Wow, they look pretty cool. Did you happen to see what prices they were selling them for? They look like they would be pretty easy to work with.

 

LLL Reptile has the tiles for $7.99 for the 12"x12"x12" size to $22.99 for the 18"x18"x24". According to the ZooMed rep, other vendors should have them soon. The foam inserts are $39.99 for the 12"x12"x12" to $75.99 for the 24"x18"x24".

 

I have both styles of tanks. Lets just say I would pay 2-3x's the price for an exoterra before purchasing the competitors again. Big differences in quality.

 

Those foam inserts are sold by T-Rex. I personally found them to be ugly in person, but hats just my opinion.

 

The 3D inserts aren't really my thing either. $40 is a lot for a 12"^3 block of foam, but if I can find one on clearance somewhere I might try it. Might look OK if you can get some moss to grow on it.

 

The 3D inserts don't look all that great on their own, but once they have some plants covering them and maybe a little algae, they look beautiful. They're a lot like a great-stuff background after it's fully set in, not that pretty on their own though.

 

Are there any pictures of tanks using the 3D foam backgrounds besides the one in the product shot? I would like to see one once it's more grown in. Personally, landscaping and substrate is my least favorite aspect of tank building, so if you can get them to look nice, I'd definitely be interested. I suppose they couldn't look any worse than the styrofoam background that comes with the Exo-Terras, and even that looks fine covered with creeping fig.

I'm also glad that ZooMed is offering the tiles. It makes cork tiles a much more affordable option, since before the only thing you could get was the 12"x12" tiles that were $13 each. According to the ZooMed rep, they can be easily cut to fit any size tank. You also don't have to worry about gaps in the backgrounds or foaming in behind uneven cork slabs to keep curious frogs from getting behind the background.

 

For affordable background material like tree fern panel and cork bark try:

http://www.orchid-supplies.com/

 

I have ordered treefern fiber slabs from there in the past, and I personally didn't care for it as it was almost 2" thick and the corners were not square, so there were gaps that needed to be foamed in.

The cork they sell is not flat on the back and not cut square, so you would need to deal with gaps there as well. Assuming you get the largest possible piece of cork (10"x10") the cost per square inch is the same compared to the 18"x24" ZooMed tile. It's more if they give you an 8"x8" instead.

I'll go with the ZooMed tiles, thanks.

 

I know this is an old thread but was wondering if anyone who has purchased these Zoom Med cork/forest panels could tell me the exact dimensions of them. I know they say 12X18 or 18x24 but are the dimensions exactly as stated? I do not want to order them to find they are 17x23 or something like that. Thinking about using them in a tank and want them to fit tightly into the back. Any feedback by those who have used them would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Bart

 

I have been waiting for Some to hit the shelves locally since I saw them advertised a long time ago...unfortunately no such luck yet. I don't mail order my supplies. I strictly buy by sight. If I can't pick it myself, I don't buy. Nothing against Online retailers, but they don't know what I like and can't look at items and know if it will fit in my image of what I am trying to achieve in decor.

 

I have seen them in person and they are a nice product cut in EXACT dimensions and only about 1/4" thick. Nice background that doesnt take up too much room in a little tank.

 

They are more like 1/2 -3/4'' thick. I picked up one of them and planed+grooved it to make a round tree. I got it at a local fish store. Nice products

 

My husband just bought me the pre-formed foam for my first tank set-up. They are ugly!! Bought a few plants and some moss, though so hoping to dress it up. My question is how long should I let my plants estabilish and grow before adding my frogs? I did the set-up last night, plan on buying frogs in one week, and keeping them in isolation at least two weeks. Is that long enough?