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I am pretty disappointed with the "Great Stuff and silicone" method,... for my tank, that is. It looks pretty cool, but my mantella cage has plenty of yellow still showing and I notice my tank has an odd smell to it that I don't like. I have bothered Kyle and several others over and over again about it, but I really don't trust it in the long run. I also want to move my tinctorius in that cage, as its more vertical and he loves to climb, unlike the ground dwelling mantellas. It is very difficult to sterilize a Great Stuff and silicone peat background without rubbing it off in the cleaning process.
I want to take the background idea a step further. Jhupp recommended me to cichlid-forum.com and I was nearly blown away by the beautiful backgrounds. I thought about using epoxy paint, but it is so expensive and I still think the enamel look is pretty artificial. Plus, concrete is relatively cheap, easily molded, no fumes, naturalistic rock, etc. It can be dyed in beautiful tones, and I have seen many folks make artificial rocks and caves out of them. But there is one main problem with this somewhat ideal look.
I know cichlid people use it, I know koi and goldfish people use it. I also believe some reef people use it. But the question is, is LIME actually toxic, or is it the pH of the lime that is harmful? I am so confused.
I've done a lot of internet searching on concrete ponds, and I get about 50% saying they coat it with some sort of material, or they just leach it with muriatic, vinegar, or phosphoric acid. Some just use lots of water changes. According to many, the bacteria's acidic compounds that they produce from an aged pond will counteract and balance the pH after a while. Once again, is it the LIME itself, or the PH OF THE LIME that is bad? Personally, coating it with some kind of paint will just ruin its naturalistic appearance.
I really would love to use it on all of my tanks in some form, as long as it doesn't leach anything that will maek them sick....especially on my 100 gallon for my Xenopus tank. Somebody also said on the cichlid forum that people have used salt to make it cure much faster. I've also heard that concrete is safe once it is aged enough. I am thinking of even doing a saltwater tank and mount some coral to it, if its not harmful.
FCA, you're a fish guy, could you help enlighten me?
I want to take the background idea a step further. Jhupp recommended me to cichlid-forum.com and I was nearly blown away by the beautiful backgrounds. I thought about using epoxy paint, but it is so expensive and I still think the enamel look is pretty artificial. Plus, concrete is relatively cheap, easily molded, no fumes, naturalistic rock, etc. It can be dyed in beautiful tones, and I have seen many folks make artificial rocks and caves out of them. But there is one main problem with this somewhat ideal look.
I know cichlid people use it, I know koi and goldfish people use it. I also believe some reef people use it. But the question is, is LIME actually toxic, or is it the pH of the lime that is harmful? I am so confused.
I've done a lot of internet searching on concrete ponds, and I get about 50% saying they coat it with some sort of material, or they just leach it with muriatic, vinegar, or phosphoric acid. Some just use lots of water changes. According to many, the bacteria's acidic compounds that they produce from an aged pond will counteract and balance the pH after a while. Once again, is it the LIME itself, or the PH OF THE LIME that is bad? Personally, coating it with some kind of paint will just ruin its naturalistic appearance.
I really would love to use it on all of my tanks in some form, as long as it doesn't leach anything that will maek them sick....especially on my 100 gallon for my Xenopus tank. Somebody also said on the cichlid forum that people have used salt to make it cure much faster. I've also heard that concrete is safe once it is aged enough. I am thinking of even doing a saltwater tank and mount some coral to it, if its not harmful.
FCA, you're a fish guy, could you help enlighten me?