# General Topics > Vivarium, Terrarium & Enclosure Discussion >  29 gallon build log

## J Teezy

Well, I picked up used 29 gallon tank that is practically new.  Started messing around with some ideas today

The styrofoam background will be pushed to the top of the tank when its complete it's just sitting at the bottom so that i could picture what i was doing







I'm contemplating a water feature for this build but can't really decide if I want to or not.  The thing that's messing with my decision is that if I did a water feature i'd want to drill the tank, and though I had no issues drilling my 10 gallon, I don't know if i want to take the chance on this one because drilling glass is not fail safe and also don't really have any idea of what kind of pump i should get if I did decide to do the water feature.  I really wanted to experiment with a water fall, but i kind of what to keep this simple as well

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## J Teezy

Friday night and some cold beer and a trip to home depot and i started to put this in action.  I scraped my original idea and went with a stack method I saw on youtube.  I bought a 4' x 8' by 3/4" thick styrofoam insulation.  This stuff had a plastic sleeve on one side and a foil sheet on the other.  Kind of pain to remove but not too bad.  What I did was make myself a 29" x 9" rectangle out of cardboard as a template to cut out a bunch of panels.  After i had all the panels cut out I started working my design

What i did was get my first piece cut out.  Then i would trace that piece onto the next panel in purple sharpie and then alter it in black sharpie and then cut out the black sharpie line.  Then trace the new piece onto the next panel in the same fashion.  It takes me awhile to cut a piece because i have to picture it in my head first about 100 times.  I would stack previous cut pieces up as they are cut so i could see how the build is progressing and then put the piece i'm working on in front of the finished pieces that are stacked up and start to alter the purple outline with my black sharpie.  Helps me visualize where i'm going better.

couple pieces already cut out



after a few more pieces







More pieces cut out







I'm trying to make a couple built in caves by overhanging pieces.  One cave is in the back corner.  I'll go in and chip away some of the styrofoam once its all siliconed together to make it deeper and more cave looking.  The stack method is basically giving me a rough outline of the rock formations and ledges.  I'll be going in with a sanding block and my fingers to define some areas more and get rid of the straight edges that happen from stacking.

Ok, my update break is over, back to the workshop to do some more.  I'm trying to get all the panels done tonight so i can silicone tomorrow.

Stay tuned for more updates later

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## J Teezy

spent today finishing up the styrofoam and then started siliconing it all together.  I ran out of silicone with 4 pieces left so in the picture the top 4 pieces are just sitting there for photo purpose.  Have to finish up the siliconing tomorrow then figure out how i'm going to install my net pots into the background.  Not sure if i'm going to try and carve out holes for the pots or get some great stuff and foam them to the background.

Anyone ever covered GS with grout?  How well does it adhere to it?  Hopefully i can get all the pots done tomorrow and let everything cure up for a bit and start grouting the background Tuesday.









I'm going to have to trim down the back side as its just a hair too long to fit the whole background inside the tank as a whole unit which is going to leave a portion on the right side of the tank where the backwall has nothing on it so what I think i'm going to do is maybe paint the back of the tank black, or i'm going to get some of that black ground paper at the fish store and attach that to the back and left side of the tank, leaving the only viewable portions of the tank being from the front and right side, but you wont really be able to stand on the sides of the tank to look anyway because the tank is going inside a recessed portion of a wall (was a small closet in my office room and tank fits perfectly inside it.

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## Kristen

That looks good  :Smile:  Can't wait to see this when it's done, good luck.
I'v'e actually just started doing the same thing for my (future) gecko.

