96 litres vertical tank build

[Peakone]

Hey guys!

Its time to redesign my tree frog tank.
My old background in this tank looked like this



But the construction was fail. The water from the waterfall was spilling outside the planned area and washed the coco fibers and also filled one of the pots with water and made it unusable. The pots themselves were too big and ate too much space and i couldnt add enough plants, so the time has come 2nd try

The viv is 96 litres european style tank 40cm long/40cm wide/ 60cm high.



Here are some awesomly drawn sketches of what the final result should look like (paint ftw ):


Since egg crate was impossible for me to find it around here in Bulgaria i was forced to use this thing to make my false bottom construction:



Found it in Mr.Bricolage and i believe it is used to squeeze the painting roller and i believe it served the purpose i toke it for:


What you see on the picture will be the main land area, then i attached one mini ramp a bit lower next to it


As you can see there is no cover and that is because ill add my water feature there. The pump will be hidded inside and the top is planned to be removable so i can have easy access to the pump if needed.

Then i began to cut styrofoam for the sides of the tank, because i dont want to use the gearscore directly to the glass, cause it will be pain to clean it if i decide to redesign the tank again



Then I covered the construction with mesh and played with the waterfeature platform.

I toke a piece of plexiglass, heated it with mini torch and curve in the desire form. This will be the waterfall section.


I found a nice rock, added 2 smaller ones to the sides and voila, the "bed" in the beginning of the future mini river is done Behind the rocks i made small construction from fibran and styrofoam - from there the water will flow and for base i used another plane of fiber.


Then i stuck those 3 pieces together and siliconed small rocks and sand to them, thats the result:



The next step was to add the Great Stuff and 48h later it was completely dry and ready to be cutted and carved. At the end this is what i came up with



One close-up shot of the waterfall



Still wondering what technic to use to cover this thing with. Silicone + coco fiber or teracol + coco fiber. Also wondering if i can simply mix the coco fiber with the teracol. This way it would be much easier

[eloyhouse]

very noce and interesting, congratulations and keep posting. by the way which species of tree frogs do you house in this one??

regards

[Peakone]

It was home of 2 leptopelis vermiculatus, but they both died. Now im still wondering what to put in it, thinking of leptopelis vermiculatus again, reed frogs or red eyes.

[Peakone]

I chosed the teracol over silicone, but the result is not what i've expect it to be. At many places the coco-fibers didnt stuck to the teracol, but it might appear as good effect, like rocks showing from the peat.






Any thoughts or suggestions?

[Peakone]

1st waterfall test

[Peakone]

Well, i guess this is pretty much it







Top view






The plants so far are orchid Phalaenopsis mini, Broms Aechmea and Guzmania, spathyphilum, Fittonia and i dont know the name of the one with the big circle type leafs.


The syngonium to the left is a bit big for the size of the tank and i'll wait for it to acclimatise, before i cut some leave to make it grow a bit lower. I will also try to attach the Phalaenopsis orchid to cork bark to the background, because it is in a pot atm which can be used for another brom or something. Ficus pumila oak leaf vig is also about to be added, i got few cuts from a plant and waiting for it to grow some roots before i plant it. Also the fake roots/lianas are undergoing development.


Any suggestions for adding/removing plants or rearanging their positions are welcome.

[DonLisk]

Really nice build Peakone. You should have some very happy frogs living in that viv.

Can't wait to see how everything grows in :-)

[NatureLady]

Nice waterfall!

[Peakone]

Thanks for the kind words. Im still curious what species to keep in there. The tank will be too small for retf i believe and im not rly interested in whites/grays. Thinking of leptopelis vermiculatus again or some kind of reed frogs, but Im really attracted to give a try to dendros already, but not sure if the tank set-up is appropriate for them - auratus for example?

[Peakone]

There were some minor changes in the palu








I moved the orchid, covered the roots with peat and sphagnum and attached it to the background. The time will show is it can live like that
The Aechmeas did not survive as i expected so the guzmania went one step lower to free the lighter pot for Drosera capensis. The lightning is 2x11W energy saver bulbs 2700k and 6000k. Not enough light goes inside the tank tho, but when i make the lid ill add light-reflective foil so all the light goes down to the plants.