Building my first fancy terrarium. .

[Jeremy]

Hello,

I am new here but have been lurking a while. Today I starting building a new terrarium for my dart frogs. If anyone sees anything I'm doing wrong please comment. I'd hate to get it finished and then have to tear it down.

I'm using a second hand tank I found off craigslist for 200$.



First step was cleaning it out since I haven't done that in the 10 months that I've owned it.


Then I placed the water pump/prefilter in to see how much room I would need for my water feature. I also siliconed in some airline to use for draining.


Next my friend arranged some background wood for me and I siliconed that in.


Now it's time for the background. I planned to use handi-foam and peat as described at Brian's Tropicals. First I mixed up some peat and coco-fiber. Then when I tried to spray my first can of foam it wouldn't work. I fiddled and looked around online until I discovered that you can't let handi-foam sit around too long. Apparently the propellant leaks out. For whatever reason my little can worked just fine so I did as much as I could with that and then sprinkled on the peat/coco-fiber mix.


After some cursing at my large waste of 50$, I ran to Ace and bought some Great Stuff. I tested a little area since Great Stuff only comes in one color. It looks like crap so I decided to go ahead and use it and then cover it with black silicon then with the peat-cocofiber.


More to come!

[repman01]

looks good so far

[SunflowerGirl85]

Looks like you're off to a good start! I'm looking forward to the end product!
I tried using the black silicone once for a waterfall, but I got nervous about using it after I couldn't tell if it was safe to use or not. What kind are you using?

[beckdg]

looks good so far... ge 1 or 2... black silicone for windows and doors works.

[Jeremy]

I got GE2 for windows and doors but they didn't have black. I opted for clear rather than white. . . hope it works out.


Dispensed the silicone on the Great Stuff I applied yesterday and smoothed it out with a foam paint brush then pushed it into all the crevices with my gloved fingers.


Then used my other hand to sprinkle peat/coco fiber mix onto the silicon. Once it was fully covered I patted down the area.


All done. Just have to wait for it to dry to see how I did. I'm sure I will have to fill holes in certain places but I'm hoping it looks good.


More to come!

[jpstod]

Fantastic Find..I got a Large Tank off of Craigslist once..

Keep us updated

[Jeremy]

Well here is how it sits. I've got quite a bit of filling in to do.



Quick question. How long should I let all of this set before exposing it to water? I've still got rock work to do for my water feature but once that's done I need to know how long it cures before I put in the substrate, plant it, and fill it.

Thanks!

[beckdg]

it varies considerably for different reasons... 24 hrs to a couple weeks... smell is a big indicater... cannot smell silicone... maybe now, maybe 48 hours... depends on your sniffer and drying times... ie, if you had to wait 2 weeks to lose the smell and your sniffer isn't the greatest... 48 more hours... most only have to wait a day or 3.

[Jeremy]

I haven't been updating this as much as I wanted but anyway here is an update. I hope I can safely say that the background is now finished. LOL

[beckdg]

looks great... love the branches you chose