Titebond lll background method, help?

[Mae Flower]

This is my first post here and my first ever terrarium/paludarium build so I'm sorry for all the questions in advance! Also this isn't really about frogs, but no one seems to be able to answer my questions and lets face it, you guys on here know your stuff. I'm trying to build a brackish half water half land setup for some red clawed crabs. I have everything worked out for the most part. I do have some questions about egg crate and a background though. I was going to use the titebond lll method. But i'm not sure what to mix with the glue to cover the great stuff foam. I was thinking crushed coral, but would it be to heavy? It wouldn't be under the water. Since it is brackish I was going for a sort of "bog by cliffs" look and crushed coral was all I could think of. My second question is about the edges of the egg crate. I know you have to cover it with a screen to keep the substrate from falling through the holes, but how do you keep it from falling over the edges into the water? Do most people put driftwood around the edges to help with that problem? Also, will cork bark grow mold if it is half submersed in salty water? I was going to use the bark for the edges of the egg crate that would go down into the water.

Sorry for typing so much! If you see any sort of obvious problems please let me know! I'm trying to get a general idea of what I should do/how/what I need before I start.

[NatureLady]

I have no doubt that Bill (deranged chipmunk) will catch this thread and he will know the answer to the coral part. As far as the edges go, I sprayed the edges of my egg crate with GS and then covered in the same way I covered my background. Sounds like a great build and keep us updated!!!

[Mae Flower]

I've seen some of his posts, he seems to have the answer to everything! Haha. Spraying the edges with the foam..can't believe I didn't think of that. The thought probably never would've crossed my mind do that if you hadn't said it! And here I was coming up with all these elaborate ideas to fix it. It'll be a while before I can start working on it, but I'll try!

[Bdimas]

You can use crushed coral if you like , I'm just not sure that would look very natural. I used peat for my background. Some use eco earth, coco fiber, and other various mixtures. What ever you decide to use make sure it is dry. You may also need 2 coats or more. Make sure each coat fully cures before adding the next. I would also let it finally cure for at least a couple weeks with the cooler temps.
I like to use pea gravel around my water features. Cut your screen long enough that a few inches drop to the bottom of the water area, then cover that with pea gravel making sure that your edges stay flat. You can use larger stones,drift wood, mopani wood or what ever else you may like. Here's a pic of mine with hardly any water on the bottom because I have a bunch of tiny froglets I don't want to drown. The Raider emblem is for everyone's viewing pleasure.
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[Bdimas]

Its hard to tell from the picture but there is about 3 inches from the top of my substrate to the bottom of the water.

[Mae Flower]

I was going for a cliffs look which is why I was thinking crushed coral, I'll probably end up using something you suggested though. Maybe I'll do a bunch of tests of all different materials to see what looks best..I'll defiantly do the screen going to the bottom of the water area method instead of just cover the egg crate thing. You setup looks really good going from the picture!

[deranged chipmunk]

I wouldn't use crushed coral with titebond, might be a bit heavy for it. Silicone would hold it though. B had an excellent idea with the peat, but if any falls into the water, it is going to try to buffer the water down to soft and acidic. You could also cover it with unsanded grout to get the cliff look you are going for. I would save the crushed coral for the substrate in the aquatic section where it will buffer your water in the hard and.alkaline direction you need for brackish water.

Alternatively, you could just use cocofiber and titebond. But it won't look like cliffs. Tinting drylok paint might and that can.be applied directly to the great sthf. Hope thjs helps

[Mae Flower]

The crabs need hard water so I doubt I'll use the peat. I'll use the crushed coral in the water portion. Is there any down sides to using the crushed coral with the silicone? We do have two extra tubes of it lying around. Might use the coco fiber. I'll look around for more pictures to see if I can find something similar to what I want it to look like and go from there.

[Mae Flower]

Would using cork bark for the background be okay? I was going to use it to cover the egg crate that will go into the water. If I do use the cork bark should I try to find one giant piece? Or several? Now I just need a place that sells a lot of cork bark..(preferably pretty cheap too..).

[Bdimas]

Cork bark would be fine for your background. You should be able to find some larger panels. I've used silicone and sphagnum around the edges .

[deranged chipmunk]

There should be no problem with using the coral and silicone. Cork bark will be fine as well. You can piece it together, remember that if you are planting with live plants , they will eventually over grow the background.

[Mae Flower]

I'll probably do a mix of cork bark and the foam then use coco fiber over the foam. Is there a certain foam I should use? I know there's window and door then cracks and gaps. Does it matter which?
Could I use live sand for substrate? It also has crushed coral in it to as far as I know so it should keep the water harder.

Thanks for the help everyone!

[deranged chipmunk]

It doesn't really matter which you use. I use the cheapest great stuff. $3/can @walmart.

Live sand i am not sure about. I would imagine it would work, but i haven't done anything in the marine/brackish world in about 20 years....lol

[Mae Flower]

This is the closest I've ever been to saltwater, and it will still be a few months before I get all the supples and get even close to finishing! I've always wanted a saltwater tank after seeing my uncle's 120g SW setup. Everyone said it was extremely hard, which is why I'm going to start off brackish. What was the largest SW/brackish setup you had?

[Mae Flower]

Also, how hard would it be to include a waterfall? Would the crabs enjoy the running water? Sorry for all the questions again!

[deranged chipmunk]

my largest s/w set up was 75 gallons, but like i said, that was over 20 years ago. a lot of the rules have changed since then. but there are a few former reefers on here that may be able to help.

waterfalls are what you make them. design it to be easy and it will be, design it to be complex and it will be a nightmare in the long run.....LOL i'm not sure if the crabs would "enjoy" the running water, but it probably wouldn't hurt.

[Mae Flower]

Saltwater tanks are really cool..sigh..maybe one day..(:
I have a friend who is really good with making and designing things (she once made an automatic cat feeder using an old clock and some lawn mower parts..) so I'll ask her if she can think of a simply water fall idea. If not I'll use something else to kind of move the water, I wouldn't want to live in stagnant water. Lol.

[deranged chipmunk]

you could use a filter like a whisper 10i and pile rocks around it to make a quickie waterfall

[Mae Flower]

I thought of that. I'm not sure what I'll do. Maybe I'll make everything easily removable so I can add a waterfall at a later date. I'll sleep on it some and see what I can come up with.