My first vertical conversion attempt

[deranged chipmunk]

oh, believe me, it was my pleasure. after all, you did the work and i just sat here and looked at pics....lol i think you will like the ficus, it should look cool in that viv. Glass frogs would love that plant

[Sunshine]

I'm glad I could pleasure you! LOL! I love the ficus but I don't think I can put anything in that tank because I got everything in there from the woods and didn't sterilize any of it before I put it in there. I would love some glass frogs though! I wonder if anywhere around here sells those ficus plants...

[Sunshine]

Added some foam for the waterfall. I will have a lot of carving to do.

[FriedrichsFrogs]

its really coming together tho, prety cool so far

[Sunshine]

Thank you! I have been carving while i watch "Walking Dead". I need better carving tools though. This exacto knife thing just isn't doing it.

[FriedrichsFrogs]

lol good show, i havnt caught any of it yet this season hows it goin so far? my brothr watches it religiously he told me theyr living in a prison this time. Did u carve those walls out of styrofoam by hand?

[Sunshine]

This season is good so far, but I love anything with zombies in it
The rock wall I made from 1/4" polystyrene styrofoam. I had two large sheets so I used one sheet to make two 'base' pieces and then tore pieces off to make rocks and siliconed them to the base piece to form a rock wall. Then I painted the walls with 4 coats of unsanded tile grout, 3 coats of gray acrylic paint, and 4 coats of Krylon sealer.

[deranged chipmunk]

You're not done yet? Lol looks great so far believe it or not, i did all my carving with a steak knife, exacto and a scalpel. Oh, and you can always silicone/ cocofiber that bare spot directly onto the glass.

[FriedrichsFrogs]

Oh ok that sounds easier, i thought u carved it all out of 1 piece, and 11 coats total?? I hope that stuff doesnt come off easy casue thats a lot of waiting you had to do

[Sunshine]

You're not done yet? Lol looks great so far believe it or not, i did all my carving with a steak knife, exacto and a scalpel. Oh, and you can always silicone/ cocofiber that bare spot directly onto the glass.

I know, it's taking forever. I am hoping to try out the waterfall tomorrow to see how the water will flow. And all the bare spots will be covered with silicone and coco fiber

[Sunshine]

Oh ok that sounds easier, i thought u carved it all out of 1 piece, and 11 coats total?? I hope that stuff doesnt come off easy casue thats a lot of waiting you had to do

No I'm not very good at carving lol. And yes it was a pain in the @ss!

[deranged chipmunk]

Whatcha plannin on covering the waterfall in?

[Sunshine]

I was thinking about painting it with gray acrylic paint like the rock walls and sealing it with silicone. Do you think that will be ok?

[deranged chipmunk]

Silicone will work just fine. It will dry hazy though. Get thee to the home depot paint section and get either some marine epoxy or 2 part epoxy. It will dry clear and rock hard. Just mix it up and paint it on.

[Sunshine]

Would that titebond3 stuff be good to use? Or would it dry hazy too?

[deranged chipmunk]

That will probably work. Dries yellow though.

[Sunshine]

Epoxy it is then Thank you!

[Sunshine]

Attachment 41151 Carving is done! Now I need to paint the waterfall and cover the walls with silicone and coco fiber/peat moss. Still a little ways to go

[deranged chipmunk]

Looks awesome!! Me likey!! You're doing so wel, i'm gonna send you a 29 bowfront to build for my white's......lol

[Sunshine]

A few pic updates Sorry the quality sucks. I know it looks like **** now but I think it will look good when I'm done.