Exo terra 24x18x24 Project

[eric048]

So do I silicone the foam to the glass then gs it and silicone the gs? Also I have an h2o pump I want to make into a waterfall because of the humidity and to hel the plants, also would a coral sun or 10,000k flourescent bulb work for the plants?

[Sunshine]

You can apply silicone to the glass to help the GS adhere better. Then silicone the GS once it has dried and put coco fiber or peat moss on the wet silicone to cover it. From what I have learned, 10,000k is equal to the light at dawn. 5,000k - 6,500k is best for plant growth because it is like the midday sun. Someone correct me if I am wrong.

[eric048]

So I'm still confused on the background, do I styrofoam board to the glass, silicone that to the glass, then gs the foam then cover it in silicone is that how I should do it? And how should I encorporate the pump and make it so it's easy acess ? Any ideas ? I'm not very creative I'm a science major so yeah... Also I want to make a little river that flows into the pond how do I do that? Won't the water just soak through before making it to the pond? How do I do this I feel really dumb, I'm probably over thinking this...

[Sunshine]

I think you should read Thad's build log. It has some good info in there. And pics!

[eric048]

I did its awesome but I still don't know how to do the water feature I kind of know how to the background just the water feature

[thadmy]

Water features are tough and most of the time especially the water falls they work for a week or so then stop working and you have to take apart the tank to fix it... My first tank all I did was raise the land up higher than one section of the tank where I left it shallow for a pool....

If I was going to do a water fall, I would place the pump under a false bottom made of egg crate, then run a hose from the bottom of the tank in the corner for a waterfall then GS the side of the tank with the hose and pieces of rock or wood in place so that they will hold them. Then from the hose at the top I would cut into the GS so that there would be a river running down the back side of the GS which would allow the water to go over the wood/ rocks like a stream.

This sounds easy but I'd say for your first build to pass up on the waterfall and stream for the simple fact that the frogs won't really use it much its only eye pleasing...

But it is your undertaking, I would say before you do it to read up on all the blogs you can and then draw up plans and work them through. Old saying would apply "Measure twice, cut once"....
Just what ever you do make SURE you leave an easy access to the pump and waterfall in case something happens

[eric048]

So instead of sticking coco bark or moss to the river part I should use gravel? Is the gs waterproof