Madagascar Mantella Paludarium

[deranged chipmunk]

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls of all ages!! gather 'round, the chipmunk is here to show you the "titebond method". no, it isn't a new form of birth control. remember abstinence is best, that what the bed bully tells me every night!!LOL no, this here is the awesome way to cover up all that nasty looking yellow great stuff. now, i have told you that this is easy, and it is, follow along as i titebond half my tank.

step one, purchase some titebond III wood glue. you can get it at home depot or lowes. it goes for about $6 for a 16 oz bottle. Lowes has it for $26/gallon. i have never seen the gallon jug at H.D. this is what you are buying


and YES it MUST be that exact brand. titebond I and II are NOT waterproof. next, get yourself a container, deli cups work nice and are cheap and disposable


add some glue


add some substrate. in this case, i am going with sphagnum peat moss because i am going for that dark, mysterious look of the dark continent


mix and add more glue if necessary. when you are finished, it should look something like this. like runny, nasty oatmeal


next step, paint it on. i like to use acid (flux) brushes. you can get them in the plumbing section of most hardware store as well as harbor freight tools, if you have one nearby. btw, harbor freight is an awesome place to get nitrile gloves. they have good quality ones and they are less expensive than most other places. i used to get my gloves for tattooing there.

here is the tank after painting on the titebond:



now, i just need to sit back and let it dry for about a week. yes a week. but, here's the kicker. there is no stinky smell from titebond. if you get it on your hands, it is easy to get off and here is the best part, all the bare spots you see, will be covered up by a second coat. yes, you can do this as many times as you like, unlike silicone, which is one and done. oh and another thing, i put nice, moist peat moss in the mix. no need to let it dry out like you need to do with coco fiber and silicone.

hope that explains it well enough. yes, it takes longer, but i truly believe it is worth it in the end.

[NatureLady]

I like your "vines", great idea. I also feel the 6 day stretch but like you I never get 6 off, it's probably for the best all my animals mightily die knowing my luck. Funny enough my mom asked me to help with the cooking for turkey day, I think guys are just better cooks. Keep up the good work and keep us posted

I get off for 6 days but I live 3 minutes from work and will be going back to receive a FedEx shipment tomorrow and to feed all of the animals there at least every other day. I work all summer, no vacations, every major awesome holiday...I am working looking out the big windows at all of the families having a blast on the lake...me just working. It evens out, kinda.

[NatureLady]

like runny, nasty oatmeal

Gross, just gross, but good visual!

i used to get my gloves for tattooing there.

You do tat's and make amazing tanks....hmmmm...lol

[deranged chipmunk]

I don't anymore. A couple decades of wrenching has taken it's toll on my hands. Haven't been able to hold the gun for long for a few years now.

[deranged chipmunk]

i was covering more of the tank tonight and i realized i forgot to mention a couple things about titebond. even though i showed it being done in it's display position, you should have whatever surface you are covering horizontal. then let that dry for a day, turn the tank and so on. then repeat the process as necessary. also, work in small batches. the glue will start to thicken as you work, if it does, just add some more glue to thin it out. i know this is a no-brainer, but i guarantee that if i didn't mention it, someone will eventually ask why i didn't warn about that. and wait until you see the second coat, i have a couple tricks up my sleeve for that

[deranged chipmunk]

Just a written update, for now. Somehow, i found the energy last night to finish covering the back wall of this beast. I know, i said to wait a week between coats, but just like a pet store or my parents, this is a case of do as i say, not as i do.....lol i will post up some pics tonight when i get home from work and after i run a shop vac through the tank before i flip it to do the sides. I'm kind of fast tracking this because i want to get the aquatic section planted next weekend. There are a few plants in my 75 that are going to find themselves in this tank and next week will coincide with a trim on the 75. The less i need to disturb in any tank, the better.

I still need to pick up my aquatic substrate, grab a lid for this tank, build a stand and get bulbs for my light fixture.

[Heatheranne]

Fabulous instructions D.C.! See, now that I have waited to build mine, I'll have all of your awesome tips to make mine perfect .

Looking great! I'll be watching for updates.

[deranged chipmunk]

Tanks Heather!! After all the little tid bits i threw in here, you're tank should be killer!! My next 2 builds are going to cover alternate background techniques, so you may want to wait a few months to start.....lol

[deranged chipmunk]

ok, some quickie pics.....

after one coat of titebond and peat moss. the peat moss clumped nicely to give it a nice, dark background:


after a second coat consisting of titebond and coco fiber, then i sprinkled a mix i previously made on it while the glue was still wet, this is it after drying 1 day:


the left side is now finished, i'll do the right tomorrow and then let it cure for a week. then hopefully, next weekend, we move onto the vines, flood the tank, and test. if all is good, we start planting the aquatic section. i still do not have any terrestrial plants for this tank.....lol

[Pluke]

When you say flood the tank, do you mean you literally fill it to the top? Even after putting all the stuff in it?

