# G4 Pond Sealant - Tried and Tested



## chondro13 (Aug 18, 2008)

Firstly - i have to say and absolutley HUGE thank you to Corin (RFUK name Seems Unlikely) for sending me down some G4 to play with!!! :notworthy: 

I wanted to see if G4 would be a suitable substitute for epoxy resin to use to seal my future CWD viv as its: much cheaper, designed to be completely waterproof and to be used over concrete/mortar/grout and obviously with it being designed for use in ponds (where water needs to be kept inert and fish need to stay alive!) its likely to be safer for my creatures than epoxy resin which could be a big problem if mixed incorrectly. 

To do this, i wanted to make a fake rock thing for my hoggie as hes always so active and i thought he'd enjoy the extra climbing oportunity, but it was an excellent excuse to test the sealant before making my much larger CWD viv!

[1] I made a simple shape out of an old resin stump and polystyrene. These were stuck together with epoxy resin and expanding foam. 









[2] Over 4 days i added a layer of grout each day.









[3] I then used acrylic paint to (poorly) try to make it look like rock.









[4] Now came the interesting part, the sealant. I added three layers of G4 according to the instructions (I would have used 4 but i ran out of sealant..) and left it to dry over 2 days. Im pleased with the clarity of the sealant - it didnt turn the piece yellow like yacht varnish does - however it does dry very shiny. I tried to sand a part of it but it gave an uneven finish so i may try adding a little sand to the top layer at a later date to get a more natural matt stone finish. 

















[5] Testing. Firstly i put the piece in an empty viv with the temperature on FULL (measured in at about 110F) for 24 hours, the UV in the viv was also on for the duration of this time. It is a 10.0 repti glo bulb only 5 months old - after this test, there was no change to the finish.









[6] Testing. Water resistance. I put the piece under the shower for a full hour (before the flatmate went mad about the gas/water bill...) again no change to the finish - the whole piece is completely water proof. 









[7] The finished article. I will be changing the water dish to a more natural one as the stone one i bought is too big for the viv :blush: i will also be adding some plants etc to fill it out. Heres the finished piece and my little chappie who's enjoying it :2thumb:


















Hope that helps any future would-be fake rock builders : victory:


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## Pepper Pot (Jul 12, 2008)

that's really cool :2thumb:
makes me want a hoggie again :hmm:


where did you get that branch from? I can't seam to find ANY decent ones


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## chondro13 (Aug 18, 2008)

Cheers hun, you can buy them on eBay! Its resin not a real branch


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## suey (Aug 21, 2008)

Looks great Chondro!

Have to look at getting some G4, especially if it's cheaper, can't find my yacht varnish anywhere and that cost a fair bit!

Looking forward to seeing your CWD's viv )


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## Pepper Pot (Jul 12, 2008)

chondro13 said:


> Cheers hun, you can buy them on eBay! Its resin not a real branch


oh right cool thanks :notworthy:


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## chondro13 (Aug 18, 2008)

:flrt: Cheers huni, i hope to be starting the CWD viv mid June and should have it completely finished and her moved in by mid July : victory:


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## mask-of-sanity (Dec 27, 2006)

g4 is great ..just to add that you can get a colour tint to go with it ....most aquatic shops sell it


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## ShaneLuvsMonitors (Sep 27, 2008)

These how you did it threads are brilliant I hope you keep em coming
:2thumb:


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## frogs_an_lizards_an_Ad (Feb 26, 2009)

another awesome background youve done there an im going to use g4 now aswell i work in a aquatics shop so dioscount too lol.

keep up the good work your ideas inspire me...=]

adam.


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## chondro13 (Aug 18, 2008)

Cheers guys :blush:

Wish i got discounts for my rep stuff  lol ill have the CWD thread up for you in a couple of months :2thumb:


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## frogs_an_lizards_an_Ad (Feb 26, 2009)

awesome looking forward to it ive got a 6x3x2 i wannna do out for cwd but not got time to concentrate on such a big build at the mo =[ 

adam.


