Tip for future foam projects, when applying foam in a thicker amount like you did here, a few hours into the cure you can use a stick/skewer etc to poke holes all over the foam. It allows air to get inside and cure a lot more of the foam! Worked wonders for me and i had foam 5 inches thick at least!

Oh *gods* , the *SMELL* ! Why didn't anyone warn me the silicone would *SMELL* ?! The vinegar smell pierces my very *SOUL* someone please help me, *gods* why!

Put a layer of silicone down on the background and let it cure; then, use the foam. When you're done, you can cut the silicone around the contours of the foam background and peel away the excess. This provides a neater look. You can also make a "side cave" in the foam that butts against the glass. The frogs will hide in it (we know frogs love feeling like they are going behind the background) and you can still view them. Cover the area of the glass with a flap of black paper so they think they are hidden :)

Great Stuff now makes a black Pond expanding foam. Made for ponds. Works great in an aquarium.

Very interesting aesthetics! I was unsure of the front leaning driftwood, but it turned out quite nicely! I can't wait to see what it'll look like completed.

*looks at old 40 gallon tank still around for some reason* we meet again

I highly recommend the "Pond and Stone" Great Stuff. It's black so you don't need to paint over the regular yellowish great stuff.

Very helpful, thank you! I'm building my first viv background and it was great to see all of the steps in fast motion. Great video!

I love how you show creative solutions to problems for people without fancy tools! Great series :)

I have always liked watching naturalistic tank builds. I haven't had any critters to try such a tropical habitat. I would love to see your take on a naturalistic desert habitat, to see how you would deal with the restrictions in materials due to the high temperatures the habitat would need.

I binge watched all of your videos, then I watched them all over again. Everything is perfect, the voice, your eloquence, video quality, clarity of your instructions. I am also amazed how such a young person is truly passionate about nature, so appreciative about even simplest things like a type of grass growing in your own backyard. You are incredibly talented. You deserve more than just a million followers on KZfaq, you deserve your own show on TV like National Geographic or something like that.

Great job! Most thorough and informational tutorial out there. Thanks for including all the build costs!

Thank you so much for this video! Very well explained! I am watching all your videos pertaining to creating your own vivarium, starting with the tank conversion. Me and my husband are getting my daughter a crested gecko for her birthday and I am SO EXCITED to create an awesome enclosure for him before we bring him home! I have always wanted to create my own terrariums! I look forward to watching some of your other videos! After much research and watching many other videos on making my own vivarium, yours was absolutely the best one I’ve watched! Tysm for your videos! Amazing work!

Wow this channel is a hidden gem, keep up the great videos!

Amazing video as always. I'm a big fan and can't wait to see what you have for us in the future. I'm actually in the Tarantula hobby myself but watching these videos really helps with enclosure ideas and really gets the creative juices flowing. I plan on making a living enclosure for one of my tropical species. I'll be sure to let you know when its done to show you what you have inspired ^__^

I’m creating my very first vivarium because of your awesome videos!! Thank you for all the info!!!

I've done many vivariums using this method over the years. Another more permanent way to hide the great stuff from showing would be to coat the inside back and sides with silicone before applying the great stuff foam. Obviously this adds to the build time but works much better than painting glass. It also gives the foam a much better surface to adhere to vs glass.

Dude your videos are great!!! Thanks for the ideas! and the Steps!!!

I’ve been watching your videos for years. And they’re always awesome.

Love your videos. Very creative and inspiring. Always fascinating.

Another amazing project. I’m going to build one this Fall.

Nice video, try covering the wood with either foil or cling wrap, the foil will help prevent the foam from sticking to the wood past the point where you want the foam, and silicone does not adhere to cling wrap so might help to cover as much of the excess wood as possible in cling wrap before silicone'ing the background normal masking tape should help with this

Anybody else watching the fish in the background swimming at warp speed?

Keep on with the videos :) I hope you get more recognition real soon ! Really good videos, with passion and straight forward :)

thank you I enjoyed it, you are so creative and masterful, your calming voice is so good

You are my favorite KZfaqr! 😍 Your videos are very useful for those who are at first weapons‼️

My fiance and I love your channel! Great videos, great voice :D Thanks for all the helpful information you give out! :)

One of the best tutorials I’ve watched yet. 👍🏼

dude I freaking love you man. Your videos are the best!!! i am a huge fan and i find​ myself watching and learning from you every day!! I can't wait to start doing this. you are amazing, thank you so much for taking the time to do this for us. i really appreciate your videos and time man. i hope to network with you in the future and definitely get in touch with you on future projects. keep up the great work!!

