Habitat - Indoor :: Safe/Usable materials in my RES tank?

[heidi26]

Tiles and grout? are there any types that i could safely use as a background or a base in my tank?
Sand? Could it be a substrate with out harming my turtle?
drift wood from the beach? I heard it isn't the best idea, what do you guys think? Can i make it safer?

[Ranger The Red Ear Slider]

I don't know about the tiles and grout, tiles don't seem to be harmful but I don't know about the grout. Sand is safe, just make sure it's play sand or pool filter sand from home depot/lowes. No beach sand. Drift wood from the beach is safe just make sure you boil it a few times to kill anything.

[devilduck]

Tile and grout should be fine if the grout is sealed. I think it's more a hassle than it's worth, the grout will eventually mold and you'll have to replace it. Google what people have used in aquariums. Anything safe for fish should be safe for turtles.

I've seen people do some really interesting things with spray foam and a thin layer of colored cement.

[Rubicon]

Ya you'd really need to make sure everything was dry and solid before putting it in. Also seems like water getting behind could be a nasty place for algae to grow.

[Listen97]

Laticrete makes product that is water safe. Normally used for Tiles in Wet areas like Bathrooms, countertops etc. http://www.lowes.com/pd_328866-73069-12 ... dollar%7C1 because it is an Epoxy it is mold/mildew resistant and holds up better than standard grout.

[VeipaCray]

With tile & grout or laticrete, you need to be careful about adding too much weight on the vertical pane of glass.

[Rubicon]

I just don't see the benefit of having a tile back ground. If you really want one make it on a thin sheet of plywood and mount it behind. Safer, less hassle, etc...

[Ranger The Red Ear Slider]

Yeah, outside the aqaurium is much easier.

[PridgNYC]

The problem with the outside the aquarium backgrounds is that unless you light them from outside the aquarium, the inside lights wont do a very good job of illuminating your background due to the refractive indexes of water and glass. In other words, it'll look a uniform dark grey with no detail visible.

[VeipaCray]

Why not just paint the back of the glass? Paint is cheap and semi permanent. It comes off with a razor or a scraper with little effort if you ever want to undo it. Sure it's not as decorative, but a nice perfectly black background can really make the contents inside your tank show off.

[Listen97]

Another turtle forum that was posted in the sand topic showed a nice 3D background using polystyrene and Drylock. http://www.turtleforum.com/forum/upload ... 25081&st=0

[VeipaCray]

It looks really nice but it eats up a lot of space.

[Listen97]

It looks really nice but it eats up a lot of space.

Yeah would probably need a 100+ tank and turtles still on the smaller size.