Custom Vivarium Build Log

[VicSkimmr]

Ok, so a few months ago I decided that I was through with saltwater reef tanks and I wanted to get back into keeping poison frogs. I've been in the planning stages for months trying to figure out the best way to create a large display enclosure, but in the mean time I decided to try out my techniques on a small scale first.

So, I decided to build an 18x18x24 vivarium. This one is actually built out of 3/32" glass, but if I were to do it over again I would build it out of 1/8" glass to make measurements easier. Feel free to ask any questions about the techniques used

Day 1
The bottom, back and both sides are in place. Painters tape was used to hold the pieces in place.

WIP - Day 1 by jasonwithers, on Flickr

Day 2
The "frame" for the front is in place

WIP - Day 2 by jasonwithers, on Flickr

Day 3
I let the tank cure for 24 hours and then water tested it for leaks

WIP - Day 3 by jasonwithers, on Flickr

Day 4
I siliconed the aluminum rail in place to support the door

WIP - Day 4 by jasonwithers, on Flickr

Then the door is test fitted and secured with 4 1/2" x 1/8" rare earth magnets. The magnets are placed so that one is inside the vivarium and one is outside the door, so it is glass on glass in between, essentially fly proofing the door setup

WIP - Day 4 by jasonwithers, on Flickr

Closeup

WIP - Day 4 by jasonwithers, on Flickr

Day 5
I had to wait for a 1/2" diamond hole saw bit to come in to finish the top, so I started on the false bottom construction first.

WIP - Day 5 by jasonwithers, on Flickr

Day 6
Top glass pieces installed and misting nozzles in place

WIP - Day 6 by jasonwithers, on Flickr

Day 6
Installing the mesh screen. I went through 2 versions of this and aren't happy with either. The first isn't fruit fly proof

Ventilation Closeup by jasonwithers, on Flickr

And the second is too difficult to work with, and as such is too messy

Ventilation Screen Installation by jasonwithers, on Flickr

More to come after lunch...

[clownonfire]

Jason, what a great process so far. And nice looking place!

MikeM670 and DonLisk I think you will both enjoy this.

eric

[Kisa]

Wow that is a great viv build. Looks amazing and completely professional. Great work.

Can you explain more fully about the magnets to hold the door? Is this just temporary or do you plan on using magnets long term, and how does it work? This is so interesting. I will probably be modifying a 10 and 30 gallon tank later on and the door seems like the hardest part.

[VicSkimmr]

Thanks!

I'll try to take a better picture of the magnets and how they work tonight. They basically hold the door in place. The magnets aren't so strong that they'll break the glass, but they're strong enough to hold it in place through both pieces of glass and they let go easily if you go to take the door off.

I was originally planning on going through Protean terrariums but I decided that I didn't like a couple of things about the sliding door design. 1: I don't like the plastic border around the doors that are needed to make it frog proof, 2: I don't like that you can only have access to half of the viv at a time, and 3: I don't like that you have to make such a ruckus to open the viv, which disturbs the frogs.

I wanted something that was as seamless as possible. I can't take credit for the design though, Tropical Ecos use magnets for their doors as well, but they don't ship so they weren't an option for me.

[VicSkimmr]

So here it is in its final resting place

Living Room / Kitchen by jasonwithers, on Flickr

Background in place. It's ecoweb, which turns out to be a giant brillo pad

Background in place by jasonwithers, on Flickr

Here's how I plumbed the misting system

Pump and Reservoir by jasonwithers, on Flickr

Which fits nicely into this basket

The reservoir hidden in its basket by jasonwithers, on Flickr

Which then fits into the bookshelf. The light fits on top of all the plumbing up top, but it looks like this underneath

Closeup of the hidden misting set up by jasonwithers, on Flickr

I slightly modified the light fixture (it's an exo terra 18" fixture) so the tubing could run under it

Light modification by jasonwithers, on Flickr

Wood secured

Securing wood by jasonwithers, on Flickr

Substrate in place (ABG Mix)

Substrate Added by jasonwithers, on Flickr

[VicSkimmr]

Annndddddd plants. This is where it currently sits

Initial planting

Initial Planting by jasonwithers, on Flickr


Initial Planting by jasonwithers, on Flickr


Initial Planting by jasonwithers, on Flickr

Water area substrate and plants. This is actually going to be a dry river bed that I'll flood periodically to coincide with the rainy (breeding) season. At least that's the plan

Water Area Planted by jasonwithers, on Flickr


Water Area Planted by jasonwithers, on Flickr


Water area planted by jasonwithers, on Flickr

It has since been covered mostly in leaf litter. I've got ferns coming in soon so I'll update at that point

A couple of closeups of bromeliads

Bromeliad Closeup by jasonwithers, on Flickr


Bromeliad Closeup by jasonwithers, on Flickr

[Grrrit]

wow! im digging that for sure, amazing. what kindof pump do you use for that mist system? and what kind of frog do you plan to keep?

