Protecting and Preserving Rum Bottles for Piratey, Alcoholic Decor

Feb 10, 2011
81
0
0
Annapolis, MD
#1
So, I love anything to do with water.. perhaps part of what fuels my absolute addiction to this aquarium business. I have a pretty darn good 29gal setup right now and was searching for creative ways to improve the decor. I'm trying to keep it natural but also add some flare and express my love of several things at once. These being: Anything nautical, piratey and involving alcohol :)

Therefore, I am very much interested in using some of my empty rum bottles (Kraken Black Spiced Rum, Sailor Jerry and Goslings) which have really really great labels and bottle shapes and designs as decor in my tank. If you're already following me, maybe you have a mental image of what I want to do already, which is essentially using these bottles as cool, different decorations that could substitute for rocks and logs. I refuse to put a little diver looking into a fake gold chest or a cartoony pirate in my tank. Not happening.

I want to blow the bottoms out of the bottles (there's a very fun, simple technique to this using water and pressure) and leave the caps off so that water will flow through them as they sit on the bottom and some of the small-medium sized guys will have a place to swim up inside and hide out or explore! Plus I am absolutely giddy at the thought of how they will look when they have a little bit of scum and algea on them, could end up looking downright antique and awesome!

My problem here is, although the bottles are cool enough on their own, I want to preserve them and the labels so that I don't run the risk of anything toxic from said labels or caps leeching out and poisoning the tank. I also don't want to just throw empty bottles in the tank either, I want to keep the labels and preserve them too... I've heard mention on one of these threads before about 'glazing' things that people have painted or created to protect the decor and the water from each other and ultimately keep the fish and owner happy.

I'm looking for any useful tips, advice, direction and of course feedback on the idea...

If anyone's interested google image Kraken Black Spiced Rum, Sailor Jerry Rum and Captain Morgan Private stock (the bottle shapes and images will give you a great idea as to why I really think this will be soo cool and unique)

Would really appreciate ideas as to where to get materials and how to apply them, etc.

Looking to make this a cool weekend project too as my wonderful girlfriend is interested in doing the same with a gin bottle or cool wine bottle to put in her 10 gallon Betta setup.

*celebrate
 

ryanoh

Large Fish
Mar 22, 2010
858
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0
#2
I think you should use clear fiberglass resin. I know a lot of people use it when making DIY textured backgrounds, so I assume its not toxic once its dry (its actually pretty harmful to breath it in even as a human when its not dry), and if you put it on thin enough it should be totally transparent.
I've only worked with it once to make a sort of water effect for a sculpture once, so I don't really have any advice on how to coat a bottle with it. All I did with mine was pour it into a base and let it dry, but maybe you want to try dipping your bottles into it?
 

Feb 10, 2011
81
0
0
Annapolis, MD
#3
ryanoh- I'm actually performing an experiment as we speak with super glue- apparently krazy glue and super glue is chemically neutral when it's completely set. So I'm coating it on the labels of a bottle of Sailor Jerry (about 3 coats per label) and then I'm going to submerge it in a bucket for a while and see what happens before I try to add it to the tank.
 

ryanoh

Large Fish
Mar 22, 2010
858
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0
#4
Yes, that's true that super glue is totally safe when dry.
I didn't think about using that, it seems like it would be hard to work with, and it only comes in tiny tubes. Best of luck though, let everyone know how it works.
 

Feb 10, 2011
81
0
0
Annapolis, MD
#5
well, actually, the rite aid near my apartment has Krazy glue in decent size tubes that have a built in brush on the cap, so while enjoying 10-15 beers last night I gave one of my bottles a 3 or 4 rounds of brushings which worked GREAT! however, in the submersion test, the water caused the glue to become brittle and therefore peel and break and let water in to expose the labels... the search for a good substance continues.

Anyone have any ideas how to blow/break the bottom out of glass liquor bottles as well? My method's not proving quite as successful as when you use a beer bottle.
 

ryanoh

Large Fish
Mar 22, 2010
858
0
0
#6
I had a professor tell us once we could get a wire hanger, strip the plastic off of it, wrap it around the bottle, twist the ends together, jam then into an electrical socket until the hanger glowed red, then yank it out and drop it into an ice bath. The quick change in temperature was supposed to make a clean break, which makes sense, but I never was brave enough to try that.

Glass cutter maybe?
 

Feb 10, 2011
81
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0
Annapolis, MD
#7
Ryanoh-
Update bud... My girlfriend and I wandered into a local Michael's and picked up some 'all purpose sealant' that dries clear. I have my first coat on a test bottle of wine. Will let you know how that goes.

Thinking about trying your coat hanger trick, except I'm going to put the coat hanger wire on a hot stove top until it's red, THEN put it on the bottle, THEN dip it in cold water. Will keep you updated on that too.

You got anything special goin' on?
 

Feb 10, 2011
81
0
0
Annapolis, MD
#8
Ladies and Gentlemen- COMPLETE SUCCESS!! I have found the absolute perfect non-toxic, easy to use, low odor product to protect the bottle and labels and a really great, easy and kinda fun method to remove the bottoms of the bottles to provide a cave for the fish to swim up in. Will be posting pics in here VERY soon and will also be posting pics in the 'rate my tank' freshwater portion of the forum under 'my new 29 gallon piece of paradise'.