First go at fake background/live planted viv (advice welcome)

[BornSlippy]

Ok so this is my first go at this. I'm not bad at creating planted aquariums but this is my first foray into planted rep setups so im fully expecting it to fail misterabley.

The viv is a 36"x18"x24" exo terra and houses a pair of juvie crested geckos (though the male will be moving on and my other male moving in when they are big enough to breed).

I want to be able to sell the viv sometime down the line so I dont want to apply the background/sides directly to the glass so im creating it on sheets of egg crate which I will silicon to the glass once all the panels are ready. I also like the idea of tree trunks with plants growing out of them so to fake this im using lengths of drainpipe finished with cork bark, again great in my head but maybe not so great when it actually comes to setting it up. For the actual background im going to try expanding foam then silicone over that and finally apply a layer or eco earth (I also have something called a humos brick which looks similar to the eco earth). To seal the back of the egg crate panels I will use yacht varnish(possibly painting it black first then applying the varnish). I will also be creating various planting ledges throughout the back and sides. For the actual substrate I have a big bag of organic peat compost that I will mix with eco earth. I also have hydroleca to create a drainage layer. The plants will be a mixture of birds nest ferns, broms, dragon plants and spider plants (plus a few other bits and bobs). Lighting will be provided by a hagen glo luminaire with a single T5 tube (im guessing this will be enough light). I also have a DIY misting system that I would like to rig up.

Ok now for the questions

Firstly if anyone can see pitfalls or has advice on anthing else I should do or change then please let me know.

My main concerns are with sealing the whole thing. Should I go over the foam with varnish first to make sure its totally sealed before adding the silicone? Can I paint the back of the foam so it doesnt look unsightly from the outside and if so would it be safe to use black spray paint then varnish? (if not what are my alternatives?). Also should I use the humus brick (made by lucky reptile) for the background and keep the eco earth for the main substrate?(I have about 1kg dry of each will this be enough?). Do live setups smell and if so is there a way to limit it? I have heard adding woodlice helps with the clean up is this true and if so do I need special tropical ones or are the ones from the garden ok?

Ok I think thats about it for now. Here are some initial pictures showing some of the materials etc.

Materials



First piece of drainpipe attatched this will be the left side panel.



Thanks for looking

[BornSlippy]

Gah I meant to post this in the main habitat section. If its better there then mods feel free to move.

Thanks.

[BornSlippy]

I've also been thinking an easier/cleaner way to do it would be to use the expanding foam just to create the planting shelves then cut those tiles of coco fibre to fit the rest of the background. It might not look as natural but would be a lot easier to seal and a lot less messing about with silicone and eco earth.

What do you guys think to this?

[TBreptiles]

new pics?

[BornSlippy]

Originally Posted by TBreptiles

new pics?

Yes I'll take some soon. I've been lazy and keep changing my mind about materials. I have decided on only using the foam to create the planting shelves (I probably dont have enough silicone to do the whole tank anyway)and in between im using the cocobark background sheets which should arrive very soon. Other than that all I have done is attach all the pieces of drainpipe to thier final places.