55 gallon Vivarium project

[Eric and Stitch]

So my imagination ran away with me last night and I want to make a Grand father clock Vivarium. It will consist of a base/storage cabinet that the 20" W x 13" D x 48" T tank will sit on. on top will be a clock cabinet housing my Hygrotherm humidity and temp controller, humidifier, light source and a real clock.

I want to make this a convertible; land with small pond and false bottom and water fall down the back wall to a pond, the conversion is a majority of the land mass is removed and the waterfall output gets connected to a rain tube making this a Rain chamber with a flooded river bottom.

What I'm looking for is advice on a few things. I almost forgot, this will house Red Eyed Tree Frogs. and if other threads or how-to's exist just point me in the right direction.

How best to control temperature. should I use an aquarium heater in the false bottom to control the water temp? or Cord heaters in the back wall or substrate?

how do I construct the back wall with a full length waterfall that will also be growable for moss or vines?

What Broad leaf climbing vines would be good for Red eyes?

What kind of false bottom and substrate construction should I use? keep in mind I want it to be easy flow so that I can have a tank drain to a waterfall pump on the opposite side of the tank from the pond. prevent stagnant water.

after I'm all set up, what is required for continued care and cleaning?

anything else I've missed and need or should consider please advise me as if a complete novice.

I already have 3 Red Eyes in 2 ten gallon "artificial' terrariums, so advice to chose a different starter frog is moot and wasn't listened to by my girlfriend.

Thanks for any advice.
Tyler

[deranged chipmunk]

That's a pretty ambitious build, i like it a 4 foot water feature is going to take a massive pump. You will need a pump with a minimum of a 6 foot head height to get up that 4 feet, a pump for a pond fountain will work, but you will have a lot of pressure behind it, so expect to add in multiple places to adjust your flow.

Ideally, a sketch or plan may be helpful due to there are various construction techniques you can use to build this.

As far as broad, sturdy climbing plants, you can't go wrong with any of the pothos varieties, philodendrons will also work very well.

[Eric and Stitch]

So I started my project.
But first the back story

This thing makes noise at night, every fifteen minutes. although it is pleasant sounding, it also advertises how long my insomnia is lasting causing more stress to fall asleep, and more insomnia.


My trio of these make noise every night too, but it isn't regular to advertise the time, and makes me smile to know I have healthy active frogs.

My dream was planted to build this

(my girlfriend is the artist, not me. she also technically owns the frogs but that doesn't stop my obsession with them)

The key element of this idea is a 48 inch tall Terrarium. They aren't readily available in glass so I would have to build it.

As most of you know, the Petco Tank sale is on for $1 per gallon, up to 55 gallons, I wish the 75 gallon was involved because the dimensions of the 75 would have made this much easier. the sale lasts until January 19 according to my local store manager.
So I was able to acquire my Base tank.
Attachment 45264
Dog didn't come with the tank. boy would that be a sale.

With as much modifying I was planning on doing I looked at the cost of buying the glass and building from scratch, it would have been about the same price as buying the 55g aquarium at regular price.

So I started voiding the warranty on the tank by removing the plastic frames. Using a putty knife to cut the silicone and a utility knife to cut the plastic(easier to cut than I was expecting) I removed the black frame. once I did this I realized that the frame is for assembly and ascetics only, they don't do much structurally. Well they may be needed if you actually use them as aquariums.

Once the frame is removed, these things are still really tough and hold together really well. I was worried about the glass breaking from the forces required to tear the silicone.
But in two steps you can remove any panel.

Step one
Attachment 45265
Remove the silicone that fills the corner by scraping the glass with a putty knife or painter's window scraping blade that is held flat to the glass.

Step two
Attachment 45266
use an extremely thin piece of steel to cut the silicone between the two pieces of glass. I tried a Razor blade, but that is .022 inches thick. too thick for this. Luckily I work in a shop and had a feeler gauge with various thicknesses of steel. I found I would have to start the cut with a .003 inch feeler which is as stiff as paper so I had to kind of saw it in. Then I was able to switch to a .007 Feeler that was strong enough to hold on both sides and just push through.

once you have done that on all sides, you should have your glass free.

I had to remove the front and sides of the aquarium. the Front needed to be cut to allow for the creation of a door and lower front screen vent.


I only removed one end of the aquarium at a time so the the back was supported, as I wasn't planning on cutting the seam, and I only removed the end that was to become the bottom because I wanted to drill a hole in the bottom for a sump tank. Housing the pump, water heater, and filter. More work now, but it means I wont need to fish hoses or power lines down the back of my tank if a pump or anything else fails.

Once I have my glass panels removed I took them to a glass shop to be cut, drilled, and edges ground.

Now started reassembly.

It was so convenient that Petco sells this too, it is wicked strong and only takes one entire tube to reassemble my tank.

I placed the bottom by applying the silicone to the edges of the glass then putting it in place, I tried using clamps to hold things together but it wouldn't stay straight an I just ended up taping it with two inch 3M masking tape.


This silicone will set up fairly fast and scrapes off with a razor blade fairly easily.


