Quote:
Originally Posted by leopardbreeder
I keep hearing people say about covering EVERYTHING in silicone, doesn't that take a lot of it? How many bottles do I need for a 10 gallon tank, with a waterfall and stream? ...Once I have the foam shaped for everything on the ground, do I need to cover it in silicone, or can I just put peat moss on top of that? Sorry for all the questions I am new and can't find any good building guides.
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If you use just the Great Stuff, they have 2 or more "kinds". One is in a red can for cracks & gaps - not a lot of expansion. The one in the black can is gap & crack filler - and expands 3x the original size. If you attempt to "sprinkle" the GS foam with the substrate...unless you bury it, there will be bald spots in the expansion areas as it cures. As well,after it cures, it is easily shaped or cut with a steak knife or razor knife. It may not "cure" in the exact shape you were hoping for, if you need to cut and shape...you'll be cutting the substrate off and need to glue it back on later.
Use the GS to get a general "shape" going, to secure your elements like driftwood logs, your Pond if it is going to a container,the waterfall structure and alll the tubing, as well as small planting cups or baskets either to the back or bottom portion of your structure. Once cured, use a razor knife, box cutter, or serated kitchen knife to "perfect" the shape, cut back foam that expanded too much, or cut in the path of your stream and ponds. Then...take the black silicone and spread it all over the foam in small sections and sprinkle the coco fiber or whatever you'd like to be the substrate, a lot more than just coverage. Then let it dry and tip it so all the loose peat/coco falls off. Touch up any areas that didn't stick. Use the silicone to attach stones, gravel or pebbles for your streambed and/or ponds if you want. There is a guy at
www.BlackJungle.com that walks thru the whole process. Pretty cool, check it out.
How much would you need for a 10 gal. tank?? Well, you're not covering the entire thing, so I would say 1/2 -3/4 a tube of the black silicone caulking, one can of the red can GS foam, (if you use the black can...it will expand and fill that tank comepletely!) and another 1/2 - 3/4 tube of silicone to cover the foam. You can also use this silicone to attach air plants to the wall of the structure if you have any to use.
Check out the site above, hope this helps, and good luck. Send Pics!
