Silicone odor

[TeenyToad]

Wow, that's actually a pretty great idea!

The only problem is, I've already purchased quite a few plants, and it's the biggest pot that fills up...hm, how would I know which plants (of my own) would be appropriate for a leaking pot?


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[deranged chipmunk]

How would you know? Well, you could ask the plant guy lol. Give me a list and I will tell you if any will survive having wet roots.


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

[TeenyToad]

Sounds great! Thank you!


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[TeenyToad]

Ficus pumila 'Creeping Fig'


Pilea depressa 'Baby Tears'


Alocasia 'Tiny Dancers'


Caladium humboltii 'Mini White'


Nematanthus 'Christmas Holly'


Pilea nummulariifolia 'Creeping Charlie'


Streptocarpella Sp.


Some type of Fern


Pothos


Wandering Jew





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[deranged chipmunk]

Well, the good news is you have nice taste in plants. The bad news is none of those will withstand living in wet soil.

Did you get any plants for the aquatic section at all? Quite a few aquatics would grow there pretty well with boggy soil.


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

[TeenyToad]

Oh, and a bonsai ficus, but it already has it's spot 😉

[TeenyToad]

Haha, thanks! ��


Aw, that's too bad �� I haven't bought my aquatic plants yet, for now I only have a few bulbs.


I'll give the silicone another go, and cross my fingers!


I'm wondering if there's something I can silicone into it that will help better block the leak, perhaps a rock or pebble?

[TeenyToad]

Bill, do you think any of the above plants would do well being planted in the wall of my vivarium? The little pots would require shallow roots that tolerate quite a bit of moisture, and not much drainage. Thoughts?


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[LilyPad]

I know this would suck after all your hard work, but have you considered scrapping the island and redoing it with a false bottom? That way you could plant your awesome plants in the substrate. Your idea was great, but they do not always turn out exactly as we envision them.

[TeenyToad]

Oh man, the thought of that makes my heart drop! Haha sounds funny, but I've put so much time, money, and research into this viv. It's become my baby! I'm going to see how the plants manage in it, and if they don't do well, I'll have no choice but to reconstruct as you suggested. I've been thinking about somehow stabbing a tube through the foam to help the island drain. What do you think?


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[DigitalPunk]

I admire your dedication, but be warned... by the time the plants star failing the soggy soil will be growing bacteria and that rotten egg smell seems to never go all the way away lol.

Is the island flush against the bottom of the tank? How deep is the spray foam at the bottom of the pot in question?

Hmm then you have gravity working against you. If you don't have a drainage layer and put a tube in it to your water feature for drainage you will risk having water flow from the water feature into the pot. Unless your pot is elevated above the water line to begin with I don't see the tube idea working out for you.

I hope you are able to solve this and salvage your baby, but sometimes you can scrap a setup and replicate it with some minor flaws fixed and end up with something you love even more

[TeenyToad]

Ayeayeaye, who knew this would be so complicated?! I feel so discouraged :/
Perhaps, I can post a couple pictures and get some ideas on salvaging this?
Also, I am using hydro balls...not sure if that will make much of a difference.


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[TeenyToad]

Looking at these photos, I'm not sure if they help much.


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[DigitalPunk]

would help to know which spot is causing you the problems when looking at the photos.

If I am seeing this correctly you have it setup for the following.

Back left corner looks like you have a filter/pump that will pump water over the ledge/waterfall and down into the pool on the from left. This will fill up and run along the front of the tank down into the lower pond on the right side. This in turn leads back across the back of the tank to the filter in the back left.... I think I am right, but please let me know or correct me if I am wrong.

What I can't see is the area that is causing you problems.

Don't get discouraged This is all part of the process. We all go through it at one point or another. I had a tank where I had to totally abandon my water feature idea because I couldn't get it right, but I learned from that build and have had some success (and more failures) on tanks since. I don't think this is something that needs to be a tank killer. We can beat this thing!

[TeenyToad]

You are good! Haha, you're exactly right! Well, I was having a minor leak issue, but after plugging it with some silicone and hard plastic I expect, or hope, that the issue is resolved. I'm waiting a couple of days before running another water test.

My issue now is the drainage for the plants. From yours and others advice, I'm beginning to realize that the "pots" have no way to drain, and will therefor cause root rot. I'm using hydro balls, and have also considered mixing some gravel in with the soil. I've also thought about stabbing a tube through to allow the pots to drain, but I'm not sure if that will work.

As you can see, the left side will fill up to the top of them dam and then spill over to the pond area. The pot that is next to the area that fills up probably won't allow me to use the tube option (Since the water level will be so close the the soil level). The right side, on the other hand, may allow me to drain with a tube since the water is lower.

I'm trying to use some critical thinking here, but it's becoming a struggle!




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[DigitalPunk]

That is a really cool setup Tenny. I am exhausted and my brain is slowing down getting ready for bed lol. I hope your repairs fix the leaks. I would setup the water test when you are ready and if no leaks show up initially I would let it run for a few days maybe a week to see if any water appears.

If you could direct the tubes/drains the the back side of the tank where the water level will be low you might be ok. Again without seeing the pots and actually seeing he tank get constructed I am guessing at best. I would hate for you to poke holes and move from one problem to another. If you do go the tube route you will want to slope the bottom of the pots towards the tube to force water to drain that direction or you could potentially end up with some standing water in the bottom of the pot.

You could try to create little mini falls bottoms in each pot. Do 1 inch of Hydroballs or egg crate with some fiberglass screening to separate the soil from the drainage layer. This would allow you to have 1 inch of standing water before it was an issue. You could then take it a small step further and put a 1" PVC pipe down through the soil into the False bottom (Put a small sponge filter for the pipe to sit on in the false bottom to help prevent clogging). You could cap the pipe with a rock and disguise it on the surface. Then you could either syphon excess water out as needed (stick a small air hose down through the tube into the false bottom) or stick some paper towel down the tube and absorb some water routinely.

I do absolutely love the tank though. Very creative!

[deranged chipmunk]

i absolutely LOVE the design!! awesome! i may steal it someday reminds me of the joshua tree pics i have seen from monteray bay, what with that solitary ficus. i think the part that confuses me more so that any other is different water levels? in a closed environment like this, it's almost impossible to do unless you have everything completely sealed. one small leak and water levels will eventually equalize. example: if you have a 6" level on the left and plan on 3" on the right, that 6" section essentially needs to be a sealed mini aquarium. even the slightest little pinhole will cause the water from the high end to enter the low end and equalize it at about 4-5" (obviously a guess, but you get the idea). so i am now wondering if that is the issue you are having? i would love to see the tank empty of everything except the hardscape to see what's going on.

[TeenyToad]

Thanks Bill!!! My boyfriend and I have worked really hard on all of the little details. Using a dremmel helped a lot with that. I wish I would've done a build journal though! So far, the two water levels are working out great. I sealed off the deep side pretty well. I'm doing a water test right now, so here's a couple pictures for you to see. The quality isn't great, but you get the idea.


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[TeenyToad]

Thanks Paul! I'm going to see if I can angle the pots to allow water to drain through a tube, if that doesn't work, I'll give the PVC pipe a go. Thanks so much for coming up with some pretty great ideas!


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[deranged chipmunk]

yay!! context!! that looks awesome!! how long do you plan on letting it run before you move forward??