My first DIY rock hide. Merry Christmas to my two girls!

[Phantom240]

So I tried my hand at making my own fake rock cave. Used 1/2" blue extruded polyethylene foam from Lowe's, Elmer's Glue All glue, and sanded grout. I mixed the grout a bit too thin, but as this is my first attempt, I won't be too upset if I have to try again.

Waiting for the glue to dry

First go at grout. About a minute after I applied it. Yes, it was thin lol.

Tried to keep the shape somewhat constant, while adding a bit of jaggedness like I think a natural sedimentary formation would likely be.

 

[Phantom240]

Finished it today. The grout will take a bit more time to cure til full strength, but it's dry enough to handle right now. Added a second coat, this one being mixed a bit thicker than the first. Also took another color I had laying around and added some here and there to give the "rock" a bit of variety. Eris was the first to venture

Though Moka followed shortly after. She was incredibly apprehensive. Her tail didn't stop waving for at least five minutes. Eventually, Eris left and Moka decided to move in. She's been there ever since.

Don't worry, each side is independent of one another. I made sure to divide the hide.

 

[Phantom240]

Moka enjoys climbing the new addition

Moka continuing her exploration while Eris finishes enjoying some calcium.

 

[AllisonLeigh]

Is it safe to put it in with them that soon after applying the grout? (In other words am I unnecessarily leaving them to cure for weeks??)

 

[Phantom240]

Depends on what kind you use. Mine was a dry grout, mixed with water. Each coating had the drying process sped up with a heat gun. It's nice and hard long before it goes into the tank. As for whether or not there's anything else, I'm unsure. Using a premixed grout, the kind that comes in a bucket in a paste form, I'd definitely let it cure for a while.

 

[Some87]

I'm sorry to ask but do you have any under side pics? It looks amazing too. So simple yet very nice.

 

[Phantom240]

As a matter of fact, I do.
Mind you, before I did the last layer of grout, I cut a relief for the wires running to my thermostat and thermometer.

I freehanded all my cuts and got impatient with some of them. I could have done a better job if I had tried, but I honestly didn't expect this idea to work.

 

[Some87]

Thank you very much.