vivarium creation thread

[deranged chipmunk]

i have been toying with the idea of writing up a full how to on building vivariums and i have finally decided i am going to sit my lazy butt down long enough to start writing this. i plan to encompass everything from the very beginning, designing the viv, all the way through to planting. what i need from you folks, the members, is some ideas you would want included in this how to. now, i don't claim to know everything, but i will include as much as i possibly can. of course there will be questions as we go along, which i, or hopefully other members will be able to answer. i am going to utilize my rebuild of the member's choice tank for pics when i get to the point where i have the tank now. i will also use pics from my other builds as reference as well.

so hit me with some stuff that you guys were always curious about but never asked or never got answers to and i will try to include them. hopefully, we can make this a sticky so that current and future members will be able to benefit from it. so fire away with suggestions, i am going to start writing the first portion later this evening.

[DigitalPunk]

Bill,

This is a great idea! I can help supply some pictures for the thread if you like. I am still in the design phase on my current build. I am working on cutting supports for the false bottom while the supplies arrive.

[deranged chipmunk]

excellent. when i get to that point, i will definitely hitting you up for pics. i think the design section alone should take me a day or two to write, so you have time

[Strider18]

I will try to help when I hopefully build my tank. No guarantees but I will try

[jarteta97]

Here's some questions I've had:
1. Where do I find the egg cartons used in false bottom making?
2. How is it you and others manage to make such natural water areas that go right up into the main landmass with such a smooth transition and without any litter getting in the water (or at least not dirtying it up)?
3. What are some methods you use to mount plants on backgrounds and woods?
4. What are your favorite plants?
5. How much time do you spend per day/week cleaning and caring for your vivs and frogs?
6. How are you such an awesome viv builder and how do you know SO MUCH?!

I'll probably have more questions later

P.S: Why do you hate bromeliads so much?

[DigitalPunk]

I answered what I could in the quote below

Here's some questions I've had:
1. Where do I find the egg cartons used in false bottom making?

Home Depot or Lowes. Back by the drop ceiling tiles. They are used as light defusers for Florissant lights.


2. How is it you and others manage to make such natural water areas that go right up into the main landmass with such a smooth transition and without any litter getting in the water (or at least not dirtying it up)?

I will use rocks or a piece of wood to create a brim between the land and water. or some moss. Some dirt will eventually make it into the water from frogs tracking it around, but the filter will largely keep the water clean.


3. What are some methods you use to mount plants on backgrounds and woods?

Plant wire (florists use it). You can either use it to tie the plant to the wood or stick it through the wood and around the plants roots. Over time the plants will anchor themselves to the wood and support their own weight.

4. What are your favorite plants?

Ferns and bromeliads


5. How much time do you spend per day/week cleaning and caring for your vivs and frogs?

I spend roughly 5 mins a day per tank. Adding food. I water the plants in the viv every other day or longer depending on if I am simulating a humidity drop in the tank or not.

6. How are you such an awesome viv builder and how do you know SO MUCH?!

I am not an awesome viv builder, but you learn from others and trial and error. Best advice I have is to read and reread build threads. Look at how others have done it and try to duplicate it or do your own twist of it. Start a build thread of your own and ask any and all questions.

I'll probably have more questions later

[deranged chipmunk]

Here's some questions I've had:
1. Where do I find the egg cartons used in false bottom making?
2. How is it you and others manage to make such natural water areas that go right up into the main landmass with such a smooth transition and without any litter getting in the water (or at least not dirtying it up)?
3. What are some methods you use to mount plants on backgrounds and woods?
4. What are your favorite plants?
5. How much time do you spend per day/week cleaning and caring for your vivs and frogs?
6. How are you such an awesome viv builder and how do you know SO MUCH?!

I'll probably have more questions later

some of these i will be including in the article, the other's i will answer now.
1. egg crate can be found in the lighting section of home depot and lowes. it is sold as a light diffuser.
2. transitions are done, for me, during the planning phase. i use inspiration from nature and a lot of math and cleverness to pull off a smooth transition.
3. i'll go more in depth in the thread, but you can mount plants with silicone, paper clips, stainless steel or aluminum floral wire, plastic wire ties, cotton thread, fishing line and good old fashioned super glue
4. my favorite plants, hands down are ferns, with aroids and gesneriads (violets, sinningia, primulina, ect) coming in a close second. my favorite aquatics though, are the cryptocoryne species, or crypts. they are boring, slow growing plants, but i just love em!!
5. roughly 10 minutes/day
6. awesome? hardly....lol i did/do a LOT of research. i built about 10 practice vivs before i ever built one i would actually put an animal in. there was a LOT of trial and error. i mean a LOT of error....lol i tried pretty much every technique for building a background, practice makes perfect. i also kept planted aquatic tanks for almost a decade before i moved onto paludariums and vivariums. but i have had a love of plants since i was a little kid. truth is, my mom was a florist all my life, so her love of plants rubbed off on me because i spent much of my youth in flower shops.

[deranged chipmunk]

oh, i forgot the second part of number 2, how do i keep my transitions clean? who says i do? i use dark substrates so that if anything gets tracked in, it doesn't show as much. but i will say this, when i build a tank, i am trying to make it mimic a natural environment, so i can deal with dirt in the water. you ever see a perfectly clean aquatic environment? nope, didn't think so case in point, here's my 30g "pond tank". dirt on the sand, ridiculous amount of leaf litter, plants are allowed to grow wherever they so please, just like in a real pond. this is actually my aquatic grow out tank. there is nothing living in there, but the plants

[jarteta97]

Thanks for the answers guys! Much appreciated

[LilyPad]

My biggest issue comes in when choosing plants. I just grab anything 'tropical' and try to arrange it. I'm sure, just like doing a garden outside, this skill comes mostly with the knowledge of tropical plants. I cannot even tell you the names of most of my plants, though I have recently been striving to learn. I can look at my tank, know it doesn't look right, but have no idea how to rearrange it to get that really nice flow, instead of overplanted chaos. I have watched videos about foreground/background planting and still can't seem to get it right. My grey tree frog tank has a gardenia (which I'm taking out this weekend, they are too fat and heavy, have destroyed it) pothos, lucky bamboo, african violet and moss. It just doesn't look GOOD right now.

I guess I don't really have a question here that I haven't already answered myself, I will plant my vivs well when I have more knowledge of tropical plants. Just expressing frustration. I just don't know how I haven't gotten the knack for this when my gardens outside are gorgeous and I don't even really have to think about what I put in anymore...I just look at the plant or a bare spot and know.

How do you choose your plants? Do you tend to stick with a specific color scheme or species when planting?

[deranged chipmunk]

I'm actually going to cover plant selection in the first chapter. I should have it posted tonight sometime


Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world ~ Nelson Mandela