make large windows for the fish to swim in and out of it.

I also would like to cover it with silicone and stick the substrate i have to it to make it the same color as the floor of my tank.

Do any of you think this is a bad idea?

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Lymore

· #2 · Oct 2, 2009

Well, legos are safe for aquarium use. And silicone is too, they use it to bond the sides of the tank.... and the substrate is obviously safe. So I would say yes, just be sure the silicone is completely dry before putting it in.

But I'm not too sure how it would work out... the substrate might slide down the sides of your castles and such before it dries... maybe let the silicone set momentarily, before putting the substrate on it.

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Regloh

· #3 · Oct 2, 2009

I love that idea, once you decided to depart from the "natural" planted look...
I grew up with legos and can't wait until I can buy them for my son.

There is a couple of thoughts that comes to mind, that might throw a wrench into the whole plan. Legos will be hard to "sink" as they will have a lot of air inside.

The second thought was that cleaning them from algae may prove to be quite difficult.

Oh and one other thing. I don't know how the material would react to CO2 injection, if you even do that.

I still think it's worth a try and I would love to see it if you do try it.

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Lymore

· #4 · Oct 2, 2009

Regloh said:
Legos will be hard to "sink" as they will have a lot of air inside.

Maybe attach some weights to the underside of the castles? Or build the legos under water, so water gets trapped on the inside...
but the water idea might make it hard for the silicone to set...

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DvanK

· #5 · Oct 2, 2009

Why dont you build a lego aquarium in an aquarium with another aquarium inside?

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panther685

Discussion Starter · #6 · Oct 2, 2009

You just blew my mind!!!!

But how would you keep the fish from jumping out of the aquarium inside of the aquarium?

Also, would I have to check the water paramaters in both tanks?

In-case you didn't' figure it out, I'm messing with you but that would be a cool idea

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trackhazard

· #7 · Oct 2, 2009

My kids like dinosaurs and legos and fishtanks.

I put all three together for them. Lego dinosaur kit inside a 10g with java fern for decoration to look prehistoric.

The legos float. I think there's a video somewhere of an 8 foot long battleship that someone built out of legos and it actually floated on top of the water. I had to weigh mine down with stainless steel washers attached to fishing line.

Other than that, it would be pretty cool. I was thinking that if I ever had to do this again, I would use a big piece of lego playboard and snap the lego pieces onto it. Then cover up the playboard with substrate.

We are considering a lego Star Wars themed tank maybe recreating the battle of Endor now that the kids are a little older and their tastes have changed.

Charlie

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Regloh

· #8 · Oct 2, 2009

trackhazard said:
My kids like dinosaurs and legos and fishtanks.

I put all three together for them. Lego dinosaur kit inside a 10g with java fern for decoration to look prehistoric.

The legos float. I think there's a video somewhere of an 8 foot long battleship that someone built out of legos and it actually floated on top of the water. I had to weigh mine down with stainless steel washers attached to fishing line.

Other than that, it would be pretty cool. I was thinking that if I ever had to do this again, I would use a big piece of lego playboard and snap the lego pieces onto it. Then cover up the playboard with substrate.

We are considering a lego Star Wars themed tank maybe recreating the battle of Endor now that the kids are a little older and their tastes have changed.

Charlie

Hey, do you have any pictures of this setup?

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RipariumGuy

· #9 · Oct 2, 2009

Whoa, the battle of Endor be awsome!

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trackhazard

· #10 · Oct 2, 2009

Regloh said:
Hey, do you have any pictures of this setup?

No pics, unfortunately. I used the lego Prehistoric Power (red triceratops) to put in the tank. The red of the legos offset the green of the plants really well.

Charlie

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WhiteDevil

· #11 · Oct 2, 2009

inside the castle, put some bigger rocks in to weigh it down. dont seal the castle up leave a break in the thing for cleaning easily. I did this back when I was around 10 with my tanks and all my lego's it looked great but I never did the silicone thing to adhere gravel to the sides of it.

Just do 1 side at a time, build a jig if you have to to hold the castle in place w/o breaking it while applying the gravel and silicone.

I am waiting on my deer skull w/ antlers to be done soaking then its going in my tank. Just hope it fits.

I will go buy some lego's with my son next weekend( his first set) and I will get something for my tank and do what you are doing and take pics. If my wife asks, no one knows nothing.

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