Waterfall from a foam base ?

[Yexalen]

Hello, New here.

I Would like to start off apologizing (I know great first impression eh?) well I don't own a dart frog and don't intend to soon, BUT I heard great things from this forum and nobody else seems to be able to help. They are all telling me to come here. So here I am...

I am building a waterfall for my lizard and this is the plan so far:

Styrofoam for the basic shape... chicken wire covering over it.... then using the spray foam probably that deketts stuff or whatever it is. The pond foam... Could I use the foam as the top layer or do I need to put something over it ? Is it toxic (I know it has to cure forever)

So I read that people cover theirs with silicone... any special reason ? Could you just leave it as it is if you wanted ?

Thanks !

[Cindy Dicken]

Hi Yexalen,
welcome to the forum.

Are you using the chicken wire for support?

I think you are referring to the Beckett Pond and Waterfall foam?
Are you asking if you could use the foam 'bare' or should you 'dress' it with something to cover it?

I don't know if you have seen this artical or not, but it might be helpful.

http://treemonitors.com/diyfauxrock.html

[Yexalen]

Thank you Cindy, and yes that is the foam I was referring to. I spaced out on the name though
I have not seen that page before but I just checked it out and think it will help a lot. To clarify my question

I was going to use just Styrofoam blocks in a corner then chicken wire over it for the basic shape and support.

Then I was planning on using the foam over it with nothing on top. And just leave it bare.

I got an answer else where telling me that I could but that it will grow mold and algae and my lizard (who does have sharp claws) will scratch up the foam and I should put silicone over it. I want it to be as natural as possible and safe...

Any ideas ?

Thanks again Cindy for the info and the site.

[Cindy Dicken]

I would think that if the lizards toenails would scratch the bare foam, it would do the same with the silicone.
You might consider doing the foam and coat it with mortar. You can tint the mortar any color, like brown to replicate earth, or lighter colors to look like rocks.


What type of lizard is this setup going to be for?

[Yexalen]

He is a Chinese Water Dragon. The enclosure is going to be (still being built) a 45 gallon tank with a tileboard/plexiglass built enclosure on top measuring a total of 6ft high 5ft long and 2 ft deep. The 45 gallon tank on the bottom is going to be filled with a foot of water....
Here are some pictures... just because I like to share....
Angus:

Temporary cage now:

Plan:

So far:




I am thinking that with all the precautions and things I have to do with the foam afterwards it wouldjust be easier to do the chicken wire/styrofoam base with a grout over it.... Still thinking though and open to all suggestions...

My other Chinese Water Dragon Diego has a custom built waterfall but its just a small preformed pond with rocks stacked up for the water to trickle down....

[Cindy Dicken]

Thanks for sharing, it's always fun to see pictures of critters.
Looks like the water dragon is going to have a very nice habitat!

[Avarax]

Hi I just wanted to tell you that I had great success in making my waterfall for My Vivarium using a very similar technique. I built its basic shape with blocks of foam, added some expanding foam for a more organic shape. Once it was all cured I use a product I think called quickcrete. did a 1/4 to 1/2 inch layer over the whole thing. The back of the falls and the bottom too were all coated in silicone to prevent any water from getting into the foam elements. It worked great and after some paint and sealant I have a very realistic and natural looking waterfall setup in my tank. I'll try to find some pictures of it and post them up.