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## J Teezy

thanks, it looks rough right now but once i grout it and can start painting it to define the big rock portions that stick out it should look alot better.  My plan is to stick moss on the ledges that stick out and see if i can get it to grow there.  Going to have to bit the bullet on some Shields All sealer.  Stuff cost like $25 a gallon which isn't bad but cost $20 to ship it which sucks.  Wish i lived in Florida where the company was.  I smeared silcone all over my rock wall for 10 gallon as a sealer and sprinkled sand on it but i'm not sure how well moss would grow ontop of silicone so i'm not sure if i'll final seal with silicone on this one or not, plus when your working with a big amount of silicone like you do when you cover something with it, it gets pretty fumey and is not fun to be around.

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## Kristen

yeah It should look great  :Smile:  Too bad about that sealer though, 
I'm just using pond sealer to seal mine, its not as thick as silicone and has a better texture (and it doesn't smell as bad)

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## J Teezy

pond sealer hmmm, got some more information on that?  brand, etc.

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## Kristen

Pond Sealer Clear: Waterproofing: Crommelin
I use this one, It's safe because its used in fish ponds ect,

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## J Teezy

i assume its clear right?  Does it look shiny like silicone does when it dries?  I may have to see if i can find some of that stuff

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## Kristen

Yeah it's clear, but it comes in black, blue and sandstone also. Yeah it looks just like silicone  :Smile:

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## J Teezy

what's it cost?

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## Kristen

I think mine was  $20-$30

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## J Teezy

for a gallon i assume? that's about the same as Shields All.  I'll probably go with some shields all to apply first since its more watery and can be sprayed on to get down in the nooks and crevices then maybe see if can find some kind of pond sealer stuff in a smaller quantity

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## Kristen

For a litre  :Smile:

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## J Teezy

Today i finished up the silicone and then scraped way at the straight edges and defined some areas a little more with my finger nail.  Also put the pots in place where i think i want them.  Going to GS them in place i think, and once that cures and dries carve that some then we should be ready for grout phase

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## J Teezy

well picked up my darts today which got me motivated to work on the 29 gallon.  Foamed the pots in and then cut away alot of it and did some mini sculpting.  Need to do a couple more things then we should be ready for some coating.  Not sure if i'm going to Silicone cocofiber this or grout and paint

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## J Teezy

worked on sanding the inside where the pots go a bit.  My plan is to make it so there is some play in the holes for the pots to sit because i'm probably going to grout the inside of the holes as well.  I may not even use the pots either since once grouted should make a nice spot to just throw some substrate in there and plant.

The straws you see sticking out are drain pipes for the planting areas.  Once everything is grouted they will be cut down to size to where you wont be able to see them.  Should a straw happen to get clogged for some reason i can stick a bbq skewer through it to unjam it.  I may make a 2nd drain hole in each potting area as well.

i just stuck the background in the tank to get a little visual. The final product will be up off the bottom of the tank to where the top of the background is flush with the inner rim of the tank.

My plans for the pots at this point from left to right are something along the lines of neo brom, some kind of viney plant probably a wandering jew, anther brom possibly a crypt, fern of some type, brom, and then pothos coming down the right side to cover the section on bare glass on the back wall.

as you can see there are alot of ledges on this background.  I'm going to attempt to try and get some moss going on those ledges.  My hopes are to have a majority of the background covered in moss

Probably going to have a small drainage pond in the front right corner for siphoning off excess water.

you can see the two caves in the back left corner, one big one at ground level, and then a smaller one above it.





closer look at the caves



Hopefully i'll start the grout process in the next couple of days

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## greene

Looks great! Are those black things for plants?

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## J Teezy

yes they are 2" net pots

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## J Teezy

did some work today on the background.  I decided that my drain holes with the straws in them were too small to allow me to get some grout over the foam in there so i took the straws out and will leave them out.  I took a grinding stone attachment and put it on a drill and bored out the holes alot bigger for adequate drainage from the pots and to allow me to coat the foam with grout.  Also took the grinding stone to the pot areas and made them slightly bigger to allow a couple layers of grout in there and then for the pots to be able to still fit.  Using pots would allow easy removal of the plants, but i may not use the pots and just plant directly in the spots, i'll decide when it comes time for that.

put a layer of grout on today to the front top bottom and sides.  Tomorrow i'll do the back and give the front another day to cure up good and then start the 2nd coat on the front thursday.  I had to make the first layer pretty runny to allow me to get into all the cracks and crevices.  2nd coat will be runny as well to get into the cracks again.  I found it easier to just pour the grout in the hard to reach spots with a spoon and then dab it around with my brush instead of trying to get in there first with just a brush.  The pics are of the background laying on its back drying so it looks a little different than what you'll see when its in the tank but you can at least see how the grout applied.

