# Help Needed: Tree Fern Panel Background



## Thomas01 (Jan 13, 2012)

I'm totally new to Dart Frogs and Vivariums and kind of got into it by accident. My 10 year old daughter did a school report on Dart Frogs and within a couple of weeks we were putting a tank toogether for frogs.

We would like to do a second tank, this one is an Exo Terra 24Hx18Dx36L. I don't have any of the skills that the members here seem to have and couldn't begin to duplicate the incredible and elaborate backgrounds that I have seen here, so I'm going to start with a simple tree fern panel background. and some nice wood. Has anyone done a simple tank like this and made it look nice? If so could you post some pictures to help a noob out with some ideas? Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Tom


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## WeeNe858 (Sep 13, 2010)

Try and go with the cork mosaic with driftwood approach if your are a beginner, simply because its easy to get a hold of the items. You silicone the driftwood into place and silicone cork pieces around the driftwood leaving a small gap between each piece and stuff long fiber sphagnum moss in between them. You could do the same method with tree fern panel but it won't look as nice until the tank is grown in.


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## Thomas01 (Jan 13, 2012)

I already have the fern treee panels, but I'm not oppossed to going another route, do you have a photo of wht you described?

Thanks


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## Vinnner (Oct 1, 2010)

I have done a few tanks with just tree fern plaque bg's and I really like how they turn out. One it is good for space saving so allows for a lot of useable space. Also saves on weight of the overall tank. As for plants, I find they root very well, and moss loves it. I keep the plaques moist and all sorts of growth comes out of them. Working on a 37 gallon right now and going to use a combo of tf plaques and gs with tf fiber. 

Id say if you have them go with it!

Vinny


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## frogface (Feb 20, 2010)

This thread shows a step-by-step. The cork mosaic background is nearer to the end of the thread:

http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/members-frogs-vivariums/76581-pumilos-75-corner-viv.html


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

Here are two other cork bark mosaic threads. http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/pa...-mosaic-living-drip-wall-pond-method-how.html
http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/members-frogs-vivariums/77509-pumilos-reticulata-viv.html


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## lukelondon (Mar 27, 2010)

Here are some pics of my vivs, simple and pretty, sides are covered in treefern with driftwood.





































Enjoy


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## WeeNe858 (Sep 13, 2010)

If you already have the panels then by all means give them a go. no point in wasting them. You just need to apply a generous amount of silicon to the back and rub the panel around before setting it in place. 

IMO, the tree fern panels won't look at "natural" when the tank is still growing in. But as mentioned before, plants love to grow on it.


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

WeeNe858 said:


> If you already have the panels then by all means give them a go. no point in wasting them. You just need to apply a generous amount of silicon to the back and rub the panel around before setting it in place.
> 
> IMO, the tree fern panels won't look at "natural" when the tank is still growing in. But as mentioned before, plants love to grow on it.


 
Beat me to it...

I'm not a fan of the cork with the sphagnum stuffed in it since over time the sphagnum breaks down, works loose and the frogs can still fit behind it...so I'm not sure why that tactic is so popular. 
This can also happen with the tree fern backgrounds if you have ones with voids, or edges that aren't square. I simply backfill them holes with clay and let the clay setup. As long as you don't have it under a direct heavy spray of water, the voids stay filled. 

Some comments,

Ed


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## brinkerh420 (Oct 2, 2011)

I put tree fern on the back, but not on the sides. Then I siliconed a big branch in midair. Then I planted moss, plants, and put an exo Terra branch in front.


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## Thomas01 (Jan 13, 2012)

lukelondon said:


> Here are some pics of my vivs, simple and pretty, sides are covered in treefern with driftwood.
> 
> 
> 
> ...





I really like your bottom tank, how do you attach the wood to the panels? Do you have pictures of the build as you went and finally has this tank filled in more since that photo?


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## Thomas01 (Jan 13, 2012)

Thank you to everyone for the replies and the photos, please keep them coming!

I really would like to try to make one of the incredible backgrounds I've seen here on the boards, but like I said, I'm afraid I would wreck a nice tank!


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## frogface (Feb 20, 2010)

It's not as hard as it looks. You've just got to get in there and do it!


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## Sigaw (Apr 3, 2010)

Here's my tank when I first set it up and was figuring it out the placement of my plants.
Not the greatest picture, but two walls have tree fern panels glued onto, then added driftwood and vines to give it more depth.
I have no updated picture, but the panels have a lot of moss growth and my ficus grows easily onto them.


