Styrofoam question

[GECKO DUDE]

Ok i've seen a lot of people making styrofoam ledges and stuff for their leos and i came up with this awesome idea to make a huge cave thing that covers the entire bottom of a 20 gallon tank and then a mountain kinda thing on one side. My question is if i use tile on the bottom of it would i still be able to use a UTH or would that melt the styrofoam and also how easy are these structures to clean.

 

[Stl_Greaser]

Well if you are going to use Styrofoam it will be for the base layer. You will want to use a grout mixture to cover the Styrofoam to make it more durable. There are plenty of guides on how to do this in the DIY section. The bare Styrofoam is to weak and is pouris so it will harbor bacteria if left in it's bare form.

 

[GECKO DUDE]

well ive read those i was just curious like will it melt even with grout and how easy is it to clean

 

[Inferno33]

No, it won't melt if you cover it in grout. But make sure you do at LEAST 3 layers of grout, and at least 4 layers of sealer. (I use Mod-Podge). The level of difficulty depends on the amount of detail involved. If you have a bunch of little cracks and hard-to-get-to places, it will take more time. But if it's just a basic one, it shouldn't take longer than cleaning a store-bought hide.