[deranged chipmunk]

No. Sorry, i slip in and out of fish tank lingo.....lol no, i just mean that i will fill it to the desired level. That's a big maybe at this point. I may do what's called a dry start on some of the aquatics so that they can root and attach themselves to objects naturally so i don't have to attach them by mechanical means.

[Heatheranne]

I'm liking the titebond method. Pretty neat.

Ah yes, I'll be taking notes .

[deranged chipmunk]

while i'm sitting here waiting for the glue to dry, i figured i would post some pics from underneath the tank, since it is the last time it will be visible for what i hope to be a very long time.

in these pics, you can see where my filter, heater, pump for the rain system and the pump for my water feature are hidden.


the filter is on the left, the heater is obvious, and at the top left is the pump that runs the rain system. once that is removed, everything will come out with a bit of a struggle, but it comes out.

this is the pump for my water feature. this is not accessible. if it breaks down, i do need to remove the whole left side land mass to get to it. but they are very reliable, and i built the tank so that if need be, i actually can remove the terrestrial potions.


and here's what my fogger unit looks like from underneath:



also, today i picked up my lid, my aquatic substrate and my 180 degree spray nozzles for my rain system. i will start covering the vines during the week. i really want to start planting aquatics next week, especially since most of them are going to go through what is called "crypt melt". so i want them to melt and start to re-grow asap!

[deranged chipmunk]

covered the vine i could work with easily


everybody has a 2'x3' bin of dried coco fiber laying around, right??/LOL

here are some miscellaneous vines i made because let's face it, vines don't just grow in 1/4" diameter, right??

[deranged chipmunk]

this is the first time in what seems to be forever (has it only been a week?) that the tank is back in "display" position. all 3 sides are covered and will be allowed to dry for a week before i fill the tank to it's projected level, test the rain system and all other equipment. if all goes well, then we start planting. after a heavy shop vac'ing, this is what i am left with:


the dark spots are moist peat moss, it will fade as it dries.



hope you guys have enjoyed this build. it went really quick. all i need to do now, is build a stand, pick up a couple new bulbs for my light fixture and the above mentioned things and we're done!! i do not believe i will be doing a tutorial on building the stand, sorry, but i'll whip that together in a few hours during the week. besides, it will be nothing fancy, very utilitarian. until next update, Ciao!!

[IrishRonin]

This tank is looking really good, thanks for taking the time to share. So I probably missed it but what did you use to black out the glass under the land portion? The vines came out great, I did the same method to a small hose that stuck out in one of my tanks but never on such a large scale. Oh and I might not have the tub but I always have at least a 5 gallon bucket full of coconut fiber at all times

[FriedrichsFrogs]

never ceasing to amaze

[deranged chipmunk]

This tank is looking really good, thanks for taking the time to share. So I probably missed it but what did you use to black out the glass under the land portion? The vines came out great, I did the same method to a small hose that stuck out in one of my tanks but never on such a large scale. Oh and I might not have the tub but I always have at least a 5 gallon bucket full of coconut fiber at all times

the land was blacked out by weed blocker, on the outside, it will be a waterproofing, seam sealer that i use at work. it's a proprietary
spray used by general motors that i "liberated" when a friend's dealership went belly up. i have been using it on the outside of fish tanks for a few years now. it's kind of like a rubberized undercoating. gives a nice appearance to the exterior where you are covering up stuff. i will spray that this week.

[deranged chipmunk]

never ceasing to amaze

thanks Jay remember though, it's just some foam and plastic. it just goes to show that with some careful thought, planning, a little creativity and a lot of luck of what can be done with basic materials.

[UncleChester]

...step one, purchase some titebond III wood glue. you can get it at home depot or lowes. it goes for about $6 for a 16 oz bottle. Lowes has it for $26/gallon. i have never seen the gallon jug at H.D. this is what you are buying

Boo to you and your American prices! Cheapest I've seen a gallon in Canada is $40, and I'd have to order 3 to get free shipping. I haven't seen it at any of the big chain hardware stores up here. Lee Valley has the 16 oz bottle for $11.50. Boo.

Great build so far, and good job documenting things! I'm sure I'll be referring people to this for a Titebond III How-To (and other things). I've tried it in a small demo tank and I think it's a fantastic way to go.