Custom Vivarium Build Log

[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!

[MikeM670]

Jason,

That fan setup looks really good. I don't think you need to worry about the size of that fan, as it really is not a distraction. As for the circulation I imagine what you have is just fine for that tank size. You don't want too strong a breeze in the tank but one just strong enough to get some air movement so things are not stagnate.

[DonLisk]

I've seen wood in tanks for almost 20 years that have not been replaced and still going strong. I always wondered why it didn't just rot away.

I'm sure some wood will have to be replaced over time due to rot and I guess thats when you just have to do some maintenance and change the look.

[VicSkimmr]

Some kinds of wood holds up to humidity better than others. I used Malaysian driftwood, which is supposed to be pretty resistant. They use it submerged for freshwater aquariums so it should do ok

[itzjezze]

So I have a question since im still learning about darts... is circulation required?...

[VicSkimmr]

Definitely not, this is the first time I've tried it. It most definitely helps the plants and it probably has some benefits for the frogs too, but it definitely isn't required.

[smashtoad]

This tank is sweet, but going to all this trouble to make such a great display enclosure and then using a tree fern background is like re-building a Hemi Cuda and buying the new rims at Walmart. Your landscaping eye is awesome...really beautiful. I just can't get past the background...too flat and uniform. Doesn't do justice to your obvious ability and eye for natural form.

[VicSkimmr]

In sticking with the "euro" theme I thought it was appropriate. Clay backgrounds look great but I'm not convinced that they'll stay in place long term (or rather, that I could build one that would stay in place). Since this tank is meant for testing all of the features I'll be using in the big tank I wanted to go with something simple for the background.

All of my favorite European tanks use either tree fern panels or an equivalent, and they look awesome when grown in, so I'm not too worried about it