FLEX SEAL uses for tortoise keeping

Dankneepowpow

Active Member
Joined
Apr 29, 2020
Messages
72
Location (City and/or State)
Honolulu
I love flex seal! I use to deal with pond liner In past projects but the material is not very fun to work with. Flex seal on the other hand is instant gratification! Just apply with a brush or roller and you’re done! While it is slightly more expensive, I think it’s well worth the investment. I’ve used the stuff for pond projects, terrariums, aquaponics, and my tortoise table! Can’t go wrong!
 

ZEROPILOT

REDFOOT WRANGLER
Moderator
Tortoise Club
5 Year Member
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jul 16, 2014
Messages
28,938
Location (City and/or State)
South Eastern Florida (U.S.A.)/Rock Hill S.C.
I love flex seal! I use to deal with pond liner In past projects but the material is not very fun to work with. Flex seal on the other hand is instant gratification! Just apply with a brush or roller and you’re done! While it is slightly more expensive, I think it’s well worth the investment. I’ve used the stuff for pond projects, terrariums, aquaponics, and my tortoise table! Can’t go wrong!
Great.
Thanks.
I'm a long time user of fiberglass resin.
It only lasts about 16 or 18 months outdoors then must be removed and replaced.
It's even more expensive
 

ZEROPILOT

REDFOOT WRANGLER
Moderator
Tortoise Club
5 Year Member
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jul 16, 2014
Messages
28,938
Location (City and/or State)
South Eastern Florida (U.S.A.)/Rock Hill S.C.
It's been 3 months.
Some of the Flex seal has peeled off. It is not doing well with the toenails of swimming and crawling tortoises. But this was in areas where it was applied paper thin. I used one quart in each pond.
I've purchased another entire gallon and I'm going to put a layer of at least 1/4" on BOTH ponds.
Hopefully the thicker layer will be more durable.
The jury is still out.
I must say, I'm somewhat disappointed so far.
It has now cost double what I can get fiberglass resin for and has lasted just a fraction as long.
 

Attachments

  • 20210107_232142.jpg
    20210107_232142.jpg
    402 KB · Views: 3

ZEROPILOT

REDFOOT WRANGLER
Moderator
Tortoise Club
5 Year Member
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jul 16, 2014
Messages
28,938
Location (City and/or State)
South Eastern Florida (U.S.A.)/Rock Hill S.C.
On the plus side, the tortoise that got around a barrier and walked through, and I'm pretty sure drank some liquid Flex Seal months ago is also doing fine.
So, the toxicity threat level is actually low.
 

PSLIMO

Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Mar 26, 2016
Messages
86
Thanks for posting your experiences with Flex Seal. I'm presently building a larger 4' x 12' table for my leopard. Was going to use PVC board and seal the joints with flex seal but you talked me out of it. Looks like I'm going back to the labor intensive fiber glassing over wood.
 

Markw84

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 17, 2012
Messages
5,041
Location (City and/or State)
Sacramento, CA (Central Valley)
Thanks for posting your experiences with Flex Seal. I'm presently building a larger 4' x 12' table for my leopard. Was going to use PVC board and seal the joints with flex seal but you talked me out of it. Looks like I'm going back to the labor intensive fiber glassing over wood.
Fiberglass over wood is not really a good application. Fiberglass does not bond well to wood and will soon de laminate. It is also extremely messy to work with.

The PVC board is the best option. Very easy to work with and you can "weld" the seams together with regular "medium" PVC Cement. It will bond as strong as the original board. Just make the joints nice and flush where they join. If you don't have the tools to get a really nice flush joint, simply make a 1/2" x1" or 1/2 x 2" furring strip to run along each joint and use the medium PVC cement. It will seal completely waterproof. No rotting. No de laminating.

A good saw does leave the edge of any cuts rather sharp. PVC board sands more easily than wood. Just run some sandpaper along any edges you want to smooth out.
 

Mrs.Jennifer

Well-Known Member
Tortoise Club
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jul 22, 2020
Messages
673
Location (City and/or State)
Norwich CT
Fiberglass over wood is not really a good application. Fiberglass does not bond well to wood and will soon de laminate. It is also extremely messy to work with.

The PVC board is the best option. Very easy to work with and you can "weld" the seams together with regular "medium" PVC Cement. It will bond as strong as the original board. Just make the joints nice and flush where they join. If you don't have the tools to get a really nice flush joint, simply make a 1/2" x1" or 1/2 x 2" furring strip to run along each joint and use the medium PVC cement. It will seal completely waterproof. No rotting. No de laminating.

A good saw does leave the edge of any cuts rather sharp. PVC board sands more easily than wood. Just run some sandpaper along any edges you want to smooth out.
Agreed. I’ve used PVC board and PVC cement with a great outcome.
 

PSLIMO

Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Mar 26, 2016
Messages
86
"Fiberglass over wood is not really a good application. Fiberglass does not bond well to wood and will soon de laminate. It is also extremely messy to work with."

It's messy if you don't have experience working with it, lol. It also will not de laminate from wood if the fiberglass cloth is wet out with slow cure epoxy like west coast not the bondo resin stuff. I built a 4' x 6' that still looks new after years of tortoise abuse.

