Fake Water fall and pool DIY

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user 16324

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Hey guys, got bored the other day and realized i had a huge amount of Styrofoam, 4kg of grout and too much time.
I put them all together and made a fake waterfall and pool/pond for my water dragon. Any questions are welcome.
I am going to add some fake plants and what not to make it more realistic. As well as a water pump and filter.
The base is 460x460 and is 290mm high

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amazing what happens when we get bored ! ! i'd love to see it in the enclosure, how have you sealed it ?
 
haha i know right? Im just giving it the recommended 24 hour curing time and then i need to get the pump and filter. I used a silicone filler on all of the major joins to fill in the worst of it. then the grout was put over it all. The grout seals the entire thing. im exited to put it in :)
 
Looks great. You will need a sealer over the grout though once it has all been painted up.
 
like an acrylic sealer? i might head up to the hardware store in a minute. i suck at painting so might just use some plastic plants and what not to spruce it up a bit.
 
im so stealing that idea..

that looks great.. might start making a few water bowls that way too for some of my larger snakes...

how thick was the grout spread over the foam? just an even thinish layer?
im a fibreglass expert and never thought of doing it this way.
looks like i will be getting dirty today...
 
thanks guys. najanaja, yeh just a thin layer maybe 3mm thick or something. i picked up a litre of Pondtite which i got from the local aquarium store and it is a sealer meant for ponds, aquariums, fountains etc so i have applied my first coat of that. i need a filter still which i havent figured out how to set up yet. i could just be not so lazy and take it out and change the water every day but thats just annoying haha.
 
Pondtite is my recommendation, make sure you give it 3-4 coats if its having a dragon clawing all over it, I've used the pondtite on branches, just to stop urine soakage and fake rock projects, works great, easy to apply, the only downside is that it is so shiney, not great for realistic rock look, but its easy to clean
 
ive seen people as they put on coats, they use some sand of the desired color and sprinkled it on the surface as a coat is applied. gets rid of the shiney surface but still protects
 
yeah i know, but it makes it rough enough for 'leftovers' to stick to it, not so much a problem with small droppings, but when its the leftovers from a large rat ate dropped from a height it tends to adhere quite well...LOL
 
Yeah you can sprinkle some sand on the last layer or two to take off some shine ;-)
 
There is so much more you can do than cut foam you should check out wildsky and black jungle it has inspired me im going to put up some photos of what i make and some how to instructions message me if you want to find out more.
 
yeh only problem i am having is with a filter. bought a filter today only to realize it is that little bit too big. imma get out the knife in a second and do some 'modifying' :)
 
okay so i made some changes. to fit this filter i got, at 20% off too :), i cut out a segment then used a piece of ply to make a new base.
this way it sits lower and the filter will be fully submerged.
with the cunning use of fake plants, the filter will go unseen :) i am happy!
i used selleys glass silicone to seal the ply and the corners so no water will escape :) all that is left is to grout the ply so it fits in with the rest of the pool. then 4 coats of pondtite.

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