- Joined
- Aug 21, 2009
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- 941
looks very good 
The crix will still make a good job of chewing big holes in it though
Paul
The crix will still make a good job of chewing big holes in it though
Paul
For those who make their own backrounds with foam and silicone.
- Thread starter JDeRosa
- Start date
- Joined
- Aug 30, 2009
- Messages
- 460
If that foam is similar to the stuff I've used for general insulation purposes also watch how hot you keep it.
I bought several cans and kept them in the garage and after a few months being in there, during summer, they seemed to separate too much and even a good thorough shaking didn't mix it properly.
More of a oily brown discharge instead of the cream colored foam. Was painful and costly. Try to keep them within acceptable heat/cold ranges and don't buy too much at a time :wall:
I bought several cans and kept them in the garage and after a few months being in there, during summer, they seemed to separate too much and even a good thorough shaking didn't mix it properly.
More of a oily brown discharge instead of the cream colored foam. Was painful and costly. Try to keep them within acceptable heat/cold ranges and don't buy too much at a time :wall:
- Joined
- Aug 17, 2008
- Messages
- 614
I have a paludarium I've been working on since January this year, and it contains Great Stuff as the background and for some structure parts. The HUGE issue is letting it cure fully. Especially if there'll be misting or any water involved. It took mine forever to cure. You'll be able to smell it, and if there's water in there it'll turn it brown (and toxic). But once it's fully cured it's inert. It took my Paludarium a couple weeks for a 55 gallon tank to cure, but I'm still not finished with it or comfortable adding anything living yet to it. However I do know after 1 week's time, I added water, and a single feeder fish to test it out, and it wasn't cured yet. water runoff turned brown and the fish died the next day. drained it, waited two weeks, and the water didn't turn brown, but I didn't add anything living by chance of something going wrong. The odor with the water added was unbearably strong.
Biggest issue I had was finding silicone that was dark in color. I STILL never did find any, only clear and white. Black or brown hides imperfections as you add your coco husk/peat moss/whatever you're using for the background.
Biggest issue I had was finding silicone that was dark in color. I STILL never did find any, only clear and white. Black or brown hides imperfections as you add your coco husk/peat moss/whatever you're using for the background.
- Joined
- Jul 28, 2007
- Messages
- 1,139
Never had any crickets chew through it. I don't see why they would. Its covered with silicone and peat.looks very good
The crix will still make a good job of chewing big holes in it though
Paul
Let it cure fully. Thats why
1. I do it in steps so that it cures fully. Its better to do a little at a time. Thats why it takes me days to complete. Spray and wait till it dries than repeat until done. Patience is key!
2. Wait more than a few days. I wait up to a month even though I do it in steps. The bigger the project, the more you have to do it in steps and wait before putting into use.
Also remember that when you apply the silicone, it will seal all pores. So before you use the silicone wait till Foam has dried/aired out. Once its sealed with the silicone air will not circulate the foam and it will take "Forever" to dry.
Sunlight also makes the foam turn brown. But since you cover it with silicone, you have notheing to worry about. It will never see light!
And I always use Black silicone. I could use brown but I prefer the contrast of black to show me the spots I missed either on the foam (when covering) and the sphagnum peat moss. Using brown will blend in with the brown peat moss and it will be harder to see the spots not covered.