DIY faux vivarium rock tutorial

In this video I show my method for creating faux vivarium rock. These rocks are non toxic and safe for amphibians and reptiles. These are based on 1:1 scale forest stone but the technique can be applied to any type of rock.
You will need :
Styrofoam
Black aquarium silicone
Pumice
Activated charcoal
Red expanded clay (optional)
Spirulina powder (optional)
A real textured stone of any kind
If you have any questions just leave them in the comments!
#vivarium #DIY #rock #faux #stone #terrarium #rainforest #jungle #trees #moss #mossterrarium #viv #dartfrog #frog #herps #amphibian #reptile

[@robhein]

This video is not getting the credit it deserves. Your faux stone looks super realistic. I see a lot done with paint alone, and its not bad, but this is much better! Noice, thank you

[@datura1919]

Ah thank you so much!

[@aquaticcolledgefishing]

Now I know I need to shower with my rocks when I make my new build 👍 they look so realistic. Great tutorial 👊👊

[@datura1919]

Haha indeed! Thank you 😊

[@joelneedham4548]

Incredible work, so glad to finally have a solution to fake rocks since there's no drylok here :)

[@datura1919]

Ah thanks! Hope it works for you

[@joelneedham4548]

Do you think red sand could work in place of the expanded clay?@@datura1919

[@hukilausurfer]

This looks so good 🙌🏽 gonna have to try this out

[@datura1919]

Thanks! Good luck with it 😊

[@user-vc5rp7nf8f]

thanks

[@1dowsey]

Absolutely superb

[@datura1919]

Thank you very much

[@mski435]

Beautiful job. Highly realistic. Your attention to detail paid off in the end. I do have a dumb question is this for a water aquarium and if so does the rock not float and if so how do you mitigate that ?

[@datura1919]

Thank you! I designed these for a vivarium and they were stuck down with silicone. You could do the same in an aquarium. Without sticking them down they would indeed float.

[@ericm8657]

Can you explain the powders more. For pumice are you saying you bought some and then used a grinder over and over to turn it into powder?

[@datura1919]

Sorry for the late reply. Yes I bought pumice rubble in pea sized pieces and used a spice grinder to get the consistency I wanted. If you want an easier way of getting a light powder you can buy fullers earth, a clay powder, which works just as well

[@garylad71]

What do you to glue the pieces of foam together before you start carving?

[@datura1919]

I use wood glue /pva

[@numbblackpicture]

I'm gonna try this but with woodglue, I have covered a piece of foam with woodglue and sand, it hardened well and was quite sturdy. But regular sand made it look.. well, not too good, but with these powders it will hopefully look similar to this. Probably have to work in smaller sections, but then again I can use brushes if I dilute the glue just a little bit...

[@datura1919]

The only thing I'd say about that is that wood glue doesn't hold up well if it'll be wet constantly, but could work if they won't be

[@pavoliring8398]

Is it as hard as cement + styrofoam?

[@datura1919]

I've never tried that myself. It's certainly very rigid with a flexible finish which doesn't crack or peel off

[@paulfisher3759]

Can you use polyurethane board for this?

[@datura1919]

You definitely could 😊

[@paulfisher3759]

Cheers, wanted to check it wouldn't kill the frogs. Loved the tutorial, looks great!

[@datura1919]

@@paulfisher3759 thanks! You totally seal in the foam so it's very safe

[@autocook9572]

Won't that float tho..

[@datura1919]

These were designed for a vivarium, not an aquarium. They could be adapted for an aquarium though by adding weights or using silicone to glue them to the glass