# Conrete stuff



## porkchop48 (May 16, 2006)

I am going to try my hand at the styrofoam/ concrete background.

What is the name( or a picture) of the stuff I need to get to do it?

Thank you in advance


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## MELLOWROO421 (Feb 21, 2007)

I'm gonna try it too on my next tank. I love the look, I just hope I'm not artistically challenged when it comes to concrete! This thread is pretty new, and they mention the name brands they used in the mortar mix as well as a recommendation for a brand of paint.
member-s-frogs-vivariums/topic42252.html
Hope that helped.


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## IndianaJosh (Jun 20, 2008)

Kristy--

I am also trying the concrete idea in my next viv. I contacted Joshs Frogs to see about HabaCrete (the safer the frogs and the less work for me the better) and Josh said not to buy their product, that company screwed him over and wont refund his money or ship him their product... :? 

I'm just not a huge fan of the multiple month curing process, though it is awesome... it will be worth it!

--Josh


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## MELLOWROO421 (Feb 21, 2007)

I looked into habacrete too. IMO, it takes way too much material to get coverage, is very heavy and is also super expensive. 
That's a bummer that they screwed Josh. Some people have horrible business practices. (Not Josh, habacrete)


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## LaserGecko (Oct 8, 2007)

What makes this HabaCrete stuff so much "safer" than any other mortar you'd mix yourself?

I bought a contractor's course in fake rock (big buck$) and extremely suspicious of any _special_ product that involves cementitious materials, especially at $10 a pound! It's all the same materials mixed in different ratios with different admixes (most of which weaken the product). Case in point: a 60 pound bag of "kool deck" mix is about $75. I can make the exact same thing for about $15.


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## SnakePaparazzi (Jul 20, 2008)

I am so glad that this thread is going the way it is. MELLOWROO421 and I were going to go in together on some HabaCrete... After getting a very rude response from the company I was asking questions to, I started to think twice about using the product. Once I got some more information, I decided not to use it. It just isn't worth it to me... $10 a pound (I can get a 90lb. bag of plastic cement for $7... which when dry is sweet!) an 8 square inch by 3/4in thick sheet of cured HabaCrete weighs 1 pound... That is not light enough for me to spend a fortune on. I have also heard that if you do not mix perfectly, thick enough, or wait forever between coats, it cracks a lot.

I would much rather use Plastic Cement (not model glue, more like mortar but dries smoother than mortar) and spend $7 for a 90lb bag, and neutralize with vinegar and water and wait (you have to wait for the HabaCrete to dry forever anyways, why not save a hundred bucks (for a small project) and get a very similar result. If I end up doing a rock feature of foam and plastic cement, I will create an 8 square inch by 3/4 inch thick sheet and weigh it to see how much heavier it is than HabaCrete.

I apologize if anyone is offended by my HabaCrete bash...

I would love for some more feedback from those who have used HabaCrete...


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## pa.walt (Feb 16, 2004)

as far as the habicrete i don't know of any one using/used it except for the guy selling it. my friend ordered some and like everyone else has yet to get it. 
there was a lengthly post on making rock backgrounds a bit back, they made it out of morter mix.
with cement mixes you have to leach out the chemicals for awhile before you can use it.


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## edburgueno (Dec 25, 2009)

"The Habacrete was very easy to work with,,,I had serious issues with the seller, but finally got the stuff.. it's easy to use, you'll like it, and it's non toxic,"


the work is stellar but I wont buy it.

YouTube - My fake / phony/ faux rock waterfall build for my dart frog vivarium PART 2


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## somecanadianguy (Jan 9, 2007)

hmm any of you guys just made a light weight concrete?
using say sand {sterlized play sand} and peralite as as an aggregate instead of pea gravel.
and of course type 10 cement
craig


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## garweft (Mar 11, 2008)

somecanadianguy said:


> hmm any of you guys just made a light weight concrete?
> using say sand {sterlized play sand} and peralite as as an aggregate instead of pea gravel.
> and of course type 10 cement
> craig


Replace the sand with peat and you'll have an even lighter concrete product.... hypertufa. It's used a lot in making large lightweight planters but is also used to make terrarium decorations by people. I made a desert terrarium using foam and hypertufa for the background and it was surprisingly lightweight.


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## porkchop48 (May 16, 2006)

Holy heck .. Old thread. 

by this point in time I have even given up on backgrounds all together.


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## edburgueno (Dec 25, 2009)

To bad, backgrounds are cool.

Its great to find a place where people have in depth open conversations about a topic. Many people will find this thread very interesting when they explore the idea of doing a in cage waterfall etc


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## HerpInvert (Dec 17, 2008)

cement has a high pH. it's not safe.

If you've had trouble, let us know. We send photos of the box, with tracking info to all our customers as proof of shipment. we've also gotten some back as undeliverable and have send corresponding emails with photos of that as well. we sell to shops mostly and prefer it that way, but again, if you've had issues, post 'em here or email us.

glad you liked the HabaCrete!


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## Devanny (Jul 11, 2008)

As long as cement is neutralized in a vinegar/water solution to lower the ph, it's safe. Cheaper too.


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## HerpInvert (Dec 17, 2008)

Devanny said:


> As long as cement is neutralized in a vinegar/water solution to lower the ph, it's safe. Cheaper too.


almost. cement will still effervescence which means it will leach lime into your habitat. also, curing and lower with vinegar will take weeks.


