# Hygrolon vs great stuff background



## eldest90 (Aug 15, 2018)

So I'm in the process of building my next terrarium and from watching dendrozone on YouTube I saw that he used something called hygrolon. What's the pros and cons of using hygrolon vs great stuff pond and stone?


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## TheForSaken (Nov 21, 2016)

Don't have experience using hygrolon, but my understanding is that it's a very similar product to spyra.
Hygrolon/spyra wicks water, great stuff does not. One's a fabric the other a foam.
For my build I incorporated the two. Background is cork mosaic and instead of using the usual sphagnum moss in the cracks I decided to fill them in with great stuff, once the foam was carved out to my liking, I glued cut strips of spyra above all the exposed great stuff.
The advantage of doing it this way, was that I was able to mold and form the great stuff to my liking and then use the wicking abilities of the spyra to keep my moss from ever drying out. So far, results have been great!
Basically the deciding factor of using one product over the next will be on what your design is gonna be and what you expect the product to do for you in the end.


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## varanoid (Jan 21, 2011)

TheForSaken said:


> Don't have experience using hygrolon, but my understanding is that it's a very similar product to spyra.
> Hygrolon/spyra wicks water, great stuff does not. One's a fabric the other a foam.
> For my build I incorporated the two. Background is cork mosaic and instead of using the usual sphagnum moss in the cracks I decided to fill them in with great stuff, once the foam was carved out to my liking, I glued cut strips of spyra above all the exposed great stuff.
> The advantage of doing it this way, was that I was able to mold and form the great stuff to my liking and then use the wicking abilities of the spyra to keep my moss from ever drying out. So far, results have been great!
> Basically the deciding factor of using one product over the next will be on what your design is gonna be and what you expect the product to do for you in the end.


Very creative TheForSaken. Came out looking very natural. May have to give it a shot one of these days. I have some hygrolon laying around that I never used. Thanks for the idea


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## eldest90 (Aug 15, 2018)

Awesome that actually gives me a great idea to use. It looks really nice and natural.


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## eldest90 (Aug 15, 2018)

Any idea of where to start looking for it in store ornis it ordered online?


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## jgragg (Nov 23, 2009)

My favorite use of hygrolon is in the bare glass strip between 1) the upper rim of a viv and 2) the uppermost pieces of cork in a cork mosaic background. 

I end the top course of cork pieces several inches below the rim to provide one last ledge for animals to use. Adhering the hygrolon in that bare strip, using a diamond grid of silicone "dots" about an inch or so apart, has proven both functionally and aesthetically positive. I also usually adhere a drip line right up beneath the upper rim, so - with a pump on a timer - I drip water down the hygrolon and into my cork mosaic (which has the traditional long-fiber sphagnum stuffing). Mosses and ferns love the LFS and the hygrolon.

I also have several vivs where I did a cork mosaic to the left and right of a central "drippy waterfall" consisting of several foam ledges separated by short expanses of hygrolon. These vivs have the water running (gently) for longer periods, and off for shorter periods relative to my drip walls, throughout each day. My foam ledges are carved so they retain a little pool when the water is off, and the hygrolon has something to wick upward and outward. This also works very well, for plants that like more water than our usual background mosses. Now, I painted my ledges and I am really happy with their appearance, but honestly - I could have just draped them entirely in hygrolon, and had that look pretty nice too. Hmm. Maybe next time! Ha ha. There's always a next time!

Anyway - just some ideas to share. The way you frame the question (as if the 2 products were the least bit alike) is a bit odd, but TheForSaken got you sorted out. 

Glassbox Tropicals is where I have gotten my hygrolon in the past. A 100cm square sheet lasted me through about 6 builds - all pretty large vivs, but not using a whole lot of hygrolon in each, as described above. Look in the habitat supplies page; that sheet cost about 30 bucks if I recall correctly. So five bucks a viv significantly increased my functionality and also the aesthetic diversity. An emerald flat space to rest the eye, like vertical lawn...

Have fun, good luck!


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## varanoid (Jan 21, 2011)

eldest90 said:


> Any idea of where to start looking for it in store ornis it ordered online?


I've never seen it for sale at any pet store. I have seen hygrolon for sale at glass box tropicals.


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## varanoid (Jan 21, 2011)

jgragg said:


> My favorite use of hygrolon is in the bare glass strip between 1) the upper rim of a viv and 2) the uppermost pieces of cork in a cork mosaic background.
> 
> I end the top course of cork pieces several inches below the rim to provide one last ledge for animals to use. Adhering the hygrolon in that bare strip, using a diamond grid of silicone "dots" about an inch or so apart, has proven both functionally and aesthetically positive. I also usually adhere a drip line right up beneath the upper rim, so - with a pump on a timer - I drip water down the hygrolon and into my cork mosaic (which has the traditional long-fiber sphagnum stuffing). Mosses and ferns love the LFS and the hygrolon.
> 
> ...


Would you mind sharing a couple picks about what your are talking about? I can kind of picture it in my brain but wouldn't mind a picture to make sure I follow how you are using it.


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## HawpScotch (Oct 4, 2018)

Never used Hygrolon myself so take this with a grain of salt. 

But I researched a bit and decided to still go with great stuff. Here's some of what I learned that influenced my decision. Again never used it myself so I could be off...



Nearly every use I've seen of it, it doesn't get fully covered. I find exposed hygrolon aesthetically unpleasing
If you aren't careful adhering it, the silicone can be absorbed by the material and reduce it's effectiveness.
It's best used in areas where you want to wick up moisture and have a source to wick from


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## jgragg (Nov 23, 2009)

> Again never used it myself so I could be off...
> 
> Nearly every use I've seen of it, it doesn't get fully covered. I find exposed hygrolon aesthetically unpleasing
> If you aren't careful adhering it, the silicone can be absorbed by the material and reduce it's effectiveness.
> It's best used in areas where you want to wick up moisture and have a source to wick from


No, you're not off, in any of this. It's definitely possible to have it look totally crappy, and provide none of the benefits it's capable of. It's a technology, and like any other you need to understand how it works to get the most out of it. You can either read, or dive in and play with it, or some combination. Fortunately the stuff is pretty cheap so I say, play with it some too!

The absolute key to good coverage is adequate moisture. 

While it does wick, _it also drains great_ if it's hung vertically. So either 1) having it in permanent contact with a water source (e.g., using it along a pond or stream shoreline, or sticking into a "cliff pool" as I described) or 2) having it frequently watered (by drip or spray) is essential if you want to grow cryptogams & other "hydrophiles".

Now, if you're growing angiosperms (or epiphytic ferns) that aren't as fond of "wet feet", it can work great too - the best angiosperms are clasping vines like Pellionia. All the epiphytic ferns I've tried like the stuff. It's very easy to penetrate, and doesn't seem to degrade. Ah, inorganics! Ha ha ha. Anyway, in all honesty, angiosperms give the fastest coverage. Pellionia for example just _carpets_ hygrolon. Another aspect I didn't mention in describing my "cork topshelf" was how I mount the cork. I do it so the adhered parts of the cork are running vertically, and the curvature of the cork allows packing some ABG or other well-drained organic substrate behind it. Basically, each cork piece works like a net pot, but not ugly. Ha ha. So plants can root in the "soil" and derive nutrition, but also utilize the hygrolon as something to climb on.

And you're right about the potential to mess it up some with your adhesive. _You don't want to fill up its pore space with "glue"_. That's why I advocate a grid of silicone "dots", not an edge-to-edge coating. I push the hygrolon down onto the dot bed, to ensure good contact and a little penetration so I don't get delamination in the future. So far so good.

Another important factor in good coverage is lighting. So the under-the-rim usage I described is highly compatible. Whereas having it as a pond shoreline component may or may not work, depending on viv height, plant-canopy interception, light source quality & intensity, etc. If your hygrolon is just sitting in the dark, well, don't expect much plant coverage.



> Would you mind sharing a couple picks about what your are talking about? I can kind of picture it in my brain but wouldn't mind a picture to make sure I follow how you are using it.


Sure, just PM me a place to text you a couple. I would need to snap a few with my phone - I don't really take pictures, don't have a real camera, don't have a Flickr or other such account, and don't really - perhaps it's more of a "really don't" - like putting up photos online. But in a 1:1 kind of situation, no sweat, I'm happy to share. I think you might well like to try the technique yourself.

Cheers


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## TheForSaken (Nov 21, 2016)

With a little bit of time, it will completely get covered and I assure you, with proper plant placement none will be exposed.
Have fun with it, you won't regret it.


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## Esmi (Oct 28, 2017)

it looks just great

How is your Begonia thelmae (?) doing?


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## TheForSaken (Nov 21, 2016)

Esmi said:


> it looks just great
> 
> How is your Begonia thelmae (?) doing?


The begonia thelmae is doing great, in fact this is the only plant I have that I don't place onto the cork or spyra. I simply lay it down on the turface just below the leaf litter and it goes ham.


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## Esmi (Oct 28, 2017)

interesting

how did you mount your broms? and on what base did you chose your brom-species?


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## TheForSaken (Nov 21, 2016)

Esmi said:


> interesting
> 
> how did you mount your broms? and on what base did you chose your brom-species?


If you were to start a new thread I'd be more than happy to help answer more of your questions. I'd hate to derail the OP's original thread any further than I already have.


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## eldest90 (Aug 15, 2018)

It's all good it's kinda helping me.to learn too


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## S2G (Jul 5, 2016)

It really depends on what you want to do. The cloth is good for moss, but not the best for climbing vines etc imo.

My personal experience is the best all around background is tree fiber and the panels work really well.

Next to that its hard to beat a cork mosaic. Great stuff with drylok works really well. What I personally like is dark compressed cork panels.

I'm not really fond of the hygrolon types or the gs with silicone then coco. The hygro dried out really quick so I had to mist more than I wanted. Plants didn't like rooting into the silicone over the gs either. 

Just my 2c from trial and error


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