Great stuff foam question

[jamest0o0]

currently building a L shaped living wall for my dragon strand out of egg crate and great stuff foam, with eco earth covering the foam. Problem i'm having is when the foam drys it bubbles up like the wall has boils all over it. Anyone here have some suggestions for making it have a flatter but rough texture(kind of like how tree bark would look). I was thinking of sanding it down some how. I tried flattening it out while it was wet, but still dried with giant bubbles.

 

[Navymancdf]

Great stuff is a spray foam insulation it will alway expand as it sets that is what it does. If you sand it down wear a respirator or a mask you don't want to breath it in and do outside.

 

[Julio619]

Its gonna puff out like that while it cures no matter what.. If you want texture just cover it with moss or eco earth. I just made one yesterday, but kept the bubbly texture, my cham climbed on it no problem.

 

[MelissaB]

I've seen threads on frog and fish forums, where they carve the foam with a knife after it dries. You could try carving it (after it dries) and adding the eco earth to a layer of 100% silicone. You would have to let the silicone cure before using it, the stuff has some pretty awful fumes.

 

[jamest0o0]

Great thanks for all of the advice. Definitely going to give all these things a try! I was going to just put eco earth on it while it was wet, but looks like i might have to go the silicone layer route. Would there be any problem in adding sphagnum and sheet moss that home depot has? Just to stick it to the foam?

 

[MelissaB]

You do have to be careful with what type of silicone you use. I think some of them have additives for mold prevention, and things like that. I believe the safest silicone to use is the type marketed for fish tanks. On Dendroboard they mention another type they use from the hardware store, but I can't remember what it was called.

 

[jamest0o0]

Yup i already have a couple tubes of aquarium safe silicone. I used to have a reef tank with all the works, but that hobby is an expensive addiction, had to give it up. :-(

 

[ZacharyLeesWife]

Great stuff foam can be carved! It has to fully set first, once it off gasses the foam itself is inert. It can be painted with acrylic paint and sealed or covered with silicone and moss or eco earth.The silicone can be hardware store but it has to be labeled 100%, there are a few brands. Also it has to set totally, 48-72 hours minimum but a week is best before any living thing gets near it! I've been working on a dart frog tank...
The cork rounds with net pots and gs foam...

After carving and paint-

The waterfall wall-

After finished carving and paint-

 

[JoCarp]

If you're looking for some that doesn't expand as much, you can use the "Pond and Stone" type of Great Stuff. It is black versus the yellow/white of the normal stuff, but if you're covering it anyway it shouldn't matter that it's different than what you used already. It expands less and is meant to be safe in koi pond type applications. If you go to my photos you can see an armoire that I'm converting and I used the pond and stone type foam and put cocoa fibers and bark over the great stuff with silicone like you're talking about. It is a little more expensive but it is meant to be wet all the time which is why I went with that over the regular stuff. It is a little easier to control since it doesn't expand as much.
Good Luck!

 

[ZacharyLeesWife]

Definitely avoid the "big gap" type for gaps larger than 1" if you want to avoid bubbles, too! The pond and stone is a little pricier, but it has less chemicals to off gas. It's the same stuff after it dries, but a lot of people are more comfortable with it because it's made for contact with fish so it's supposed to be safer. Also, if you don't sand it or alter the surface after it sets it's waterproof. But if you take the first shiny outside layer off it has to be sealed. Most of the dendro guys use krylon polyurethane spray paint, but again it really has to off gas. It's recommend that you give it at least 72 hours between each step and then plant it and wait a week or so before you introduce animals or fish.