120g Vivarium Build (pix)

[deranged chipmunk]

Cool. The only reason I asked was because a friend of mine and I were discussing her build. She is adding a drip wall and we were discussing erosion, which she had not planned for. And plans on combatting erosion so that you are not just left with a siliconed tube?

[jocie1976]

Ooo, I hadn't thought of that... I guess I will have to see how it goes. Unless anyone else can give us ideas on this subject, I will just have to plan to redo the river if necessary.

[Ballroom]

Here is a waterfall I did I am very happy with how it turned out.

[Louis Charles Bruckner]

one question?
Where is the pump and how do you plan on servicing it?

[jocie1976]

The pump is on the far side of the tank and will be hidden behind a tree. The tree will be formed out of half round bark panels and will be hollow all the way to the bottom of the tank. I will be able to reach in and disconnect the hose and lift the pump out when it needs servicing. The pump and flow have been tested and it will have no problem with this. I still need to pick up the bark as the two stores I have been to only sold the smaller sizes. Still looking...

[DigitalPunk]

I still need to pick up the bark as the two stores I have been to only sold the smaller sizes. Still looking...

LLLReptile.com has all sorts of sizes for cork. Just in case you switch your search to the internet.


It is looking very very good. Very impressed so far!

[jocie1976]

These are some update shots of the work done so far.

The cave has been GS'd into place on top of a support I made using a margarine container. It creates a cave under the cave, with no access to the bottom of the top cave. They are self-contained.

This blob of GS has a balloon inside of it to hold its shape. Since this pic, it has been cut in half at an angle towards the back to create both a planter (where it was formed) and a cave/hiding place on the back wall over the water section.

Right and left views of the tank as it sits right now.

Front view of the way the tank sits now.

[jocie1976]

Newest updates. Now I am out of materials and will have to wait another week to get more. I need more silicone, the "tree", and weed blocker to continue.

These shots show the finished planter, the finished cave/hide the cave and planter in place on the back wall, starting to finish around the waterfall area and the full tank progress shot. More pix when I get some more done.

[jocie1976]

Oops. I guess my last update didn't get posted. So this will be a rather longer report.

Managed to find the wood that I wanted for my tree.

Finished off most of my background, just need more silicone to finish the top layer of it.

The wood pieces that will make up the tree will be GS'd together once the holes for the branches have been drilled, and the slits at the bottom to allow for water flow. There will be two branches, one jutting over the water and one jutting over the land toward the ledge. (I'm picturing draping moss and orchids here maybe.)

There is a ton of room behind the tree for us to do anything we might need to. The pump is 7" long and there is plenty more room than that. Since the tree will be too short, we will wall off the top and install one of the fans into it. The wall will keep all future inhabitants out of the back corner permanently, and leave us lots of room to play.

The full tank shot with the tanks underneath is what I am picturing as my Green Corner. I think I need a chair back there so I can stare for hours...

Let me know what you think!

[DigitalPunk]

looks good! Love that you aren't rushing through it and are taking your time to do it right .

You tree is looking pretty awesome. I wanted to share this link with you incase you were looking for different options for wood for your tree. New England Herpetoculture LLC - Wood scroll down and look for the "Cork Bark - Show Grade." It is long and has a huge diameter.

Keep the updates coming!

[Flying Dutchman]

Great build! Love the way you take time to build it.

[jocie1976]

Thanks guys! More pix to come soon... working on the tree...

[jocie1976]

So this is how the tree turned out. I still need to finish the GS showing, but you get the general idea, lol. Also included is the full thank update shot (with weed blocker!) and a shot with a light above it (but probably not the light we will use long term). There is also a tire swing that my teenage nephew thought would be cool (my husband agreed). The rope is made from cross stitch thread covered in silicone and dredged through coco fiber. The tire is from a model kit. And lastly, the first (temporary, lol resident of this viv... my glass PDF! lolol

[jocie1976]

Oh! And then I realized that all of this greenness was behind my back. Literally. Seven of my beautiful tanks were behind my couch. See first pic.
Deciding that wouldn't do, my husband and nephew rearranged my living room for me. I knew I kept them around for a reason, lol!
In the big empty space to the left of the tv (under the window) will be getting a 40g and a 90g (top and bottom) next week.
So when we are finally done I will have my Green Corridor...

[jocie1976]

Just a couple of quick update shots. Been glued to the Olympics, so it has been even slower going, lol. Still need to second coat the thin spots on the background. Go team Canada!

[jocie1976]

For those of you who are interested, check out my video of all my tanks (both complete and in progress):


Tour of my Tanks - YouTube

[jocie1976]

So we finished the water testing and checking the flow on the waterfall. You can see it for yourself in the attached video. We are very happy with it. Time to put the finishing touches on the background, put the dirt in and plant it. This will take time as plants aren't cheap! Building the box for the top will take a little time as my husband wants to have everything going into the box before he starts. So there will be a long time for growing in, lol. Again, no frogs in the immediate future... but maybe some shrimp and killifish in the water next month...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8blK...re=c4-overview

[Mentat]

Progress looks good, congrats . You mentioned tank was 5 feet long and the 120's I know of are 4x2x2 ft. Is it a custom made aquarium and what are the other tank dimensions? Thank you !

[jocie1976]

The tank dimensions are 60" long x 18" wide x 24" high. So I guess it is a 110g, lol.

I have no idea if it was custom made. We got it for free from a friend, for the price of taking it away. It is missing two of its top plastic edges, but we used it as a fish tank for 4 years before deciding to convert it.

Thanks for the compliment!

[jocie1976]

Most recent update shots. We still need to cover the unsightly parts on the sides, cover the fans with screening, add some more plants, and build the top part of the enclosure. For now, the tank is just growing in. But I love it!