# Eco Earth didnt stick to my silicon....



## bowhunterml (Dec 24, 2011)

so i did a test run since i have never attempted a background.

anyways, i put silicone, then great stuff, then silicone and eco earth

24 hrs after silicone i put on gs, then 24 hours later i put the silicon and eco earth on, i squished on the eco earth, and then tilted it so excess would fall off, the pic is after 24 hours of drying.

anyways, this is what it looks like, how can i fix it?
i used clear silicon 1 like i was told for doors and windows.
hard to tell by pic, but irl its easier to see the bald spots


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## frogface (Feb 20, 2010)

That actually looks pretty good to me. Maybe patch up some of the weak spots. You could try Gorilla Glue.


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## fieldnstream (Sep 11, 2009)

Did you carve/sand the surface of the GS before you applied the silicone? Was the coco totally dry before you used it? Opening the cell structure will make it much easier to get a good bond and having very dry coco helps a lot as well (to dry I put a thin layer in the oven at 200 for a while with the door cracked open to let moisture out).


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## bowhunterml (Dec 24, 2011)

oh wow about the drying,i was guessing it would have been dry enough,, the bag has been partially opened for like 6 months because i use it in my cresties cage, and i didnt know about the carving of the gs either, ill have to try it on the other side, but im out of silicone, took alot more than i thought.


also, frogface, would you recommend gorilla glue over silicone? or should i just patch it up with gg ?


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## fieldnstream (Sep 11, 2009)

On my first couple of GS bgs I didnt carve or dry...way more work! You could go back and carve what you have and try again with really dry coco. I know that sucks after putting a lot of work into the bg, but it will be better in the end. Another suggestion: add some peat in with the coco...it is much finer and sticks really well (and the difference in color/texture goes a long way towards making the bg look more natural). Tank is looking great by the way...keep on truckin.


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## frogface (Feb 20, 2010)

Well, I'm just thinking that silicone doesn't stick well to cured silicone. These other guys would have better info about that.


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## bowhunterml (Dec 24, 2011)

thanks for all the replies guys, its mostly a test tank, and depending on how well it turns out, in 4-6 months it may have a frog in it, bu ti have a long way to go. and id like to get another 18x18x24 and build that, but i wanted to practice first and learn on my way.

also the silicone to silicone i have read from others that it wont stick to well.


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## bowhunterml (Dec 24, 2011)

just an update, the gs pulled away from the corner of the tank and looks even worse.

this isnt looking good for my 18x18x24 future build


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## frogparty (Dec 27, 2007)

GS isn't worth the hassle for entire backgrounds in my opinion


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## frogface (Feb 20, 2010)

bowhunterml said:


> just an update, the gs pulled away from the corner of the tank and looks even worse.
> 
> this isnt looking good for my 18x18x24 future build


Depending on how large the gap is, it can be saved. I sealed up gaps between GS and the glass with silicone. The large gap, I stuffed pebbles into it to fill it up and then siliconed the edge shut. Be creative


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## EvilLost (Jan 10, 2011)

was your dirt DRY? and i mean *DRY*? In my most recent build I went to the extremes of literally baking my dirt for 30 minutes before I put it on the silicone, and it stuck on 100000000x better than it has in any of my previous builds.



also, in my experiences using GS directly on glass will fail. GS does not stick to smooth surfaces very well (peels off very easily from glass, plastic, etc). I'd assume the same for silicone though I've never tried that way.


What I do for both strength of the wall and support vertically is use a piece of egg-crate (the same stuff used for false bottoms) and put my foam on that. This way I can both control the shape of the wall unit, and if needed, I can remove it later without damaging the tank. Also, it stays supported vertically on its own because of the egg-crate and so you have no "peeling" problems.


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## bowhunterml (Dec 24, 2011)

i used silicone on the glass first.

the egg crate support sounds like it might work, but i dont know.

frogparty, what would you suggest for making backgrounds, the clay/cat litter threads i see always say that it fails after a short time. 

i just want something that is going to look nice, not going to have a waterfall or anything fancy on it.


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

Cork Bark or cork bark mosaic. Here is a thread detailing construction. http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/members-frogs-vivariums/76581-pumilos-75-corner-viv.html


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## bowhunterml (Dec 24, 2011)

just put the gorilla glue over the bare silicone spots, added nice texture, and the eco earth really sticks, that gorilla glue is neat stuff, i will have to experiment with it some more. also thats a very nice build pumilo !


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## DragonSpirit1185 (Dec 6, 2010)

bowhunterml said:


> so i did a test run since i have never attempted a background.
> 
> anyways, i put silicone, then great stuff, then silicone and eco earth
> 
> ...


How long did you wait before putting the viv upright for it to fall off?
I put a good layer of silicone on there and pressed it in real good and let it lay there for a couple hours then I cam back and put the viv upright and just let what would fall off come off and I didn't shake or force any more to fall and I laid it back down.
Then after a day and a half hours I went in with a brush and brushed it off.

I also see you mention you didn't cut off the smooth outer shell before applying your silicone.
This could have been the main reason.
Also saw you said you used clear and clear doesn't really hide anything.
I used clear on my first viv and it looks horrible lol.
I used black on my last viv and have had no issues.



bowhunterml said:


> oh wow about the drying,i was guessing it would have been dry enough,, the bag has been partially opened for like 6 months because i use it in my cresties cage, and i didnt know about the carving of the gs either, ill have to try it on the other side, but im out of silicone, took alot more than i thought.
> 
> 
> also, frogface, would you recommend gorilla glue over silicone? or should i just patch it up with gg ?



When you mention bag and you have said EcoEarth I am guessing you bought the bag of EcoEarth that is loose instead of compressed?
I used the same thing and it was dry enough, especially with it sitting for 6 months and it has already been opened so I don't think the EcoEarth was the issue.




bowhunterml said:


> just an update, the gs pulled away from the corner of the tank and looks even worse.
> 
> this isnt looking good for my 18x18x24 future build


I have read this can happen from not shaking the can enough or by spraying such a large amount that the GS against the back never fully cures and gets pulled away by the GS that is curing.
Sometimes you have to make holes so air can get to the GS touching the glass so it can cure right.
When I sprayed my GS I sprayed it in layers letting each layer dry first.
I used silicone on the sides to hide the GS but not on the back and I noticed that it takes a very long time for it to really cure, like I said above I had to poke some holes through the GS to get to the uncured parts so it can dry.
If I would have put silicone on the back too I would have never known it wasn't full curing.
If you are using Silicone and can't see whether or not it is fully curing then I suggest using the toothpick method used for baking or use something to poke through and see if it is clean when you pull it out.
Besides I did a test with GS on bare glass and then GS on silicone and the GS pulled off of the silicone very easily. That's just my experience tho...

btw you can fill that hole in with more GS. Once you play with it and see how much it expands you will know how much to spray to get the effect you want.
I think I used up a whole can just trying to figure that out so when I needed to fill some spots in I did't use too much.

Don't give up on GS just yet. They make awesome backgrounds.
I was lucky enough not to have any issues doing mine except for getting it on my bare skin lol, I used gloves but it got on my arm.
I think doing thorough research helped me have success.

Good luck next time


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