Vivarium Background DIY.

[Dan Robbins.]

IM planning on making a vivarium background out of expansion foam and coco fibre. What i need to know is - is there any certain brand of expansion foam which i should be using for vivarium use? i should imagine this being toxic, it has to whitstand a high humidity environment so i cannot have any woater solube toxins being released into the vivarium and harming livestock. So is any expansion foam suitable? i was planning on covering it with aquarium silicon to secure the loose coco fibre. is this correct?
Cheers.
Dan Robbins.

[beckdg]

i believe great stuff for windows and doors is the one you'd want to avoid. you'd also want to be extra careful of not putting too much down if you buy the "big gap filler".

ge silicone I or II should be fine and are much cheaper. ge II is usually recommended to let cure for at least a couple weeks before you start adding critters to let the biocure wear out. any other silicone is usually recommend at least 24-72hrs after the odor passes completely.

get your coco fiber from a nursery or hydro shop, not a pet store. much better quality and price there.

welcome to the site dan.

[Maverick]

Beck, why shouldn't you use the windows and doors? I was under the impression it was the one you should use. :[

[beckdg]

gaps and cracks is fine, so is ponds. it's windows and doors that can have issues with toxicity... What GS Foam?

i believe froggy's opinion here is based from personal experience and other's experiences on the site. i believe her myself.

[Maverick]

Odd. I'm covering mine with Ultraflex 2.. I guess I'll be discovering the downfalls on my own.

[beckdg]

ultraflex as in the mortar? should be fine.

[Dan Robbins.]

ok. glad you menioned that because that was the exact brand i was going to opt for. one more thing, can i use the compressed dried humus ( the one which you add water for expansion) and orchid bark mix instead of coco fibre? Im not sure whether the humus will break down into a slushy mixture and just fall off the silicon when under high humidity or wet?
Cheers. Dan

[beckdg]

i don't know if my first choice for a b/g cover would be something that's already decomposing. keep in mind i haven't tried humus myself. the one thing that would be very important would be drying everything before applying it to silicone. if you don't it won't stick correctly.

keep in mind people have used dirt successfully so other things shouldn't be too bad.

[D3monic]

I was just going to use a bag of Moss growing substrate from chicago reptile house. Its a real soft fluffy moss. Not sure what kind. Would this be a bad choice? I could always pick up some cocofiber. I just didnt want the brown color of the fiber. I figured this would be easy for vines to attach to and stuff.

[beckdg]

maybe, not sure really. can you find it somewhere else and post it. i can't seem to find anything moss related here at all... Chicago Reptile House - ChicagoReptile.net - Products

just "moss" shows no search results so i'm clueless.