Today’s post will be on one of the most common background options.  Great stuff.  I will also add gorilla glue backgrounds as well seeing they are both pretty similar and both start with G.

Great Stuff & Gorilla Glue

Great Stuff

Let start with the great stuff.  Great stuff is the expanding foam that is typically used for insulating gaps around the house, however it has been used for many years as a background for terrariums.  This material is great because you spray it on and then come back later to expanded foam  and you can carve it into almost any shape imaginable.  Once you are done carving you have endless possibilities for covering.  People typically use silicone, gorilla glue or titebond 3 but you can use whatever you would like.

Here is a quick guide on one way to make a expanding foam background from Sambridge15 on the reptileforums.co.uk.

Step 1- Place wood & pieces where you would like them.

CIMGO107 by Sam Bridge on Photobucket

Step 2- Put on gloves & Foam in a little bit of expanding foam

CIMGO111 by Sam Bridge on Photobucket

Step 3- Apply Silicone & apply lots of substrate material

CIMGO112 by Sam Bridge on Photobucket

Step 4- Touch up any areas that did not fully cover on the first pass through.

CIMGO114 by Sam Bridge on Photobucket

Step 5- Admire work!

CIMGO116 by Sam Bridge on Photobucket

Here is the same tank all grown in:

CIMGO0026 by Sam Bridge on Photobucket

Here is another tank made with a great stuff background:

Dendroboard user - NickBoudin

Dendroboard user - NickBoudin

Gorilla Glue

As mentioned earlier gorilla glue can be used to cover great stuff, however it can also be used as a background material itself.  Unlike great stuff it does not expand as much so what you have before it dries will be more similar to the finished cure. Here is a guide on one way to make a background using gorilla glue from Wolfenrook on the reptileforums.co.uk.

Step 1-pour layer of glue on glass.

Step 2- Spray glue with water to get it to foam up

Step 3- Give the glue 5-10 minutes to foam up

Step 4- Push in your substrates of choice

Step 5- Keep an eye on the viv and push more substrate in to create desired terrain

Step 6- Give the tank 2-3 hours to set & repeat on any other surfaces you would like to cover.

Here are 2 photos of tanks made by Dendrobati:

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