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## J Teezy

with about 4 layers of grout i think i'm done grouting.  Waiting on my Shields All to arrive so i can seal the grout then paint it and seal it again.

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## J Teezy

stood it up to get some better pics











the 2 leucs that are going into this are going to love climbing this thing.  I swear they think they are tree frogs

Here's a video that shows the caves a little better and my drainage for the pots

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## Shibumi

Really nice work. I like the simplicity of the drainage compared to straws. Plus those holes will never clog. I would use the net pots though. it's better to be able to move your plants around to suit them.

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## J Teezy

yeah, i'll be using the net potters

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## AReaHerps

This looks really awesome! Great creativity and your babies are going to LOVE it! Quick question. What brand and type of grout did you use? I would very much like to try a background with grout. I love how realistic it appears. Also, I was chatting with a painter and he said that high quality acrylic paint for say bathrooms (behr's) is waterproof after drying and putting on 2 or more coats. Has anyone else tried using a background with only acrylic paint to seal it? I like the idea of grout then just painting several layers of paint. Seems logical to me. 

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## J Teezy

the grout is just unsanded grout from home depot, whatever brand they carry think its called Polyblend.  As far as that bathroom paint, the question is if its non toxic?  If it's made for a bathroom i wouldnt be surprised if it has some kind of mold and mildew blockers in it.  I use non toxic acrylic craft paint and the Shields All which is a non toxic acrylic sealer.  Shields All is not waterproof but is water resistant so stuff that's going to be under water 24/7 365 you'd want to seal in silicone or pond sealer or something along those lines

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## AReaHerps

I was reading in another forum that as long as the paint is 100% acrylic then it's non toxic. Is that true in your opinion? I'll have to do more research about the mold/mildew blockers. What about it makes it toxic in builds? 

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## HerpDerp

Wow this is awesome! I really want to do something like this with my terrarium at some point. I really think that this thread should be a sticky so that everyone can learn from this!

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## J Teezy

Today i made up some thick grout to do some work on the edges where the pots are.  I didn't paint that part because i need to sand it a little and add a little bit more in some spots.  Then went ahead and did a base coat of black.  I like to base coat with black so that i can get down in the cracks and crevices real good so that when i start detailing rocks more the black in the cracks gives an illusion that the rocks go back further than they really do.  This is just a single coat of black that i hand painted with a small brush to make sure i got down in all the cracks.  I'll most likely mix up some more in a dollar store spray bottle watered down some and spray over the whole thing in black one more time before i start using the grey tones for the rock



taking the picture also helps me to see spots i missed so that i can go back and fill in

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## J Teezy

think we are just about ready to start with the grey tones

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## J Teezy

ok well its done, it's just drying at the moment so i can't get the final pictures until i can stand it up.

So this is how i do my backgrounds

1st black was applied, i did several coats to try and cover every tiny spot of grout i could see

2nd i sponged on a dark grey color.  These two pictures are how it looks after the grey.  This is why i like to base coat in black, i think it really makes the grey show up.  The pictures don't do it justice, you need to see it under 6500k lights to really see how the paint pops on this





Now this is not how it looks finished.  The last thing i did was used a light grey to dry brush over the rocks.  Really brings out detail and brings the rocks to life.  You'll have to wait a few more minutes until its dry enough for me to stand it up and snap some pics

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## Shibumi

Wow, that paint job came out great!