And a big thank's for the tips on PVC cement and you just may have converted a fiberglass guy to PVC cement. I really like the idea of "welding" a strip to seal the side joints instead of a sealer. I'll keep searching for PVC tables, in the mean time I have lot's of time as you can see I'm in the early stage of my build.

tt.jpg
 
Last edited:

ZEROPILOT

REDFOOT WRANGLER
Moderator
Tortoise Club
5 Year Member
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jul 16, 2014
Messages
28,938
Location (City and/or State)
South Eastern Florida (U.S.A.)/Rock Hill S.C.
Fiberglass over wood is not really a good application. Fiberglass does not bond well to wood and will soon de laminate. It is also extremely messy to work with.

The PVC board is the best option. Very easy to work with and you can "weld" the seams together with regular "medium" PVC Cement. It will bond as strong as the original board. Just make the joints nice and flush where they join. If you don't have the tools to get a really nice flush joint, simply make a 1/2" x1" or 1/2 x 2" furring strip to run along each joint and use the medium PVC cement. It will seal completely waterproof. No rotting. No de laminating.

A good saw does leave the edge of any cuts rather sharp. PVC board sands more easily than wood. Just run some sandpaper along any edges you want to smooth out.
My issue with Fiberglass over cement is also delamination.
Understand that I've used just the liquid resin without any fiber cloth.
 

Sue Ann

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 19, 2019
Messages
436
Location (City and/or State)
chapin , South Carolina
Footprints and all.
Here is the finished product.
It holds water.
I placed a little fence next to this pool so that my tortoise that likes to flip over wont try to attempt to enter from the side.
This pool has a wall on the side from an older. Small enclosure I had there. The others are all bowl shaped.
Too bad I have a Sulcata! Think I will have to find Yvonne’s thread for a pool.
 

Markw84

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 17, 2012
Messages
5,041
Location (City and/or State)
Sacramento, CA (Central Valley)
There might be a less porous type of cement out there.
A finishing cement.
Mine all leaked water quickly without any sealer.
Its QUICKCREET brand
I used quickrete in my tortoise pool. Did a thread on it last spring. Concrete does not leak water if you pour it correctly. You do need to settle it completely by tamping or vibrating or there will be voids that can leak or seep water when cured. For a pond where water retention is really critical, I use a richer mix of concrete - a 6 bag mix. By adding extra pure cement to the concrete mix, it becomes totally waterproof. The only issue with large pours is cracks if not thick enough. Filling you pool the day after you pour and letting the concrete cure under water will eliminate most of those issues.
 

ZEROPILOT

REDFOOT WRANGLER
Moderator
Tortoise Club
5 Year Member
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jul 16, 2014
Messages
28,938
Location (City and/or State)
South Eastern Florida (U.S.A.)/Rock Hill S.C.
I used quickrete in my tortoise pool. Did a thread on it last spring. Concrete does not leak water if you pour it correctly. You do need to settle it completely by tamping or vibrating or there will be voids that can leak or seep water when cured. For a pond where water retention is really critical, I use a richer mix of concrete - a 6 bag mix. By adding extra pure cement to the concrete mix, it becomes totally waterproof. The only issue with large pours is cracks if not thick enough. Filling you pool the day after you pour and letting the concrete cure under water will eliminate most of those issues.
Thanks
I'll try this with my next pond.
Actually, I'll probably bust these apart with a hammer and just re do them after this FLEX SEAL fails.
However long that takes...
 

PSLIMO

Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Mar 26, 2016
Messages
86
ZEROPILOT Said:

"My issue with Fiberglass over cement is also delamination. Understand that I've used just the liquid resin without any fiber cloth."

I have a lot of experience working with fiberglass and carbon fiber. Just using a resin will be very brittle as it doesn't have enough solids in it. If you wet out a layer or two of cloth in your pond you just built a boat that won't leak. Preparing the concrete surface is key to adhesion. You need to wire brush, power wash or even use watered down muriatic acid to properly prepare a concrete surface.

You might have better luck using epoxy pool paint to seal the concrete that's formulated for that purpose.

Well, it's time for me to start experimenting with pvc board.
 

JohnL

New Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Nov 5, 2013
Messages
10
Location (City and/or State)
San Francisco, CA
Is the spray-on flex seal also non-toxic? Considering using it to seal the bottom of a zoomed tortoise house for hatchlings. Figured I could get a cleaner, more even job with the spray-on type.
 

ZEROPILOT

REDFOOT WRANGLER
Moderator
Tortoise Club
5 Year Member
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jul 16, 2014
Messages
28,938
Location (City and/or State)
South Eastern Florida (U.S.A.)/Rock Hill S.C.
Is the spray-on flex seal also non-toxic? Considering using it to seal the bottom of a zoomed tortoise house for hatchlings. Figured I could get a cleaner, more even job with the spray-on type.
I don't know how well or how thickly the aerosol cans lay it down.
I can't say. But I think it would work. I just don't know how many coats
 

ZEROPILOT

REDFOOT WRANGLER
Moderator
Tortoise Club
5 Year Member
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jul 16, 2014
Messages
28,938
Location (City and/or State)
South Eastern Florida (U.S.A.)/Rock Hill S.C.
OK
It's a FAIL.
That crap is coming off in big sections. Harder/stiffer than it should be and the area is growing.
Anywhere a tortoise has climbed out of a pool, the flex seal has sloughed off like very thick skin and now I've seen one tortoise attempting to eat a floating chunk.
This is not holding up to both staying submerged under water or the wear and tear of the tortoises.
The fiberglass I previously used lasted a couple years.
This lasted a couple of weeks.
Testing is done.
And it's a fail!
 

steven nix

New Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Oct 9, 2015
Messages
11
Location (City and/or State)
GA
Why not just line the box with thick plastic or pond liner?
 

New Posts

Top