For the last few months, I have been slowly gathering supplies/materials to start working on a new vivarium. My Intention is: A “triptych”, 12 line-output drip manifold-(intended for multiple uses), false bottom, rock relief focused, hopefully to house undetermined pdf
. I have not seen a ton of work in rock reliefs in vivariums. I personally wanted to stay away from Incan, Mayan, Aztec, Buddhist, etc - typical tropical/jungle/rain forest rock reliefs. For those who are not familiar, its carvings in rock walls or stone slabs.
I did want some thing kind of epic looking, (that would stand out), yet not be out of place... I'm hoping to bring some new ideas to the proverbial table. Or at least some renewed interest in an purely artistic area of vivarium construction methods and applications. That said...
What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done,
and there is nothing new under the sun. Ecclesiastes 1:9
I have been so inspired by so many threads on vivarium forum.
I hope to repay “brethren” over time in the same way
I started with a the focal point, (or so I hope), of the vivarium... The first thing I did was sculpted out my clay,($7 at las). I ended up using a plastic base to sculpt off of. It ensured that when the clay dried and shrank it would crack and give more character to my relief. I'm hoping to get some growth eventually into the areas of “designed decay”.
I got it to where I wanted it, then started the cast.
There is a lot of great info out there on methods and uses of casting and mold making... I wanted to make a mold because I have never done one before, and I also was not 100% on the product that I was going to use for the relief(s). Having a mold to pour/paint various mediums into proved to be a great call on my part
The method I chose was due to the availability/ price point. I used liquid latex, ($15 at las), to make the mold. Obviously, make sure you are wearing eye protection, not glasses, but goggles. The ammonia in the latex is not to be messed w/.
You start by painting on a very thin even first coat onto your sculpted clay. Ensuring that you don't have any air bubbles. In between layers use a hair dryer on high, somewhat close to the mold. Dry until the color of your chosen product is uniform throughout. Also be sure to wash the brush out in between layers, w/ soap and cold water. Paint the next layers a little thicker than the first layer, for the next set of layers. For smaller molds, you can do less layers. Larger ones require 10+ and reinforcement, to boot.
Here it is about 8 layers into the process.
12 layers in I used cheap cotton gauze to reinforce the mold.
The mold w/ 14 layers.
Inside
I originally intended on using something lighter, like Plaster of Paris,($7 at lhs). Then I made a mold of it solid, and it still weighed a bit too much. So, I used a plastic base to cast off of, then broke it free after it had set up. I'll obviously have to paint & seal the Plaster of Paris, if I end up using it in the viv.
Here is a plaster one.
My plan is to have at least one face inside the vivarium. Maybe two - one on the left wall, and one on the right wall. With moss, and plants mounted on and around, to simulate an ancient vibe
These will be one of the focal points, & I'm looking to do a really densely planted viv. So I'll position them close to the front glass for visibility...
Here is my set up for a concrete version.
I used a Quikrete product,($6 at lhs), that is made for under 1” thick applications. I also used a Quikrete acrylic binder,($7 at lhs), to help set up. I used a brown paint pigment, (FREE at lhs), not paint, to tint the concrete.
Thanks to beckdg for great info in this thread
These are my options for concrete which one to use? - Vivarium Forums about treating concrete. I went for soaks not mists though
I wanted to find out early on if she was going to break. So far so good.
First of many baths
More to come
Ma77hew7's Face Forward Rock Relief Build
I did however find an Exo Terra for $70 on craigslist three days ago.
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