55 gallon Vivarium project

[Eric and Stitch]

So I started my project.
But first the back story

This thing makes noise at night, every fifteen minutes. although it is pleasant sounding, it also advertises how long my insomnia is lasting causing more stress to fall asleep, and more insomnia.


My trio of these make noise every night too, but it isn't regular to advertise the time, and makes me smile to know I have healthy active frogs.

My dream was planted to build this

(my girlfriend is the artist, not me. she also technically owns the frogs but that doesn't stop my obsession with them)

The key element of this idea is a 48 inch tall Terrarium. They aren't readily available in glass so I would have to build it.

As most of you know, the Petco Tank sale is on for $1 per gallon, up to 55 gallons, I wish the 75 gallon was involved because the dimensions of the 75 would have made this much easier. the sale lasts until January 19 according to my local store manager.
So I was able to acquire my Base tank.
Attachment 45264
Dog didn't come with the tank. boy would that be a sale.

With as much modifying I was planning on doing I looked at the cost of buying the glass and building from scratch, it would have been about the same price as buying the 55g aquarium at regular price.

So I started voiding the warranty on the tank by removing the plastic frames. Using a putty knife to cut the silicone and a utility knife to cut the plastic(easier to cut than I was expecting) I removed the black frame. once I did this I realized that the frame is for assembly and ascetics only, they don't do much structurally. Well they may be needed if you actually use them as aquariums.

Once the frame is removed, these things are still really tough and hold together really well. I was worried about the glass breaking from the forces required to tear the silicone.
But in two steps you can remove any panel.

Step one
Attachment 45265
Remove the silicone that fills the corner by scraping the glass with a putty knife or painter's window scraping blade that is held flat to the glass.

Step two
Attachment 45266
use an extremely thin piece of steel to cut the silicone between the two pieces of glass. I tried a Razor blade, but that is .022 inches thick. too thick for this. Luckily I work in a shop and had a feeler gauge with various thicknesses of steel. I found I would have to start the cut with a .003 inch feeler which is as stiff as paper so I had to kind of saw it in. Then I was able to switch to a .007 Feeler that was strong enough to hold on both sides and just push through.

once you have done that on all sides, you should have your glass free.

I had to remove the front and sides of the aquarium. the Front needed to be cut to allow for the creation of a door and lower front screen vent.


I only removed one end of the aquarium at a time so the the back was supported, as I wasn't planning on cutting the seam, and I only removed the end that was to become the bottom because I wanted to drill a hole in the bottom for a sump tank. Housing the pump, water heater, and filter. More work now, but it means I wont need to fish hoses or power lines down the back of my tank if a pump or anything else fails.

Once I have my glass panels removed I took them to a glass shop to be cut, drilled, and edges ground.

Now started reassembly.

It was so convenient that Petco sells this too, it is wicked strong and only takes one entire tube to reassemble my tank.

I placed the bottom by applying the silicone to the edges of the glass then putting it in place, I tried using clamps to hold things together but it wouldn't stay straight an I just ended up taping it with two inch 3M masking tape.


This silicone will set up fairly fast and scrapes off with a razor blade fairly easily.


All glass siliconed together, I did have to buy another piece of glass the same size as the aquarium's bottom to form my terrarium's right side.

I could have left the thing alone and added a door to the side of the terrarium, but cleaning my 10 gallon vertical conversion is deep enough, I wanted easy access. Which means my girl friend wanted the easy access and I enjoy home cooked meals.

here you can see the Drain hole I had drilled in the bottom. the glass shop also ground out a little of the front bottom glass after they cut it to make room for the hinges I decided to use for the door. I failed to mention my plans for a screen at the bottom. It pays to be very specific if you ask someone to work on your project. I'll end up filling the gap with silicone and covering it with something on the finished product.


Here is the finished 55 gallon vertical conversion minus door (getting re-cut to accommodate the screen vent)

There are some little things to do yet such as the latch or magnet for the door and building a screen top, but structurally the conversion is done.

I think I'll let it alone for a few days to set up and cure while I build a base cabinet for this to sit on.

But here is a preview of what the inside may become.

I was planning on only one "tree" in the middle with a waterfall that falls part way to a wall mounted pool then drains through in wall tubing to a pool on the other side of the tree, then overfills and waterfalls the rest of the way to a little creek.

but the lady's plan is simpler one waterfall, two trees. zero tubing or wires inside the terrarium.

Any comments suggestions or questions are welcomed. once I finish this I plan to write up my complete how-to which was started here
http://www.frogforum.net/vivarium-te...nce-guide.html

Yay

[deranged chipmunk]

Looks good so far. Since i'm a hardcore aquarium guy, i'm curious to see the sump setup.

[IrishRonin]

I really like this build, I love turning regulatie house holding items into terrariums. In the past over done a China cabnet, and a few coffee tables. I also have an old console tv in my garage that's in the works. Keep us updated can't wait to see more.

[arielgasca420]

I am excited to see how this turns out and learn a few things from this progressive build.
I did want to add that maybe it would be cool to have pothos coming from the top of the enclosure to hang down on one side and a Sansevieria trifasciata on the bottom to grow up on the other side? just a thought since sansevieria get aa good height for an enclosure.

[IrishRonin]

Man looking at my post makes me think I need to have some one look at my auto spelling. It's all over the place!

[Eric and Stitch]

Update. A little behind the project. Last weekend the girlfriend and I both had Saturday and Sunday off so we built the base cabinet that this whole system will sit on. I also put the bottom screen in under the door and fit the door in place. I then removed the door as I have no stop or latch for the door yet. I don't know how well picture uploads work via smart phone so I'll add photos in the next post if it works.

[Eric and Stitch]

So time for an update with pictures as my last 'photo post' didnt work.


This is the location i plan on keeping this big thing, maybe move it to the other wall where the other terrarium in this picture currently. This also shows the base we made about a month ago, the door we ordered for it will be in next week. then stain and finish before mounting. The door will help hide the clutter.



and here it shows the back siliconed and my 'trees' in location but not attached yet. they are constructed of Egg crate tied together with forest tile cork backgrounds attached to the crate.

I plan on having one 3inch pot at the top of each tree(pothos like plants), one in the cork round branch mid tree on the left(something colorful and perky) and one attached to the underside of the egg crate where it attaches to the right tree(Big green leaves), along the back wall between the trees I want vines to climb up. I want to grow something from the ground near the front corner of the tank maybe bamboo, even though that isnt really Central American but something the frogs can climb besides glass. My water feature will flow down the back, right of center onto the "branch" I'm building that will have a small pool/soaking area, then free fall off the corner of that to the bottom where there will be a small stream to the edge of the tank. the back wall will not be as foamed and textured for moss growth as I believed before. we will instead be attaching blue-green glass pebbles to the back wall above the branches, I still want to foam, add a pot, and moss the wall under the branches.

Would that be adequate vegetation? how much would should I have for something this size?

[Eric and Stitch]

One more question I failed to post, What gph is a nice steady stream of water about 2 inches wide just flowing down a wall? I know how to calculate to account for head pressure of four feet, Or should I just have a valved 'y' and dump excess flow behind one of my trees back to the false bottom?