GS: Step by Step

Hey guys. I'll be beginning my viv constuction soon with my first background. I was wondering what steps to take when making a background. . . I have a couple questions.

1) Do I do the background or the falsebottom first?(I am planning to make a water feature)

2) After the GS is applied, do I wait for it to dry or?

3) I have a large chunk of driftwood. Do I shove it into the GS while it's curing or silicone it to the glass then apply the GS?

[pl259]

1. Background first.
2. Yes, wait for each layer to dry.
3. The latter(the wiseass way to say most people place the wood first the GS around it to capture it in place)

EricG.NH

[dustin_grey]

Also, if you dont want the great stuff to expand too much, use and hand spray and give it a couple sprays of water.

Thanks, What about Silicone though?! When and where in the steps do I apply that?

[housevibe7]

I actually have to disagree with that... I would do the false bottom first, especially if you are doing eggcrate. THat way you know exactly how tall you need the bottom and you dont have to cut any of the background away. Also that way you KNOW that your false bottom is escape proof (i.e. no one getting underneath.) Now if you are doing leca, yes, I would do the background first.

As far as the other questions, Yes wait for each layer to dry, and for the driftwood, it is personal preference, although most of the time if you shove something into the GS, it will collapse, especially if it is something big like driftwood. Most of this stuff is something you just have to play around with to find out what works best for you. I have tried things that other people say is the only way to do stuff and it was the pits.... so just play around, dont be afraid to mess up.

[daemonfly]

Also, don't put the GS on too thick if you need it to keep it's shape. When you put it on very thick, it will expand quite a bit, but then shrink back down as well. Also, the center takes longer to dry than if you just did it in smaller layers, so if you plan on cutting it to shape, you don't want to cut into a gooey mess.

I've learned all this the hard way. :wink:

What about the Silicone for my larger pieces of wood?! Where when and how?

THanks,

[pl259]

Everyone does things a little different. The reasons I like doing the background first are because you'll likely want to lay the tank on it's back, the side you'll be putting the GS on. A false bottom is usually not secured and will move around or fall out in that case. The other reason is that when you apply the silicone and fiber flocking, you'll have a lot of excess fiber and it's easier to clean up without it falling through the false bottom if that's in place.

You can design and cut the false bottom first and then remove it to GS the back. But the final assembly order for me is background then false bottom.

EricG.NH

[dragonfrog]

What I usually do is design and build the false bottom first so that there is no background in the way. But I make it removable so that I can take it out when it is time to do the background. When the GS is fully dry, sometimes two days depending on your humidity, apply silicone on small areas at a time, kind of like waxing your car. Then take a 1" paint brush and work the silicon into every knook and crany of the GS, then sprinkle whatever concoction you are going to use over the silicone and firmly press this into the silicone to make sure it sticks and let dry of another day or two.
I am in the process of trying something new this time around instead of GS. I am getting tired of that stuff!!!
Has anyone used the cocoa fiber liners that are used for hanging baskets? I have seen them talked about here so I thought I would give it a try.

Has anyone used the cocoa fiber liners that are used for hanging baskets? I have seen them talked about here so I thought I would give it a try.

Yes, however the label asid they were lined with latex and I just wanted to be careful and decided not to get them. I'll be sticking with the brick coco .

--What brand of silicone do y'all use/ prefer? Color?