Custom Vivarium Build Log

[Leefrogs]

it looks great, but I'm still lost on the door. I've been planning a viv, and want glass, how's the magnets work? If I understand right, there's no hinges and the door magnets hold it on? What's the dementions of the door and what do u think the max weight/for door size with this approach?

[VicSkimmr]

That's exactly right, there are no hinges. The aluminum rail on the bottom supports the entire weight of the door with no problem, and the magnets keep it attached at the top. So far I've noticed 2 downsides to this design.

1. fingerprints are inevitable
2. you basically have to remove the door to do work in the tank

I'm thinking about picking up something like this to make it a bit easier to work with, especially with the large tank



I want to say that this door measures 16" x 16" and is made out of 1/4" glass. Basically I wanted to make sure it overlaps the "frame" on the front by 2" on each side and 4" at the top. I'm sorry I forgot to take a picture of it last night.

This video explains it pretty well
YouTube - Magnets for a vivarium door

[VicSkimmr]

So what type of dart frog do you guys think would be best displayed in this tank? I have an affinity for Ranitomeya, but really I would consider any of the thumbnail frogs. I potentially will only be able to have this one tank aside from my display tank so it needs to be a damn nice frog. As such, price is pretty much not a variable in my decision.

If you could only keep one kind of dart frog and are restricted to this size enclosure, what would it be?

[clownonfire]

As it's vertical, I would personally stay with thumbs. On top of the list, maybe a pair of R. vanzolini or R. fulgurita if of course if they were available...

[VicSkimmr]

Is anybody working on bringing fulgurita into the hobby (captive bred)? mmmmmmm

[DonLisk]

Very nice work. I love the modern look and the door design is so clean looking.

Thanks for sharing this.... I'll be putting some of your design ideas into my notes to reference back on for some build :-)

[Kisa]

Wow it turned out great looking, wonderful job! I love how clean and modern it looks. The magnet thing is a cool thing to think about for my 10 gallon conversion I'll be doing within the next few months, thanks for sharing! And that video explained everything I needed to know, thanks for putting that up too, I was a bit perplexed. XD;

[itzjezze]

I have a really important question.....
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...
...
WHY IS YOUR LIVINGROOM BLUE?

[VicSkimmr]

Haha, it looks blue in a lot of pictures but it's actually a pretty neutral gray. The complex answer to why it looks blue is that the lights on the frog tank are a lot bluer than the lights in our kitchen, so the white balance of the picture is messed up to the point where I didn't feel like trying to correct it.

[UncleChester]

Nice work! I especially like the look of the magnets on the door design. I've used a piano hinge and a small bolt thinger for a front door and it takes up some of the front viewing real estate. The magnets and aluminum rail look much cleaner, though maybe at the cost of ease of access. It looks worth it for where you have it on display.

You can speed up your computer fan by running more voltage through it, too much and it might go fizzle though.

[VicSkimmr]

Thanks man

One last shot before frogs (shipping tomorrow yay!) I'm working on the fan system for the big tank too and might try one of it's fans (80mm) out in the little one to see it's effect on humidity.

[itzjezze]

How big is the fan? If its a 80mm then you can just get a fan that has more power, newegg has some fans that are pretty powerfull in the 80mm size, and if its to powerful u can just use a controller on it. Lemme know if you need help picking out a better fan, I do alot of orders from newegg for my business.

[VicSkimmr]

The one that's in there right now is 40mm. The ones I bought for the big tank are 80mm and put out TONS of air.

[JSG]

Jason, beautiful viv and awesome plants. Love it!
How long would the wood last though? Would all that moist and humidity not cause it to slowly but surely rot away?
Also read that once a Bromeliad has flowered that specific plant will never flower again , hope it is not the same for the orchid I saw in your tank as earlier photos showed that in bloom.
Waiting to see the frogs in their viv!

[Grrrit]

Jason, beautiful viv and awesome plants. Love it!
How long would the wood last though? Would all that moist and humidity not cause it to slowly but surely rot away?
Also read that once a Bromeliad has flowered that specific plant will never flower again , hope it is not the same for the orchid I saw in your tank as earlier photos showed that in bloom.
Waiting to see the frogs in their viv!

The broms that flower usually generate pups that grow off of the stolon. Once the pup reaches 1/3-1/2 the size of the mother plant you can break it off and mount or plant it. The broms don't really need soil to thrive. The roots are more for stability as apposed to nutrients.


And vic, way too cool. I'm going to check out that other link you mentioned for the fan. I need some of those!