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## Kev132 (Aug 13, 2006)

looks awesome chick congrats, maybe you should start making them and selling them :whistling2:


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## chondro13 (Aug 18, 2008)

Kev132 said:


> looks awesome chick congrats, maybe you should start making them and selling them :whistling2:


:lol2: honestly id feel soooo stingy charging people for making these things - their SOOOOO easy to make, for example the hoggie viv literally cost me NOTHING as i had all the bits around the house and corin kindly sent me the G4 to test - admittedly its fairly time consuming but a couple of hours a day for a week and it will last years, you should give it a go :blush:


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## Kev132 (Aug 13, 2006)

id love to give it a go, but its the time 

G4 isnt cheap, your a lucky girl to get some for free :lol2:


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## sam tucker (Mar 12, 2009)

did you just use normal grout for the initial coatings..i.e stuff for tiles????


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## chondro13 (Aug 18, 2008)

Kev132 said:


> id love to give it a go, but its the time
> 
> G4 isnt cheap, your a lucky girl to get some for free :lol2:



Its considerably cheaper than yacht varnish or especially epoxy resin!

But yes Corin is a darling for posting me down his spare stuff :flrt: its certainly not gone to waste now lol!


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## chondro13 (Aug 18, 2008)

sam tucker said:


> did you just use normal grout for the initial coatings..i.e stuff for tiles????



yep : victory: powder stuff so you mix it up yourself to get the viscosity you want.


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## sam tucker (Mar 12, 2009)

thats good then. im thinking of trying it for a raised platform in my turtle tank. so it has a hard finish then aswell does it??


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## chondro13 (Aug 18, 2008)

sam tucker said:


> thats good then. im thinking of trying it for a raised platform in my turtle tank. so it has a hard finish then aswell does it??



should be absolutely fine - yes the grout dries hard, but its REALLY important to then paint it using acrylic paint to get it how you want it and then use 4 layers of G4 so its watertight and leave it to air before putting it in with your creatures : victory:


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## sam tucker (Mar 12, 2009)

i meant the g4 dries hard.lol. im guessing it does aswell. well i will give it a go. A new thread could be popping up soon with my pictures...mission accomplished or failed miserably.:lol2:


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## chondro13 (Aug 18, 2008)

sam tucker said:


> i meant the g4 dries hard.lol. im guessing it does aswell. well i will give it a go. A new thread could be popping up soon with my pictures...mission accomplished or failed miserably.:lol2:



:lol2: i had my fair share of 'practice runs' which i decided the general public didnt need to see too much of :whistling2: :blush: im sure youll do just fine! And yes the G4 sets hard :2thumb:


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## chondro13 (Aug 18, 2008)

Update: STILL need to get a new prettier water dish but Nemi was out and about today so i decided to get some piccies :flrt:


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## GrantyBhoy (Apr 7, 2009)

Quality set up, well done for the time n effort :no1:

almost as good as my hoggie's viv :grin1:


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## chondro13 (Aug 18, 2008)

GrantyBhoy said:


> Quality set up, well done for the time n effort :no1:
> 
> almost as good as my hoggie's viv :grin1:



Ooh i want to see yours! :lol2:


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## philipniceguy (Mar 31, 2008)

i was wondering how do you make the tree stump things? as i want to make some large ones as cant buy logs in the sizes i want


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## chondro13 (Aug 18, 2008)

philipniceguy said:


> i was wondering how do you make the tree stump things? as i want to make some large ones as cant buy logs in the sizes i want



i didnt make it hun sorry! i bought it from a shop, but you can also get them on eBay - its just a resin branch thing for an aquarium : victory:


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## philipniceguy (Mar 31, 2008)

chondro13 said:


> i didnt make it hun sorry! i bought it from a shop, but you can also get them on eBay - its just a resin branch thing for an aquarium : victory:


 ok thanks ill take a look:2thumb:


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