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## somecanadianguy (Jan 9, 2007)

HerpInvert said:


> almost. cement will still effervescence which means it will leach lime into your habitat. also, curing and lower with vinegar will take weeks.



efflorescence is not of lime its the salts coming out , caused mostly by impure sands or rocks.
portland cement has a low lyme % , where a masonary mortar has a much higher.


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## calvinyhob (Dec 18, 2007)

HerpInvert said:


> cement has a high pH. it's not safe.
> 
> If you've had trouble, let us know. We send photos of the box, with tracking info to all our customers as proof of shipment. we've also gotten some back as undeliverable and have send corresponding emails with photos of that as well. we sell to shops mostly and prefer it that way, but again, if you've had issues, post 'em here or email us.
> 
> glad you liked the HabaCrete!


Im not trying to be mean/rude or anything of the sort (hence the smiley face) but I have heard a lot of negative things about your company and lets face it the internet is the new word of mouth and stretches much further then people can imagine. There are a ton of threads on many forums about people not hearing back from your company for months and sometimes ever, or everything goes fine until the actual order is placed and then not hearing back from you till either after the credit cards or pay pal are contacted for a refund. Just curious as i tried contacting your company at one time and never received a return call or email and the product seems to be pretty cool. If it saves me the extra time of curing and naturalizing the cement and is "safer" for my critters it might be worth it; but if there are issues its not worth my time and aggravation to order. Also how long does your product take to set? What can it "attach" to, glass, wood, silicone, foam, what about Great Stuff? What about coloring to give it a more natural look how can this be achieved, pigment, paint? If you can use pigment or paint is there something you sell or recommend? Currently I make my concrete different shades for each batch(using acrylic paint) and once it is set I can “sand” down the rocks and the different layers show threw and make it look pretty good. How long can i expect this stuff to last for? How much does it take to do a background in say a 20 long? How many coats of your product are recommended? 

Thank you in advance for your help and sorry to throw the tuff questions out there. 

MODS: If this is considered a violation of any kind feel free to delete but he popped up here and i had the questions.


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## newsalt (Jan 24, 2010)

A shameless bumb as I too am curious as to costs colors and customer service issues?


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## jessica87 (Jul 3, 2010)

you guys are not alone about HerpInvert


i have had a headache of a time trying to get information about this product. the first email was ok, but they never answered my question as to how much the product was. since their website is incomplete i had a hard time actually finding that info myself.

after a few back and forth emails they said they sent me a paypal. but the problem was that they sent it to the email i was chatting on and not to my registered paypal account. i use 2 emails to cut back on spam annoyances.

i had mentioned to them that it was irritating that it was many days between emails and that i was not recieving emails in a timely manor. they then took that as me saying "i am not recieving your emails" and bashed me telling me that they have replied to each email and that i should check my inbox... i then went on to again asking how much the product was and they finally replied a few days later saying 10$ a pound. 


they then went on to say that they do not wish to do business with me and that i should deal with their local distributors in austin or houston. but they did not give me that information. 

i replied asking for their information so i may buy the product, since at this point my customers, who i am making custom enclosures for, really wanted the product.

i got no reply for a few days so i sent another email. to which i got a long and rather rude reply saying that they had forwarded an email to the "local" distributor , and blamed it on me for not receiving emails like i havent received theirs? (which i have recieved every email i just told them it wasnt in a timely manor and they interpreted my words as i never received their emails)


i also provided them my number, which they said that they had tried numerous times to contact me threw, yet i have no calls or no voice mails. i have no known issue on my cell phone of calls not coming threw either.

they have distorted my words into what they wish. i am not a bad person i just am a person with questions i want answerd like, how much is it, and how can i get it locally now that i know it is supplied out of apparently austin or houston?! 



> There's nothing lacking here. we reply all the time. We've forwarded on
> the emails to the local guy and it's up to him if he wants to contact you.
> Maybe he has, just like we have, but you've not seen the emails.
> 
> ...



maybe they are foreign and dont realize how it is in America and how they come across? lmfao thats the only explanation? not truly understanding English


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## jessica87 (Jul 3, 2010)

habacrete is a form of plaster of paris. it heats as it sets hence why it says mixing with hot water or in hot temps may increase setting time


plaster of paris is non toxic and cheep. i picked up some called pottery plaster from my local hobby store for 5$ for 8lb and ran some tests on it and it can be mixed with sand and other aggregate material easily. it withstands water even after setting being water resistant.


i will be running further tests on this , testing the ph of water and such making sure it does not change or alter the water in any way for use on water falls.


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## MA70Snowman (May 18, 2010)

Jessica, 

Very interested in your test results, I was contemplating the same thing. Please keep us up to date, also what mixture of sand/plaster of Paris are you trying? I thought about it before, I used it in alot of my modeling was just unsure of its structure, POP has always had a very fragil feel for me. and was very iffy about using it.


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## Chopper Greg (Jun 17, 2010)

Folks might also look into "papercrete".

It's a paper and cement slurry that once dry, is lightweight and can be cut with a saw.

Made somewhat thicker than is normally used for pumping, it can even be sculpted much like paper mache.

Papercrete - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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