# 18x18x24 planted viv w/ DIY backround crestie build



## fallenangelfyre (Oct 23, 2009)

hey guys, time for a new build!
last one was a custom dry desert build for a leopard gecko. this one is going to be a tropical planted viv for either just one male crestie, or maybe a pair of female cresties.
after surfing CL for months looking for a deal on a terrarium or appropriate aquarium i said screw it & just bought everything new at the evil empire of petsmart. so after dropping about $200 at petsmart, wally world, & lowes here's what i came home with:
- 18x18x24 zoo med terrarium (wanted the exo terra b/c they seem a little higher quality, but with a price difference of $100, went w/ the zoo med)
- 18" exo terra compact light topper.
- 2 6500K CFL's
- brick of coco husk
- 3 cans of greatstuff big gap
- 4 tubes of GE silicon II (brown)
- 1 large chunk of craft styrofoam (prolly going to need more)
- 10lb. bag of dark color non-sanded grout
- 3 foam paintbrushes

so my vision is to do a hybrid DIY backround of both the styrofoam/grout stonework & GS/silicon/coco fiber BG. leca balls, mesh barrier, & organic mix of some sort covered with leaf litter & moss cover for substrate. planted with live plants.

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ok, went to the evil empire again and got a nice piece of mopani that will bridge the backround with a rockwall food dish ledge. also got a grab-bag of what i thought was a bunch of malaysian driftwood, didn't read the packaging well enough & turned out to be grapewood (which from what i've read doesn't hold up well in wet vivs). so . . idk.

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i just ordered a kaz coolmist humidifier, so i'm going to have the fog thing going on (on a timer prolly 1-2 times a day for a minute or two)
was thinking of carving up an easter island head thingy, embed it in the bg, and have the fog pour out of his mouth-










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siliconed in all the pvc connectors & what-not for the fogger:

















started carving up my statue guy. turned out kinda creepy looking. gonna have the fog come out of his nose (was toying with the idea of having green LED's in his eyes):

































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not alot of progress, but have one cool pic testing out the fogger through the statue head-



















in the process of applying gs & carving. question:
need a way to seal the grout faux rock wall portions. i used mod podge in my previous build because it was a dry desert style viv, but i've noticed mod podge doesn't hold up well to moisture. i do have some polyacrylic that i bought recently for a furniture project (i believe minwax). toying with using it. i tried reading the msds sheet on it, but honestly i just don't understand all that technical mumbo-jumbo.
anybody have any experience using this stuff? any horror stories? successful attempts?

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grouting-










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this is Eros, the future inhabitant of this viv:










she is being held by Samantha of Crestopia Reptiles until i get the 10gal temp tank set up & my CGD comes in the mail. thanks Samantha!

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fogger test-










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decided not to paint the grout, so just going to forgo the sealant. would rather have painted it to make it look more stone-like & give more depth, but too much of a pain in the arse to locate a critter-friendly sealant. plus i have already completed the silicon/cocofiber portions, got my hydroton locally, & placed & am awaiting delivery of my plants & substrate. now i just want to get it all done. silicon/cocofiber is curing so alot of cocofiber piled up & not too pretty to look at, so no pics right now. plant list:

Sanseveria 2.5" Pot
Item# $3.95 USD 2 $7.90 USD

Selaginella Kraussiana "Spike Moss" 4" pot
Item# greenspikemoss $4.95 USD 1 $4.95 USD

NE Herp Vivarium Substrate Mix
Item# NEHSSUB $9.50 USD 3 $28.50 USD

Peperomia Japonica 3-4 clippings
Item# $4.95 USD 1 $4.95 USD

Selaginella Kraussiana Variegatus "Frosty Fern"
Item# $6.95 USD 1 $6.95 USD

Neoregelia "Eoz"
Item# $9.50 USD 1 $9.50 USD

Neoregelia Olens
Item# $9.99 USD 1 $9.99 USD

Standard 20G Viv Kit - 6 Tillandsias, 2 Wandering Jew Clippings, 2 Asst ivy clippings, 2 qty 12X12 Moss
Item# 20gkit $42.95 USD 1 $42.95 USD


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## fallenangelfyre (Oct 23, 2009)

need to do a little touch-up of the silicon & cocofiber, but-


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## leuc11 (Nov 1, 2010)

wow your cresti is gonna love that im doing a tank like that only for P. Klemmeri (neon day gecko) other then that the tank looks good I love the fog coming out of the tikis mouth


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## raelaf (Jan 10, 2011)

On this guys site 
How to make a waterfall (rainforest edition)
he makes a rainforest type waterfall using the foam / grout / paint / sealer method. He uses a sealer called "Shields All."
I thought there was a link to where he gets it but I can't seem to find it. It also says that it is important to seal the grout even if you don't paint it. 
Hope that helps! I would love to see it painted.


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## nschmitz06 (Feb 20, 2011)

Very cool idea with the fog!!! I was thinking of getting an Easter Island Head, never thought of making one.... haha DUH!! Looks very cool though, looking forward to seeing what plants and bottom you get.


