Questions, and conversations about "Real" natural setups in Vivariums, Palidarum, and related habitat enclosures...
Hi Vivarum Members,
I'm a former Zookeeper, Park Naturalist, and Nature "Geek" that has been "lurking" in the background of forums, chat rooms, and the like regarding the "new" (???) bioactive craze over the last decade...
After being active as a Wilderness Guide, and designer of natural architecture for over 40 years now as well, I have been asked if I could write a book on "natural enclosures." After seeing what was out there this past decade, I had concerns I want to examine from the many in this hobby both as professionals now and as amateur hobbyists...
I am also posting this same "chat" on r/bioactive regarding all the very..." toxic and industrial"... plastics, concrete, silicon, and other materials being used today to construct these enclosures. I know many of these (not all) are inert when dry, but working with them is a challenge and some of them do not have good long-term positive track records...
Here are a few of my questions to start (thanks in advance) to those that wish to respond. This will help me form a basis for the book's general outline and whether there is any actual interest in ...more natural construction methods...or if the "status quo" of industrial methods suits most in the hobby...regardless of the industry's poor track records for polluting the planet...
- Since most folks in this hobby..." love nature"...do they ever think about the...massively polluting industries...behind many of the products they purchase that support the further degradation of our planet's natural ecology?
- Are they aware of it how toxic many of these products are to work with in the "raw wet state" and the pollution created in producing them?
- If they could learn alternative methods and understanding, (clays, wood, natural textiles, natural polymer finishes, limecrete for stonework, etc.) would that be a book they would want to read?
HUGE...THANK YOU...!!!...in advance for your response and conversation over these questions...
Posted Mar 10, 2023, 7:24 PM UTC
I've watched a lot of videos on building vivariums and bioactive enclosures, and I've had a lot of these same concerns as well. If there were alternative ways to use more natural products and create beautiful natural looking backgrounds, I'd be all for it. I am in the process of constructing a large (20"W×20"L×60"H) bioactive enclosure. It was originally meant for my Banisteriopsis Caapi vine and other plants from the Amazon rainforest. I'm trying to replicate the environment as best I can, and anywhere I can substitute natural or safer products with the current ones I had planned to use for my background would be great.
What I've seen used is: aquarium silicone, grout, expanding spray foam and coco coir, and the clear spray can of Flexseal.
Hi u/thehangedman-XII...
Thanks for reaching out here too...!!!...I'm really hoping to learn a lot about what folks are currently thinking (or not thinking???) about these..." industrial construction methods"...vs...natural ones with a long history going back to some of the oldest "bottle vivariums" and terrariums of the 1500s to 1700s...some of which lasted over 100 years as "closed biomes."
I'm probably going to be repeating stuff from my many notes and manuscript...so bear with me if you see this happening...
The silicones are too often being employed WAY out of context for the intended use by the manufacturer and the potential for harm to lungs is massive from what I am seeing in folks failing to use proper respiration protection...let alone the industry behind these materials...and there contribution to world water and air pollution.
I am also concerned with..."interstitial bacterial build-up"...as embedded organic matter starts to decay inside these plastics and silicones...I also see pathogens take hold in enclosures where you simply can not "clean them out" well enough and have to start all over because of such practices...I have never had an "enclosed biome" fail thus far but have had breakouts to address...Like natural architecture, these enclosures should last over 100 years or until an owner designs to "change them," for some reason...That means "good design" and proper material applications that are, themselves, natural and maintainable when necessary as the biome ages...
I simply WILL NOT use foams for many reasons similar to silicones. Silicone is for the construction of the glass enclosure in a limited and specific way (though other methods are available that are less toxic. Foams on the other hand only introduce more microplastic to the world that simply is not needed. "Wieght" seems to be a big reason some share with me why they use it...???...but then put in rocks and concrete material and fill the tank halfway with water so weight is a moot point entirely...My "go-to" is simple potters clay and traditional limecrete for a lot (not all) backdrop construction...but that is an entire chapter in the book...LOL
My approach to this first...good design...and that means literally taking a "snapshot" of an exact biome section you wish to emulate and then doing so with those materials found in nature wherever possible...minus the "tech" that some enclosure may need unless going for what many call the "Walstad Method" (after Ecologist Daina Walstad) but her methods are really nothing more than what was found in the thinking of Darwin's time and even before then...when all these plastics and other nonsense didn't even exist...
