Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Need some help here from any folks who might have dealt with this one before. In my 100 gallon dart frog terrarium I have a central river running through it. Made this by pouring some cement into a mold and it all worked good. Problem is the cement isn't sealed so the water leaks out of it. Anyone have any idea using some form of sealer on the concrete that won't be toxic to the frogs or anything else in the terrarium?
I have some grout sealent on hand but I'm not confident on it being safe for the animals.
Thanks for the help guys.

Probably the best product you could use would be a two part epoxy paint made to seal basement/garage floors (but it's usually expensive and you have to buy something like 1 or 2 gallons). However, there are also one part cement sealers that are clear that you could buy at any home center fro fairly cheap . . . I just don't know about possible toxicity when cured. I would guess that you could probably smear silicone over the top to get a sealant effect, but I don't know how well that would work. I think Patty (slaytonp) would be your best source of info on this one.

You should DEFINITELY seal it with something, as cement is very basic, and it will dramatically change the pH of your water. Furthermore, it will probably be hard to grow moss around the waterway because it likes slightly acidic conditions. Thus, I would seal the whole thing to prevent it from leaching out into the surrounding soil and killing your plants.

Good luck, and let us know how it turns out.
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Homer W. Faucett III, esq.
Purveyor of Trivialities and Fine Nonsense

Jasco puts out a water-based product called Cure-Seal. Although it doesn't have toxic warnings on the label, you should still let it cure for a week or so, then make several water changes after you refill your waterway. I have inadvertently splashed it onto some moss with no obvious ill effects, so I think it's safe, although I don't know for certain. The smallest amount I could find at Home Depot was 1 gallon.

I have found another leakage problem that occurs using Winterstone that I imagine might also happen with cement or anything with a porous or rough texture. The water will tend to wick up and over the edges due to a kind of capillary action. I've had to go back and put extra coats of sealer on the top edges of the container.

There may be even better sealers available from pond and swimming pool supply houses, as these are usually built with cement. As Homer pointed out, cement is extremely alkaline. Sometimes cement or mortar is treated with muriatic acid to neutralize it, but this is strong hydrochloric acid and very corrosive. You might try removing the water, filling the container with white vinegar, then allowing it soak for awhile before drying and sealing it.

My son is a geologist and stone sculptor, so may have a better solution for this problem. I will ask him and let you know.
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Patty
Lost River, Idaho

Look at this link for V-Seal concrete cure. Unfortunately, it too comes in a minimum of 1-gallon and isn't cheap--especially with shipping, but you might ask about it at Home Depot or one of the other hardware supply stores.
Link

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Patty
Lost River, Idaho