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## joshct (Mar 31, 2011)

looks good. what type of plants are you getting


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## epiphytes etc. (Nov 22, 2010)

plants were listed in first post


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## LemurLad (Jan 22, 2011)

So awesome, haha! The nose mist made my day. xD


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## ryan10517 (Oct 23, 2010)

you will definitely have to have the nose lights and fogger going at night haha


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## ynotnad (Dec 21, 2009)

Here is a link to the Shields All Waterproof Sealer for wood,masonry,roofs,metal


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## DragonSpirit1185 (Dec 6, 2010)

Sheilds All sealer will work for sealing the grout.
It's exspensive but when it dries it will be safe
I've been looking into other cheaper sealers that might be safe
I know that if you do a vinegar soak it neautralizes the pH and you won't really need to seal it


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## fallenangelfyre (Oct 23, 2009)

DragonSpirit1185 said:


> Sheilds All sealer will work for sealing the grout.
> It's exspensive but when it dries it will be safe
> I've been looking into other cheaper sealers that might be safe
> I know that if you do a vinegar soak it neautralizes the pH and you won't really need to seal it


i know the whole vinegar soak trick, but i thought that since cresties don't have semi-permeable skin like the darts that you guys keep, the PH shouldn't be a big concern, especially with no standing water.

QUESTION:
so this is my first time doing the silicon/cocofiber action & i am noticing that some of the silicon refuses to cure properly. it just stays kinda mushy. has anyone ever experienced this before? 
-starting to regret not doing clay/kittylitter BG-


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## fallenangelfyre (Oct 23, 2009)

joshct said:


> looks good. what type of plants are you getting





nschmitz06 said:


> looking forward to seeing what plants and bottom you get.


substrate will be a layer of hydroton, fiberglass mesh barrier, & NEherpetoculture's equivalent of ABG substrate mix
& _again_, the plant list:

Sanseveria 2.5" Pot
Item# $3.95 USD 2 $7.90 USD

Selaginella Kraussiana "Spike Moss" 4" pot
Item# greenspikemoss $4.95 USD 1 $4.95 USD

NE Herp Vivarium Substrate Mix
Item# NEHSSUB $9.50 USD 3 $28.50 USD

Peperomia Japonica 3-4 clippings
Item# $4.95 USD 1 $4.95 USD

Selaginella Kraussiana Variegatus "Frosty Fern"
Item# $6.95 USD 1 $6.95 USD

Neoregelia "Eoz"
Item# $9.50 USD 1 $9.50 USD

Neoregelia Olens
Item# $9.99 USD 1 $9.99 USD

Standard 20G Viv Kit - 6 Tillandsias, 2 Wandering Jew Clippings, 2 Asst ivy clippings, 2 qty 12X12 Moss
Item# 20gkit $42.95 USD 1 $42.95 USD


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## saruchan (Jun 12, 2010)

Looks great how did you get the grout to stick so well. I tried it once and the grout flaked off thanks


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## LemurLad (Jan 22, 2011)

When you're done I think my crestie's gonna be super envious of your crestie... xD


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## DragonSpirit1185 (Dec 6, 2010)

fallenangelfyre said:


> QUESTION:
> so this is my first time doing the silicon/cocofiber action & i am noticing that some of the silicon refuses to cure properly. it just stays kinda mushy. has anyone ever experienced this before?


I've never had an issue with it not curing....it will take a few days for it to fully cure.
I used clear silicone. I think I might try the brown silicone.
Also I didn't use cocofiber.....I used just peatmoss


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## fallenangelfyre (Oct 23, 2009)

fallenangelfyre said:


> QUESTION:
> so this is my first time doing the silicon/cocofiber action & i am noticing that some of the silicon refuses to cure properly. it just stays kinda mushy. has anyone ever experienced this before?
> -starting to regret not doing clay/kittylitter BG-


bump- bump-


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## saruchan (Jun 12, 2010)

Yeah silicone never worked for my backgrounds try gorrila glue the one thats in a clear brown bottle not the elmers glue looking one it worked 100 times better for me.


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## DragonSpirit1185 (Dec 6, 2010)

saruchan said:


> Yeah silicone never worked for my backgrounds try gorrila glue the one thats in a clear brown bottle not the elmers glue looking one it worked 100 times better for me.


Does the gorrila glue hold up better than the silicone?

When I did mine I didn't have a silicone issue.....
If you caked it on there then you might have that issue.
What I've learned is that if you do a thin layer, after drying take a brush and try to brush off all the loose stuff and do another layer.
Think about it....if you seal a layer silicone what's behind the dry layer won't dry...like how it is in the tube...


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## fallenangelfyre (Oct 23, 2009)

DragonSpirit1185 said:


> If you caked it on there then you might have that issue.
> What I've learned is that if you do a thin layer, after drying take a brush and try to brush off all the loose stuff and do another layer.
> Think about it....if you seal a layer silicone what's behind the dry layer won't dry...like how it is in the tube...


good call. that may be part of my problem. i definitely did a very thick layer of silicon. i think that contributed to my problem as well as the bad batch of silicon. thanks dragon-


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## saruchan (Jun 12, 2010)

DragonSpirit1185 said:


> Does the gorrila glue hold up better than the silicone?
> 
> When I did mine I didn't have a silicone issue.....
> If you caked it on there then you might have that issue.
> ...



