# 100% WATERPROOF viv sealant?



## chondro13 (Aug 18, 2008)

Hi guys,

Within the next couple of months ill be making a massive new viv for my CWD and i need a sealant for the fake rock structure ill be making - however this will include a water fall - the water will be constantly hitting the surface of the fake rock and it will also include a pool. Obviously i need something 100% waterproof to seal it with.

It has to be:

Waterproof
Inert
Resistant to UV
Resistant to Heat
Not contaminate the water
Locust/cricket resistant
Not cost the earth!

My viv is gonna be big and probably cost a fair bit so i dont mind spending about £50 on the sealant so long as it does the job and lasts for years. Any ideas? Has anyone got any links to specific items? 

Yacht varnish? Epoxy resin? V8 pond sealant? Does anyone have any experiences? 

Cheers!


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## Young_Gun (Jan 6, 2007)

Yacht varnish is the best product I have ever used for waterproofing in vivs.


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## chondro13 (Aug 18, 2008)

Cheers hun ive heard that a lot - but its only been used before as to seal vivs that get sprayed every now and then, i was wondering if anyone had used it to be constantly hit by water and take the punishment of running water or holding a pool of water - plus a dragon leaping around on it with those claws all day lol! Its probably my product of choice at the moment though! How does it hold up to heat and UV?


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## Young_Gun (Jan 6, 2007)

chondro13 said:


> Cheers hun ive heard that a lot - but its only been used before as to seal vivs that get sprayed every now and then, i was wondering if anyone had used it to be constantly hit by water and take the punishment of running water or holding a pool of water - plus a dragon leaping around on it with those claws all day lol! Its probably my product of choice at the moment though! How does it hold up to heat and UV?


It's withstood the punishment my V.Indicus puts it through every day for nearly 6 months with no problem, no problems with the UV or ceramics either.


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## Morgan Freeman (Jan 14, 2009)

Yacht varnish is meant to hold off water.

Maybe this one?

http://www.letonkinoisvarnish.co.uk/VarPrices.html

"Le Tonkinois is highly resistant to Ultra Violet. Its natural materials protect both the varnish and the wood below. We have no reported UK UV problems in our 10 years experience with Le Tonkinois. One sample exposed untouched for 10 years has shown increasing yellowing but where we added an extra coat every 3 years no deterioration is visible. In much higher UV exposure areas (Mediterranean, Caribbean etc) the surface layer sometimes shows signs of deterioration after two to three years. Sanding off this top layer and adding further coat(s) restores the protection"

"It is ideal for use in kitchens, fully waterproof, not marked by hot cups or plates, not affected by boiling water, alcohol etc, and is classified as safe to use in food areas"


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## chondro13 (Aug 18, 2008)

Legend! Thanks! Sounds like that should do the job!!


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## Meko (Apr 29, 2007)

chondro13 said:


> Cheers hun ive heard that a lot -* but its only been used before as to seal vivs that get sprayed every now and then, i was wondering if anyone had used it to be constantly hit by water and take the punishment of running water or holding a pool of water* - plus a dragon leaping around on it with those claws all day lol! Its probably my product of choice at the moment though! How does it hold up to heat and UV?


 
don't want to state the obvious but 








varnish


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## chondro13 (Aug 18, 2008)

Lmao... cheers Meko... im blonde so its allowed... :whistling2:


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## rich.harrington (Sep 14, 2008)

Your other option is creastone, its powdered stone, you simply mix with water then pour into your general mould shape. Then once its holding shape remove the mould and carve to suit yoru taste.

One dry its water/uv/fire/nile proof pretty much anything, all you have to do then is paint the stuff.

I've used foam a few times and when you take into acount costs of foam, grout, varnish etc etc stone is cheaper by far, and you never have to worry "did i really get enough layers to seal this"

Crea-stone | Creastone by Homecrafts direct Thats who I use as that is actually one big ass 11kg bag of powder your getting, its way cheaper by comparison than amazon etc.


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## theRexMundi (Feb 27, 2009)

I've been looking into this myself as I'm also gonna be building a a massive set up for my CWD's.

I read that epoxy resin is the way to go when sealing fake rocks. Its the stuff they use to make feeding bowls etc..

