Great Stuff issue. It doesn't seem to be drying!

[DendroTerra]

I have a few simpler made tanks, but am making my first one hard core right now.

Anyways, I have a great stuff problem. It's been over 36 hours and the GS pressed against the glass is still not dry. I can look through the glass to the back of my GS fixture and see it's very wet in there, where as all the outer stuff has dried. I'm wondering if it's possible I did my layer(About 3-4" now it's mostly dried) too thick and that stuff will never dry, so I'll have the unfortunate need to tear it off, clean it off and go again, or am I fine, and sometimes it just takes a looooong while to dry, and I'm in the clear.

I've used GS before, but never like this, and usually it's completely dry by now.

Please help. I have a few busy days coming up in a week, and want to have my bakhuis in their new home by then.

Thanks ahead of time!!

[froglet]

Tare everything up, that GS is expired and will not dry properly... furthermore the fumes and such wil cause mold growth which will kill anything in there ...

DO NOT USE IT< CLEAN IT ALL OUT

[DendroTerra]

That's what I thought I'd have to do. Thanks for the info.

I got it all off, and now I'm going to start over with brand new GS cans. I think I'm also going to seal some egg crate against the wall first. I figure that will make the GS stick & stay better and stronger.

Thanks for the help. If anyone else has anything else to say on the subject, that'd be great. Many many thanks.

[colemangirly]

How much would you need for a 55gal?

[DendroTerra]

I ended up tearing that stuff off, and redoing it. Apparently you get a bad can every now and again that just stays looking like wet bubblegum and never dries. c'est la vie.

For a tank that size, and this is without knowing exactly how much of it you want to cover, I'd say 3-4 cans.

Of course it's always better to buy more than less, and as long as you plan to use more later, not have some sit for a long long time, you'll be happy to have it on hand.

Keep in mind what I said about bad cans every now & again, and buy accordingly.

Also, traditionally people use the red kind, but the pond stuff works ok. The black, which I think is a bigger expander, works ok, but leaves more air pockets, which is how it expands more. It's best to just use the red + styrofoam to build up areas.

Do one layer at a time and let it completely dry. Doing too many layers at once will make it so the most inside part never dries all the way. This can gas your frogs.

~Tobias