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## Nano

Looking great!  I loved watching the whole process!  Thanks for sharing!  I can't wait to see how it looks when you decorate it ;-)

I'm just finishing my second background too, but I did it a bit differently as I used Styrofoam base, then expanding foam, Pond Sealant and Coco Peat on top...   

It's great to learn seeing how people use different techniques!  :Smile:

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## J Teezy

here it is with the dry brush done

I may add some green tones for algae growth but i'm not sure atm

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## ctbradley

If you do the green for algae growth water down a light green and put it in a spray bottle and put it in lower parts of the background.

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## J Teezy

i'm probably just going to leave it as is since i'm going to try and get some moss to grow on some of the areas of the background.

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## Nano

> i'm probably just going to leave it as is since i'm going to try and get some moss to grow on some of the areas of the background.


I'm thinking of doing the same thing too, but not sure what's the best way to do this. How do you plan to do it?  Do you have to have water running all the time on those areas where you want the moss to grow, or just the humidity of the tank will be enough?

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## J Teezy

mistking heavy misting ftw

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## J Teezy

another picture in some different light.  Sealant arrives tomorrow so i'll be able to start coating it.  Got my bulkhead ordered and found a local reefer with drill bits so drain should be done within the next couple days



So next couple of things on the TO DO LIST is

-start sealing stage of background
-get tank drilled for bulkhead drain (going 1/2" bulkhead on this one, i did 3/4" on my last which seemed more than enough so)
-pieces are already cut for FB, just need to zip tie it and screen it
-buddy of mine in Texas owns a glass company, talking with him to see about sending me glass for my lid

once i can get the FB set and the background temporarely in place i can start on the top.  Deciding on how many mist nozzles i'm going to need for this.  One in each front corner for sure but i'm thinking maybe a double nozzle in the middle as well.  i plan on planting moss on the ledges of the background which is going to need to be kept pretty wet so i'm thinking i'm going to need some good coverage from the misters.

Also i don't plan on having an screen vent on this build so its going to be completely sealed up (i think).  I going to use a couple fans on this to keep my glass clear but i haven't decided on how i'm going to do it.  i'm either going to use a method i've found over on db for having the fans actually inside the tank where i can position them how i want, or i'm going make the top so that i can have a couple fans that shoot air directly down the front glass.

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## J Teezy

Shields All came today, so i put down a coat on the top, sides, bottom, and front (can't do the back cause its laying on its back, but i'll get that later once the first coat sets up some).  

My impressions of the stuff:

I think i like it.  It goes on very easy.  I was using a stencil brush so that i could get down in the cracks and get the hard to reach spots (i'm going to use a spray bottle for the next couple applications).  It's a liquid sealer almost as thin as water (it's pretty thin) and its milky white in color.  When you apply it with a brush it goes on very easy.  It seems to be cloudy in some spots when you put it on but once it dries it becomes clear.  If you use it just try not to leave areas where its pooling up.  Brush it out as best you can.  It dries fairly quick.  Says to the touch in 1 hour and can be recoated 3-4 hours later.  Its recommended to use at least 2 coats by manufacturer for what they think you are using it for, but since this is going in a viv, i'll be probably doing 4 coats, just to make sure i get a couple layers every where.

Now, it does have a shine to it kind of like when you seal a background with silicone, makes your work appear to be wet.   Some may not like this but i say since it's in  a viv with a mister where stuff is usually wet majority of the time then this really isn't a big deal to me.  Now a trick to combat the shine is to sprinkle colored sand on the final coat of sealer.  I did this with my 10 gallon vert background where i used silicone as the sealer.  The Shields All leaves kind of a slick finish, so if your animal needs some help in the traction department sand may not be a bad idea.  I think i'm going to add some again on this project at the end but i'm going to do it in a different manner.  Last time i sprinkled it on with my fingers.  This time i'm going to throw the sand at the background to get a bigger spread of the grains as i just want to get a light bit of sand on it.  I've seen my leucs feet sliding when trying to get up the glass when it was wet before so i'm going to help them out a bit with a tad bit of traction but not alot.

