Rock Wall background tutorial for reptile cage
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- Опубліковано 7 лют 2025
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Learn how to create a Rock Wall background for a reptile cage.
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Thanks for the how-to for the beardie enclosure rock wall. Yours is one of the best how-to video on UA-cam. You actually show all the steps and mention all the materials, and the quality of your video and commentary is excellent. Thanks again!
Just wanted to say... I've watched/listened to several of your videos tutorials on 'building your own' style waterfalls & fake rock backgrounds. You are awesome- Thank-You VERY much for doing this & sharing your experience on how it's done!
I want. To thank you for this tutorial. I just completed my wall for my beardies 90 gallon tank. Wish I could send a pic. The only thing I modified was the bottom. I made legs and taped them so the crickets can't climb up and fall down the back. I'm very happy with the completion. Thx again.
nice background and the light gray paper towel idea is a really nice finishing touch.
I used tile&hone adhesive in all my projects, and camed out very good.But you made my curious about unsanded grout.And i think i'll be using it in my next project to observ the differences.
You are so talented of all the works you have been doing. Your tutorial videos are very helpful. Thank you very much for sharing your knowledge. It would be nice to see who the guy behind the videos is.
Very creative! It turned out great, I will consider doing something like this in the future when I step up to a larger tank.
Nice! Very creative. I gotta try this. I hope it lasts long with humidity and water from when I mist the tank.It looks good and realistic
How long should the glue take to dry? I am working on this project and let it sit overnight and the glue still did not seem to harden? I appreciate your instructions, and I am enjoying this immensely!!!
Just thought i would update on how the project went. It came out really nice after all the grout had been applied and after it had been painted. Unfortunately i do not know if its going to work for my tank as it is nearly impossible to cover it all with silicone (Aquarium Grade)!
If you have problems with grout adhering use PVA non toxic craft glue it bonds with the polystyrene and holds the grout to it. We use this trick with plaster and grout in terrain design for miniatures and gaming.
This is awesome I did a basking spot / hide for my iguana I used modge podge out door it works well in a humid envorment just a tip
Hi, thanks for the video it´s fantastic! I am from India, here i am not able to get not-toxic sealant, can i use toxic sealant?
Hello, I loved the video. I have a corn snake and wanted to know if I can use this method to her terrarium. thanks
hola , me parecen fantasticos estos videos son muy didacticos y buena calidad. felicitaciones. me gustaria saber cual es el material sellante que usan en la imitacion de piedra y cual es el liquido transparente que se usa al final de la pintura. me disculpan , pasa que no estoy muy ducho con el ingles. mil gracias de antemano.
This was great. Very good job man, very nice. I'm going to be making an entire reptile aquarium for my corn snakes here soon.
I'm going to try this on 2 walls in my room surrounding my hot tub. This is a great idea...
Amasing work, You can also add one or two on top layer making it look like bigger stones.
Thanks for the help. My wall is looking really good now. I used a light brown grout and added a few drops of red to get a redrock/sandstone look. Then I added a bit more red on the final grout layer and did a light brushing as shown at the end of the acrylic painting section to make the ridges pop out. (I tried painting but mine wasn't looking good). Any thoughts on securing the wall to the back of a tank or keeping curious snakes from trying to pry behind the wall?
Nice, I've just started a 4ft vivarium. Ive got the polystyrene work done so just going to start grouting. I'm not sure about colours yet though
Props for the video man great vid, english is not my native language and i couldnt understand the name and usage of the product in 11:00 if u could help me with that ll be thankfull
It's called Shields All. www.hytechsales.com/prod50.html
@@LizardLandscapes thanks man
It's Shields All -a non-toxic sealer. It's only water resistant though, for water you would want to use aquarium silicone.
THe sealant protects the structure and makes it last longer. It also makes your life easier in the clean up.
If I would do this but make ik brown instead of grey, should I still use light grey/white paint for the finish of the rocks, or should I use light brown?
So my mom has this saying, that my room is my "dungeon" I have a good bit of medieval weaponry that I want to display well, but I have a sort of bland background. I want to take this up to a really big scale project and do this to every wall in my room (but with thinner rocks so it doesn't take up too much space). My question: How much would a wall-sized piece of this weigh? Also, what would you suggest to use to fixate it permanently to the wall.
im creating one like this one but 3-4 feet high and 7 feet wide, would you recommend making one big piece or smaller pieces and putting them together later on ?
Im making a back for my sons ball python tank (50 gal) and it's going to have to be built in 2 pcs. and was in the same boat as far as trying to find a way to secure both pcs of the rear of the tank. I decided to use the same magnets that Magnaturals uses for their shelves. And yeah...they'll hold, these things are STRONG. Going to use 1 set on each corner so 16 total. Try looking up K&J Magnetics and look for anything between 1/2"- 3/4" X 1/4" but be sure they are N-52 rated (strongest ones)
Hey mate,
Just a question about using the grout. Does it change the PH of the water once its in the tank? I am planning on doing this for a fish tank and I have seen a few done where they use cement and they say you need to fill and empty the tank 8-10 times. Does this need to be done with this method?
