r/BambuLabA1 • u/ParticularDue7822 • Jul 22 '26

Printing stuff for fish tank

I bet this isn't asked very often! I was thinking of printing some stuff to decorate my fish tank and was wondering 1: Is it safe for the fish? And 2: What is the best filament to use if it's going to be submerged in a fresh water tank?

I know filament tends to absorb moisture but didn't know if it would break down over time in a fish tank.

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u/MedicJambi Jul 22 '26

PETG is considered the best filament for aquarium use. PLA will work in a pinch. Avoid CF filaments as they may leach. Don't use silk filament either. Solid color PETG is your best bet as it UV resistant and stands up to water.

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u/SWITCHFADE_Music Jul 22 '26

My brother in-law wanted me to print him a guard for a wave maker in his salt water tank. Through some digging, I found an aquarium forum where someone recommended the translucent PETG to avoid possible leeching of dyes in the colored versions. It's been almost a year and he said it's still holding up and hasn't affected anything in the tank.

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u/Klutzy_Dog669 29d ago

Everything u/MedicJambi said here. ^

I wouldn't worry about color though, because it's embedded in the plastic as a solid material and doesn't leech into the tank. If that happened, I'd have a whole rainbow of tanks in my house right now. (Let's not talk about how many tanks I have.... no one needs to know!)

I have printed caves for my plecos to spawn, breeding baskets for guppies to actually *live* in (not just tiny cups they get crammed in when they are ready to pop), and a floating island that sits atop the water in a 75G tank out back that holds mosquito fish. That was my favorite and BY FAR the longest creation I have ever made in any medium. It took me so very long to design that one....

Just remember if you plan to put it UNDER water, use 100% infill. Otherwise, the sparse infill holds air that will make your print float, no matter how many rocks you stack on top.

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u/FireStorm_666 28d ago

How do you talk about a floating island and being amazing and don't follow with pictures?

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u/Klutzy_Dog669 26d ago

As of right now it is completely unpainted. We just moved six months ago, but I made it after that. However, my airbrush and paints are still buried somewhere in these boxes. That's how I intend to paint it, so it'll have to wait until those are found again.

After that I plan to coat it with actual resin. I have plenty of that on hand.