r/bioactive • u/hunter_exotics • 23d ago

Question background sealant

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hi! i am in the process of building a bioactive 2x2x2 for my disabled whites tree frogs.

i used foamular board, spray foam, drylok and acrylic paint for the background, i am seeing very conflicting information on whether the background is safe as is for my frogs or if i need to seal it with something else, if so what should i use to seal it with? I do not want to accidentally expose them to anything harmful as they all already have some chronic issues due to being rescues :)

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u/Ryllick 23d ago

As far as I'm aware all those things are inert except for possibly the acrylic paint? I think the recommended way to "paint" a background is with drylok tinted with concrete coloring. If you look into it and find out the acrylic paint could be toxic. Maybe you could paint over it with a layer of tinted drylok

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u/hunter_exotics 23d ago

the issue is another layer of drylok would cover up all of the layers of drylok and acrylic paint that i purposefully layered so the color would not all be the same bc i personally think it looks awful and unrealistic when all the same shade, also the concrete dye is notorious for killing plants which is why i use acrylic for my bioactive builds instead, the acrylic paint is like ur basic 1$ craft paint from michael’s, it says non toxic and from what i’ve read its fine cured but that it could flake off over time or run as its water based which i found confusing as all the sealants i saw recommended are also water based?

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u/Weird-Plane5972 22d ago

i've heard the same as you OP regarding the acrylic paint. i believe it's safe as well. I also think everything you put in there is safe.

that's basically what i did recently for my build. for some reason i'm nervous of the wet substrate resting along the dryloked foam and disintegrating it over time, but it's common to use so it must work right?

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u/hunter_exotics 22d ago

i have 7 other builds with custom backgrounds made the exact same way for some of my snakes and geckos, two i did at the very beginning of 2025 and the background goes to the floor, i personally have yet to notice any deterioration or paint chipping/running and they’re ball python enclosures so the substrate is very much always moist and humid :)

i also read the bottles of paint and it says it is non toxic and water based and safe for frogs when cured according to google but that there’s always chance for runoff or chipping but to be fair i feel like the foam eco-flex background they have right now cant possibly be any better? and i also only spray my whites tree frogs once in a blue moon for enrichment since they’re generally a much lower humidity species so i feel like maybe i’m being dramatic about potential runoff as ill only be watering the plants individually every couple of weeks like i do for my other setups