Now the bad thing about Shields All is the price.  It's $25 a gallon, which for me isn't bad,  especially since  I know its going to be safe for my frogs.  The bad part is that it's only sold from the manufacturer which is in Florida so that means you have to have it shipped.  The $20 for standard group shipping makes this stuff $45 a gallon.  The other thing is that i'm not even going to use close to 1/3 of a gallon most likely.  

so basically

Shields All = $25 a gallon
Shipping = $20
peace of mind knowing its safe for my frogs = Priceless.

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## J Teezy

oh man Friday the 13th hit me.  today i was loading up my car to take my stuff over to my place (i had been working on this at my parent's house because they have utility sink and  other stuff that makes it more easy for me to clean up brushes and ****).  So i stuck my background all my other supplies in my car, then about an hour or so later I had decided i was going to do another coat of Shields All so i went out to get the background out of the car.  What i saw gave me a bad feeling in my stomach.

For some reason the areas where the Great Stuff was used had started to crack.  Its almost as if the foam had decided to expand a little bit even though i did the foaming almost 2 weeks ago.  I really i'm baffled on what happened as the cracking only happened in areas where the GS is.  All the other styrofoam where there is no GS is perfectly fine.  Now its about 65 degrees outside and probably a little bit warmer than that in my car where i had the background, but i find it hard to believe that a tiny bit of heat caused the GS to expand more (2 weeks after i applied), but who knows.  So of the cracks are pretty extreme, and i'm very pissed off right now.  So my ideas were either throw it away and forget about it or figure out some kind of solution.  Well i really don't want to start over on this so I decided i'm going to try and see what i can do.  I got out some black acrylic and my paintbrush and started trying to fill the cracks with paint so that the color of the foam isn't showing.  It kind of messed up my paint job on the rocks but it doesn't look too bad.  I hope the cracks don't get worse or i'll have to just toss this background which would really make me mad.

Here's some pictures of the cracks before i tried to fix them with paint














I'm really bummed right now in fear that this background is done for, hopefully i can fix it.  Man i'm pissed right now

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## AReaHerps

That sucks man. So sorry. I think it will look great after you fix it. Don't toss it though! Keep your head up. Fantastic looking background either way! 

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## J Teezy

messed around with the brush and some paints and was able to fix the areas.  The cracks actually make the rocks look even more realisitic now, but my fear is that this is going to keep cracking.  I'm going to leave it alone for a day or so to see what happens to the cracks.

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## bigwilliestyles

> messed around with the brush and some paints and was able to fix the areas.  The cracks actually make the rocks look even more realisitic now, but my fear is that this is going to keep cracking.  I'm going to leave it alone for a day or so to see what happens to the cracks.


I was thinking that those cracks just make it look more authentic. It seems a bit weird that it cracked? Perhaps it had something to do with the grout drawing moisture from the foam? My foam backgrounds with peatmoss havent had an issue with cracking. Although they do shrink a bit with time.

I am looking forward to seeing this all planted. :Big Applause:

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## NatureLady

Oh man. I was just able to load this thread and sorry about the cracks!!!  :Frown: 
It looks really amazing though and I hope that it has decided to stop cracking!

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## J Teezy

> I was thinking that those cracks just make it look more authentic. It seems a bit weird that it cracked? Perhaps it had something to do with the grout drawing moisture from the foam? My foam backgrounds with peatmoss havent had an issue with cracking. Although they do shrink a bit with time.
> 
> I am looking forward to seeing this all planted.


