Looking for tiki aquarium stuff

I just added an aquarium to my tiki/boom boom room. I thought it would be no sweat to find tikis, volcanoes, tiki huts, etc. for decor and to my surprise I've found NOTHING.

Anyone have any ideas?

Hi CruzinTiki!
Welcome back. You can start off by putting a real tiki mug in there. My fish turned it into a home like Squidward.

Thanks Unga Bunga ... hmmmm ... which one to choose?

I would think that would be a great use for non-display quality tiki S&P shakers and Coco Joe's figurines. A toppled statue with a bit of algae would lend nicely to a lost city effect. Perhaps some of the ceramics experts here could tell us if lead could leech out of older items and be a problem.

There really is some aquarium furniture out there that is Tiki in nature. We have at least two pieces. They are both Moai. I'll see if I can't dig them out and take a photo. Try looking on line at pet stores and aquarium outfitters. We don't have an aquarium, or any pets with gills, but when we saw them in pet supply shops we had to grab them. Though this was a few years back, there are still bound to be some floating around.

The mug idea is good, especially if you have any old broken mugs. They had an old vintage orchids tiki bowl in the tank at Chef Shangri-La until recently (I suspect someone offered to buy it from them). If you could find the Moai pieces and other old school furniture (like the animated pirate skeleton and the deep sea diver figure) it would make a really nice environment.

You could also get some Fimo and sculpt your own diorama! Have a one-of-a kind fish world.

On 2004-02-27 08:09, boutiki wrote:
The mug idea is good, especially if you have any old broken mugs.

Also an easy way to fillet your lil' fishies.
Those broken ceramics are charp!
:)

If you plan on making something yourself, be careful with paints, stains, glues, etc. in your tank. Fish are sensitive! :)

Yes, fish are sensative, so if they ask you if they look fat, make sure you quickly say "No!" or else their feelings will get hurt!

Also, on a side note, I once saw a cool volcano for a lizard aquarium it ruled.

Here are 2 different styles we have found.
The larger one is about 11" tall and the smaller one is 5". Large piece was manufactured for International Pet Supplies and Distribution Inc., San Diego, CA 92121.
The smaller one for Penn-Plax,Inc., 720 Stewart Avenue Garden City, NY 11530 Prices were about $15 and $9
The large piece will not fit in a 10 gallon tank so keep that in mind. Looks about right for a 30 gallon size.


We decided to put these on a shelf instead of in the tank we have. And our cat promptly broke the large one by pushing it down the steps. ;(

Save the Tikis!

[ Edited by: 8FT Tiki on 2004-02-27 16:30 ]

I just got done watching the Finding Nemo DVD with my kid for the 100th time.

The aquarium stuff in that movie has to have real inspiration somewhere. If it does not exist yet, wait a year.

I'm sure there will be a line of Disney Pixar aquarium tikis, bamboo huts and glowing volcanos coming to pet store near you.

[ Edited by: captnkirk on 2004-03-02 21:19 ]

Penn Plax is a huge maker of aquarium decorations, and you can find their stuff in most pet stores. Kitschy decorations are usually easier to find in general pet stores, rather than shops that sell only aquarium stuff.

Rum Barrel!

Spongebob!

Keep in mind that anything you put in your aquarium will eventually have algae growing on it, even if you have algae-eating fish. I keep my decorations tidy by soaking them in a bleach solution every few months.

And don't buy any motion decorations -- fish are afraid of them!

I've had a Harvey's bucket in my 60-gallon tank for a couple of years -- my oscar likes to shove it around with his mouth.

Ok, heres a question. Does Aqaurium stuff HAVE to be ceramic? What about cast resin stuff?
TG

I think that a lot of the new stuff in stores are resin type materials. Both of the decorations we photoed are resin material.

On 2004-02-28 23:13, TikiGardener wrote:
Does Aqaurium stuff HAVE to be ceramic? What about cast resin stuff?

Ceramic aquarium decorations are kind of hard to find these days -- most of the (new) stuff out there is some form of plastic.

OK CruzinTiki, Now you can take your pick of the 8 newly discovered Dollar Tree tikis to insert into your aquarium....and yer DONE!
(You might first see if anything rinses off of the tiki in water before you drop one in the tank.) If you choose to put some in, show us some photos.

Here's another thread on the topic, including some great pictures!

https://tikicentral.com/viewtopic-new.php?topic=7321&forum=6

I'm actually in the process of doing an aquarium myself. The only real tiki figurines I've seen specifically as aquarium accessories are the Moai ones that were previously posted. I got mine at PetCo. They also have some really cool pirate stuff there that you could co-mingle. I've also looked for vintage stuff on eBay and have found some cool things. It might be worth taking a look.

We found this a while back at the local pet store. It's about 5" tall.

I just got a cool aquarium that I plan to "tiki-fi". check out t

[ Edited by: tiki rider on 2004-11-13 19:16 ]

I love the wall aquarium! I think the table aquarium tiki-fied would be great in the boom-boom room!

On 2004-03-27 09:00, bongofury wrote:
We found this a while back at the local pet store. It's about 5" tall.

