# New 40g breeder



## MELLOWROO421 (Feb 21, 2007)

This is 1 of the 40g breeder tanks I have been working on. It will be home to a trio of Citronella tincs, which a friend is housing for me at the moment. I still have a little more landscaping and planting to do once my plant order arrives mid next week. The stream was made out of a big block of styrofoam. I used silicone, sand and rocks for the inside so water wouldn't wick and coco fiber, peat moss, coco chips and charcoal as a substrate and for the top of the stream. It is powered by a little 15 dollar pump from the local pet store housed inside a deli cup with lots of really little holes and screen to act as a filter. So far it is running really well, but I didn't make the pump to easily accessible which I'm sure I may regret. Either way, it looks pretty cool IMO.


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## topherlove (Jul 14, 2006)

that stream is absolutely wonderful, not to mention the landscaping i really like the elevations. Very nice


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

pretty sweet!


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## carola1155 (Sep 10, 2007)

very nice job with the wood around the pond... I like it


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## SusannahJoy (Jul 3, 2006)

Very nice, I agree with carola, the wood around the pond looks awesome!


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## housevibe7 (Sep 24, 2006)

third that... the wood is awesome. I also like the elevation variations as well


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## MELLOWROO421 (Feb 21, 2007)

Thanks everybody. I should be getting my last order of plants in tomorrow along with some of the tropical moss from BJ, which I hear does really well so I decided to give it a try. I also have lots of leaf litter ready as well. I should have some new pics to post by this weekend.


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## MELLOWROO421 (Feb 21, 2007)

Time for an update!
































And the new home owners


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## dopederson (Mar 26, 2006)

Well done One of the better background free tanks I have seen in a while. Once the plants grow in and break up the line of the stream that tank is going to be even better. VERY NICE.


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## MELLOWROO421 (Feb 21, 2007)

dopederson said:


> Well done One of the better background free tanks I have seen in a while. Once the plants grow in and break up the line of the stream that tank is going to be even better. VERY NICE.


Thanks. I am hoping that moss does as well as everybody tells me it does and breaks up the outline of the stream. A few months will tell. I put all the rabbits foot ferns in tree fern pots, which the rhizomes are growing on really good and at the same time the roots don't get soaked. I also have an alocasia "Elaine" that will grow in the empty space between the coco hut on the left and the large rabbits foot fern in the middle. There are also a few begonias and jewel orchids, as well as baby's tears, cryptanthus', mother fern, caterpillar fern, a little creeping fig, Philodendron "Wend Imbe", alocasia cuprea, ruellia makoyana, selaginella and an anubias. I decided not to do a background on this one, which has left a lot of open floor space. The frogs are all over that thing. I really like the bright yellow of the frogs contrast to the green of the tank. It's always easy to find one


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## vivariman (Sep 26, 2007)

Its gonna be kind of risky putting in an alacosia like that. If it's not black velvet, it's going to get huge. I went over to asia and there were alocosias the size of trees. Of course you probably didn'y want to hear it, or you already knew it, so I'm going to stop being a heckler now. :mrgreen:


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## MELLOWROO421 (Feb 21, 2007)

I think the Elaine is a relatively small alocasia. I have a cuprea that has been growing for about a year now and it is very manageable for a viv. I will have to double check my resources, or maybe someone else with experience with these two can chime in.


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## Conman3880 (Jul 8, 2007)

:mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: Congradulations. :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: 


You have just built my favorite vivarium ever. *bookmarks*


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## MELLOWROO421 (Feb 21, 2007)

Conman3880 said:


> :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: Congradulations. :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:
> 
> 
> You have just built my favorite vivarium ever. *bookmarks*


Thanks man  It's my favorite too! :wink:


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## pet-teez (Oct 3, 2007)

I love this tank 

One Q, why don't the newer pics pop open?

ok, another Q, Ever used a petite Anubias in your water areas?


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## MELLOWROO421 (Feb 21, 2007)

The new pics don't pop open cuz I resized them too small. I was previewing the post and all the pics were cut off so I made them smaller. Then I found out that it gets automatically adjusted once they are posted. I tried to go back and fix them but they removed the edit function unless it gets done within an hour of the post. I will take some new pics and put them up in the next few days. The small size pictures don't do the viv justice.
As for the petite anubias, no I have never tried one, but if you got an extra to spare I would be happy to plant it in there :wink:


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## pet-teez (Oct 3, 2007)

Ah, well now I know the secret to the small images 
(sounds like a terribly named Nancy Drew book!)

I do happen to have some petite anubias hanging around actually,
You can see two little ones in the back/left of this under the cork bark:








They have only been there a couple days but so far they are doing well. Very shallow water and the little tank has plastic wrap to keep all the moisture in.
aaaand in the front middle of my new tank I have all my "extra" petites tethered to a plant basket for now:








I'm saving some for a friend (and in return I get some of her yellow shrimp) and I'll probably be using some more but probably half of that is sell/trade-able 

Send me a pm if you want, and sorry for the momentary hijacking with the pictures!