Yes it dries faster as well and doesnt leave the silcone smell around.


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## DragonSpirit1185 (Dec 6, 2010)

saruchan said:


> Yes it dries faster as well and doesnt leave the silcone smell around.


lol is this answering my gorrila glue question or refering to my silicone statement


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## saruchan (Jun 12, 2010)

Lol gorrilla glue, sryr


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## fallenangelfyre (Oct 23, 2009)

*THOROUGHLY *discouraged. put on some latex gloves, grabbed some paper towel and started wiping the silicon/cocofiber to remove any uncured or possibly bad silicon. i'd say about 85% came away. _way_ more than i expected. impossible to get all of it out of all the millions of crooks and crannies of the GS. also left a thin film on the glass of uncured silicon. 
so now . . . idk. not only do i know if gorilla glue would even adhere properly over all the leftover film of uncured silicon, but i'm afraid that it will be impossible to get all the uncured silicone covered & pose a toxic threat to my gecko. 
here is what the tank looks like now-


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## DragonSpirit1185 (Dec 6, 2010)

Take a razor scraper and scrape it off the glass.
They got em like $1 at lowes
The silicone will work if you do it in small sections at a time and take it slow.
You make have to do more than one layer.
I'm very impatient so I'm not looking forward to it lol.

Looks pretty good tho....
As you found out you lose detail when you apply grout...
What are you using for flower pots?


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## fallenangelfyre (Oct 23, 2009)

ok, so i finally got over the bad silicon & went to town. got as much of the bad crap out that i could. tested a small section before going to town & when it worked, i went ahead and did the rest of the tank. after a few days cure-time, cleaned it out, & put in the hydroton, screen barrier, & substrate mix. then went to town planting. this is what i've got so far: (some of these plants are not planted, just sitting in there for the benefit of the light, humidity, & protection from the devil-cat i.e. the frosty fern & english ivy sitting in the front, the wandering jew clippings, some more hoya, as well as all the tillandsia's are just sitting in there)


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## fallenangelfyre (Oct 23, 2009)

so i decided on the tillandsias placement and mounted them. cleared out the plants i won't be using in this viv atm and put down the live moss. i kinda doubt the moss is going to do well or even survive in a crestie viv, but we'll see. anyway, looks a lot better now.














































what do you think?


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## Sigaw (Apr 3, 2010)

Looks nice!
But since it's for a crestie, shouldn't you add more branches for climbing?


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## fallenangelfyre (Oct 23, 2009)

monkey ladders are on order-


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## FwoGiZ (Jul 8, 2008)

wow this is a very nice idea for foggers!! I am trying to implement those gadgets to some of my build.
Do you have easy access if something gets broken?

That silicone issue really sounds like a bad batch!! Happened to me once.. not fun 

I wouldn't be too worried with the lime coming out of the fake rocks as you stated you have no water ponds and geckos dont bath sooo....

Hey great job!!


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## leuc11 (Nov 1, 2010)

wow thats definitly come along way looks good


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## fallenangelfyre (Oct 23, 2009)

thanks all-

so i know she's still a bit small to put her in here permanently, but i wanted to see how she would react to it. she seems to love it. crawling/jumping all over, hiding in the leaves. got some funny pics of her chilling on the sanserverias:



















this one cracks me up-


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## DragonSpirit1185 (Dec 6, 2010)

she's a gorgeous crested!
I hope to get one by the end of the year 
I want a harlequin like this


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## slipperheads (Oct 17, 2007)

I love the "shelving" you used in this tank. Easily one of my favorites here in a while.


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## Almog (Sep 27, 2010)

The Easter Island head is genius, well executed, and the fact the fog comes from its nose made me laugh out loud 

Looks great, I'm sure the cresties would love it.


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## fallenangelfyre (Oct 23, 2009)

thanks guys!
i think that is a cool design, but what really sets it off is all the great flora in there! all acquired from NEHerpetoculture- great plants, great prices, very knowledgeable, & the _BEST _customer service i have ever encountered in an online shop. seriously, if you need viv plants, give mike a jingle over there.

added curly willow climbing branches:










and just for sh*ts & giggles, the old leo build:










and now i'm definitely a hijacker. posting pics of a crested gecko viv and a leopard gecko viv on a dart frog forum. maybe i was a train robber in a past life . . .


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## Dendro Dynasty (Jul 11, 2013)

you did the same thing im doing with the head and the fog and water. except you made your head I bought mine check out what I got so far
http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/pa...ic-custom-waterfall-background-post-i-go.html


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## RichardA (Jul 15, 2009)

Dendro Dynasty said:


> you did the same thing im doing with the head and the fog and water. except you made your head I bought mine check out what I got so far
> http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/pa...ic-custom-waterfall-background-post-i-go.html


Two year old thread. Love the build though


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## chris.q121 (Jul 29, 2013)

awesome build. Mind posting a link to the fogger you used??


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