[MikeM670]

Jason,

First off let me say congratulations on building a very clean modern looking vivarium. I like how you were able to take the exo terra light and hid the misting nozzles and tubing under it. Nice touch hiding the water reservoir in the basket. Never would of thought of that.

The thicker glass you recommend would be much better as far as a safety factor. I have found 1/32 to be a bit fragile and could easily crack.

Have you fired up the misting system? Have you had any issues with the front glass fogging? On my 55 gallon I still get some fogging immediately after misting the tank which can last for hours. The top is the only place for ventilation in my case and I built some custom screen covers to handle that. Did you give any thought to putting in a lower level air vent to allow air to flow up the front glass and out the top? If so any thoughts on how you would build this?

Building a vivarium like this really lends itself to custom designs to fit specific locations!

[VicSkimmr]

wow! im digging that for sure, amazing. what kindof pump do you use for that mist system? and what kind of frog do you plan to keep?

Thanks! The misting kit is a 6 year old mistking set up, so the pump is whatever came with his systems back in the day. It's loud as hell.

This tank will initially house a group of R. imitator intermedius so I can keep an eye on them while I set up the big tank. After they've been moved to the big tank I'm not sure, but maybe a pair of R. vanzolinii or a group of R. benedicta.

Jason,

First off let me say congratulations on building a very clean modern looking vivarium. I like how you were able to take the exo terra light and hid the misting nozzles and tubing under it. Nice touch hiding the water reservoir in the basket. Never would of thought of that.

The thicker glass you recommend would be much better as far as a safety factor. I have found 1/32 to be a bit fragile and could easily crack.

Have you fired up the misting system? Have you had any issues with the front glass fogging? On my 55 gallon I still get some fogging immediately after misting the tank which can last for hours. The top is the only place for ventilation in my case and I built some custom screen covers to handle that. Did you give any thought to putting in a lower level air vent to allow air to flow up the front glass and out the top? If so any thoughts on how you would build this?

Building a vivarium like this really lends itself to custom designs to fit specific locations!

The glass is pretty thin, but I'm not overly concerned about it cracking. Barring someone slamming into it or something getting thrown at it I'm confident that it won't crack, and structurally it is very sturdy, even with it being compromised somewhat in the front and top

I don't get any fog on the front after misting, and so far I have it set to mist for 1 minute every day and twice on Saturday and Sunday. It does fog a bit near the soil but that's usually gone in half an hour.

I had considered building a euro vent type setup into it but I ditched the idea since I knew I wouldn't do it in the large tank (paludarium). I felt like the euro vent would take away from the seamless look of the tank. If I hadn't done the dry river bed / water section I probably would have done a euro vent.

[Grrrit]

I thought it was a mistking. I want to get one herr in the next wk or two with spring here now so that all of my frogs can experience spring without the annoying torture on my hands lol I was kind of hoping it was a cheaper alternative lol

[VicSkimmr]

lol, sorry to disappoint. Still, at $99 I think it's well worth the piece of mind, plus they can handle multiple tanks at once

[Grrrit]

no worries, all is well. The manifold for the multiple tanks is where they get ya haha but yes a worthy investment. It should handle my 5 tanks when the others are done and a rain chamber just fine I would hope lol

[VicSkimmr]

I'm actually down to using just 1 nozzle now for misting and all of my plants are getting plenty of water, so don't order too many. With 2 nozzles I had no way of keeping the water off the sides of the viv, and it was really more water than I needed.

[VicSkimmr]

I found a couple of decent plants at Home Depot today

White Rabbits Foot Fern


I have no idea what this is but I decided to take a chance on it


General shots

[lnaminneci]

Jason,

Great job!!

Very nice build and photographs! I love the set up and the way you documented the progress! I can't wait to see it with your darts in their new home!

Well Done!

~Lesley

[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