??????Tile Substrate Question???????

[scottprice]

So I'm in the middle of my build project and it's coming along great! Already have the backdrop shaped like Monument Valley in Utah and it's already making my room look like the South West. (I'll post some preliminary pics once I've got all of the foam carved out by the end of the weekend) This is going to take a while.

I'm running into one problem, I went out and bought 6x6 tiles to fill in the tank and I'll be cutting them down to size tomorrow but I'm going to have seams that will be left open because of the odd interior size of my tank. (29 3/8" X 12 1/4") The tiles weren't perfectly 6x6 either which I didn't anticipate they're actually a little shorter. So my question is what should I use to fill in the cracks? The only things I can think of are Calci Sand or Calcium powder.... but I don't want to do sand at all in the tank for fear of compacting, and calcium isn't very practical money wise...

ANY THOUGHTS?

 

[acpart]

I just let the cracks stay open and it's not a big deal. I think others fill with sand.

ALiza

 

[AntMan612]

I heard some people are filling any gaps using bedding materials such as coco fiber or sphagnum moss. I'm currently using a layer of calcium powder ono top of calcium sand. It gets rather messy and dirty, so I'm considering alternatives. I have some self-hardening clay, which I might try.

 

[scottprice]

I heard some people are filling any gaps using bedding materials such as coco fiber or sphagnum moss. I'm currently using a layer of calcium powder ono top of calcium sand. It gets rather messy and dirty, so I'm considering alternatives. I have some self-hardening clay, which I might try.

hmmm clay actually sounds like it could work, but I'd want it to not affix itself permanently to my tiles, as long as I can easily remove the tile to clean it that could be promising, let me know how that works for you

any other ideas?

 

[bellicose]

You could try Sculpy. It is a polymer clay that only hardens if you bake it. It MIGHT harden on the hot side. I am also not sure if it is bad for leo's.

 

[scottprice]

Yeah I was checking out some oven bake clay, I don't think it's toxic, I don't know if it's usable in the vive... anyone have any experience w/ this?

 

[downthebeatenpath]

Personally when I had tile (have carpet now) I used to use coconut fiber to fill in the gaps, it worked pretty well.

 

[gothra]

I just roll up paper towel to fill the gap...

 

[mochasr4me00]

What about using the new clay substrate intended for reptiles? It's a bit expensive to use for a whole cage, but to fill in gaps might just be right. :main_yes: It hardens up, but is easily removable and can be reused if you wet it down again.

 

[rhino43grr]

i have the really fine hermit crab calcisand in the cracks. the way i figure, he'd have to intentionally lick his way around every exposed gap in there to get impacted on it so i'm not very worried about it happening, especially with his calcium dish and the calcium in the mealworm dish.

 

[scottprice]

What about using the new clay substrate intended for reptiles? It's a bit expensive to use for a whole cage, but to fill in gaps might just be right. :main_yes: It hardens up, but is easily removable and can be reused if you wet it down again.

That sounds pretty promising what's the name of the product?

 

[thekooliest]

im looking at the same problem...ill keep you pposted if i find a good way

 

[scottprice]

I decided not to use the Zoo Med Excavator Clay because I found a case of someone using Excavator in here and when they put it in the tank w/ their Leo she started licking the clay and got impacted. Not something I'm willing to risk! I might go with the oven bake clay, it would be perfect if I can figure out a way to seal the clay to make it less porous because I don't want to invite mold or bacteria into the tank.

 

[thekooliest]

i just decided to do rolled up paper towels...like 2 or 3...it looks kinda nice...

 

[Kellyr]

I have calcium sand in the tank but its the smallest grain size.. and I mix river stones in with it to decrease the chances of impaction. THey have the rocks at Dollar Tree in the floral/craft section and they are polished (easy to clean)

 

[AntMan612]

Scott,
I decided on wooden dowels to close the gap. It might be hard to clean if they poop on it, but otherwise it requires no maintenance. The clay idea just wasn't going to work.