# Vertical Ten Gallon (pics)



## Lokirathehunter (Oct 16, 2015)

Beginning stages of my newest project.









False bottom assembled with zip ties and the first layer of regular fiberglass window screen.









Extra layers of screen cut to help prevent my substrate from coming through.









Front view (the door will be on the left side)









The bottom glass is siliconed in place and cured, I don't have a hinge for the next few steps, so this will be it for a little while. You can see my door and the top piece leaning in the tank. The false bottom is about 2.5 or 3" tall. The background will be a buttress, I think. I don't plan to buy any real wood for this one (Suriname is my end goal for looks)


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## FoliaFatalis (Nov 11, 2016)

Looking forward to an update! I am starting a 10gal build tonight (my first viv).

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## Lokirathehunter (Oct 16, 2015)

It's my birthday today, so I got a nice order from josh's frogs, and a trip to my local hardware store. Updates coming soon


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## Lokirathehunter (Oct 16, 2015)

My shipment hasn't come yet so here's some supplies I picked up


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## dentex (Apr 22, 2016)

Hello!
I'm quite interested in what you mean by "buttress" background and "Suriname" look.

Looking at the fall-back supplies you picked up, are you planning some fake roots/lianes?

Thanks.

(and happy birthday  )


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## Lokirathehunter (Oct 16, 2015)

dentex said:


> Hello!
> I'm quite interested in what you mean by "buttress" background and "Suriname" look.
> 
> Looking at the fall-back supplies you picked up, are you planning some fake roots/lianes?
> ...


Buttress and Suriname meaning the root structure at the base of the trees in Suriname in South America. Where you find dendrobates tinctorius "green sipaliwini"

I am making fake vines to attach in the tank, trying a few different methods. The fake roots, i just bought an aquarium decoration that resembled the look I'm going for. I can easily customize the look with my fake vines, i have more than enough. 

Thank you for the happy birthday!


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## Lokirathehunter (Oct 16, 2015)

Next step is cutting the slot for the fan, making my vines and covering the background.


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## Lokirathehunter (Oct 16, 2015)

Background might get started tonight, or tomorrow.


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## Khammy87 (Oct 2, 2010)

How did you decide to make your vines? What methods did you try?


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## Lokirathehunter (Oct 16, 2015)

Background and vines are done. Door, latch and vent tomorrow. I always use some sort of rope, silicone, and coco fiber for fake vines. They always look pretty neat. Bailing twine works great if you unravel some of it. Pipe cleaners twisted together work great too. Just make sure they are completely coated in silicone so the metal never gets exposed.


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## Phantastic (Jun 7, 2016)

Ooooh I've been eyeing that exact same aquarium decor and pondering making a gecko tank with it. Now I'm even more tempted than before.


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## Railrider1920 (Nov 12, 2016)

Lokirathehunter said:


> i just bought an aquarium decoration that resembled the look I'm going for. I can easily customize the look with my fake vines, i have more than enough.


The build looks good. 

That fake root system is really cool looking. Would you tell me what brand name it is and where you got it from?

Thanks,
Rob


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## Lokirathehunter (Oct 16, 2015)

I just know you can find it at petsmart. It's 35 before tax (i found one with a chip in it so it was discounted). Just a heads up, you'll need to put foam inside this decor, it's hollow.


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## Lokirathehunter (Oct 16, 2015)

Tiny update, vines are cured enough to stand the tank up. I have to cut my hinge to fit.


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## Encyclia (Aug 23, 2013)

You have a knack for this, Lokira. Your use of natural textures to offset the relatively unnatural texture really works well, to my eye. I love 10 verts. I have made lots and lots of them. Keep up the good work,

Mark


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## FoliaFatalis (Nov 11, 2016)

Looking awesome

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## dmartin72 (Oct 27, 2004)

Actually I bought two of those at PetSmart and you get one free.... buy 2 and get 1 free probably until the end of the year.

As a side note, I used great stuff to fill in the holes and some of the hollowness so that no frogs could enter the inside of it.

Great job...looks amazing!



Lokirathehunter said:


> I just know you can find it at petsmart. It's 35 before tax (i found one with a chip in it so it was discounted). Just a heads up, you'll need to put foam inside this decor, it's hollow.


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## rigel10 (Jun 1, 2012)

Nice job indeed


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## Lokirathehunter (Oct 16, 2015)

Thanks for the compliments! I'm not too fond of unnatural looking stuff in my vivarium, but I really liked the shape and texture of it. I'm hoping my marcgravia will help it look a little better. 

Another update, got my door set up. Ignore the ugliness for now, it'll get a bit better after it cures. There's a reason the door is on the side and not the front haha


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## Lokirathehunter (Oct 16, 2015)

Kinda posed my vines before i put the door on. I liked this shot


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## Lokirathehunter (Oct 16, 2015)

I figured a dump of higher quality images was needed. I've been updating from my phone, so I couldn't use imgur like I usually do.

Some are reposts


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## FoliaFatalis (Nov 11, 2016)

Where did you get that hinge and door clasp? I could only find metal ones at home depot.

