[tnorwood0811]

Whats some good material to make a background out of?!?!

 

[GRIMM]

Lol....Here is a start

expanding foam
foam sheets
pvc piping
silicone
coco fiber
peat moss
concrete
corkbark
coco board
titebond glue
driftwood
rocks
sodium/calcium betonite


Definitely go do some searching around. Literally thousands of build threads here

 

[Pumilo]

C'mon Grimm! Give the poor guy a choice or two!
My favorites are:
1) Corkbark mosaic, filled in with sphagnum and planted with various mosses
2) Corkbark, cut to fit tightly together
3) Large Corkbark curve, run up the back to look like a tree trunk, then the sides filled in with clay

 

[jpstod]

I prefer Pre-made ones.

 

[DendroRachel]

I've got premade, coco-fiber covered expanding foam, painted expanding foam, and my favorite, best looking, and best for mounting plants - a mosaic of cork bark pieces

 

[Judy S]

C'mon Grimm! Give the poor guy a choice or two!
My favorites are:
1) Corkbark mosaic, filled in with sphagnum and planted with various mosses
2) Corkbark, cut to fit tightly together
3) Large Corkbark curve, run up the back to look like a tree trunk, then the sid
es filled in with clay[/QUOT[/I]

I made a 10G with the cork running horizontally...looked just like logs...moss grew on it like you'd find in the forest...exposed ends on the one side was noticeable from the side when you first walked into the room...looked pretty good for an accident...

 

[tnorwood0811]

Thanks everyone, I figure I will probably go with the spray foam and smear some silicone on it and stick some plants and wood in there!

 

[Pumilo]

I've got premade, coco-fiber covered expanding foam, painted expanding foam, and my favorite, best looking, and best for mounting plants - a mosaic of cork bark pieces

Cork Bark Mosaic look so cool once they start growing in, don't they?
Plus you can use your little scrap pieces. In fact I find that lots of little 2" to 4" chunks look better than bigger pieces.

 

[B-NICE]

I like Great Suff foam. I use a piece of grape or drift wood. Also silicone, peat moss, and eco earth.

 

[jackxc925]

C'mon Grimm! Give the poor guy a choice or two!
My favorites are:
1) Corkbark mosaic, filled in with sphagnum and planted with various mosses
2) Corkbark, cut to fit tightly together
3) Large Corkbark curve, run up the back to look like a tree trunk, then the sides filled in with clay

All of my best backgrounds have cork bark incorporated in some way. The other day I noticed a frog hiding in a hollow. They provide a lot of surface area for frogs and plants to root to. And they obviously look pretty natural.

On the other hand. I just started using foam sheets rather than expanding foam, and that has been a much more pleasant experience.

 

[B-NICE]

All of my best backgrounds have cork bark incorporated in some way. The other day I noticed a frog hiding in a hollow. They provide a lot of surface area for frogs and plants to root to. And they obviously look pretty natural.

On the other hand. I just started using foam sheets rather than expanding foam, and that has been a much more pleasant experience.

Foam sheets sound great i hate when you have to trim the edges of the front glass and the side glass if you make a mess. I plan on making spray foam panels on my next build.

 

[sarahatl]

When you say premade do you mean the foam sheets made with GS? B-Nice do you make the foam sheet (with the GS and coco fiber) and then silicone the complete back into the tank?

 

[bronz]

I only did the foam and silicone method once, that was enough for me. Takes forever to do, lots of drying time delays, and you can't use the tank for a month afterwards. Gorilla glue all the way for me now, so quick and easy. I've tried making panels outside the viv and putting them in, and putting all the styrofoam in the viv first and doing it all in situ, overall I prefer the second method.

Cork is probably my favourite background where possible, but it's very expensive over here. I haven't tried the cork mosaic look though, that sounds fun, I'll try it on my next build.

 

[tnorwood0811]

what exactly is cork bark mosaic and foam sheets..lol

 

[ggazonas]

Tree fern Plaques driftwood and cork bark are what I prefer to use.

 

[cbreon]

I am about to do two backgrounds myself and I am very interested in using gorilla glue instead of silicone for the reasons mentioned above. I have read some other posts about using gorilla glue and it sounds like I am supposed to use the amber colored gorilla glue. I am considering putting it over great stuff, but it seems like that might not be neceessary.

So anyone that has used the gorilla glue methods I would appreciate if you could elaborate as much as possible to assist me with my upcoming builds.

 

[jpstod]

When you say premade do you mean the foam sheets made with GS? B-Nice do you make the foam sheet (with the GS and coco fiber) and then silicone the complete back into the tank?

No.. I mean like this


Several companies make them..and several board members make similar components.

 

[B-NICE]

When you say premade do you mean the foam sheets made with GS? B-Nice do you make the foam sheet (with the GS and coco fiber) and then silicone the complete back into the tank?

NA, I just thought of cutting out egg create to the size of my BG and spraying the GS on it. I don't like the when silicone gets on the front part of the glass at all. I like to cover the side walls of my viv. Thats the next method I'm going to try. Its a whole new all game for viv # 4. I did cork its not as nice as making your own.

 

[MollyAttack]

what exactly is cork bark mosaic and foam sheets..lol

I too am wondering the same thing. Pictures perhaps? I have never made my own viv and am just starting to research it all.