I've been looking around for these Moai aquarium ornaments for a while with no luck.

I think they're still in production since other people are finding them in chain pet stores.

Can anyone post the maker's name and/or product number or any other info useful for tracking these down?

Found this new item this week. It is intended for Beta fish tanks since they are usually quite small. The Moai measures 2" tall. Manufactured by Penn-Plax
http://www.pennplax.com

I bought a cool looking Easter Island Moai like the one in Flounder's fish tank at petdiscounters.com It measures 9" tall and its made of resin for $14.95

This quasi tiki hut ebay item may be of interest:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-tiki-hut-shack-aquarium-or-bowl-ornament_W0QQitemZ7751504128QQcategoryZ66791QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I usually hate putting stuff in my aquariums that isn't part of the natural environment, well, besides heaters and the like.

But the wife got me this moai for my new reef that is made of clay... I really like it. The corals and algae grow on it and make it look
a little more natural.

The Coral Banded Shrimp likes it too!

The ultimate TIKI aquarium - http://www.oceantreasurescollection.com/alohatiki.htm

how about glass elements, tikis, seaplants, etc all made to your specifications?

Ok, the ultimate tiki aquarium is the best without doubt.

i did find these guys at a Pet Supermarket.

Cool stuff guys. I was going to recomend Martin's Aquarium just outside Philadelphia but a google search turned up some sort of Bankruptcy paperwork Yipe! I used to work there a hundred years ago and they had tons of mini ceramic poynesian villages and statues. Oh well... As far as mugs go how about one of those big shull mugs from Tiki Farm. Small fish would be able to swim in and out of the eyes! http://www.tikifarm.com/images/products/mugs/pops/Handled_SkullMug.htm

On the other hand you could just pick up one of these delightfully tacky beauties as Kanaloa suggests for $360 from http://www.aquatichouse.com/. It's pretty small at 13.5” x 13.5” x 24.5” but a couple of clownfish could have a ball in there! I'm not sure if the coral fomations inside come with the aquarium or not.

[ Edited by: hodadhank 2006-03-21 11:08 ]

How about these from the London Aquarium:

Too Cool!!

Right now--on Ebay---3:18 right coast time.
Going, going, gone in 20 mins 8 secs

http://cgi.ebay.com/LOT-4-VINTAGE-AQUARIUM-FIGURINES-TIKI-HUT-ORIENTAL_W0QQitemZ7751798019QQcategoryZ66791QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I like the hut and zero bids.

i got the palm tree decoration this weekend at petsmart. here's a close up of it it has an airstone that you hook-up to an airpump. there's a piece of plexiglass above the "river" looking part and when you have the pump on, it looks like a river of bubbles flowing. we think it's pretty cool looking in the tank. they also had a single palm tree about that was about the same height, but we liked this one better.

I found this online, but haven't ordered one (yet....)
http://www.aquariumbeauty.com/display_product.jsp?Item_ID=PP-NO-898

I also find the small moai at Petco, but don't see them online.
Here they are on the manufacturer website:
http://www.pennplax.com/Pages/Aqua.pages..../Aqua03F.html

I think the large one is similar to that on the aquarium beauty website.
I tend to use the small ones since that's what is easily available and it doesn't take up too much room in a smaller aquarium.

La Verandah has been contemplating a tiki-style fish aquarium ever since her recent return from Hawaii.

The lovely world of submarine nature beckons, but she would prefer to restrict any need for high maintenance to her own self.

Can anyone recommend the best types of filtration for a freshwater tank of no more than 15 gallons?

On 2009-11-18 21:56, Carmine Verandah wrote:
Can anyone recommend the best types of filtration for a freshwater tank of no more than 15 gallons?

For a 15gal freshwater, I recommend Top Fin. I'm running a Top Fin 40 in my 30gal bar aquarium and it's keeping my tank nice and clean. Top Fin can be bought at Petsmart (I believe it's their brand). I have used Tetra filters in the past and believe me, they suck. Also, Petsmart has a 2 week guarantee on all fish, if they die within 2 weeks they will replace it (keep your receipts). Our local fish shop only offers 24 hours and with the price of their fish being slightly higher, I go where the better deal is on fish.

If you want something very high-end, check out http://www.drsfostersmith.com They seem to be pretty decent, but if you have a local fish shop, I recommend checking them out and talking to their people.

Also, one more word of advise, research the fish you would like to have in your tank. Some fish do not get along well and some fish get too big too fast. Ciclids are aggressive and will get big. Bala "sharks" (fancy minnows) look cool schooling together, but they will get too big for a 15 gal. There are MANY aquarium enthusiast on the net to choose from. I recommend:
http://www.aquariumadvice.com http://www.fishlore.com http://www.firsttankguide.net

Oh and the last thing, let you tank cycle for a few weeks before adding fish. Many of those sites will tell you how. Remember not to over crowd your fish. Good luck and post some pics!

Much grass, Unkle John, for the kind advice. Will post pics when all is assembled.

Not a problem!
Hope to see some great pics!