tile for a bottom instead of a subtrate?

[Wolf3101]

vinyl itselfs not the problem but floor tiles and MOST kiddie pools have anti mildew agents added to them and those ARE a problem.

 

[louisypher]

hi just checkin out your thread. you are on a good track using natural stone BUT!!!! when and where you buy it please ask the seller if the ston is presealed as it could most definately hurt your fish. i am a career floor mechanic and work with this stuff all the time. now as for installing the stone i would sand set it, basicly put a thin layer of pool filter sand on the bare glass bottom,say 1/4 to 1/2 inch,then placing your stone in whatever layout you choose, myself i would leave small joints between peices 3/16 inch or so,then filling to just over the stone fill these joints with more sand. now this will allow a layer of sludge to grow beneath the stone but it may actually be beneficial nad if you decide one day to remove the stone it will be a lot less work.i deffinately DO NOT reccomend using grout or thinset as these both are cement based and have very high levels of lime and other bad things your fish would not like. there are a huge varieties of travertine , marble and granite but the price can be staggering. ceramics and porceleans will work but to me lack the carachter ,wow my spelling is off must be tired,anywho yes silicone would be a better choice as far as making the tiles more permanant, but allow much more drying time as these will not allow the silicone to breathe and dry as quickly,again the silicone mixed with pool filter sand would make a good grout. whatever you choose post pics would be interesed in seeing.GL
LFV

 

[zach c.]

well i baught some tile today the color was called black hills but it said glazed ceramic tile heres a pic of wut it kinda looks like except its not as dark as this its lighter color and has some grey in it it looks like a nice stone

im kinda worries because it said glazed tile cuz i lookd at some other tiles that didnt say glazed and it has a rougher texture where as the glazed tile wus a kind of smoother feeling so do u think they will be ok? b4 i use them im going to boil some water and clean them up real good 1st

i did some research on glazed tile and i found this:

Glazed Tile - Most of the common ceramic floor tiles have either a glazed, or unglazed surface. The glazed tiles have a special ceramic coating that is applied to the body of the tile and then fired under tremendous heat. The glazing becomes hard and non-porous resulting in a flooring that is:

• [FONT=verdana,Arial,Geneva,Helvetica][SIZE=-1]Stain Resistant[/SIZE][/FONT]
• [FONT=verdana,Arial,Geneva,Helvetica][SIZE=-1]Scratch Resistant[/SIZE][/FONT]
• [FONT=verdana,Arial,Geneva,Helvetica][SIZE=-1]Fire Resistant[/SIZE][/FONT]
• [FONT=verdana,Arial,Geneva,Helvetica][SIZE=-1]Doesn’t Fade from Sun Light[/SIZE][/FONT]
• [FONT=verdana,Arial,Geneva,Helvetica][SIZE=-1]Slip Resistant[/SIZE][/FONT]
• [FONT=verdana,Arial,Geneva,Helvetica][SIZE=-1]Easy to Clean[/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=verdana,Arial,Geneva,Helvetica][SIZE=-1]Unglazed Floor Tile (Pavers) – There is no glazing or any other coating applied to these tiles. Because these tiles are porous it is recommendeded that a special penetrating sealant be used to maintain this type of floors and to help prevent stains from seeping into the pores of the tiles. Their color is the same on the face of the tile as it is on the back resulting in very durable tiles that do not show the effects of heavy traffic.[/SIZE][/FONT]

 

[louisypher]

good looking stuff.you can usually tell if the tile is glazed by looking at the back of the tile and will usually see a diference in color of the material and /or sometimes see 'drips 'of the glazing on the side ,as for say, porcelean will be a through body tile with the color much the same ,front and back.nonetheless you shouldnt have any trouble, i usually soak stone for a week or so, knowing it hasnt been sealed first but with ceramics a quick wash will do. post pics this should look cool. GL
LFV

 

[zach c.]

alrighty cool im going to start the tileing tomorrow so ill post some pics up tomorrow night if i finish the tiles i got look 10x better then the pic i posted i cant wait to post some pics to show ya

 

[louisypher]

right on looking forward to it! remember to take your time ...and hurry up!LOL whatever you do remember to have fun.
good luck
LFV

 

[Scatocephalus]

hey i was wondering instead of using rocks or pebbles to cover the bottom of a fish tank if you could use those 12x12 squares of vynel kitchen/bathroom tiles its the ones with the paper u peel off the back and there a little sticky and u would put some tile glue down and then stick em on but in this case instead of glue i would use silicone but its got no ceramic or grout involved just a square floppy lookin tile real light ya know what i mean? that would be safe wouldnt it?

I've tiled a couple of my tanks and love it. Looks fantastic and is very easy to keep the bottom of tank clean. It also reduces your nitrates by a huge margin as you can suck all the crap out instead of it sitting and rotting in your substrate.

 

[louisypher]

pretty and clean, what an odd combo for aquariums...LOL, looks great. in mine i experimented w/ trav peices broken and stuck together to make spires, its amazing what you can do w/ scraps from jobs, LOL.
LFV