First viv build log

[jonah]

STEP 1. First i mesured the egg rate for the false bottom and cut to size then cut out two holes one for access to where the pump will be and for the other i made a little box using egg crate and tie raps for the pond area i then cut pvc piping down to size to act as the struts to support the egg crate, i used the polystyrene backing that came with the tank and just trimmed the bottom of it so it sat neatly ontop of the egg crate, for the side wall i used another piece of polystyrene board measured and cut to fit, once i was happy i drilled holes in the pvc struts to allow water to flow through and siloconed them in place.

STEP 2. Next i covered the egg crate in green house netting tierapped down to stop small particles of substrate fall into the water, ive seen some people use stainless steel fine mesh to cover the base but i found the netting a lot easier to work with, then i placed in my pump and fed the tubing up behind the back polystyrene board and through to the font, the power cable for the pump is also hidden behind the back board, i gave the pump a test and it worked fine (should of tested it before i put it in the tank would of been a hell of alot simpler) i then siloconed the back and side walls in place.

STEP 3. Next i got some slate from a local garden centre and broke it up to the shape and size i wanted, then foamed it in place it was a pretty slow process as i wanted to test it after each piece of slate was foamed in so i could work out where the water would run. i also made a waterfall base but im not really happy with it and will probably change it later on in the build.

STEP 4. Next i laid the tank on its back and used expanding foam to stick my two tree branches to the back piece of polystyrene, using a shoe lace and a rock to hold them in place.

STEP 5. Once the branches were fimly in place i used expanding foam to stick in pots to the back and side walls for the plants that will go in later. i dont yet know what im going to use for covering the side and back walls im thinking pete moss i did a test piece with forrest bark but wasnt keen on how it looked.

STEP 6. It was at this point i realized my pond was way too small and that i needed to make it bigger,not an easy task when everything was stuck in, so i had to cut out more of the egg crate to make a bigger hole then rebuild the box that formed the bottom of the pond then re-net it all and tierapp it back together, all inside the tank. then foamed the sides and lip of the pond.

STEP 7. I wasnt happy with the waterfall base so i made this stream that runs from the base of the slate to the pond i think it looks a lot better and will give a much nicer touch to the end result (i hope anyway) its going to be held in place by the substrate piled around it rather than fixing it in place, that way i will still be able to access the pump to change the filter and other maintanance i might have to do.

well this is as far as ive got at the moment but will post back on here when i get a bit further, hope u like so far!

[flybyferns]

It looks great, Jonah