# Advice on Attaching Branches Horizontally?



## artgecko (Dec 6, 2016)

Hello all,
I have ordered most of the supplies needed to start my background build on my 36x18x36 Exo. I am considering mounting some cork bark tubes or wood branches going horizontally / diagonally across the tank above ground level (slanted upwards). I am also considering adding some cork to ~1/3 the sides of the tank and attaching the branches to that. 

Do you think silicon alone would be sufficient to attach the branches to the sides of the tank or to the cork, or will I need to use hardware to attach to the cork, then silicon the cork to the tank? I was planning on doing a silicon / cork bark mosaic background without the use of GS foam if possible, but I am open to any suggestions that you think would work. The inhabitants will be white's tree frogs, so the branches may need to support some weight also. 

Also, if anyone knows where to get longer cork branches, that would be great... I'm torn between using ghost wood, manzanita, trying crepe myrtle (from my backyard), etc... But I'd love to go all cork if I could find longer / thinner cork branches. 

Thanks for your time / help!


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## Encyclia (Aug 23, 2013)

Silicone will probably do the job, depending on how big/heavy the branch is. I do this on many of my tanks. When the silicone cures, it will probably be enough to hold it up. If you are worried, though, what you might do is, since you are doing a cork mosaic anyway, sort of ring the attachments sites of the horizontal branch with cork pieces that you will be siliconing to the glass anyway. This will provide a little "socket" for the branch to fit into. Then, you can silicone the branch to the glass and the pieces of cork around the socket. This provides a lot more silicone-to-glass attachment area which will strengthen the attachment. If you do it right, you will also be transferring some of the burden of holding the branch up to the cork mosaic pieces on the bottom side of the "socket." Not sure I did a good job of explaining that, but I have never had trouble with branches coming down off the sides or background once the silicone has cured and if I had enough surface area of branch/glass contact.

It's tough to find long cork branches (at least in my experience). I have great luck with Manzanita. The bark is gorgeous and you can get really gnarly, interesting pieces. It's a great contrast with the cork background, too. I find that my tank look pretty "flat" when I use cork for everything.

Hope that helps (but I am not so sure...) 

Mark


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## artgecko (Dec 6, 2016)

Encyclia- Thanks! I had not thought of building "sockets".. That is a great idea. I know people that do that with Pvc for their chondros (pvc socets with a pvc pipe) but had not though about it. 

Question: With the branches / cork on the sides of the tank, do you do anything to mask this so it is not "ugly" from the outside? i.e. put down silicone first on the inside to cover it, spray paint the outside black, etc.? 

I had thought about manzanita, but I can only find the really thin spindly kind listed online... Since I'm going to have WTF, I think they need wider / chunkier branches to sit on / climb... Can you get thicker manzanita?


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## Encyclia (Aug 23, 2013)

artgecko said:


> Encyclia- Thanks! I had not thought of building "sockets".. That is a great idea. I know people that do that with Pvc for their chondros (pvc socets with a pvc pipe) but had not though about it.
> 
> Question: With the branches / cork on the sides of the tank, do you do anything to mask this so it is not "ugly" from the outside? i.e. put down silicone first on the inside to cover it, spray paint the outside black, etc.?
> 
> I had thought about manzanita, but I can only find the really thin spindly kind listed online... Since I'm going to have WTF, I think they need wider / chunkier branches to sit on / climb... Can you get thicker manzanita?


That's a good question. Yes, I do tend to mask the sides of my tanks completely because I use a side background that has silicone with tree fern fiber pressed into it. I like that the shinglers can get up the sides of the tank that way. However, I can never get a thick enough layer of silicone that the light doesn't show through from the inside. So, I paint the outside (and the bottom of the front where you can see the drainage layer) with black craft paint. It hides a multitude of sins 

As for Manzanita, yes, you can get thicker pieces. Interestingly, I think the folks selling it online think that people prefer the little spindly branches with lots of divisions. Those are great for chameleons, but it is nice to have something with some heft to it. I will say that from a weight-bearing perspective, the stuff is so dense that even the smallest of branches will hold up a White's (I would guess, anyway - I don't have White's . That may not mean they are comfortable on it, but it won't fall under their weight. Manzanita comes very large, though. There are some "trees" on my parents' property in CA that are nearly 18" in diameter! This is fairly rare, but it comes quite large, it just doesn't seem that the folks that sell it are interested in it. I am going out to my parents' property over Christmas break. My plan is to bring some Manzanita back with me. If I find enough of the right kind of pieces, I will try to remember to hit you up and see if you are still looking when I get back after the new year. I would be happy to sell you a little bit of it. I will need to hold quite a bit back for my own builds, though 

Mark


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## artgecko (Dec 6, 2016)

Encyclia- I would be VERY interested in getting some from you... I would rather buy from an individual than a larger company, especially if you can find some that is ~1" - 3" thick (at least part of the main branch) and longer (~24" - 48"+). 

Do you know if it would be possible to mount Broms onto manzanita? I am thinking it would be too dense for them to root well, but I have very very little experience with them, so am not sure. 

As for masking sides: When I kept planted aquariums, I would mask off the front and sides and spray paint the back with matt black spray paint. This worked well for me.. I tried acrylic paint once, but it didn't take well. I was thinking about at least spraying the backs of these 2 Exos, but I may try masking off part of the side and painting just where the cork / branches are. 

Thanks again for your help!


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## skanderson (Aug 25, 2011)

I have used pvc inside branches to make them more stable and it works well as long as the pvc is attached to the wall well and the branch is attached to the pvc well.


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## Hercrabit (Oct 6, 2016)

Instead of painting the outside of the tank I use black contact paper - it is black on both sides and sticks really well. I haven't had any issues with it coming off and it looks very professional. And if you ever want to remove it - very easy peel off


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## MikeL. (Jul 19, 2007)

I would suggest filling the cork tube with expanding foam. I have branches that are almost 10 years old using this method. Just do it in steps so that it cures fully.


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## artgecko (Dec 6, 2016)

Thank you for your suggestions!


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