As we discuss the proper environment to benefit SMB existance and spawning on the
Help me adopt my fish family thread, there are some good structure ideas surfacing.
Bski gets one of his limited brainstorms:
So...what if I took that 6" PVC pipe and cut it into say, oh, 3 or 4 ft sections, layed 'em down (like a log), and drilled 1" holes thru 'em. Then, take a couple of 3/4" rebar with a short 90 degree hook at the top end (like the anchors on the polyvinylphibian saucers) and pound 'em thru the PVC log to anchor it permanently. Whaddayathink?
Ewest replies, supporting the idea with practical experience:
I have taken sections of pvc added some quickcrete an eye bolt and staked one laying down and one laying on top of it and put the rebar through the eye bolts and staked them down. You get a 12 in log effect.
Pvc will work. I would suggest you scrape it up a little so stuff will stick to it and grow better.
Alrighty, then. I continue to operate with the reassurance that Dr Dave says that a key component to structure development is having fun. I'm not sure if I would call it fun, but...well...maybe this is what fun is like in my pond-life. Yeah, I'll go with that.
So, I pick thru the pile of 6" PVC pipe that I have in stock and remove the grungiest pieces to be sacrificed as artificial logs. Then, I purchase a bunch of lengths of the same 1/2" PVC pipe that I used for the PVC tree limbs. Yep, and the same 1" SS screws to stabilize the limbs. I goofed around in the basement and came up with the first 2 prototypes.
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Each unit is 3 sections of 6" PVC logs x 24" long. They are hinged on a pivot pin of 1/2" PVC pipe; 2 pivots per unit. The limbs are 1/2" x 24" PVC pipe. The units can be laid in at any geometry that works best. The ends of the outside logs have 1" holes drilled to accommodate a 3/4" rebar pin that will be pounded into the soil to anchor them.
I plan on 6 of these units. I will use the top configuration. They will be placed in between the vertical rows of the saucers. From top to bottom, each vertical row will be: saucer, log, saucer, log, saucer.
I still plan on working in a few larger double-basketball rocks, also. The snow-fence curtains around the saucers, too. After that, I quit with this zone (I hope).