It wasn't the grout that cracked.  The foam expanded somehow and cracked the grout,  Can tell it was the foam because of how spread the cracks were.  I fixed it for now hopefully.  I'm just waiting on this guy to get back to me about drilling my drain so i can move on with the build, he's holding me up at the moment

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## J Teezy

drain is drilled eggcrate is made, glass top coming in next couple days so almost ready to plant this thing

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## Nano

Hey Josh,

Did you manage to get vents drilled as well?

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## J Teezy

i'm not going to vent it.  Probably just put a fan in it

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## Nano

Oh, ok.  Something like that won't work for me.  Some of the plants I have are quite sensitive and if I don't turn on the rain or spray quite regularly their leaves start drying out... if I put a fan I think they will just die straight away.  

Sometimes I think my tank is too humid, but I don't know for sure as I don't have a gauge to measure humidity yet.... I think I will have to fix that soon  :Smile:

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## J Teezy

my fan will only kick on for a couple minutes after the misters go off just to clear the glass mainly

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## Colleen/Jerrod

I'm pretty sure JT that the foam expanded due to the heat absorbed. From sunlight being concentrated through the windows of your car. Heat cause all objects whether it be metal or even glass to expand with heat and shrink when cold. Perhaps a sudden contraction of the particles in the foam became warmer just as sudden and caused the particles to expand hence cracking the paint. I've seen such things happen.

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## ndame88

Josh,
so since you are making the background outside of the tank, how are you going to get it to stick to the back glass panel? Silicone? 

Thanks

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## J Teezy

it won't attach to the tank at all.  I make my backgrounds so they can be easily removed if needed.  It will just sit inside the tank up against the back glass and left side glass.

By the way the background is completely sealed and done.  Just need to get myself to the glass shop to get my tops then it's pretty much ready for soil and plants

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## Don

> messed around with the brush and some paints and was able to fix the areas.  The cracks actually make the rocks look even more realisitic now, but my fear is that this is going to keep cracking.  I'm going to leave it alone for a day or so to see what happens to the cracks.




I wanted to reply last night but was to exhausted to think.  :-)

I like the cracks since they make it more natural looking, like when plants just sprout up out of nowhere and begin to grow in the tank. 
Josh, have to punched some holes into the thicker GS areas to see if any air or gasses have built up and need to be released?  Not sure if that would be the reason but its a thought.

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## J Teezy

> I wanted to reply last night but was to exhausted to think.  :-)
> 
> I like the cracks since they make it more natural looking, like when plants just sprout up out of nowhere and begin to grow in the tank. 
> Josh, have to punched some holes into the thicker GS areas to see if any air or gasses have built up and need to be released?  Not sure if that would be the reason but its a thought.



Yeah i punched a few holes but probably not enough.  All is good though, it was doctored up with paint and looks fine now.  I sealed it all with Shields All and went ahead and smeared some clear silicone over some of the areas that i know will be more wet than others.

I converting an old dresser into the stand so i need to sand it and paint it then i will be ready to move on

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## FrogLoving17

It's looking really good  :Smile:  can't wait to see the whole thing done! I got a few questions.
What kind of silicone did you use to put the styrofoam together
Do you have to grout before you paint
Does all silicone dry clear?

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## J Teezy

GE Silicone I Window and Door
yes it dries clear
you grout then paint then seal

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## FrogLoving17

Thanks!

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## J Teezy

glass tops cut, just need to drill them, light fixture and substrate ordered, just need to refinish the stand i'm going to be using, once that is done, plants get ordered and tank should be up and running

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## Gail

Josh, that is amazing.  I can't wait to see this one in enclosure of the month.

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## J Teezy

stuff from Josh's arrived today.  One thing i ordered was the LED light bulb.  I put it in my current tank to test it and can say its very nice

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## J Teezy

Had my leucs for about a month now.  One is bigger than the other but they both eat well.  Possible male and female???  Can't wait to move these two into the 29 gallon

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## J Teezy

glass tops, still need to drill them



the old dresser that i'm going to put the stand on.  Going to paint it black, it's a little beat up but free

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## J Teezy

next step is making my fan for keeping the glass clear since this enclosure is going to be 100% closed up.

