[Guest]

Hi,

I have been deciding on which type of media to cover the back wall of my viv. with and I have decided I am going to do an expanding foam, silicone, and coco husk background.

Anyway, our local petsmart has a product called Bed-a-beast, it is a compressed brick of 100% coconut husk. Upon soaking in water it expands to roughly 8 liters in volume. Is this what you guys use to cover your back walls?? It seems so cheap at petsmart compared to other onine repile/frog vendors. Do I expand it in water first, then let it dry before sticking it into the wet silicone???

Thanks for any help

Dan

 

[Guest]

Yesm that is perfect. Just spread it out after soaking it and allow it to thoroughly dry before pressing it into any silicone. Don't ask me how I know :wink:

 

[Guest]

Jared,

thanks for the info. Is it the same exact stuff that black jungle sells in sheets? They have a sheet that is 2' by 6' long of coco husks for back wall building. How come theirs comes in sheets, and the other is compressed brick? Is there a diffence, or one better than the other?

Thanks again
Dan

 

[Guest]

The sheet stuff you would not expand. You would just secure it in place.

The stuff you are talking about is the exact stuff i used. I also saw some at my local grocery store in the plant section for 2 dollars a brick. This stuff is ideal if you are usgin the great stuff / adhesive/. I dont think the sheet would work in that scenario.

 

[Guest]

The sheets are just sheets of woven coco fiber. Alot of people just sut those sheets to fit and silicone them to the back of the tank. Plants love to attach to that and grow. IMO, it doesn't look real.

The brick is compressed ground coco husks and is like peat moss after expanding. I think that looks the best when used with great stuff. It makes for a more authentic chunk of the rainforest.

 

[Guest]

Go w/ the bed-a-beast thats what i used but the trick to maxing it out is use really hot water. I found the hotter the water the more it expands. I used warm water the first time and it expanded alot but later when i used boiling water on a smaller amount in the same container it expanded so much it was coming over the sides :shock:.
Second let the stuff dry for a while it hold moistre really well so it takes a while and alot of newspaper changes to get it dry and if its not really dry it doesnt stick to the silicone well.

 

[Guest]

like thesae people said the only tip i have is make sure its REALLY dry and to keep in mind that it will probably take a few days because youll have to patch up certain spots ect.

 

[Cody]

Yesm that is perfect. Just spread it out after soaking it and allow it to thoroughly dry before pressing it into any silicone. Don't ask me how I know :wink:

If I didn't allow it to dry completely am I screwed? I thought it was but it has gotten alot lighter since I applied it. Should I pull it off and start over? It's not sticking that well yet and it has been near 24 hours. :x

 

[Guest]

i did mine when it was wet...you just gotta let that stuff dry then apply more and make sure the new stuff is dry...i ended up with a lot of white patches when i did mine because it was wet.