Right supplies for backdrop?

Hi, I'm gonna make a permanent enclosure for my juvenile p.regalis female, and basically I have a list of all the stuff I'm gonna need for the backdrop, and what's on my list is a 2 inch piece of styrofoam (no specific type), a wire brush for my drill to give it textures and indents and stuff, and I'm kind of stuck on what stuff to use to to make the substrate stick, I've heard 100% food grade silicone in black or brown would work okay, but thing is I can't find any anywhere. Does anyone know any places to get it from in Ireland or even places in the UK that would ship.

Thanks

I painted my styrofoam black with acrylic paint & settled for clear GE 1 (I think..whichever one doesn't have the anti-mildew chemicals) 100% silicone for $3 at the local hardware store. Worked for me, since I couldn't find a suitable black substitute locally either :/ Good luck with your search!

iemmaamme said:

I painted my styrofoam black with acrylic paint & settled for clear GE 1 (I think..whichever one doesn't have the anti-mildew chemicals) 100% silicone for $3 at the local hardware store. Worked for me, since I couldn't find a suitable black substitute locally either :/ Good luck with your search!

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Thanks!

B & Q do a clear silicon that doesn't contain the anti-mold chemicals in. I bought one a few months ago but I had to really search for it in the shop as they had loads of different ones with anti-mold in and only one that didn't.

As an alternative to silicones, I use Titebond III wood glue. It's a lot harder to find, as only certain stores carry it, though I'm sure someone can ship it. It has some interesting properties for a wood glue, but my favourite is the water resistance. I tested some small pieces of styrofoam, and was impressed with the results. Room temperature water is resisted fully, even after prolonged (and submerged) exposure. Very hot water melts it completely. It also dries brownish-tan, so it matches the substrate very well.

Once I had my test bits looking good, I decided to build a small working waterfall in an Exo-terra Nano Tall. I used grout, acrylic paint, coco-peat substrate, Titebond III, and some black silicone. The grout was used for a basin, and substrate was plastered on the outside. Essentially, the basin would fill up with water and it would cascade down the substrate into the bottom of the Nano. The water was clear for the 6 days that it was running. I sadly used silicone (not water tight apparently) to hold the basin to the walls of the Nano, on two sides. The basin fell, dumped water everywhere, yet not one bit of sub came of the outside of the basin.

When it came time to purge the waterfall from Nano, I found the Titebond III parts to be solid and unmoving... until I tried hot water from a tap.


TL;DR: Titebond III works wonders.