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## james67 (Jun 28, 2008)

although no one has supplied pics, tree fern is an excellent medium for growing moss. if kept at the proper moisture it will commonly sprout moss and ferns on its own. (i will say that this takes a LONG time) i have 2 tanks that are about a year old and are just starting to get some nice (albeit tiny) moss growth on the panels.

james


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## Vinnner (Oct 1, 2010)

Was going to start a thread of all my tanks and frogs but figured ill post this here. The first pic is a 20g H vert with TF plaque bg. Like james said under the right conditions it will sprout mosses (i think these are actually a type of liverwort, not sure) The other is a 20 g H vert that im currently building. Its not the tree fern plaques, just gs and tree fern fiber.

Vinny


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## Thomas01 (Jan 13, 2012)

Sigaw said:


> Here's my tank when I first set it up and was figuring it out the placement of my plants.
> Not the greatest picture, but two walls have tree fern panels glued onto, then added driftwood and vines to give it more depth.
> I have no updated picture, but the panels have a lot of moss growth and my ficus grows easily onto them.





How did you attach the driftwood and vines to the tree fern panels?


Can you get an updated picture? Thanks!


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## Sigaw (Apr 3, 2010)

Ok, made some quick shots of my tank to show you the progress.
But don't expect any awesome photos, me and cameras don't go well together 

As you can see here I have moss growth on both sides









Not the best pic, but inbetween the driftwood and plants you see moss









My substrate is also made of tree fern panels, so here you can also see the moss









And last a pic of the sidewall









As for attaching the driftwood and the vines;
Before gluing the panels on to the glass I cut out holes where I was going to anchor the vines so they would stick well and filled up with silicone.
The driftwood are made of several pieces that are also glued together with silicone (at the back so it's not so noticeable)then anchored down to the styrofoam with silicone before adding the panels. It's quite sturdy IMO.


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## Thomas01 (Jan 13, 2012)

Wow, very nice!

Forgive me for all the questions, but I'm new to this, why did you put styrofoam on the driftwood prior to attaching it??


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## Sigaw (Apr 3, 2010)

Thomas01 said:


> Wow, very nice!
> 
> Forgive me for all the questions, but I'm new to this, why did you put styrofoam on the driftwood prior to attaching it??


No, the bottom/ground is made of styrofoam and then the panels on top of it. 
Since my driftwood are large/tall, they cover from the bottom/ground and almost all the way to the top.
Seemed like a good idea to anchor them to the styrofoam for stability and then adding the panels instead of just letting the wood rest on top.


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## Thomas01 (Jan 13, 2012)

Now I understand, thanks.





Sigaw said:


> No, the bottom/ground is made of styrofoam and then the panels on top of it.
> Since my driftwood are large/tall, they cover from the bottom/ground and almost all the way to the top.
> Seemed like a good idea to anchor them to the styrofoam for stability and then adding the panels instead of just letting the wood rest on top.


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## patrickwv (Nov 11, 2011)

Sigaw said:


> Ok, made some quick shots of my tank to show you the progress.
> But don't expect any awesome photos, me and cameras don't go well together
> 
> As you can see here I have moss growth on both sides
> ...


 Just wanted to say this is an amazing viv! Did you have to silicone the tillandsias to the vines?


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## Sigaw (Apr 3, 2010)

Thanks!
Actually I just hotglued them to the vines.


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## VicSkimmr (Jan 24, 2006)

Not quite tree fern panel, but it's a non-organic substitute for it since it's so hard to find these days.

Obviously it hasn't had time to really grow in yet. Still looking for some plants to help cover it up.


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## crank68516 (Aug 30, 2010)

Josh's Frogs did a pictorial of a tree fern viv on Facebook. 

Hope it helps.

24x18x36 vivarium step by step | Facebook


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## lukelondon (Mar 27, 2010)

Little update of the tree fern background vivs. 








I will get some close ups when I finish work tomorrow for you
Here are some of the squatters 
















I use tree fern and bogwood together to make the background, the bogwood is first foamed into place then the tree fern is cut to fit around them pieces. You can also foam wood together to make a centre piece like this








That's 3 pieces of wood foamed together, you then leave to set, cut the foam back and cover in silicone and dirt where the foam shows








Then centre piece finished









What background did you go for in the end? Any pictures?

Regards

Luke


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## Thomas01 (Jan 13, 2012)

Luke, those look great!

I ended up going with a cracked cork mosaic background that I saw on this site. It turned out pretty good. I've tried to post some pictures but haven't been able to.

Tom


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## james67 (Jun 28, 2008)

http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/beginner-discussion/53573-tutorial-how-upload-photos-forum.html

there are some advantages to the tree fern that the cork mosaic doest offer. i would worry about the ability of the sphagnum to hold up long term.

james


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## drutt (Oct 4, 2011)

Nice work, never thought about foaming wood together..Good idea. I will try that.


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