# Longevity of 12" x 12" dark cork tiles



## RyanD (Jul 18, 2006)

For those who have use the cork tiles (3/8" or 1 inch thick) how long have the tiles lasted in the high humidity? Any pictures? 

Amazon.com: Board Dudes 12" x 12" Dark Cork Tiles, 4-Pack (82VA-4): Office Products 

I purchased these dark cork tiles from Hobby Lobby, these are only 3/8" thick compared to the 1" some have used on here. They are pressure steamed and have no glue used to hold them together. Thus frog safe. They do have a camp fire smell smoke, but from what I've read it disappears after a while. 

I am looking at doing 3 20H vert backgrounds with these, covering all three sides. I decided I don't like the algae growth on the sides of the vert tank; i'd rather have plant mounting/growing area. I like that the flatter background give more room for plants, the 3D great stuff gets covered by plants after a year anyways. Should be super easy and fast to make the background, rather than the time consuming greatstuff/coco fiber. Keeping it simple.

These tiles are also easier to get a hold of than ordering a bunch of virgin cork bark.


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## RyanD (Jul 18, 2006)

I think I'm just gonna use the tiles I have. There wasn't a ton of info on here as far as how well they hold up, but I guess we will see. 

Finally found some pictures of what I plan on doing! Thank you Mantellaprince20



Mantellaprince20 said:


> I had a request to take some updated shots of my vivs, so I am posting them all here with the links to them when first planted. Enjoy!
> 
> http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/members-frogs-vivariums/91318-updated-photos-my-vivs.html
> 
> ...


From this thread: http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/general-discussion/93918-curious-how-you-all-handle-your-racks.html 


Eric Walker said:


> I actually picked up some of these tiles at menards alittle while back. When i opened it i noticed that they smelt heavily of smoke. i was a little nervous about using them. I soaked them in hot water multiple times and placed them right next to my home air purification unit for a few days because that thing will suck the paint smell out of wall painted months prior. They still have a faint smoke smell. Do the ones you get have that smoky smell to them? and is that how they get them that darker color? iv been holding off on using them until i can find out more about them.





pdfCrazy said:


> These tiles are steamed at a very high temp so that the natural resins in the cork wood hold the conglomeration together without using any actual glue. What you are smellign is probably from that high heat. I have these tiles in about 5 tanks, all are doing well.


From http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/parts-construction/90814-tree-fern-panels-other-methods.html


frograck said:


> I like tree fern. I've used it a lot in my own vivs. It is dark, natural, and great for plants.
> 
> However, I've mostly switched to using dark pressed cork panels. It is different from the cork Oma bulletin board. This stuff is a dark brown colorist is manufactured by pressing little pieces of cork together under pressure and heat. In this process, the natural resins in the cork bind the pieces together and cause the darker color.
> No chemicals, inexpensive, easy to cut and apply, requires very small amount of silicone looks good, holds up forever even ivery wet situations, is a more sustainable natural resource. I suppose it is not quite as good of a substrate for epiphytes as tree fern, but I have plenty of vines, brooms, and orchids growing on it.
> ...


From: http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/parts-construction/81651-cork-board-safe.html


Mantellaprince20 said:


> I would avoid the thin sheets, they will last a while, but tend to fall apart. I use a product that is 1"thick and seems to hold up pretty well.





Mantellaprince20 said:


> this product would definitely not hold up to a moniter, it is a very soft material and does not have an industrial glue. It is indeed just heated, which causes the natural cork resins to glue the chunks together. That is why I like this product, I really cut down my nasty chemical use on the viv (ie much less silicone to adhere these as background over gluing coco to foam).
> 
> I have had the thin sheets hold up for about 5 years, however when I go to trim plants back (oak leaf fig), i tend to rip large chunks out due to roots. The thicker stuff seems to be much more stable, I am using it for orchid and plant mounts, backgrounds, etc etc. I am estimating that the thicker will last or hold up much longer, but we will see. The othe rproblem is drying, if you let the viv completely dry out, say if it were not in use for a few months and you aren't misting it, the thinner sheets tend to just crumple. When rehydrated, they sometimes come back, but for the most part it just falls apart from there.
> 
> ...


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## TheCoon (Feb 8, 2011)

I was also looking at these cork sheets in Hobby Lobby the other day. I appreciate you taking the time to put all of those posts together for us, very helpful! Good Luck with your viv, I think I'll start on mine today with these.


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## therizman2 (Jul 20, 2008)

Mantellaprince (Ed) uses the 1" thick ones, and I do as well. I would worry about the 3/8" thick ones would fall apart if you ever tried to take plants back off of it. With the 1", you can lose some of the cork and it isnt a huge deal. 
I have had them in a tank for a couple years now, and no issues that I notice. I have had no issues with any plants on it either, mosses, ferns, epiphytes all do very well on it. Plus they are easy to cut to size, and silicone in and have a tank ready to go pretty quickly.


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