Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Well, after a major screw up, the project is back on track. To make a long story short - the spray foam coated with silicone and peat yielded a completely fake-looking result. Not at all what I had hoped. So, I removed all the foam, threw out the branches that had gotten silicone and peat on them and started from scratch. This time I used cork bark which I had to order back after T-day which meant it took forever for the order to be processed and shipped. Anyway, I also took the time to revise my plan for the bottom of the vivarium as well. I chose instead of a totally aquatic bottom to go with a 50/50 land water setup utilizing a false bottom. I'll still have an over flow into a reservoir underneath but I haven't decided whether the filter will remain in the reservoir or if I'll put it into the actual water feature in the vivarium.

So this pic shows the disastrous results of the foam and peat experiment. Other frog keepers have seemingly had success with this method but I think the large majority use cork bark or coconut fiber mats to line the walls of vivaria.

This shows the false bottom part way through construction. I chose to make it a two-level setup with the forward portion being slightly higher allowing more room for substrate behind.

Since I was using cork bark, I was bound to have spots I couldn't cover with background so I chose to put in green contact paper for a more natural look than the glaring white walls. It has numerous wrinkles on the back but I'm not concerned since 95 percent of the back will be covered with cork bark.

This shows the cork attached to the walls and also shows that the largest portion of the false bottom can be removed if I need to for some reason. I've never liked false bottom setups that would neccessitate breaking down the entire vivarium for any type of cleaning or maintenance.

This shot shows where another piece of cork will go along the edge of the land portion of the false bottom. This will also allow for more depth of substrate behind the piece of cork. There will likely be at least one or two larger live plants potted into this area.

This final shot shows the various bromeliads and tillandsias that I purchased for the project. I also have some assorted small tropical plants for the vivarium as well.

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Matt Campbell

"I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in." John Muir

Wow! I'm sorry to hear the silicone/peat didn't turn out like you wanted. All that hard work and then tearing it out. I'm glad I wasn't around then.

When all's said & done, you'll be glad you didn't settle for less. Nice to see other people putting pride & joy into their work.

Hang in there!
Mike
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It is said that 1 out of every 4 people are mentally unbalanced. Think of your 3 closest friends, if they're normal, then it's you.

Actually removing the foam wasn't that big of a deal. I was more aggravated that I'd spent the time and effort on that instead of just going with cork bark as I'd originally intended. Because of that mistake/set-back I've taken far longer to get this vivarium done than I wanted. Still, I'm much more satisfied with the results I'm getting now. I think it's going to look pretty cool once it's done.
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Matt Campbell

"I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in." John Muir

"I was more aggravated that I'd spent the time and effort..."

Yeah, that's what I was referring when I said I'm glad I wasn't there. I know that would've ticked me off more than anything and I wouldn't have been good company. I guarantee you my wife would've left the room, if not the county. LOL!!!

Hang in there & keep pluggin' away. I think it's going to look pretty sharp & can't wait to see the end result.

Take care!
Mike
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It is said that 1 out of every 4 people are mentally unbalanced. Think of your 3 closest friends, if they're normal, then it's you.

It looks like you didn't use enough silicone on top of the foam. I just put it on so thick that you couldn't see any more foam.

I made 2 practice tanks to see how well the foam background would work. My biggest mistake was working too fast and putting on the silicone and coco fiber too early. Within a week the foam had shrunk away from the side walls and I had to do a lot of patch work. All in all they turned out nice, but I found I like the cork bark and foam background the best.