My 40 gallon Vertical Build Progress for my Whites Tree Frog

[BettaShawn]

That sounds REALLY fun. Good luck with it! How are you going to propagate it so that it doesnt....tip over...just cause its so tall, I was curious.

[frogluver]

That sounds REALLY fun. Good luck with it! How are you going to propagate it so that it doesnt....tip over...just cause its so tall, I was curious.

Thanks ! Surprisingly, the terrarium is quite sturdy (even though it stands 36 inches tall); it's not really wobbly. However, I'm probably going to keep it up against a wall for added support .

[frogluver]

Here is a picture of the model I made. It is a model for my planned background. Originally, I was going to use a distributor to do distribute a series of 8 tubes across the background. However, I become increasingly frustrated with trying to adjust the nozzles (which took a LONG time). You see, when 3 of the tubes dripped water the other 5 didn't and when I tried to adjust the nozzles so they could all drip water, the original 3 stopped flowing water while the other 5 did ;P lol!! There was a vacuum that was being created with the tubing that sucked air out of the other tubes, thus preventing them from dripping water.

Anyways, here I have made the model by applying the GS foam to a piece of scrap plexiglass. Once the foam dried/cured, I carved a series of streams out of the foam. Then I sealed the interior of the streams with silicone sealant and covered it with aquarium gravel. I then tested my model....it works great !

[frogluver]

On Thursday, I applied the Great Stuff foam to the background. This was my first time working with GS foam. I applied it on as thinly as I could, because GS expands….a lot lol! I think I did pretty well with applying it. I know I want to make a few adjustments here and there, by added a bit of foam in places or by sanding some parts down. How do you think it looks so far?

Now, I just need to carve the “streams” like I did with my model.

[flybyferns]

Well---- this looks VERY exciting !
I can't wait to see more !
Pics, pics, pics !
Lynn

[frogluver]

Ok I know I've been holding out on you guys with the pics lol, but I've been sooo busy the past couple of weeks! And I really didn't have time to work on my build. However, I have some pictures of what I've done since my last post in this thread: I carved out a series of "streams" in the GS foam, like I described above with my model, and then attached coco fiber soil to the cured Great Stuff with 100% silicone sealant.

I carved out the streams using wood carving tools that my brother lent me (he's into carving figures out of wood—whittling). I started carving where the tube, which will be attached to a pump, came out of the cured GF foam. Once I finished carving, I applied a layer of silicone sealant in the interior of the steams to waterproof it and thus prevent mold growth....mold likes to grow in porous areas and the GS foam is porous when you cut into it. Once that was dry, I coated aquarium gravel with silicone and also attached it to the interior of the streams as well. This will make the set-up look more natural.

The next step I did was cover the cured Great Stuff with the silicone. I applied it on thick with a paint brush (I found that it got annoying to smear the silicone on with a gloved hand, so I used an old paintbrush I found.....it worked perfectly). Once I was satisfied with the silicone application (it took a total of two 3-oz tubes of silicone), I pressed dry coco fiber soil firmly onto the background. Then I left to dry for about a day. Once it dried, I brushed/dusted off all excess soil. There were a few spots in which the soil didn't stick to the background and as a result, my next step is to do touch up work !

[flybyferns]

Hi Autumn,
It looks super! You have made terrific progress.
What have you decided to do w/ the front sliding screen.

As you know I am vertically/ converting this same tank.
The front was a bit of a struggle.
Lynn

[frogluver]

Hi Autumn,
It looks super! You have made terrific progress.
What have you decided to do w/ the front sliding screen.

As you know I am vertically/ converting this same tank.
The front was a bit of a struggle.
Lynn

Thanks Lynn !!
So I'm going to attach a piece of plexi glass to the front of the critter keeper with some aquarium sealant. I plan to do that after I finish up with the coco fiber soil.

Did you have any problems with leaks? I found a spot in the bottom corner of my terrarium that I'll have to seal up with some aquarium sealant to prevent water leakage. I found that spot when I was testing out the water feature.

Thanks again!

[flybyferns]

Thanks Lynn !!
So I'm going to attach a piece of plexi glass to the front of the critter keeper with some aquarium sealant. I plan to do that after I finish up with the coco fiber soil.

Did you have any problems with leaks? I found a spot in the bottom corner of my terrarium that I'll have to seal up with some aquarium sealant to prevent water leakage. I found that spot when I was testing out the water feature.


Thanks again!

Hi Autumn,
I responded to this as a visitor message to you. I do not want to hijacke your build thread !

[frogluver]

Well, it's all done now!I just finished it on Monday and I am very pleased with the results. I posted pics of the finished project in a new thread here: http://www.frogforum.net/vivarium-te...tml#post102464