Aquatic Critter Photo Container To build the aquatic photo containers you will need a the following supplies: - Silicone (the aquarium safe variety is best) - Glass cut to the desired size (mine are 4 inches by 4 inches) - Glass spacers cut to ¼ inch (that's as small as you can cut it) - Solid white Plexiglas the same size as your front glass (if you want a solid colour back) - 2 by 3 inch Plexiglas for the base - Coarse sand paper You can make these with either a clear back or a solid white back. A white back is good for shots where you want the details of the critter whereas the clear background makes for a more natural setting. I get my glass cut at the nearby glass shop but if you want to do it yourself you'll need a glasscutter and lots of spare glass (sometimes it takes practice to get the cut right). Before you start, sand down all the edges of the glass. This ensures that you won't get cut and you won't injure the critters your placing in the container to look at. After sanding, rinse and dry the glass well. Be sure to give it lots of time to dry out as the silicone will not stick if there is any moisture there at all. Once you have everything you need set it out and make sure everything fits correctly. The ¼ inch spacers that go between the glass pieces can be placed one of two ways. The way you put them will determine the size of the space (and therefore the size of animals you will place in it to photograph). If you place them with the thin sides down you will have a space about 1/8 of an inch thick (see example A). This is a good size for small invertebrates such as daphnia or fairy shrimp. If you set the spacer up on end this will give you a ¼ inch space, good for tadpoles and larger insects (see example B). Starting with the bottom spacer place a small steady bead of silicon along the centre of the glass spacer. If you are setting the spacer up on end you will need much less silicon and you will need to go around 3 sides of the spacer piece. Once coated with silicone place the spacer piece (silicon side down) on the back piece and press lightly until the silicon begins to be pushed out between the glass pieces slightly. The sidepieces will need to be silicone only on the one side then placed on the back in the same fashion. Place the sides close to the base separator and press them together so the separators are snug together. Once the separators are places on the back run a small bead of silicon along the top edge of the separators and gently set the front glass on top. Make sure all edges are equal and centred right then gently press it down until the silicone begins to seep out around the edges slightly. Do not put so much silicone on that it seeps out in big blobs as that will get in the way of your photos. (It took me a few tries before I got it right) Let the silicone set for at least a few hours before you try to move it. I usually wait over night before putting on the base. When attaching the base, use plenty of silicone, you can wipe away the extra if you really need to. The silicon does not adhere as well to the Plexiglas as it does to real glass so if making the very thin container you can slightly sand or scratch the area where you will be attaching the container to the base. This helps the silicone grab hold better. So far I have had the base come off one of my very thin containers (which led to the idea of scratching the surface of the base where attaching) but have not had that with any of the thicker ones, but I am quite rough on mine. It takes the silicone 24 hours to 'cure' and become totally stiff so try not to move it much during that time. Once it has cured make sure to rinse it well, and use a small amount of soap on it. This will get rid of the possibly harmful silicone residues left over. You can wash your thicker containers with either a small bottle brush (like the ones used to clean test tubes) or a toothbrush. Your thin containers can be cleaned out with the same small bottle brush or a cotton swab. I am also a member of the Ontario Vernal Pool Assosiation so please check out their website (http://www.ontariovernalpools.org/) for more information on Vernal Pools!!