# First Custom Build/Viv 35”x20”x16” (DU warning)



## Mack2 (Mar 9, 2008)

Retaining wall for the pond, and a screen to stop the gravel from getting into the false bottom.









Retaining wall in place.









This is a wall to divid the false bottom and the substraight, I’m not a fan of seeing the false bottom or black silicone so this is my solution.









False bottom prep.









False bottom in place.









False bottom with weed block and substraight to show what I was talking about above.









False bottom view from back.









Stream/waterfall (flat rocks siliconed together and Great stuff for banks).









1/2 done stream/waterfall.









Stream/waterfall done and gravel in the pond.









Thats all for now, waiting for the drift wood and more coco fiber to arrive. I wasn’t going to do a background at first but I think I would like to now, any suggestions on how to do that now. I was thinking of doing it with pink insulation foam with GS on it so I don’t have to take all the substraight and stream out. Any and all recommendations welcome, thanks in advance


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## M_A_B (May 2, 2008)

dude nice tank! i think it looks fine without the background but if you wantta do one go for it. the stream looks great. whats going in it?


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## tkromer (Dec 20, 2007)

Looks very well planned out, I hope it works out well for you. I'd definitely go with a background but you certainly don't have to. What are your plans for it?


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## Mack2 (Mar 9, 2008)

tkromer said:


> Looks very well planned out, I hope it works out well for you. I'd definitely go with a background but you certainly don't have to. What are your plans for it?





M_A_B said:


> dude nice tank! i think it looks fine without the background but if you wantta do one go for it. the stream looks great. whats going in it?


Thanks

I think I'm going to do a background, I'm just going to do a tree fern panel background though. I'm not really sure what I'm going to put in it yet, I do plan to let it grow in for a few months before anything goes into it.


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## thedude (Nov 28, 2007)

looks really good so far! cant wait to see it finished. what if you did a cork bark background? that would look cool also.

i like that idea for hiding the false bottom. really nice.


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## Mack2 (Mar 9, 2008)

Update, water feature up and running, some plants added, and a video of the water feature. Comments/criticisms welcome and appreciated. 



















And the movie http://s35.photobucket.com/albums/d199/mack2_/Tank/?action=view&current=Tank_Movie.flv


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## SLEDDER23 (Mar 17, 2005)

so did you actually build the tank yourself? Looks very good, it will look great once it grows in with some moss on those rocks and whatnot.

2 tips if I could...

for the front wall of your false bottom, you can use egg crate and plastic mesh in place of the glass. Just a thought for your next tank. Maybe you have easy access to glass, but if not, that's easier, cheaper, and lighter.

On the silicone on the sides, you can put masking tape down first, then pull it up right away after application to get a perfect line. 

learned both the hard way...

Follow up with pix as the tank grows in, I can't wait to see it! Nice job.


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## Carinya (Apr 26, 2008)

Looks nice. I like your design as an alternative to black silicone.

Can you tell us more about the plumbing? It looks like you're running an external filter that is hooked up to a reservoir. So the flexible tubing we see goes down below the false bottom, runs to the filter, outputs to the rubbermaid container & then gets pumped to the water feature? 

C


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## dimitri J (Jun 7, 2008)

I'm not a favorit for your tank, but it has great upertunities. First of all you should make a background. Like it's now you don't have the feeling that it's an enviroment of the Amazone or some place ells; but just a tank with water and some plants. I do like the work you spend on it though. Second you should add more plants (broms and fastgrowing species)

For the rest I hope you make this tank beautifull, actually I'm quite sure you will do so.

grtz and succes
dimitri J


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## Mack2 (Mar 9, 2008)

*SLEDDER23*
I thought about doing the false bottom that way but the glass was free and I thought it would be easer that way, but the next one will be done that way. As for the silicone on the sides I just don't like the jet black look. And I did build the tank. Thanks for the input

*Carinya*
I am actually using an external canister filter, it's a ZooMed 501. There is no need for a reservoir with a canister filter. The intake tube goes into the false bottom and the other one goes behind the background and then to the river. 

*dimitri J*
This is a work in progress, but I would agree as it stands. There will be plenty more plants to come. Thanks for your input. 


Now some newer photos, I added a background, some drift wood, and I started the the trim for the tank. I'm having some trouble keeping the water clean, any thoughts? I will start adding plants soon, what would you recommended for the background, I want something that will cover the entire background?


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## dimitri J (Jun 7, 2008)

wow, that background makes your tank look much nicer, my compliments


grtz
dimitri J


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## jdart16 (Jun 5, 2008)

Your water will never really become "clean" do to the release of tanins from the coco fiber coming into contact with the water. This is not harmful in any way to your frogs and is even good for your tadpoles. I think it also adds a more natural looking touch(water in the wild isn't crystal clear :wink: ) regardless that is one of the nicest strem/waterfalls ive seen and is much more natural looking than most.


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

great job! great water feature. did you build the vivarium yourself as well?


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## warr40 (Jun 16, 2008)

WOW i like this tank alot, it look great! do u have any details on the waterfalls i wanna do something similar?


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## FuzzyTB (Apr 3, 2008)

Looks very nice. I just picked up a 40 gallon critter cage. Very similar in size to yours and I'm planning to do something similar. Thanks for sharing.


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## Cobra (Feb 13, 2008)

Good job :wink: I love the water feature.


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