2 new builds I'm doing right now

[IrishRonin]

Okay so for some reason I agreed to do both of these builds at the same time. The first one is for a local pet shop, they had this tank with a killer background, but didn't know how to build a terrarium. The second is for a gentleman who contacted me through the net, again unaware on how to build one. So the 1st one will house a group 5-7 Red-Eyed Leaf Frog and the other is actually only gonna have dwarf African Violets in it, older guy who doesn't want to care for any frogs (I might be able to change his mind . The reason I chose to do both together is they both want the same thing, waterfalls and streams, plus I won't waste any foam as there getting sprayed together. Anyway thought I'd share let me know what you think. PS- I'm trying to find out where they got the tree background, I really like it.

[exasperatus2002]

Looking forward to the details for inspiration

[IrishRonin]

I will keep everyone updated, the bigger one is supposed to be done Monday but it's cold and rainy so curing is taking longer than expected.

[deranged chipmunk]

that background looks killer man. it looks like something vivarium concepts did, but of course, i'm probably wrong. a dwarf african violet tank you say? now that i has my interest piqued. please make sure your client sends pics after it's planted, i would love to see that

i'll be keeping an eye on these builds

[IrishRonin]

Okay so I've made some progress but man with this weather curing is taking forever. Ok so the first 2 are the 20g with simple background complete w/ false floor installed. On the left you can see a small pool mounted to the wall, that's the top of the waterfall and one the right you can see I put in a planting spot. It still needs to be cleaned up but haven't gotten there yet. In the others you can see I've sprayed the foam but it took 2 1/2 days to cure so I haven't added the coconut fiber yet. For this pond I am actually using an old hide I had laying around, flipped it over, attached a drain pipe to it and cut some slits in it so the water can drain back into the water table without soaking the soil. For the top waterfall pools on both these builds I am using a magnetic freed dish, they hold water very well and can be easily place before you spray your foam plus they are easy to carve any alterations (hosing grove ect) into it. Well hopefully today I'll finish the background as well as the streams too, I'll keep you all updated as it happens. Oh and bill it was part of the agreement that he sends me pictures of it all planted so when I get them I'll be sure to share.

[ndame88]

background with the tree looks great, I would think that 5-7 RETF in a 20 gal would not be enough room? I hesitated to put 6 in my 36x24x48

[IrishRonin]

No you misunderstand the one without the tree is a 20g the one with the tree is like yours 24w x 36L x 48H and it's for a pet store so the frogs won't live the entire life in there

[deranged chipmunk]

very cool Ronin. i love the use of the hide as a pool. kind of jealous i never thought of that looking forward to seeing more progress

[IrishRonin]

Bill-To be honest I don't really like these types of hide, it probably has been in my "workshop" for 4-5 years. I was looking for something that would look good as a pond, while looking at water dish I saw it out of the corner of my eye and then the light bulb came on. I need to update this thread as more work has been done but I don't have the pictures so you'll have to wait. The only thing left is to finish the streams and mate the hide to its stream. Maybe I'll get those pictures up tonight after work.

[IrishRonin]

Okay so I know it's been awhile since I've updated so I'll make up for it with a picture heavy update now. Okay so the streams were being more hassle then anything so I used some old skills and did them out of fiberglass. Years ago I did a giant yellow submarine on wheels with a certain little red fish on it for a black mouse with big ears. So to start I got some foam blocks and laid them out the way I wanted them, I then hot glued the pieces together. After that I carved them into their final shape, you have to do them upside down and backwards so when you pop them out there the correct way. Once I had my bucks the way I wanted them I them brushed 8-10 layers of hot wax on them so the glass wouldn't stick. When they were dry I went ahead and fiberglass them. If you've never done it before it's really easy, first you paint your buck with resin then add a piece of fiberglass mat then you repeat until you've got 3-4 layers. When they dried I used my dremel to cut it off the cardboard I did it on, and then I cut the buck out. Then I had to glass them to there pond/ drain tube. Now all that was left was to decorate them, for that I used silicone, hot glued, sand and rocks. So as you can see one is done and the other is about 60 % done. I also finished the background for the large enclosure but I somehow forgot to get pictures, next time I guess. Well let me know what you think.

[deranged chipmunk]

out-freaking-standing!! i know a lot of guys who do glass work for automotive customizing, never thought to apply it to a build. awesome!! but, for some reason, now i got a hankering for weinerschnitzel.

[IrishRonin]

Hey Bill thanks, yeah I'm not sure why I never did it before though doing it on this small of a scale was a little tedious. My next mission is to try my hand at making my own tree like the one in the large tank but with a large root system.

[IrishRonin]

So I finished and installed the lg one in the pet store, they seemed really happy with the way it came out. Unfortunately the sun was just about to go down and left the worst glare on the glass for the pic. I'm going back in a few days to check on it so I'll get better pics but for now here's the one I got

[deranged chipmunk]

very cool! and it looks so much better than a glass tank with some fake pothos in it. btw, i'll take 4 assorted cichlids please.....LOL

[IrishRonin]

Bill I'll bag them up and have them shipped out to you pronto, lol. Well I got a few more pictures, Idono if there any better as the camera on my tablet kinda sucks but here you go. Also I'm shipping the other one out this week, so I should have some pictures soon. Thanks for the comments every one