Check out my new terrarium

[jtay]

I wish! I shall be emptying out the storage unit this weekend. Got exams soon too, so might do it after exams are over. Until then I shall be buying bits and pieces for it and do some research.
Who knows, my passion may overtake my other priorities....

I will have a look for mango wood - have not seen it before but it sounds cool.

[Ebony]

Oh..Yes, you need time to plan and buy for your awesome terrarium so stick to your priorities. Be strong. Go hard with your exams. Then reward your self with your passion .

[Tropicok]

The best prizes come after waiting. Great tank. Are you going to have a moat so the froggies can swim round and round a central piece of wood. The finished product will be beautiful, I'm sure.

[CrazyAirborne]

the moat idea sounds awesome! What a cool tank! Lots of room to make it really freakin sweet!! great find!

[Paul Rust]

Great enclosure Jess. How about an album with lots of pics of the build, I would love to see this in progress. Good luck on the exams.

[jtay]

Thanks Paul.

The moat idea is cool but being my first planted tank, and mainly due to the size and weight, I think I will opt for a large deep water dish that I can fit through the door at the bottom - so I can change the water easily.

My thoughts so far:

Bottom layer of pumice and stone for drainage (don't want it to be too heavy), covered by mesh. On top a mixture of soil and coco fiber to plant ferns in.
The plants will mainly be ferns and mosses (ground cover and understory), and a big tall central plant - maybe a palm or a ponga (tree fern)? Not sure yet...
Large flat stones in the bottom next to the pool, a waterfall to one side.
I'm thinking of covering the 3 back panels with a foam background for climbing - tree root or bark style.
Large twisted wood branches to make use of the height, magnaturals rock (or mushroom) ledges and some magnaturals jungle vine clusters in conjunction with exo terra vines.

I want it to look like a fern forest

[jtay]

It is an octagon, so by covering the 3 back panels I wont be obstructing the light or view - still will have 5 panels to look through.