You can also get a lighter and burn the edges (not too much) it gives it a very rock looking effect.
Hi friend, I'm from Brazil and would like to know what material you used to create artificial stones, because I do not know whether in Brazil has this type of material, could you tell me what materials you used?, Thank you for your attention.
You might try a stippling technique. Sometimes the brush itself is to blame; one with softer bristles might help. I find with more layers you notice it less and less.
It would weigh a lot. Liquid nails might do the trick. You could skip the step of grout or other type of mortar, but it would be rather fragile.
Thanks! It should be something that you could use, you might create a larger hide than the one I created though. I plan on making a structure just for snakes in the future.
I've not used that before, what does the can say -as far as the non-toxic state when it's dry?
Could i get away with only using 2 coats of grout? I have already added one that was a little thicker than yours so would just one more be fine?
Are you Ron Swanson? haha great vid man
I'm not sure if you've mentioned this in your other videos but I was wondering where you get your Styrofoam? Online or like a home depot or lowes.. Thanks love your work!!!
I would use light brown, but you could also use light grey for some added detail.
You can use any glue, but loctite's or liquid nails holds quicker. The grout is for strengthening, so yes it's necessary.
Do you just use any paint? Or does it have to be a certain type of paint?
Do you think this could be done for a fish tank. I guess my question would be if the materials you are using here are not toxic or harmful for fish. Thank you, Great Work by the way!
wow thx for explaining everything
i am getting started on my own little project nxt week
wow great job! got my subscribe!
i might give this a shot my self
You could always wedge something in to secure the wall. Other than that, it's a bit difficult if you want to take the wall in and out.
Does it matter what kind of glue you use for this and your other projects?
Have you ever done anything like this for snakes? I love your work, I respect that you go into detail to help others.
eric wright I haven't, but many of these designs could probably work for a snake -depending on the strength of the snake.
well my lady and I was thinking of starting it for our baby snakes. how could I find out if any of the chemicals are safe for snakes.
eric wright It should be safe because of the non-toxic sealant applied at the end. I don't know about a snake's ability to squeeze and damage the rock though.
where do u buy the grout (the brown paint that he first used) and the sheildso or something that he sprays at the end??
Hi, thank you for the video it´s fantastic!. Could you please tell me wich kind of paint do you put at the begining? I´m not inglish and I can´t anderstand what you say. Thanks in advance.
I have a question about the Shields All at the end of your (Fake Rock Background) video. It seems to be like a runny type of sealant. I have Mod Podge for my project, but it is thick like glue. How did you reduce the sealant that you used? I am afraid to brush on the mod podge and have it damage my work.
The glue is Loctite's Power Grab, the color is grey acrlyic paint.
Oh to help you out I would recommend adding an items list so people don't keep asking you about the specific utensils used in this project.
@CocksOnMyWaffles If you apply aquarium grade silicone you can. Check out the waterfall vids.
You really do need to seal it. Or did you mean the color?
Will it be affected by the heat light, heat stone, or the heat plate?
You might need to wait longer (let it dry) in certain stages of the process before moving on to the next part.
What is the best way to not show brush strokes in the grout? I'm on my second layer and it still looks like it's painted with a brush.
I'm a mason. I use sealers sometimes on my stone. I really don't like the gloss look. So if you wait until the sealer is tacky, and brush it with a dry brush, it cuts down the gloss.
Great job! Can you tell me how much you've spent in total for this background? I would like one myself, but if the price is the same I'll buy one.
What type of sealant, paint, glue, and material do you use?
Have u ever used mod podge matte in a spray can? Will that work
With the sealant I used it's ready for spray misting. For submerging in water you would want to cover it in aquarium silicone.
can i use plaster of paris for my aquarium background
? which color and paste is used by you?
Sorry mate, there was misunderstanding. I'm from Australia so when I said desert/sandy umm yeh . . . Do you have any idea on designs ?? Also it is for a snake, will that still work ??
Another fantastic video! Do you think you could possibly do a video on a tree-like background? Kinda like the cork or bark tiles?
I did one of these but I switched it up to aim for a slightly different theme. I thought ice would be interesting to try. I'm gonna post a video of the tank after I finish the hide and dish.
Could you please do a video on how to make a fake log/root background?
Is there a way to make a background like this suited for a sandy/desert reptile ??
as always, u are the styro ninja. great job
could i use these techniques to build a magnatural-like ledge for my crested gecko (would it hold up)?
how could i make it for like a tropical enviorment or something so it can get wet/moist?
do you need to use groute can i just paint it and call it a day?