As far as I can find out, most resin is non toxic when it sets/cures. I'm still on the lookout for a brand/type that i'm sure will be safe.

If I find anything.. I'll let you know...


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## Stuart C (Jun 12, 2008)

that stuff looks very interesting Rich!

have you thought about external grade PVA?

Cheers Stuart


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## Morgan Freeman (Jan 14, 2009)

theRexMundi said:


> I've been looking into this myself as I'm also gonna be building a a massive set up for my CWD's.
> 
> I read that epoxy resin is the way to go when sealing fake rocks. Its the stuff they use to make feeding bowls etc..
> 
> ...


Get epoxy resin from www.dartfrog.co.uk I've used it on my fake rock set up. Be very careful with the fumes when you're using it, I still have scars on my arms where I was a little careless over two weeks ago.


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## theRexMundi (Feb 27, 2009)

That looks ideal. Nice one.


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## chondro13 (Aug 18, 2008)

aaah thats cool... i didnt know Mark did epoxy too... hmmmm thats a little more tempting than the varnish! May have to give him a call i think. Cheers guys!


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## Morgan Freeman (Jan 14, 2009)

Yeah I dunno why I didn't mention epoxy at first:bash:

You'll need LOADS.


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## chondro13 (Aug 18, 2008)

yeah thats what i was worrying about lol!!


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## chondro13 (Aug 18, 2008)

rich.harrington said:


> Your other option is creastone, its powdered stone, you simply mix with water then pour into your general mould shape. Then once its holding shape remove the mould and carve to suit yoru taste.
> 
> One dry its water/uv/fire/nile proof pretty much anything, all you have to do then is paint the stuff.
> 
> ...


Thats very interesting but it sets lightweight like foam - the problem with that is obviously a dragons weight and boisterous jumping is likely to easily break it. To make it strong enough youd have to coat it with grout but then were back at the beginning - sealing the grout!


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## Darbz (Mar 22, 2009)

Could try Creastone with a coating of epoxy resin to seal and toughen it? 
This is interesting because I was pondering this problem this very morning for a dendro set-up...


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## rich.harrington (Sep 14, 2008)

Its far from lightweight, the normal use for that material is outdoor gardem sculptures, ive used it a few times and im happy enough with it to use it on my next nile viv. So if it can happily cope with a 2ft nile then no doubt cwd will be no hassles.


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## chondro13 (Aug 18, 2008)

rich.harrington said:


> Its far from lightweight, the normal use for that material is outdoor gardem sculptures, ive used it a few times and im happy enough with it to use it on my next nile viv. So if it can happily cope with a 2ft nile then no doubt cwd will be no hassles.



oooh cool - its just their online review says its very lightweight like sculpting foam! may give it some thought! Its just making the mould that doesnt appeal to me..


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## puff addy (Sep 28, 2008)

epoxy resin is the best.
we use it in work,two coats before screeding on a concrete floor is a damp proof membrane. we also use it in swimming pools before they are tiled,so you cant get more waterproof than that!
once you have mixed the two parts together you have to use it fast or it will go off in the tin


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## otb2 (Nov 30, 2006)

I used G4 Pond selant in my WD's viv, Prob the best i found. I tried fibreglass and yacht varnish in the past, nothing seems as good as g4, and you can get different colours!!

heres mine:


(The water pond is bottom left, the colour is just a trick of the light, I have a external filter that keeps it nice and clear!)


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## theRexMundi (Feb 27, 2009)

otb2 said:


> I used G4 Pond selant in my WD's viv, Prob the best i found. I tried fibreglass and yacht varnish in the past, nothing seems as good as g4, and you can get different colours!!
> 
> heres mine:
> 
> ...




Very nice viv you have there. Does the sealant set hard like epoxy? How does it handle the heat? (parts right next to the heat lamp?)

Did you use it for the whole viv? back and all?


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## otb2 (Nov 30, 2006)

Thanks!!! 

Yeah it sets hard. I used it on all the floor area. I had already used fibreglass resin to seal the back etc, I only used G4 because i accidently pulled the output feed to my filter out the bottom and flooded the floor :blush::whistling2: 
I found it easier just to seal up the hole with concrete and G4 the whole thing rather than try sealing the pipe back in!! 
Fibreglass can be a pain because if you have any little bubbles in it the water can leak!

: victory:


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