Tips and Tricks

[Josh]

Not sure if this has been added or not but. One way to help hide tubing is to rub silicone over the tube and then dunk it in a bowl full of peat moss or some kind of substrate so it looks like this

[Emperornibble]

If you have arboreal spiders in a tank that opens at the top cut the corners off of some spare glass and stick those in the corners of the tank just under the lid. This allows you to access the tank from the top without tearing down their webs. Use this in my 10g avic tank...

[herp35]

The best way to dry coco peat without the risk of burning it is to take a box fan and 2 air conditioner filters and sandwich the coco peat in between the filters. Then bungee the filters to the box fan and prop it up at an angle and turn it on high. After about 2-3 hours the coco peat inside is completely dry.

[HeavyW]

I am just a noob, BUT..while shopping for supplies today I came across a product at home depot called MiracleMulch. Its 100% Coco Fiber and Coir chunk blend. I am going to use it for my backround and some of my substrate. $8.00 for 8.8 pounds!!!

PlantBest - MiracleMulch 4 Kg/8.8 Lbs - 3056 - Home Depot Canada

[froggsong]

I'll have to see if I can find that @ our HD to see if it is the same size/price range as the one I get from ACE. Make sure you rinse it once or twice. I've read that sometimes these products for regular garden use can have retained salts from processing. Let us know how the chunk to fiber ratio is. The one I use is mostly large chunks, which is perfect for snakes and lizards as an easy to clean substrate, but it would be too large for a BG. If yours has smaller chunks or more fibers, it might definitely be worth getting for other applications.

[HeavyW]

Originally Posted by froggsong

I'll have to see if I can find that @ our HD to see if it is the same size/price range as the one I get from ACE. Make sure you rinse it once or twice. I've read that sometimes these products for regular garden use can have retained salts from processing. Let us know how the chunk to fiber ratio is. The one I use is mostly large chunks, which is perfect for snakes and lizards as an easy to clean substrate, but it would be too large for a BG. If yours has smaller chunks or more fibers, it might definitely be worth getting for other applications.

I will definitely let you know. I just need to get my pump, and my build begins, Ill let you know in a few days.

[dart345]

When cutting Egg Crate material to make your background or false bottom, if you have a left over piece of egg crate that so happens to be long yet narrow like a standard ruler, you can use that for measuring out your detailed areas.

Sometimes things look good in paper, but when constructed we tend to see our errors, Its helped me to use egg crate to accurately measure what I need to cut. I also say that cable ties are your BEST FRIEND!

I can not express that enough, they are reliable and allow you to tie up egg crate pieces, and if you mess up its not hard to clip off the tie, and use another one. Another tip, when using the plastic ties, make sure you check them all before you cut the excess, sometimes other cable ties become loose when installing several of them to make pieces work together.

[brp4e.]

Originally Posted by Rdk2ooo

would great stuff have to be sealed/cured/soaked or anything ?

Great stuff needs a curing period, I think its like 1-3 days depending on how thick a layer you put at a time.

[ittibittirainbow]

take a hairdryer on low and roll and pull the tubing until it less circular. You may need a second pair of hands or a rig of some sort to hold the hairdryer. You may also need to experiment with heat settings depending on the tubing.

[beckdg]

Originally Posted by ittibittirainbow

take a hairdryer on low and roll and pull the tubing until it less circular. You may need a second pair of hands or a rig of some sort to hold the hairdryer. You may also need to experiment with heat settings depending on the tubing.

good one. reminds me... a pot of boiling water does the same thing as the hair dryer. dip it, get it in the desired position, let it cool. shape is reset.

trimming eggcrate; the screwdriver method is by far the fastest way to get a rough cut. simply decide where you need trimmed and slam the shaft of a screwdriver down through all the tabs in one swift movement. once your piece is cut you can use the side of the screwdriver and slide it back and forth quickly with a little pressure to take off a fair bit of any rough edge too.

BTW... thread cleaned up a bit.