It's a layer of grout (the cement like stuff in between the tiles in your bathroom.)
if i use modge podge do i add water to it.also bottle or brush
Can you use plaster or does it need to be grout ?
what glue u use? and is it safe for agamas akr.paint and glue? and what is that protect liquid at the end that u spray? thanks
I want to build a 20 foot high by 14 foot wide rock wall just like this for a spa I'm building! This result is very beautiful and is AMAZINGLY cheap (3-5 hundred dollars?) compared to real rocks or even the foam rocks for sale commercially. Wow - nice video! I'm going to use 2 inch and 1 inch thick foam board from Lowe's and mount it using Loctite right onto a plywood wall and then do the grout coat on top. I think the grout coat on top is to give it rigidity, right? Otherwise, it will FEEL like foam and we want it to feel HARD - is that right? I know you're doing this for animals and reptiles but I'm just applying it for a regular wall so the ladies will be wowed by it.
Also, the sealer for me I don't think would be necessary - I don't really care if it's watertight at all so I may skip that step. My rocks will be as big as 12-15 inches so my scale will be a lot bigger but I guess with such big rocks a 20 foot high by 14 foot wide project should go that much faster, huh? Do you have any thoughts or advice for my application? The painting will be labor intense - will need a platform to do the hand painting and the various coats. Your result here with the white highlights is absolutely stunning - I'm absolutely stoked that I was about two hours ago budgeting a few thousand and thought I would have to check with an engineer to see if the structure can hold a couple of tons in rocks to THIS! Brilliant - foam! Love it.
Yes, the grout is for strength. For what you're doing I would apply a lot more layers to give it more strength, the many layers of grout will make it quite a bit heavier though. The sealer will help strengthen it. Will it be inside or outside?
LizardLandscapes DEFINITELY inside. I'm glad you responded - was about to call your business for advice. I'd buy a reptile but I'm a dog person.
For strength, I agree - also can I just use regular mortar?? Does it have to be grout?
I'm planning on doing this while it's on the wall... or should I plan to do it on the floor then lift it into place and secure it? See, if I do that the whole thing will be weighing on a one inch layer of foam and I'm nervous that it can simply topple one day... but if I take each individual piece of foam and embed that with Loctite to the plywood wall then even after I place mortar or grout on it it will not become weighed down (front heavy as you said in the video) compared to each piece of foam attached to a one inch piece of foam for 18 feet high by 14 feet wide.
Also, the hot wire cutting device - is that something I can find at Lowe's?? Never seen that. But I guess the cuts are a lot more "mother nature looking' than a knife and makes less dust and maybe even is quicker. I see you break off chunks of the foam with your hands - that's the quickest way to go but for the beveled edges I imagine the hot wire device works best.
To see the look I'm going for go to my fb page at www.fb.com/iBeachClub (www fb com / ibeachclub
Rojerico Marthasis
I guess you can use any mortar. It would be easier to apply if it's on the ground. You do raise some good points though, -I wonder if you could do a small test piece to see if it will work? The hot wire I use in some videos is from the Hot wire foam factory, they're online only I believe.
Hey! Im thinking about doing this. But some of the tools arent available to me. Can I use superglue instead of liquid nails or anything like that... and do I have to grout... its going into a bearded dragon vivarium so it wouldnt be near water?
It's difficult to say because I already had quite a few products. If you're just starting out, the big cost is the sealant (the one I used is $30.00). Without the sealant it was around $10.00.
I ended up wedging some sculpy modeling clay along the sides and top. Works fine.
A home depot or home decor store will have what you want. Just ask them. Many textures to choose from. That's what I would do.
I'm not sure why but the PowerGrab did not work at all. It would not stick at all, and then when it was held still it never dried. Is there a trick to using it, or did I get a bad tube?
If you cover the front and back with aquarium grade silicone.
It doesn't really matter. I use Loctite's Power grab because it sticks faster.
what did you spray the background with after the paint?
For this to survive under water you need to apply a layer of aquarium grade silicone for it to be water proof.
I 've never done that so I'm not quite sure. I know other people have done that, and I'm guessing they sealed it real good.
Could i use this for my cage its 5 feet 9 inches tall want to do the whole back with some ledges. would it work if i just cut the Polystyrene in to the rocks and glues it right to the back of the cage onto the wood? instead of gluing the Polystyrene rocks onto Polystyrene.
My problem is I'm making it right now & the loctite isn't holding the pieces well together. Is there a fix for that?
I understand, and I live in northern Cyprus where to find the products you are using, you mind telling me so hard you another product that I can do the same task.
If you're asking about a product that would enable you to use this for fish -I would just buy a structure from the pet store, that way you know it's safe.
Check out the materials list vid I did. I'm using acrylic -any type will do. If you cover it with aquarium silicone you could put it in a tank.
LizardLandscapes hi, can i use enamel paint for this?
can u use this same premise for aquariums or is it toxic?
Do you need the grout? Or could you just paint and seal it? Obviously the texture would be lacking, but still
The grout adds strength.
would you consider doing a rainforest or forest background? love to see one like this
No, the non-toxic sealent does (if it's aquarium grade silicone).
hey can u please leave a link to the polystyrene that you buy thx
Will grout sealer b good enough to use
hey could u make a water proof background for turtles and can u use cement
Hey dude I love it ...can I you make another video but one for a tropical look (for crested gecko) ? would be nice :)
I did it it I really like it thanks u so much I did this for my leopard gecko
can be used as well the normal cans?