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## Lokirathehunter (Oct 16, 2015)

FoliaFatalis said:


> Where did you get that hinge and door clasp? I could only find metal ones at home depot.
> 
> Sent from my XT1565 using Tapatalk


Josh's Frogs!


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## Lokirathehunter (Oct 16, 2015)

Today is a sad day  i already broke my door.


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## saltyfish (Oct 31, 2016)

sorry, to hear that. Just a minor set back I hope? This is a great thread! good info and lots of pics! Great for us noobs. What are you Planning on putting in there?


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## Lokirathehunter (Oct 16, 2015)

Yes, only a minor setback, I'm getting new glass today and I'm going to spend some time attempting to salvage my hinge.


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## Lokirathehunter (Oct 16, 2015)

new glass is in place curing.


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## Lokirathehunter (Oct 16, 2015)

I feel like people give an extra low rating to someone with a high rating just because they feel like it. I had a four star this morning and now it's 2.


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## saltyfish (Oct 31, 2016)

What's a rating and how do you see it? How is it given?

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## FoliaFatalis (Nov 11, 2016)

Looks good! Glad you got it all fixed up!

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## Lokirathehunter (Oct 16, 2015)

Update time!!




























Some cuttings from my other tank

























My hand for comparison, I have very small hands.


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## Lake (Jan 31, 2015)

Looks really nice


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## saltyfish (Oct 31, 2016)

Looks great! What gets the pleasure of living in there?

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## Lokirathehunter (Oct 16, 2015)

Hopefully, in a few months, I'll have two green sips in there. I'll be adding a few nice looking rocks when I find them and get them sterilized.


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## saltyfish (Oct 31, 2016)

Sweet! I have 3 sip frogglets they are some of my favs

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## Lokirathehunter (Oct 16, 2015)

I did a little rearranging


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## Lokirathehunter (Oct 16, 2015)

some close-ups










































hoping to get a second batch of plants.


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## saltyfish (Oct 31, 2016)

Those are great shots! What are you shooting with?

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## Lokirathehunter (Oct 16, 2015)

Thank you! My phone, Samsung Galaxy S6


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## saltyfish (Oct 31, 2016)

Lol wow! 

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## Krakkin (Jul 1, 2013)

I never thought of trying to use those aquarium decorations in a viv before. Nice job on fitting that in here, It's looking awesome so far!


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## Lokirathehunter (Oct 16, 2015)

Krakkin said:


> I never thought of trying to use those aquarium decorations in a viv before. Nice job on fitting that in here, It's looking awesome so far!


I wanted to create my own piece, but that decoration was just about right for the look i was going for. Plus it'll be covered in plants eventually.


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## Lokirathehunter (Oct 16, 2015)

saltyfish said:


> Lol wow!


A lot of it is color balance, contrast and vignette. But my phone DOES take some pretty great pictures.


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## TorrentialTokay (Dec 20, 2016)

Looks very cool!


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## Lokirathehunter (Oct 16, 2015)

I added some more sphagnum around the plants,so far my marcgravia is losing leaves. Hoping it improves.


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## rigel10 (Jun 1, 2012)

You've done a good job! I like it!


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## Lokirathehunter (Oct 16, 2015)

I swapped my light to an evo fixture


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## baskis (Jun 7, 2015)

Is it noticeably brighter? I've got an Evo light on one tank and love it and I've just ordered one of those GLW lights for my plant grow out.


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## Jmule (Jul 25, 2015)

Lokirathehunter said:


> Hopefully, in a few months, I'll have two green sips in there. I'll be adding a few nice looking rocks when I find them and get them sterilized.


Maybe a pair of some sort of ranitomeya would better utilize the space? I know sips can and will climb however the thumbs will use the hight and broms better. Also I don't think there is quite enough floor space for tincs. Anyways, it is looking great! Nice work.


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## Lokirathehunter (Oct 16, 2015)

It'll be a temporary tank until my new build is complete. I have a piece of wood on the way and some plans drawn up for glass. I also posted a new thread in the 'parts and construction' section. Maybe after I get used to keeping tincs I'll toss a pair of imis into this tank.










I wouldn't say it's brighter, but it's definitely more pleasing to the eye and evenly distributed. That flood light would be better for a tank with two or three sides covered with background.


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## Railrider1920 (Nov 12, 2016)

Sorry for not getting back to you sooner. Thanks for letting me know where you found the decoration at. 

Tank is looking good
Rob 



Lokirathehunter said:


> I just know you can find it at petsmart. It's 35 before tax (i found one with a chip in it so it was discounted). Just a heads up, you'll need to put foam inside this decor, it's hollow.


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## gorr (Feb 20, 2010)

Wow. Tank looks great!


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## Phantastic (Jun 7, 2016)

Wow, it's looking great! I love how your vines came out; do you remember what sort of rope you used? I did some vines with my first custom build and they came out pretty terrible, like JUST okay enough that I haven't torn them out, but it was a near thing. 

Did you have to cut the hinges down to size? I got the same ones for my vertical conversions but was too intimidated by the idea of trying to cut them without breaking them, and I ended up just ordering a bunch of the smaller hinges instead and using 3 per door.


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## Lokirathehunter (Oct 16, 2015)

I used a pair of wire cutters to cut the hinge. I was thinking I'd end up breaking mine until i realized how easy it was. Just work it lol. Takes a minute to get it clipped through


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## Hunlock (Feb 9, 2016)

Absolutely love this build!
Hard to believe it's a ten gallon. I can't wait to see it after some growth.
Very nice work!!!


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## Lokirathehunter (Oct 16, 2015)

Totally forgot to mention, vines on the right side are made from pipe cleaners, silicone and coco fiber. Vines on the left are twine. Be extremely careful and make sure you double or triple coat the pipe cleaners, they'll rust and make a nasty mess.


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## carnzayne (Jan 3, 2017)

Lokirathehunter said:


> Totally forgot to mention, vines on the right side are made from pipe cleaners, silicone and coco fiber. Vines on the left are twine. Be extremely careful and make sure you double or triple coat the pipe cleaners, they'll rust and make a nasty mess.


Do you have any pictures of these vines before you coated them?


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## Lokirathehunter (Oct 16, 2015)

carnzayne said:


> Do you have any pictures of these vines before you coated them?


No, but I will post a step-by-step in the future under my "A little inspiration" thread.


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## Panther (Feb 23, 2014)

That looks great! I can't wait to see how it fills in!


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## wimvanvelzen (Nov 1, 2008)

That is one nice looking viv! 
I like the fact that isn't a mass of all kind of plants, making it far more natural than the average tropical mini garden with frogs. I like this kind of esthetics.


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## Lokirathehunter (Oct 16, 2015)

Panther said:


> That looks great! I can't wait to see how it fills in!





wimvanvelzen said:


> That is one nice looking viv!
> I like the fact that isn't a mass of all kind of plants, making it far more natural than the average tropical mini garden with frogs. I like this kind of esthetics.


Thanks! I'm glad you guys like it! Check out my newest project if you get a chance.


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## VPardoel (Apr 2, 2010)

Awesome tank! really nice job on the vines


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## Lokirathehunter (Oct 16, 2015)

I got my flies a couple days ago, giving myself a month to get the hang of culturing them. Hopefully we have nice weather by then as well. I wanna order my frogs!


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## rjs5134 (Feb 1, 2017)

AWESOME job!!!! 

I'm about to begin my 1st ten-gallon tank and this is exactly what I needed to read. Would you mind expanding on how you cut in the fan/vent and post some brighter pics of the door side of the tank?

The vines and background look great. Gonna go find your other thread now.

Thanks


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## Lokirathehunter (Oct 16, 2015)

Basically i just had a thicker area of foam that i cut a square just a hair smaller than my fan, then i cut from the door side and put a slot as wide as my fan. It slides into place and doesnt fall into the tank. Then i siliconed some screen over it. I'll show some pics tomorrow or late tonight if i get a chance.


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## Lokirathehunter (Oct 16, 2015)

I tried to post several times this week. Here are the close-ups of the fan area.


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## rjs5134 (Feb 1, 2017)

Thank you for the additional photos. Cleared up a few things and I am definitely going to make a little progress this weekend.

One or two last questions if you don't mind... What is the round "tube" in the corner next to the fan? And how well is the humidity maintained with the large vented area at the top near the fan?

Much appreciated.


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## Lokirathehunter (Oct 16, 2015)

rjs5134 said:


> What is the round "tube" in the corner next to the fan? And how well is the humidity maintained with the large vented area at the top near the fan?
> 
> 
> Much appreciated.



The tube is my humidifier, i just cut a hole in my screen and shoved it in there. It's not frog safe currently. I'll be giving it a screen cap before i put frogs in the tank. The humidity really doesn't go down (90-100)but i keep my probe under the fake wood so it's more humid under there. I just must when my sphagnum and leaf litter look kinda dry. I can easily drop my humidity if i turn my fan on for a while i let it get down to about 60% then i do one quick spritz and it'll slowly climb from 60 to about 75 for a while then eventually go back to 80-100.


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## Lokirathehunter (Oct 16, 2015)

Mist* not must... it was very late and i was tired


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## Lokirathehunter (Oct 16, 2015)

Frogs are in! Dendrobates auratus highland bronze. I know they're ground dwellers, this tank is a temporary home for now. I got two yellowback tinctorius a week before these. They're in my horizontal ten gallon (the one i was going to tear down)


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## Lokirathehunter (Oct 16, 2015)

Some shots I took recently


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## Lokirathehunter (Oct 16, 2015)

An update, a few plants were added, including a creeping fig. The frogs in here will be in a new home soon.


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## Okapi (Oct 12, 2007)

It is a shame that I missed this build thread when it was active, this is a very nice 10 gallon vert


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## Lokirathehunter (Oct 16, 2015)

This tank was sold along with the two auratus that lived inside. Sorry guys. I have one tank up and running currently.


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## Lokirathehunter (Oct 16, 2015)

Here's the last photo I took of this tank. It's on the left.


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