First Viv Build - 36x36x18 Exo Terra for WTF

[deranged chipmunk]

looks great so far! tip for item 3, blow up balloon and stiff them into the pots. after the foam cures, just pop the balloon and remove it.

lights are going to be up to your budget. i prefer t5ho or led. but that's a personal preference. cfl's will work just as well, but will create more heat the other 2.

plants. broms don't need to be planted in pots, just attached to wherever you want them to grow. most broms for vivaria (neoregelia) are epiphytes, they get thier nutrients from the water you supply them, not from their roots. their roots are used to attach themselves to a surface. they are tons of vining plants you can use, from pothos and phildendrons to ivies to the radiphophoras and cissus species.

i normally decide on a base construction long before i build the background, that way i build in maintenance areas, such as a way to drain the excess water from the bottom of the tank, filtration and heating. (on false bottomed tanks, i use aquarium heaters to heat the tank)

another note, on the titebond covering. if you just coat the carved foam with glue and press in the fiber, you are going to be doing that a long time. once it is carved, great stuff becomes like a sponge. thicken it by making a slurry out of glue and fiber and paint it on. your life will be much easier doing it that way. here's a build i did that has a step by step on it http://www.frogforum.net/vivarium-te...aludarium.html hope it helps