Another great video! I was wondering how you would cover up the sides and then you provided a solution. Please keep up these fantastic videos!

Man !, thank you SO MUCH for posting this vid. So very helpful.

You have a creative mind! I dig it!

Awesome video! I'm definitely gonna be doing this in my next set up 👌🏻

I plan on doing this for my garder snake encloser, thxs for the tutorial, it helped alot

Black contact paper (shelf liner) is much easier and quicker than painting to hide the foam. It also does a decent job covering those small gaps that need something flexible enough to let the door/lid open.

Your videos are badass man along with your work 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

Freaking awesome man!!! As usual!

Great video man, plan on using this for my next millipede tank

Sweet guide Tanner!

honestly, I'm from the future and his technique has changed

Excellent work.

Great tutorial! Thank you

Thank you sir 🙏 you are simply talented , creative and informative always ✌️✌️✌️

I liked it saves a whole lot for substrates !

This video is brilliant. Thank you so much ❤️

one of the best design !

Cool enclosure 👍

I tell ya this guy has the biggest, most creative brain.

Great video, keep it up!

good information about the tank and it is so cool and natural.😎

This is freaking fantastic

Really enjoying these videos! I just wanted to make a suggestion that you don't have to use enamel to paint the sides, you can use regular acrylic paint too.

OMG I START TODAY PUT IN THE FOAM AND I DID NOT USE THE GLOBES OMMGGGGGGGG MY HEANDS ARE A MISSSSSSS HAHAHAHAHHA BUT MEN LET ME TELL U THIS AGAIN, YOU ARE THE BEST. THANKS IM ABOUT TO FINISH THE PROJECT

Hey, I love your videos and I was wondering if you could do a tutorial for an all fungi terrarium. Ive seen some tutorials for this but they always seem to use as little mushrooms as possible. keep up the great work

Thank you for this Video i just made my First background ever Subbed!

one of the only channels where I watch the ads ;)

That fishing line trick is genius

Building the same thing for my Leopard Geckos ! TY for all the info!

I tried to do this, the "foam part" was Easy, but the sylicon i used (acquarium sylicon) was way more dense than what i see in your video, i couldn't spread It on all the foam area and more important the coconut fiber didn't attached in the sylicon (i put the coconut fiber something like 5 minutes after the sylicon), have you got any idea on how i can solve this problem?

I love the idea of putting the planters in the background! What plants have you found work best in them? I’m doing a build for a friend and I’d like to do a similar viv for myself at some point!

whoa that's awesome I subed!!

Looks great! I wonder how I could use the expanding foam on my screened reptibreeze chameleon enclosure?

Wow. Super. Thanks.

@Serpa great video! Motivated me to make my first one. Question thought after 2 hours I dropped the loose soil and some of the silicon spots where I first applied when I started the phase must of dried a little to much, so the soil didn't adhere to well. What do you recommend. Should I shave it then reapply silicone to the specific area or just deal?

That's an awesome tutorial video!! Btw wondering if you can provide us some tips on how to clean this naturalistic DIY enclosure if we aren't doing bioactive??

How well will this foam hold up to a high humidity environment? I'm wanting to try a terrarium with anubias, mosses and ferns.

great video :)

I'd love it if you could make a ghostwood background, or a pvc pipe tree root background.

nice video!

When adding cork bark or drift wood should i boil the pieces to get as much of the tannins and clean them before adding it like with aquarium fish. The cork bark i also got is quite dusty.

All the videos I watch on here I can not find any UK versions of products used unsure what is safe

Looks great! I would like to build one like this for my veiled chameleon. Is the silicone stable enough for the heat and UVB lamps? Does it have any toxic fumes?

Excentes videos!! Un saludo desde Chihuahua México!!

Have you done an updated version of this series of videos? It seems you have changed how you do somethings over the past few years.

This is awesome! Got a question though. Could cypress be used instead of orchids bark?

