While at the grocery store, I spotted 'A Groovy Coconut' for $1.50. I can't pass up a good deal so one ended up in the grocery cart. On the way home I was thinking of how great it would be to have a natural cave in my 10 gallon as well as my 29 gallon. If all goes well, all my tanks may have a coconut cave, haha!

So, I thought I would share my experiences with the coconut cave. I'm going to write the DIY article and post some pics, more than likely today, so just bear with me. Other than that, go out and buy a coconut! It makes for a great hiding spot and a tasty treat for your snails, plecs, and corydoras catfish, to name a few.

DIY Coconut Cave

Estimated Time To Complete Project: Less Than 3 Hours

Items Needed:

One Groovy Coconut (Or similiar coconut)

Hammer

Chisel or sharp flathead screwdriver

Nail or phillips or flathead screw




Step One - Getting Into The Coconut

Your first step is to drain all the milk out of the coconut. You can save the milk if you would like to use it in recipies or if you drink it. The easiest way to drain the milk is to find the three 'eyes' at the top of the coconut. Puncture one of them and the milk should come out easily.

Step Two - Cracking The Coconut

The next step is breaking the coconut into two pieces. Most coconuts come 'scored', which means they have a line already cut almost all the way through. You want to position the chisel or flathead screwdriver and crack the coconut apart. After you get it started, it usually comes apart fairly easily.

Step Three - Taking The Meat Out Of The Coconut

This was the hardest step until I figured out what I was doing wrong. You want to position a sharp knife or screwdriver between the meat of the coconut and the 'skin'. Then you want to push down as hard as you can, prying the meat away from the coconut. This might take a good 30 minutes or so to do both sides. Be patient, it's well worth it.

On a side note, you can microwave the coconut halve for 2 minutes and the meat will begin to peel away and become slightly cooked. It makes it much easier to pry the meat out and even makes for some tasty snack chips.

Step Four - Boiling The Coconut



The next step is boiling the coconut to get out all of the tannins, unless you want your water to turn brown, and kill any bacteria that may be on the coconut. I am boiling mine for 30 minutes, then draining the water, then for another 30 minutes, then draining the water, and then boiling it a final time for 15 minutes. This way the coconut will barely have any tannins left.



At this point you can take all the 'hairs' off of the coconut, however I feel that it leaves a more natural look to your aquarium if they are left on.

At this point, you can put the coconuts in your aquarium and begin to enjoy them!

There are several ways to arrange the coconuts in your aquarium. Of course, there are always a million different ways, so use your imagination. These will help you get started.

You can turn the coconut on it's side. This is the arrangement I am going to use for my blood parrots' tank.

You can put the coconut open-side down and then take a pair of pliers or scissors and cut out an opening to make a coconut 'house'. I believe this is what I am going to do with my cichlid tank.



You can prop it up with a piece of slate or other form of rock.

You can arrange plants around the coconut cave to make it more 'natural'.

Here is a picture of one of the first designs that I had come up with:



I hope this helps those of you who want a natural 'cave' in your aquarium! Be sure to post some pictures if you decide to make your own 'coconut caves.'

That is a great idea and very well done! Nice pics and great explaination of the process. I am really impressed.

Here are some other saving tips. http://www.jdizine.bravehost.com/smart_ideas.html

Hope you find them useful. :D

Good tip about microwaving. :up:
If I need a cave, I might do this... Instead of buying one like last time... It looks awful, like a pineapple.

I read those money saving tips and I'm definitely going to check out the silk plants in the floral section. Perhaps you could post an article for our reference library? I think that would be really awesome.

The coconut caves are awesome. I hope the explanation helps when you guys do yours. I definitely recommend them. For .75 cents a piece, you can't beat them. I may even go buy some more coconuts and try different designs or ideas. Who knows. At $1.50 a piece, you can afford to try, right?

You know, I was just thinking jdizine that if I made some more coconut caves I could drill a hole in the side of it and run some silk plants through the hole. You could make a decorated coconut cave very easily. It would certainly spice things up a bit. I'll see what I can do as far as plants go and see what I can come up with.

that's very interesting! lol, my dad bought a coconut but he had to cut it open with a saw!

I decided to take the unmodified coconut out of the 29 gallon and cut an enterance. I put it in my 40 gallon, and the fish seem to be enjoying it MUCH more. I busted up a flower pot and put it in the tank and the parrots like it a lot better.

I think they should be called Coconut Houses instead.

:lol: