Building a Vivarium Background - NO FOAM, ALL CORK! Vivarium Build | Big Bioactive Vivarium Build #1
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- Опубліковано 6 жов 2024
- Today, we build a 3D DIY vivarium background for my new lined day gecko enclosure! This design includes no expanding foam, stryrofoam/polystyrene, drylok, paint, or any of the other arts n' crafts-type materials: just cork bark, sphagnum moss, and some aquarium-safe silicone to hold it all together.
The most involved part of a bioactive vivarium build is making the background. It is this feature which makes a vivarium or terrarium: the animals will explore it; the plants will grow up or around it; and it can become the centrepiece of the setup. Therefore, it is important that you design your background with its long-term existence in mind - it should not only be well-built enough to last through the years, but you should also consider how functional it will be once lighting is installed and plants have grown in. With all of this in mind, you will see that I kept the vivarium background mostly flat on the back pane of glass, as this allows plenty of space for broad-leaved plants to grow in front of it; on the side pane, a larger cork bark "trunk" with a projecting branch offers a basking site for the reptilian inhabitants this enclosure will receive. ("Broad-leaved plants", which I will be adding to the enclosure in the next video in this series, are also intentional: I have found from experience that lined day geckos will only readily climb on plants with big, wide leaves, so these will form the bulk of the planted area of the vivarium. We want the geckos to be able to use as much of the enclosure's volume as possible!)
The vivarium being developed in this video series was purchased from Custom Aquaria. If you would like to buy a similar vivarium from them, you can message Matthew and Lisa - the business owners - on their Facebook page here: / customaquaria.rushden
You can find all of the rest of the products shown in this video on Amazon via the links compiled in the following kits. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a commission when you purchase through these links (you don't have to pay more than if you were to find the products on Amazon of your own accord, though):
UK glass vivarium background kit - kit.co/JTB_Rep...
US glass vivarium background kit - kit.co/JTB_Rep...
Ca glass vivarium background kit - kit.co/JTB_Rep...
New to the channel? You might want to start here - • Ceramic Heater & Heat ...
Follow nature’s example - www.youtube.co...
Instagram - www.instagram....
Facebook - / jtb-reptiles-472487643...
The supplies I use - kit.co/JTB_Rep...
Advancing Herpetological Husbandry - / advancingherphusbandry
Reptile Lighting Group - / reptilelighting
The Reptile Networks - reptilenetwork...
The vivarium being developed in this video series was purchased from Custom Aquaria. If you would like to buy a similar vivarium from them, you can message Matthew and Lisa - the business owners - on their Facebook page here: facebook.com/CustomAquaria.Rushden/
You can find all of the rest of the products shown in this video on Amazon via the links compiled in the following kits. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a commission when you purchase through these links (you don't have to pay more than if you were to find the products on Amazon of your own accord, though):
UK glass vivarium background kit - kit.co/JTB_Reptiles/glass-vivarium-background-kit-uk
US glass vivarium background kit - kit.co/JTB_Reptiles/glass-vivarium-background-kit-us
Ca glass vivarium background kit - kit.co/JTB_Reptiles/glass-vivarium-background-kit-ca
New to the channel? You might want to start here - ua-cam.com/video/dUJZ04sqhxk/v-deo.html
Follow nature’s example - ua-cam.com/users/JTBReptiles
Instagram - instagram.com/jtb_reptile/?hl=en
Facebook - facebook.com/pages/category/Video-Creator/JTB-Reptiles-472487643238124/
The supplies I use - kit.co/JTB_Reptiles
Advancing Herpetological Husbandry - facebook.com/groups/AdvancingHerpHusbandry
Reptile Lighting Group - facebook.com/groups/ReptileLighting/
The Reptile Networks - reptilenetworks.co.uk
Where is the video showing you building your pond area?
Filling the gaps with moss is a very clever idea. Normally people would foam the gaps in. Looking forward to seeing this build compete and the moss bring it to life.
Thanks :) Yeah, I really hate expanding foam - I've only tried using it once, and it didn't go well...
I want part 2 now!!! Love the way that turned out, easily one of my favorite DIY backgrounds I’ve seen 👌🏼
Thanks Dillon, glad you liked it! The second part will be available in a couple of weeks ;)
Excellent video! Glad to see someone making a great looking background without foam. And it looks even better IMO!
I really do love doing backgrounds a side from actually getting the animal this is my favourite part of the hobby
You know, I might well agree with you there!
Love this background idea! Tried it for a couple of my tanks-I love the look of it and it was very easy. Thanks so much for this inspiration!
I'm doing this now! I've been wanting to see some cool ideas without the foam and silicone mess and I love how this turned out for you!
Easily the best video I've seen for an ND beginner like me, thank you!
I am so glad you posted again
I'm glad to be back!
@@JTBReptiles 😃
Just used your technique for my terrarium. I love the result! Greeting from Belgium 😊
You do such a great job and are so creative with the backgrounds. I can see why you would need bioactive to keep them clean.
Thanks! Aye, it’s in these sorts of enclosures that bioactivity comes into its own: it just wouldn’t be possible to clean behind every piece of cork bark!
Love it I think I'm going to do this on a whites tree frog enclosure thanks edit: who disliked this tho
Love the background! I wish I'd seen this before doing my spray foam background.
CORK BARK TETRIS! Nice. I have previously used black silicone to fill gaps in background, then cover with dry coco brick substrate, press down, leave to cure, then brush off excess coco fibre. Finish looks good, learned it from RobC Tarantulaguy1967 youtube channel. But have to say, I'm loving the idea of simply stuffing cracks with moss. Looks really good, way simpler, quicker, and cheaper than the above method. Will definitely try this out next time. Thanks for sharing.
As usual, it's a great video. Definitely looking forward to the next part.
That looks awesome! When I get hold of a larger tank for my mourning geckos I'll definitely be trying something similar! Thanks for the idea, and can't wait to see how this develops!!
😁 Thanks for watching!
Wow, its amazing! So densely packed with cork, must have been expensive lol. Cant wait for part 2!
Thank you! I spent about £60 on cork in total... Not exactly cheap, but a lot less than I would have paid if I'd bought individual pieces - I buy mine in bulk.
This looks so good. I love how you filled the gaps with moss. I'll definitely be using this idea at some point.
Thanks, I’m glad you like the idea!
This is awesome mate, well done!! Can’t wait to see the next part of this series. Such a great idea for a background!!
Thanks Harry, part two will be out on Thursday!
This looks fantastic!
Thank you, Liam!
Beautiful background! I have wanted to build a background in my crested gecko terrarium but without using foam so this was perfect, Thank you! Greetings from Sweden 😊
Thanks, you’re very welcome!
Looking great JTB.
Thank you!
im probably gonna use this tutorial for my crested gecko enclosure upgrade. she can't climb very well but today she proved to me that she can climb cork bark. its a lot easier than a treehouse town with stairs and ladders. she is still getting a little treehouse hide.
Looks amazing! Currently jumping through videos looking for an idea and finally hit the goal thank you!
Fab video! Working on my first dartfrog vivarium and don’t want to use foam, I was wondering about using sphagnum Moss to plug gaps and holes in the cork. Looks brilliant and I’m sure will age beautifully too!
Thanks very much, glad you liked it!
loving the DIY vids!
Can't wait to see how it comes out. I need to do something like this for an existing viv. I'm thinking of getting a plastic sheet to attach everything to before I inset it into the viv. I really want to try the sphagnum moss to fill in the cracks and see if it comes back. Cheers.
Thanks for watching, glad the video has given you some ideas!
Looks so good mate.
You go to Cambridge uni? Yikes we got a genius over here
Haha definitely not a genius, just ask awkward questions 😂
Welcome back, Joe!!
Cheers mate!
@@JTBReptiles No problem.
World cork Tetris champion
😂
Nicely donne. I dont wait for 48 hours for silicone to cure even in my bathroom 😅
this looks so good 😍 , i def wanna do something like this
Good to know it’s given you some ideas!
Ooh thanks, this is great!
I really want to make a background for my bearded dragon’s enclosure but I have been putting it off since I am not much of a “arts and crafts type”. Some are SO advanced or require so many different tools that I don’t have...
Yeah, I really don’t like the thought of carving, painting, grouting, and all the other stuff that is involved in trying to fake natural materials - and why fake it when you can just use the real thing?
You might be interested in a rock wall I built a few months ago for my western green lizards. A similar design could work well for a dragon: ua-cam.com/video/wTPXe0cDlIw/v-deo.html
@@JTBReptiles I agree. Thank you, I will check it out :)
How has it held up over the 2 years? Did you need to re-do it?
Has the moss filling the gaps held up? My cork bark is in place and I'm getting ready to do this step. Thank you so much for this idea.
Yes, it has held up perfectly!
@@JTBReptiles I did it yesterday! It looks so much better than I thought it would. When it’s just the wood i was unsure but it came together quickly. I’m super impressed. Thank you.
😁👍
Very nice I will do my like this ❤
How many lbs of corks flats do you think you used? I'm trying to do the same for my 18x24x36 tank
How did you prevent that mold is growing in between the corc and the glass???
This looks great, How did you stick the moss in?
Really informative. Thank you! Where do you buy your cork please?
You’re welcome! There are links in the description to kits containing all of the products used in this video 🙂
Alright mate
Hope school is going well
What's your thoughts on exo terra terrarium please?
Looks good problem is like 500 in cork bark lol
this is awesome! I’ve been looking for a different method besides expanding foam and this one is beautiful! Do you think it would still work with Java moss or sheet moss?
Java moss wouldn’t work - it needs too much moisture to stay alive. I have never worked with sheet moss, so I don’t know about that one. Good ol’ sphagnum is the what I’ve always used 🙂
Thanks for watching!
Thank you!
How do you keep the moss moist, mine has all dried out 😢
If I were going to try to incorporate some net plant pots into the background do you have any suggestions to what I could use to attach them to the wall besides foam? Would a fitted cork round work to secure it?
Yes, a fitted cork round could work quite well for that!
instead of silicone why not use pu foam spray and it's faster and you can remove unwanted ones.. then apply silicone and sprinkle it with bark powder to make it look more natural.. then add the moss and plants
where do you get your bark?
Will that real cork/bark as a background on long term always get humid/water.. get molds?
A few years on and no mould :) The cork bark does lose some of its integrity after being wet for a while, but climbing plants hold it together just fine.
this looks great! is there a reason you left one of the sides open (sorry if you said and I missed it)
Thanks! Good question - the reason is because the enclosure is at the far end of the living room, so if I'm going to watch the geckos (or just look at the plants), the left-hand-side needs to be free to get a clear view.
@@JTBReptiles ah, thanks - a very good reason lol. Can't wait to see it finished - i'm sure they will love it :)
😄👍
How do you afford all the cork bark? stuff isnt cheap
£35 for a 5kg bulk pack goes a long way. Still expensive but nowhere near as bad as buying individual pieces.
@@JTBReptiles Where exactly do you buy it from?
Thanks
Hey I'm very curious how do you sanitize an enclosure after doing this? Right now I have nothing secured to my enclosures. I spot clean, clean with f10 once a month, and clean using a 2% chlorhexidine solution occasionally.
If the geckos poop on the cork on the sides can you still rely on your clean up crew to take care of it or would you have to clean it yourself?
I just spray it off when I’m next watering the enclosure. Any remnants the springtails will get in time. Nothing to worry about 🙂
FIRST!
Well in!
How has this held up over the last year?
Hello JTB, where did you get all the wood from?
Check the kits linked in the description 🙂
How much did all that cork cost you?
Lift with the legs not the backkkkk
I gotta destroy my back for later life somehow
Hello! There's JB, go big or go home!
Is right!
What you studying?