My biggest concerns with all of these materials have been that they will either leech toxins into the soil or degrade over time. The aim is for for them to last 100+ years like you say.
My method of construction doesn't have too much of a weight restriction. I used an aluminum quick frame with 6mm board that has am aluminum exterior and a polymer core.
I think my worry with a limecrete is the finish - if it has a rough finish would it harm frogs or other reptiles in the enclosure? Limecrete would would really beneficial though for heating a tall enclosure since it holds and releases heat, if used in conjunction with some heated cable embedded in the limecrete maybe?
There's a soil I've used that is used for bonsai trees and kokedama, it sticks well when pushed into crevices between rocks or such if making a background wall. If I remember right it was just clay, peat moss, coco coir, a little vermiculite and some lime soil additive. Over time roots of plants that have been planted into the wall/soil will help in holding everything up. It holds water well without erosion.
I hadn't thought about bacteria build up, that's definitely something I need to consider.
This is part of the "normative culture" disconnect I picked up on about a decade ago when many started "experimenting" but not "thinking/learning" first...then it got "commercial" and of course, the "big industries" threw their hat into it all...
How can one care about ecology yet use many of the products like they mean nothing...???...filling trash bag after trash bag with trimmed foam, plastics, and containers...and releasing even more microplastics in the world's biomes...Yet...???...they want to create something "natural" inside their home...???...I got confused really fast...LOL!!!
That works...but for me, I tend to stick with "organic" wherever possible so I tend to use all wood framing and/or glass...
I have made ceramic pieces for some things (more advanced skill) but for the most part stone and wood, serve my needs. Now I have to get back to making some new models to illustrate this for the book and/or use those also going with the "natural approach" only for biome enclosures...
These, and "natural cement" are really only to be used in limited ways and very specific...Such as creating "limestone" or other geologic features wanted otherwise, I use "real rock" and cut it to fit the enclosure...again, a more advanced construction method. The next is a natural polymer that can be made to look like a lot of things and or textiles that become the matrix for holding soils and related matrix for growth. This inconcert with clay does most applications well...
100%...stone too does this really well and so can clays if they are kept forever moist by the atmosphere within the enclosure...
LOL...I was wondering when this would come up...I also, at a time, worked as an Arborist and have a history in the practice of 盆栽 Pénjǐng (also means Bonsai) which is the progenitor to Japanese Bonsai...These methods and practices go back millennia and are a great foundation to learn for applying to vivarium...
Precielsly...and the "matrix" of a backdrop then actually become "natural" in the full sense of the word. Not foam, plastic, and nasty products like..."DryLoc"...which see everyone starting to use now...!!!
Seems many haven't...???...If you get the flora and fauna into a homostatic state things are great but what about the plastic matrix that they can't interact with nor actually allow a true "bio active" state to evolve in...Simply not a viable solution from my perspective...desert or tropical biome...
It's going to be a big undertaking as you'll have to change the thought process of the entire hobby culture. I think many focus on the looks of the end product. I've been building terrariums for years in small to medium glass enclosures, but this is my first build of this size.
The materials I'm using primarily come from work. I either use the scrap material or it gets tossed into a dumpster. We use this aluminum/polymer board a lot, but I haven't researched how powdercoat might affect soil, if at all (as the aluminum of the board is powdercoated white). One the one hand, I'm recycling materials that would otherwise end up in a landfill. On the other, I may be inadvertently introducing chemicals into the environment I'm trying to replicate.
Wood was a consideration, but how do you seal the wood to prevent it from decomposing or inviting molds and such? Is there a sealer that is environmentally friendly? What about adhesive for stones to the backdrop. Marine Caulk by 3M is the standard in adhesive with what we build at work, but again, no idea of the impact that has environmentally. I'm just as guilty as everyone else when it comes to not thinking about these things. We read somewhere that it's "safe" and don't do much digging (with the exception of outliers like yourself).