# epoxy resin for paludarium



## daiwatkins89 (Jul 15, 2012)

Hey all im currently planning an enclosure for a chinese water dragon which will be half land half water. I want to have a fake rock background which will go to the bottom of the enclosure so the bottom will be totally submerged in water. I want to know if epoxy resin will be the best option for this to seal the background. any advice would be awesome? cheers


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## fatlad69 (Oct 22, 2009)

Epoxy resin will work fine.


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## daiwatkins89 (Jul 15, 2012)

ok cheers. how long does it need to be left to cure before putting in water


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## PhillyDee (May 17, 2010)

Whatever it says on the packet! I would personally leave it for a minimum of 48 hours, just to make sure no fumes etc. Give it a good wash and clean in all the grooves if there are any. There may be residual chemicals.


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## davree (Jul 23, 2012)

Personally I would use aquarium silicone as it is designed to be used in aquatic environments. In my experience epoxy does not fair well when totally submerged (at least the ones I have used haven't). In my 6ft tank I used epoxy to fix some brackets in the sump filter but after a while it turned red and gave the water a pink tint and was probably giving off some toxins so it was removed.

Arbosil was the silicone I used and is about £5 for a tube.


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## daiwatkins89 (Jul 15, 2012)

could the silicone just be brushed on then?


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## davree (Jul 23, 2012)

Sorry I misread your op. I thought you wanted to use it to stick the background to the tank:banghead:

What is the background going to be made of? You can get ready made backgrounds which don't require sealing but it depends on what your requirements are. I personally would still steer clear of epoxy but that's just me and from my experiences.

Thanks


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## daiwatkins89 (Jul 15, 2012)

its going to be a custom background made of kingspan and expanding foam, grouted then painted and sealed


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## OrigamiB (Feb 19, 2008)

once set and cured epoxy is completely inert. I used it for my poly/grout pauladarium and had no problems


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## my_shed (Jan 5, 2011)

The trouble mentioned with epoxy could be that it was mixed in the wrong quantites or not mixed thoroughly, in which case parts of it would begin to leach or disintegrate. Mixed carefully it should form a completely waterproof layer. Other options include G4 pond sealer, and fibreglass.

Dave


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## daiwatkins89 (Jul 15, 2012)

Some people have said that g4 pond sealer can release chemicals when not submerged in water for a long time after it has cured. Is this true. Not that it matters with the part under the water but I want to use the same product for all of the background


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