I bought a 60mm fan that does 21cfm.  Plan is to install this in the back right corner of the tank pointed towards the front glass.  I'll be using the pieces of a mistking nozzle assembly to mount the fan so i can adjust the fan as necessary

as you can see from the fan it will not fit in the housing i'm using so i'm going to have to do some dremel work to remove the corners of the fan and probably dremel out a little bit of the housing to get the fan inside.

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## J Teezy

well after weeks of contemplation i have decided to make a new background.  The rock background needs a much deeper tank to work how i want it to.  A standard 29 gallon tank just don't have the depth i want with this one so here's the start of the new background which will be GS classic dart frog brown method



here's the stand i am going to put this one.  It's an old beat up dresser that i'm painting black.  Took the drawers out to house the drain bucket and mist pump and reservoir.

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## DC101

OMG josh, that is AMAZING. For my next build, i am so going to do that styrofoam idea, it is great!!!

This is so going in my favourites!!!

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## arielgasca420

few questions before I start my own background for my pyxie. what  brand grout do you use and what other brand  sealant did you use before you tested the Sealant All from Florida?

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## J Teezy

i used whatever the brand that home depot carries for grout.  On my first viv i didn't have Shields All yet so i just sealed the whole thing with silicone (and i mean the WHOLE THING)

The second one i made which was for this 29 gallon that i decided not to use i used the Shields All and probably did about 3 coats of it and then used silicone

Shields All is suppose to be able to withstand getting wet but not constantly under water.  I just use the silicone as a fail safe since my vivs are misted

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## AReaHerps

Josh.. Is there anything else out there besides Shields All I could use to seal my background? I'm half tempted to do the silicone and sand technique so save the $50 but not sure how it would look. Did you like the all silicone look? 

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## J Teezy

silicone look doesn't bother me because i have a mistking which keeps things wet.  The silicone basically makes it look like its wet.  Honestly you may not like the look of it at first but after awhile you forget all about it.  I can barely see the the background anymore because of plants growing anyway.

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## IrishRonin

I know I'm way late on this but awesome job on the background, since your not using the original one do you plan on putting it in another tank? On your new one are you not doing the stack style? Anyway great job cant wait to see the other one!

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## J Teezy

> I know I'm way late on this but awesome job on the background, since your not using the original one do you plan on putting it in another tank? On your new one are you not doing the stack style? Anyway great job cant wait to see the other one!


the original rock wall background has hopes of going into a deeper tank.  I may experiment with building my own tank for it not sure yet.  The current background is in progress of being siliconed into the tank then i need to do some touch up work on it with some GS, because, well, to make a long story short, due to a mishap i had to cut it in a couple pieces because GS bowed it in.  Not sure why but if i had to guess it was because i got anxious and started carving it to soon before it was completely cured and the uncured portions grabbed onto surrounding foam and pulled everything inward bowing the **** out of it all, so the corner section was cut and siliconed in, then the back portion was cut into two pieces.  Only the last piece left to silicone in, then some touch up foaming to fill the voids.  This new one is way way more slimmer and gives way more floor space.

The rock wall will hopefully be put to use at some point in the future, i spent too much time on it not to use it, though i'd probably sell it if someone offered me the right price =)

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## morgan

You've got some great stick-to-itiveness.  I am also using foam layers.  I start siliconing tomorrow.

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## AReaHerps

That looks cool Morgan. Post some update pics. 

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## kmichael55

This is SO impressive, I can't wait to read thoroughly how you made the background when I have the time.  I think I've got a new project that will take up all my free time now! So much prettier/interesting than a 2D picture taped to the back!

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## morgan

Silicone and coconut fiber pressed in.

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## AReaHerps

That looks really good morgan! Simple and effective. 