Hey! I love the channel and these DIY videos! I was thinking of making an arid bioactive enclosure for frog-eyed geckos or leopards geckos, would this method work with pebbles and sand to create a desert-like background?

What do you think of covering the it with crushed granite sand while it cures, particularly for an underwater portion of a paludarium?

excellent video i was searching in youtube and no one explains it this well ( sorry if i say something wrong my native language is spanish lol)

I love this!!! Will the spray foam work on wood? I want to turn my stereo cabinet into a crested gecko enclosure?

Hello! I have loved your videos for years and go back to them regularly. Whilst I've been pondering my next project, I seem to have hit a bit of a brick wall. I was hoping you'd maybe be able to help me! I basically want to put my African Giant Land Snails and their custodians into a large fish tank as a bit of an upgrade and really want to go all out and create a brilliant and natural habitat for them. However, my question is: would creating a custom background like what you've done yourself in this video, even be safe for my snails? I can't seem to find much valid information for whether or not any of these products will harm them in any way. If it is unfortunate enough that they will not be able to have a DIY background like this, what alternative products would you recommend or do you think I should steer clear all together? Thanks for reading and all the best Tanner 😊👍 -Cait

hi there I love these ideas but I have a question... how and what lighting do you use? does lighting just shine through the glass or do you actually put the light in side the enclosure? thank you so much I am always enjoyong your vidios

Hi beautiful background and looks amazing is just what I'm after. Quick question if you could please please answer I'm thinking about putting a boa constrictor in mine so what would happen if he decides to go to the toilet all over the background how would you clean it or is it even possible? Thanks

Tip for those who are doing this 5 years later for the 1st time. If you have long hair make sure you put it up. Without realizing it you may get insulation foam in your hair 😓.

You're right, it's easy to over think. To that point, I'm surprised this is the first time I've seen silicone used as the sealant. It seems such a simple solution. Can it be used in waterfall areas? I know it's in the tank, but these are thinner layers with running water. Thoughts?

My daughter says you are a very good youtuber and your voice is very soothing. She's 9. Lol.

Have you ever tried hypertuff? (Cement, turf, perlite) I can't really decide on either using this method or PUR glue, or the above...

Why Is your silicone so liquid? I can't use a brush with mine 😭

Amazing

Got it, fill tank with foam and then painstakingly scrape it all out 👍

Can I touch up any spots I might have missed with the silicone after the coco fiber has been applied and re- do those spots?

great vid ! Should we ever worry about bacteria populating in the foam ? or are we making such an environment that theres constant breakdown of wastes and by-products by the ecosystem that its only a real concern if we let faces sit and soil the enclosure? Im thinking of keeping a chameleon in a vivarium like setting. Obviously id be removing feces as i see them. Thank you for your input.

There are two types of silicone , which would you recommend best to keep from molding,which is something i heard would occur if i get the wrong one?

Look great !!!!

I managed to do what I needed with the Great Stuff, but working with silicone was a nightmare. I tried a bunch of different types and NONE seem to flow like what you are showing in the video. They are all very thick, not thin like paint. It turned the silicone portion of the job from something fairly quick into something that takes days and multiple passes.

Any experience with the coco and moss coming off the foam background after a while. it's my only concern with this type and i want to build one for a chameleon.

Just started watching your vids as im planning on turning an aquarium into a paludarium for a turtle. Your vids have given me loads of ideas and ways to do it right. My question might seem stupid but its an issue for me. If i do a background with foam and coco fiber when i change my mind is it easy to remove the foam? Thankyou in advance.

Awesome video. I purchase GE 100 % Silicone 2 black for a background project. I noticed you used GE Silicone 1. Which one is better for a Crested Gecko Vivarium ?

I have a 20 gallon hexagon column tank that I’m looking not to add a background to but a central pillar too. Do you think the great stuff would be strong enough to secure it at the base? Do you think I can just use branches with foam and pots or should I have some underlying structure? Any advice would be greatly appreciated 💚

Hi Tanner. I just started working with expanding foam. However the foam still smells after a week of curing. I am using Coloer expanding foam which is not very popular. I am curious, does Great Stuff smell too? I am not sure when i can introduce my animal into the enclosure as i fear the odor might not be safe for them.

This is exactly what I was looking for thank you. What brand of silicone are you using???????