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Thread: Starting on a 40 gallon long vivarium

  1. #1
    arielgasca420
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    Default Starting on a 40 gallon long vivarium

    Hey everyone! I am in a very good mood because I will be purchasing a 40 gallon long terrarium soon and I want to turn it into a pyxie haven.
    I have seen a lot of really cool designs on here with moss and driftwood. I do not think that moss would work for a pyxie since they like to bury themselves but I do plan on investing in some bormeliad, ferns, etc. So I just wanted to know if anyone had any links on how to get started with this project. I see a lot of large terrariums have clay balls on the bottom with mesh/screen across. If anyone has links on DIY or even pics & tips for inspiration I would gladly appreciate it. thanks for reading

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  3. #2
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    Default Re: Starting on a 40 gallon long vivarium


  4. #3
    arielgasca420
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    Default Re: Starting on a 40 gallon long vivarium

    HAHA he scared you pretty good. thanks for the video

  5. #4

    Default Re: Starting on a 40 gallon long vivarium

    i heard its not good to use moss bc of impact reasons...not 100% on that but im pretty sure im correct...so i would stay away from moss and just use substrate

  6. #5
    arielgasca420
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    Default Re: Starting on a 40 gallon long vivarium

    I never said i was going to use moss

  7. #6

    Default Re: Starting on a 40 gallon long vivarium

    Quote Originally Posted by arielgasca420 View Post
    I never said i was going to use moss
    oops lol i just read the part bout u seeing lots of cool designs with moss and i thought u were thinking bout using that too lol

  8. #7
    arielgasca420
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    Default Re: Starting on a 40 gallon long vivarium

    my goal is to see if I can custom make a background. if I do than the moss will be high up and out of reach for the frog. I would like to do a water fall and pond area but a lot of people say this will get dirty fast and clog a pump since I have a pyxie frog . is there any ways to avoid these issues?

  9. #8

    Default Re: Starting on a 40 gallon long vivarium

    i have seen some guys on here with 50/50 setups and they seem to do fine with them...but if ur pixie is very active and goes from land to water a lot then u might have a issue with pumps being clogged then

  10. #9
    Locascio
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    Default Re: Starting on a 40 gallon long vivarium

    yea ives got a 55gl tank 50\50 land water and ive got a "overkill" pump ment for a 55gl ive got 2 pixies in there 1 male 1 female my male is 600 grams and when he poos it durtys the water fast and hes always in the water dragging coco fiber in with him but if you just rember "you get what you pay for" when it comes to pumps and fliters more is better ...ill add to that i do 25%-50% water changes every week

  11. #10
    Locascio
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    Default Re: Starting on a 40 gallon long vivarium

    check out my pics on my profile to see tank

  12. #11
    arielgasca420
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    Default Re: Starting on a 40 gallon long vivarium

    Thanks Locascio. As much as I would love to have a water fall, I think I will just have to stick with a water bowl and turn my 10 gallon tank into a waterfall vivarium haven for my betta.

  13. #12
    arielgasca420
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    Default Re: Starting on a 40 gallon long vivarium

    So I have been seeing alot of different themed backgrounds. My overall theme will be a cemetery. I would like my background to be covered in ecoearth. I am having a little trouble understand layering
    So I will be starting out with a polystyrene board and using great stuff on that. Do I use pond sealer, black silicone, and then stick the coco fiber to the black silicone? I wont be having a waterfall, but I do need to make this water proof. is fish safe sealer good for waterproofing? does anyone know of any brand to use?

  14. #13
    arielgasca420
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    Default Re: Starting on a 40 gallon long vivarium

    Name:  DSCF6160.JPG
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    Ok froggers,
    I had a hard time finding polystyrene so I decided to use plexiglass. This is 1/8 inch cut cautiously with a table saw. It melted slightly while cutting, but they are minor cosmetic damages covered by great stuff
    This is a picture of my nosy fat cat on the plexiglass before cutting.

  15. #14
    arielgasca420
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    Default Re: Starting on a 40 gallon long vivarium

    This is the finished application of Great Stuff: Gaps and Cracks on plexiglass. This will hopefully expand more
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    Attached Images Attached Images  

  16. #15
    Locascio
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    Default Re: Starting on a 40 gallon long vivarium

    very cool is it done yet??? let us see pics i might do the same

  17. #16
    arielgasca420
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    Default Re: Starting on a 40 gallon long vivarium

    ill put up pictures today. the entire terrarium is about 75 % done.

  18. #17
    arielgasca420
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    Default Re: Starting on a 40 gallon long vivarium

    I apologize that these pictures are not in order.
    Name:  DSCF6182.JPG
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Size:  131.0 KBThis step was with the background attached with blue duct tape since I ran out of silicone. I will be mounting with either silicone or velcro. I am leaning more towards velco
    Name:  DSCF6185.JPG
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Size:  133.1 KBThis is my first made background. There were a few spots of white that showed through so I used VOC free paint to touch up and let it air dry overnight. the silicone said to let it sit for 4 hours but I let it sit for 24. I used no additive topsoil for the background because it was cheaper and sturdier than eco earth
    Name:  DSCF6188.JPG
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Size:  133.0 KBA lot f people use window mesh, but I used a 10 gallon screen lid that I had lying around. I just set it on the river rocks and it works great
    Name:  DSCF6191.JPG
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Size:  129.8 KBName:  DSCF6194.JPG
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Size:  130.2 KB These two pictures are showing the gradual eco earth being poured on the screen and rocks. you can see the layering in the second picture
    Name:  DSCF6195.JPG
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Size:  130.6 KBName:  DSCF6198.JPG
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Size:  129.4 KB The first picture is what the enclosure looks like now, but it is still no where near complete. I still need to mount the background, put more Tillandsia on the DIY background, and I need to paint moss on the background as well
    I will post more pictures once I find moss and make my moss smoothie

  19. #18
    100+ Post Member Bruce's Avatar
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    This is an awesome build, I may try something like this when my guy is big enough

  20. #19
    arielgasca420
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    Default Re: Starting on a 40 gallon long vivarium

    Quote Originally Posted by Bruce View Post
    This is an awesome build, I may try something like this when my guy is big enough
    Thanks Bruce,
    Its not a lavish background, but it beats spending the money on the cork bark or having a plain glass with wires showing through. I plan to put moss on the background to hide all the spots I missed with silicone. the silicone was such a hassle to use on the great stuff. I would suggest doing a double layer and use several sized paint brushes.

  21. #20
    morgan
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    I would recommend very deep Eco earth. I would hate to see him dig his but down to the metal screen...ouch. I use filter cloth as my barrier. I personally don't use this method with my borrowers. Please let me/us know if this ever becomes an issue.

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