All glass siliconed together, I did have to buy another piece of glass the same size as the aquarium's bottom to form my terrarium's right side.

I could have left the thing alone and added a door to the side of the terrarium, but cleaning my 10 gallon vertical conversion is deep enough, I wanted easy access. Which means my girl friend wanted the easy access and I enjoy home cooked meals.

here you can see the Drain hole I had drilled in the bottom. the glass shop also ground out a little of the front bottom glass after they cut it to make room for the hinges I decided to use for the door. I failed to mention my plans for a screen at the bottom. It pays to be very specific if you ask someone to work on your project. I'll end up filling the gap with silicone and covering it with something on the finished product.


Here is the finished 55 gallon vertical conversion minus door (getting re-cut to accommodate the screen vent)

There are some little things to do yet such as the latch or magnet for the door and building a screen top, but structurally the conversion is done.

I think I'll let it alone for a few days to set up and cure while I build a base cabinet for this to sit on.

But here is a preview of what the inside may become.

I was planning on only one "tree" in the middle with a waterfall that falls part way to a wall mounted pool then drains through in wall tubing to a pool on the other side of the tree, then overfills and waterfalls the rest of the way to a little creek.

but the lady's plan is simpler one waterfall, two trees. zero tubing or wires inside the terrarium.

Any comments suggestions or questions are welcomed. once I finish this I plan to write up my complete how-to which was started here
http://www.frogforum.net/vivarium-te...nce-guide.html

Yay

[deranged chipmunk]

Looks good so far. Since i'm a hardcore aquarium guy, i'm curious to see the sump setup.

[IrishRonin]

I really like this build, I love turning regulatie house holding items into terrariums. In the past over done a China cabnet, and a few coffee tables. I also have an old console tv in my garage that's in the works. Keep us updated can't wait to see more.

[arielgasca420]

I am excited to see how this turns out and learn a few things from this progressive build.
I did want to add that maybe it would be cool to have pothos coming from the top of the enclosure to hang down on one side and a Sansevieria trifasciata on the bottom to grow up on the other side? just a thought since sansevieria get aa good height for an enclosure.

[Heatheranne]

This is so pretty! And I love the glass beads in it. Very nice touch. I'll be interested to see how the waterproofing holds. Looking great!

[deranged chipmunk]

that is one of the coolest custom build i have seen. nice job!! i was kind of wondering though, are you worried about weight on the bottom? i mean, in most aquatic tanks, the bottom is tempered, but you are using a side panel from the 55 as the bottom, right? and it's drilled? that's a lot of stress on weakened glass.

[Eric and Stitch]

that is one of the coolest custom build i have seen. nice job!! i was kind of wondering though, are you worried about weight on the bottom? i mean, in most aquatic tanks, the bottom is tempered, but you are using a side panel from the 55 as the bottom, right? and it's drilled? that's a lot of stress on weakened glass.

You are right that it is a side panel and drilled. But it is 1/4 inch (strong) and I'm only putting <5 gallons in it. How much weight do the sides on 10 gallon tanks take and how thick are they? But I may putt a sheet of something under it if I'm too scared.

[deranged chipmunk]

Very true, but 1/4" is the thinnest they use. I have an old school 55 that has 3/8" glass. That would have been perfect. Keep in mind, that a side panel resists outward force, but the bottom pane has the weight of everything above it on it. That includes the false bottom and everything on top of it. It should be plenty strong. I wasn't second guessing you or trying to scare you, it was just something that caught my eye and i was curious about.

[Eric and Stitch]

Not much has changed visually, I will be putting the last coating of titebond on today and assembling the whole thing tonight.

My questions. Now are in relation to how to light this tall structure? 18 inch bulb limit. (2 or3 bulbs) what bulbs? I was planning on ex-terra 2.0 and a 5.0. How much heat? I was planning on using one or two of those ceramic coil lights for overhead infrared heating hooked to a thermostat.

Anybody have an opinion on the ex-terra light cycle unit? Is it worth it or do the frogs do fine with out the dusk/dawn it offers? My understanding of tube lights is that there is no 'dim' just 'not quite full power'
Any opinions will be awesome.

[Heatheranne]

I love it! It's beautiful!

[Adam R]

amazing works, looks great!

[tinkgirl77]

Wow, it's gorgeous.

.:* Lisa *:.
laissez le bon temps roulet! :-)

[AquaticJess]

Such a beautiful display!!

[jpownall]

That is GORGEOUS! I absolutely love it! And from an environmentalists perspective, a great example of "upcycling"!

[Heatheranne]

I would love it, but you're too far for me to travel.

[Eric and Stitch]

I have family in PA that I might be visiting this fall....... And I might haul it to NARBC in Chicago in two weeks if anyone wants to meet there.

[Eric and Stitch]

I would love it, but you're too far for me to travel.

I may find myself traveling to PA this winter, I also have lots of experience packing things safely and shipping freight.

http://www.frogforum.net/sale-trade/...ing-going.html

[Heatheranne]

Well, if you don't sell it by fall and you're close to Erie, I'd like it depending in the $ .