For those who make their own backrounds with foam and silicone.

[JDeRosa]

I made this one. I let it dry for at least 24 hours before I put my G. Pulchra in it. I made sure it was dry but it seems to still smell like the silicone. I took my T out of it because I am little worried about fumes. Has anyone else made an enclosure like this? How long before it is safe to house her in it? Maybe it's not healthy to utilize such chemicals in a small enclosed space? Please advise!

From the top!

From the front.

 

[nickn]

I forgot how long robc said in his videos but since all his cages have them I would go by what he says. Awesome job you did. Thats amazing!. Wish I was that creative.

 

[JDeRosa]

He says 36 hours but he uses the sheet foam. I use expanding spray on foam.

 

[*FallenAngel*]

i think you leave it open(remove the lid) for 2 days n put in open areas which have high ventilation, should be okay then.

 

[micheldied]

amazing job!

 

[ghordy]

I'd wait a week or more until you can stick your head in there and only smell the substrate.

BTW, Nice job.

 

[xalbinox]

Awsome job good work

i really would't recommend using niether the silicon nor the spray foam because they both take a while prob about 7 to 10 days to dry fully through depending on how much (thickness) you use the safest would have to be in my opinion 1-1/2" to 2" shaped foam board elmers glued to the interior but by the looks you got skill shouldn't be hard for someone with your talent. :worship: :clap:

 

[redsaw]

Mine took 3 to 4 days to fully air out where there was no odor of silicone.

 

[night4now]

Wow!

That is one great looking backdrop! Really, it is impressive!!!!!

 

[robc]

He says 36 hours but he uses the sheet foam. I use expanding spray on foam.

You will nedd to wait at least 48 hrs then....I have used it a lot in zoo enclosures....the thicker...the longer you wait.

 

[Stopdroproll]

Damn that looks pretty cool.

 

[ZergFront]

That is very cool and very creative. I might do something like that with mine when they need larger containers.

 

[TalonAWD]

I have made 6 custom enclosures (all posted here in Arachnoboards) with the mentioned method. All custom landscaping and with ExoTerra enclosures. I do it in steps and can take up to two weeks to complete. I always wait up to a month to ensure that all traces of uncured chemicals are gone. Once cured, its 100% safe.
Its the only way I will house my tarantulas in permanent enclosures. After trying the first one, I will never go back to a plain jane enclosure again. I use up to two full tubes of Silicone and 1.5 cans of Great stuff foam depending on the custom landscape design.

You did a good job on the enclosure. I encourage you to make more. Its more natural looking. Check mine out if you have a chance.
http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=163791

 

[DDaake]

I have made 6 custom enclosures (all posted here in Arachnoboards) with the mentioned method. All custom landscaping and with ExoTerra enclosures. I do it in steps and can take up to two weeks to complete. I always wait up to a month to ensure that all traces of uncured chemicals are gone. Once cured, its 100% safe.
Its the only way I will house my tarantulas in permanent enclosures. After trying the first one, I will never go back to a plain jane enclosure again. I use up to two full tubes of Silicone and 1.5 cans of Great stuff foam depending on the custom landscape design.

You did a good job on the enclosure. I encourage you to make more. Its more natural looking. Check mine out if you have a chance.
http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=163791

I was just pointing out in another thread how I want to use "Great Stuff" in a vivarium. So, its working out good for you? Any problems or difficulties you've come acrossed using the spray foam?

 

[TalonAWD]

I was just pointing out in another thread how I want to use "Great Stuff" in a vivarium. So, its working out good for you? Any problems or difficulties you've come acrossed using the spray foam?

Nope. Works excellent. After using it many times I already have come to expect the expansion rate. In other words just by what I want, I know how much and where to spray to get the desired effect. Bear in mind the foam cannot be used by itself. You have to use the silicone to protect it and so that it lasts.

 

[DDaake]

Nope. Works excellent. After using it many times I already have come to expect the expansion rate. In other words just by what I want, I know how much and where to spray to get the desired effect. Bear in mind the foam cannot be used by itself. You have to use the silicone to protect it and so that it lasts.

So what do you do to keep the foam sticking to the glass and not breaking away from the glass. I haven't used the stuff for this but I've used it for other things and it seems It would easily seperate from the glass.

 

[TalonAWD]

So what do you do to keep the foam sticking to the glass and not breaking away from the glass. I haven't used the stuff for this but I've used it for other things and it seems It would easily seperate from the glass.

When I make my landscapes I take into consideration the de-expansion that it goes through when in the last stages of curing. It usually breaks away from the glass in the middle where curing would take more time. So I do it in steps. Spray the bulk, let it dry some than put some more. The smaller the amount, the less chance of it breaking away from the glass. It does stick surprisingly well to glass and any other surfaces.
Now for the other parts where the edges start to break away, I fill with the silicone. Silicone will not come off the glass so easily and so it gives more integrity to the project in terms of it sticking to the glass. The silicone also hides the small imperfections and makes it look more of a natural landscape when you add the sphagnum peat moss on top of the wet silicone.

Now if the glass where I apply the foam will show, I would first apply black silicone to the glass to hide the ugly yellow foam. That way the glass looks black from the outside. It looks more appealing this way. The foam has no problems sticking to cured silicone.
Example:

 

[DDaake]

When I make my landscapes I take into consideration the de-expansion that it goes through when in the last stages of curing. It usually breaks away from the glass in the middle where curing would take more time. So I do it in steps. Spray the bulk, let it dry some than put some more. The smaller the amount, the less chance of it breaking away from the glass. It does stick surprisingly well to glass and any other surfaces.
Now for the other parts where the edges start to break away, I fill with the silicone. Silicone will not come off the glass so easily and so it gives more integrity to the project in terms of it sticking to the glass. The silicone also hides the small imperfections and makes it look more of a natural landscape when you add the sphagnum peat moss on top of the wet silicone.

So how much "GS" would you say it would take for a 20g long?

How do you deal with the "GS" straw/tube clogging, do you need to provide a continuous spray or is there a way around this?

Thx by the way this is great info!

 

[TalonAWD]

So how much "GS" would you say it would take for a 20g long?

How do you deal with the "GS" straw/tube clogging, do you need to provide a continuous spray or is there a way around this?

Thx by the way this is great info!

For the straw I let the foam ooze out and dry right on the tip. This will help prolong the use of the can. When you are ready to use I pull the little "top" that formed on the straw. Than remove straw and use a long skewer stick to push the rest of the dried gs foam from inside the tube. I have used foam than stored it for 6 months and used the rest with no problems. The only difference is that the longer it is stored, the less it will expand when used later on. It comes out more "liquidy" with less foam.
I still have some stored away now. Just remember to NOT remove the little bit that builds up on the straw end after use. Let it dry there to seal it from air.
Also when buying the foam, look at the expiration date printed on the bottom of the can. Beleive me it matters with this stuff. Get the one with the longest shelf life. The longer the expiration date, the better the foam will work.

I never complete my tanks in one sitting. It takes me days and so this trick with the straw has helped me alot!

And with regards to how much you will need...It depends on how you plan your landscape. For my Exo-terras, I use 2 cans max. For your 20L it could take you 4 cans dependant on your design. No worries, you can always return the unused cans to Home Depot. Better to have enough of them ready than to start the project and find you need more. That would ruin the "flow" of the train of thought.

 

[DDaake]

Great info! thank you for those great tips. Now I feel better about jumping into my next project.:clap: