vivarium construction supplies

[coastal20]

Hey guys. Is there anything specific to look for when buying the grout? I bought some Keracolor U unsanded grout with polymer. My concern is that it has "BioBlock" antimicrobial protection.
Thanks

Keracolor U / Grouts / Setting Materials / Ceramic

5th bullet down it shows that it contains the bioblock.

[BadKat]

Keracolor U / Grouts / Setting Materials / Ceramic

5th bullet down it shows that it contains the bioblock.

I guess I should have been more specific. I know that it contains bioblock, but will that cause problems in the viv?
I know that antibacterial materials would cause problems, I just don't know about antimicrobial.

[deranged chipmunk]

i wouldn't use it. it would be the same as using tile and bath silicone. even though we use the term "antibacterial" kind of generically, antimicrobial is more like it. mold, and fungii aren't bacteria, but they kind of got lumped into the "antibacterial" labeling trend that is popular today

[BadKat]

I was afraid of that.
I'm about sick of antibacterial bull honky. Too many good bacteria get killed with the bad.
Do you happen to know of a brand of grout that I should be looking for? (Lazy Kat's are lazy)

[deranged chipmunk]

i'm just posting this for the brand, not the color. unless, of course, you WANT snow white grout.....LOL
Snow White 10 lb. Non-Sanded Grout-PBG1110 at The Home Depot

[BadKat]

Why thank you sir!
I'll go look for the color I need, but if I ever design a tank for seven dwarf frogs the Snow White grout will be perfect.

[deranged chipmunk]

why thank you sir!
I'll go look for the color i need, but if i ever design a tank for seven dwarf frogs the snow white grout will be perfect. :d

rotf!!!!

[deranged chipmunk]

thought i would give this a bumpity bump

[elery]

CANNA CLAY PEBBLES HYDROTON
are what i,m going to use, i found it so so hard to find any here,. even online it was hard because they charge so much for shipping.

id love to know what people are using for their plants on top i have the coco pelt which i put my plants in after i washed them and all their soil off, but im not sure they can grow in just this?? what ar mothers doing.

also people who have a dam in a naturalistic one, how do they go with the water off the top plants seeping to the hydration layer and the dam. does it make the dam bad?

[lucidremedy]

Is there something I can seal a great foam background aside from silicone? I hate messing with silicone it's such a pain lol. Also, I plan on doing a half land half water enclosure, and want to make sure I 100% seal it so the great foam that will be under water won't grow mold/absorb the water.

[deranged chipmunk]

it's in post #1 titebond iii wood glue. great stuff doesn't need to be sealed. it is polyurethane foam. the same stuff they make modern life jackets out of. also, mold will not grow under water.

[lucidremedy]

Ah, ok must've missed it. Someone told me that fungus/mold/ect would grow on great stuff if it wasn't sealed with silicone.

[deranged chipmunk]

molds will normally only grow on porous surfaces that stay moist, if given the proper conditions. it WILL grow on wood in a new setup, but it is a white fungus that goes away on it's own in several weeks. polyurethane may have air pockets in it which show after it is carved, but it is still water proof. if that person is growing mold in their tank other than the cute, white, fluffy stuff, then they have other issues in the enclosure that should be dealt with. submerged "mold" would be a form of algae. some can't be helped, some can.

[lucidremedy]

Okay cool that's great to hear! Should've come here and asked first! Thank you (:. I'm new to vivariums, I made a small 29 gallon viv without a background or anything. Just kind of basic but I want to try this. Thank you!

[lucidremedy]

Sorry for all the amateur questions. But, if I decide to use titebond III wood glue, do you think mixing in non-toxic acrylic paint would work so it will cure an alternative color? Like brown or black? And I read somewhere that someone mixes cocofiber together with the titebond and paints it onto the background instead of doing the standard way as you would with silicone. Do you have an opinion on what would work better?

[deranged chipmunk]

i'm sure you could tint it with acrylic paint. i mix my titebond with cocofiber and then sprinkle more on the last coat while it is still wet. just to give it that "fluffy" look.

[deranged chipmunk]

CANNA CLAY PEBBLES HYDROTON
are what i,m going to use, i found it so so hard to find any here,. even online it was hard because they charge so much for shipping.

id love to know what people are using for their plants on top i have the coco pelt which i put my plants in after i washed them and all their soil off, but im not sure they can grow in just this?? what ar mothers doing.

also people who have a dam in a naturalistic one, how do they go with the water off the top plants seeping to the hydration layer and the dam. does it make the dam bad?

that will work fine if you are doing a hydroton drainage layer. plants need a bit more nutrition than coco fiber can offer, which is none. you can mix some peat moss in with the coco fiber for a bit more nutritional value. personally, i use a soiless mix that is used for hydroponics growing. i can't make any product recommendations though, because i have no idea what products are available to you in your country.

and to answer your last question, i am not sure i understand it correctly. could you rephrase it maybe?

[J Teezy]

the recycled glass product being talked about is growstones. I use them in the bottom of my tank.

Also using the epiweb branches from folius with moss mix growing on it. It's starting to look nice

[Eric and Stitch]

A couple other Backgrounds:

Cement: Quikrete "Quick Set Cement" mixed with Acrylic Fortifier and tinted with concrete pigments over carved styrofoam makes an indestructible background. Non-toxic acrylic craft paint also works to tint the cement as you're mixing it, but isn't supposed to be as colour fast (3 years and running with no problems in one of my vivariums though). This needs time to cure, especially if it's involved in a water feature as cement will raise the pH. Materials at any hardware store come in relatively large quantities making this very economical in the long run. Tile grout is another related option that I've never tried.

I couldn't find an exact "Acrylic Fortifier" on the label of anything at Menards, but this is described as an Acrylic bonding agent, just wanted to make sure its safe before I open and use it.
Concrete Bonding Additive - 1 Quart at Menards

[Mentat]

...also people who have a dam in a naturalistic one, how do they go with the water off the top plants seeping to the hydration layer and the dam. does it make the dam bad?

I'm going and try to guess what's been asked here, so forgive me if wrong. Water from misting, etc. might be absorbed by plants and/or evaporated, so it does not raise the water table (level) above your dead space (some water in there is OK).

In the case it does; that's when a "drain" tube accessing the bottom from above or a pre-drilled bottom access hole with associated bulkhead and plumbing becomes useful to drain the excess water out of vivarium. At no time should water level go over the dead space and reach the soil. Good luck !