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## Bruce

This is a really awesome build!  I wish I was creative enough to some up with stuff like this!

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## ndame88

Not trying to hijack the thread, but I also borrowed Josh's stacked foam idea, if you want to see my progress(on hold until the new house is finished in September), see my signature.  So far I am happy with the way it turned out, but I will not do it for my next build at least not outside of the enclosure.  Its time intensive and in the end, the simpler builds look just as good when planted and hard scape is added.  Looks good so far Morgan, good luck.

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## J Teezy

this project got put aside for a long time since I was waiting on the 24" cube tank which will be my main show tank now.  Being bored I decided to resurrect this 29 gallon from the dead.  I will most likely be selling it once the background is finished.  The majority of the cocofiber is on just finished it a few minutes ago.  Will have to do some touch up work once its on dry and cured but here it is for now.  Its laying on its back for now to let the silicone and cocofiber adhere.  I'll get better ones when its dry.  One thing i can say is that having to do silicone and cocofiber in tank that doesn't have front opening doors is a pain the $#@.  If I ever did this again on a top opening tank i would do the cocofiber on the background with it outside the tank then silicone it in once it was done.

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## ndame88

I agree what a pain, especially towards the bottom, you can't see what you are doing.

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## J Teezy

exactly.  I have a cave on the bottom corner and that was a pain in the butt.  Had to goop the silicone on my fingers and just rub it around inside it the best i could.  never again!!! will i do cocofiber on a top opening tank with it in the tank already.

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## ndame88

Need Gumby arms so you can look through the bottom while smearing the silicone. Another lesson for me was to use the black pond GS, so if your arms can't reach every nook and cranny, it won't look as bad if you miss some spots.  Well worth the extra $$ to use pond GS.

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## J Teezy

yeah i used the pond version of GS with black silicone to adhere the cocofiber

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## purpleturtle89

Hey, what type of grout do you use? Do you add paint to it to get it that grey colour, and what paints should I use, you've inspired me and I don't wanna kill my frogs  :Frown:  lol thanks

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## J Teezy

Cheapest non sanded grout they had at home depot. Didnt add any paintto rhe grout that was its color.  Used non toxic acrylic paint. Used a couple different painting techniques. First whole thing black. Then sponge painted on dark grey then dry brushed a light grey

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## J Teezy

Let me add if i was ever going to do a build like this again, i would use foam coat from hotwirefoamfactory.com instead of grout.

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## exasperatus2002

> Cheapest non sanded grout they had at home depot. Didnt add any paintto rhe grout that was its color. Used non toxic acrylic paint. Used a couple different painting techniques. First whole thing black. Then sponge painted on dark grey then dry brushed a light grey
> 
> Sent from my GT-N8013 using Tapatalk HD


The acryllic paint, did you get it at the home depot.

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## J Teezy

Hobby lobby

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## J Teezy

almost done with the background

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## J Teezy

she's almost done!!!  Couple tiny spots that i need to hit with some coco then it's done.  I planned to sell this tank but if I can figure out an easy way to remove the front panel of glass and install sliding doors, I may just have to keep it

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## Wolfie64

This looks so cool. I am working on a project like this but made it more complicated for myself by adding a water feature which is taking some serious thought to work out. Can't wait to see the grout layer.

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## maxQ

Josh, I have absolutely loved this build. I have read and re-read every word and looked at your pictures until I almost went blind. Awesome job ! I have a 18x18x18 sitting on my work bench waiting to get started, I will be using your build to go by and for pointers, I love how yours came out. My issue is, I have so many other questions that I have so expect me to hit you up. : ) For instance, how are you routing water lines to your pots if you plan to do that, which I do.                                                                                                                 GREAT JOB and Thanks for posting this.

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## J Teezy

This tank is not in use. Watering would have been handled by my mistking which is probably the best gadget for a tank! Mistking and my Ecozone controller were great investments

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