MELLOWROO421 said:


> The new pics don't pop open cuz I resized them too small. I was previewing the post and all the pics were cut off so I made them smaller. Then I found out that it gets automatically adjusted once they are posted. I tried to go back and fix them but they removed the edit function unless it gets done within an hour of the post. I will take some new pics and put them up in the next few days. The small size pictures don't do the viv justice.
> As for the petite anubias, no I have never tried one, but if you got an extra to spare I would be happy to plant it in there :wink:


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## Mywebbedtoes (Jul 2, 2007)

Very cool tank design man! I love the frogs. I want some of those! If I ever get another Tinc I think it shall be them.


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## MELLOWROO421 (Feb 21, 2007)

They are very bold, large frogs. You would love them. They are always out and easy to show off! Thanks for the compliments on the tank. I am happy without the background, and I have 1 more 40g breeder that I was originally gonna set up for a pair of pums, but I think I will do it a lot like this one for a group of terribilis'. Haven't decided for sure yet. Decisions decisions... :roll:


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## Mywebbedtoes (Jul 2, 2007)

Both sound like great choices. Would it be a vert if it was for Pums?


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## MELLOWROO421 (Feb 21, 2007)

Yeah, I was gonna do a vert for the pums and go with the whole mortar and quickcrete background. My biggest problem is that I am running out of space! That and I couldn't figure out how to light the plants on the bottom without it looking ghetto or building a cabinet with vertical lighting. Besides, I have wanted terribilis' since I first started with darts and the more I see the yellows and oranges, the more I have to have some!


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## Mywebbedtoes (Jul 2, 2007)

Then it sounds like you have decided! I love terribilis. I think a group in a tank like the one for your Cits would look great. But size is an issue with the floor space a 40 takes.


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## MELLOWROO421 (Feb 21, 2007)

Here are some more pics that should be a little larger. I hope they work, I can't seem to re-size pics on photobucket anymore.


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## topherlove (Jul 14, 2006)

all the ferns really make the tank nice job what kind of ferns are they? Anyone who can pull off a no background tank gotta give ups 2.


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## MELLOWROO421 (Feb 21, 2007)

Thanks! They are rabbit's foot ferns in the back right and I think a maidenhair fern on the left. I also used a few caterpillar and mother ferns. I am beginning to grow quite fond of ferns


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## Conman3880 (Jul 8, 2007)

MELLOWROO421 said:


> I am beginning to grow quite fond of ferns


You mean you're beginning to grow "frond" of ferns?

Come on, when a pun is lingering in front of you, you have to go for it! =P

I absolutely love how the "rabbits feet" hang down like aged roots. This is still my absolute favorite viv ever, it looks like it was set up 20 years ago! Imagine what it'll look like in a few months!


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## Mywebbedtoes (Jul 2, 2007)

It really is a beautiful tank! It is simple yet very lush and inviting.


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## mokeys0 (Nov 27, 2007)

Awesome looking tank.


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## topherlove (Jul 14, 2006)

one question on this tank. How did you make the pump accessable? is the pump under the false bottom?


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## pet-teez (Oct 3, 2007)

Reading is an amazing ability :lol: 
"So far it is running really well, but I didn't make the pump to easily accessible which I'm sure I may regret" - in the original post.



topherlove said:


> one question on this tank. How did you make the pump accessable? is the pump under the false bottom?


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## MELLOWROO421 (Feb 21, 2007)

The pump is down in the drainage layer. It is below the coco hut at the top of the river, so It is pretty much gonna make life miserable if I need to get to it. I already came to the conclusion that if it does go out (or when) I will just have to have a dry riverbed. So far it is still running strong, and the frogs love the lagoon. The moss will eventually overrun the stream anyhow, I will just stop trimming it when the pump dies.


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## pet-teez (Oct 3, 2007)

Ok, it's been awhile, how does the tank look now?


What did you end up doing with the A. petite?


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## MELLOWROO421 (Feb 21, 2007)

The anubias is hanging in the pond growing ever so slowly :wink: As for the rest of the tank, I killed my jewel orchid (I just read KeroKero's post on them, now I know I should not be planting them in the substrate) and the fern on the far right began losing all it's leaves. I realized I had no ventilation so I cut out a vent in the top and the ferns are coming back nice, green and full. The right side looks a little bare right now, but a few more weeks and the fern will be full again. As for the rest of the tank, the moss is doing really well, as are the begonias and the crypt's. The stream is still running perfectly and all 3 cits are livin the good life in there, getting along and even sharing sleeping spots. They are fattening up nice! I'll post pics when I get around to it. I have a couple new projects I have been working on and I'll be posting them soon too.


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## pet-teez (Oct 3, 2007)

psssst, updates? how is this tank doing?

(by the way, I'm bummed, that rabbit's foot fern I got from you died, I killed it recently)


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## Carinya (Apr 26, 2008)

beautiful. how did you get the wood on the edge of the water feature to flow together so well? was it one piece? as others have said, it seems to be difficult to make a no-background tank have this much variation & visual interest. nicely balanced & landscaped.


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