# Nano-Cube 24G Vent Viv



## alifer (Oct 24, 2005)

NC24 Viv, updated 12-26-06


















Well a little introduction, I’ve been a lurker here for a year or so soaking up ideas for a viv. I am active over at nano-reef.com and have a Nano-Cube 6 reef tank. I know a few people on this board are also active at NR. I wanted to setup a Nano-Cube 24 as a viv and Chris at nanocustoms.com offered me one of his 05 NC24’s with a new DX hood to work with. Chris also re-bulbed the hood with two 36 watt 7100K daylight bulbs before shipping the tank to me. For anyone not familiar with Nano-cubes, they are supposed to be an out of the box reef tank setup with two 36 watt PC lights, LED moonlighting, cooling fans in the hood and back chambers in the tank to hide the filter & pump. 










Well since the NC24 was designed as a reef tank, not a viv, I knew I had to do a lot of modifications to make it work. The first thing I did was take the tank apart. Two hinges that are screwed to the top trim hold on the hood. I also removed the back chambers by cutting thru the silicon beads between the tank glass & the chambers. My biggest concern was how to keep frogs & flies in the tank, so I made a top out of a prismatic 2x4 light lens. I am hoping this will diffuse the light without cutting down too much on the usable light inside the tank, because I don’t like staring into light bulbs when I look into the viv. 










I made the top with the rough side down in the hope that it will discourage frogs from trying to push their way under the top and it will let moisture drip off easily. The prismatic light lens is very flexible and I can open it enough to get a spray bottle &/or food into the viv. I can also slide the top off to remove it completely. The top slides under the attachment area for the hood hold open brackets (after a little grinding with my Dremel).










The hood comes with a light lens to protect the lights & fans from moisture, but the stock lens is recessed down into the tank and would hit the prismatic lens top that I made. I thought about just removing the hood lens since I had the prismatic tank top, but I was worried that the heat from the lights would raise the viv temps, so I used clear acrylic & my Dremel to cutout a new flat hood lens.










I wanted to have a drain system in the viv so I drilled (actually cut) a hole in the bottom of the NC24 with my Dremel and a diamond bit.










I will have my water return line run inside the drain line to cut down on the clutter. Here is a pic of the top of the drain fitting with a hole drilled thru.










I added a second elbow fitting to my drain, so I could adjust the water level inside the viv by turning the elbow up or down. I am planning on about 1” of water under the false floor. Here is a pic of the drain fitting with the return line running thru it.











One of the main reasons I wanted to use the NC24 for a viv is the cube shape & the back chambers. 
I wanted to install a fan in the center back chamber blowing air under a false floor, then back out the front of the viv to keep humidity as high as possible. 
I flipped the chambers upside down & cut in an air return at the top & covered the cutout with two layers of black mesh with a layer of fiberglass screen sandwiched between the mesh and I hot glued it to the chambers. 
I made a removable fan holder that would slip into the center chamber. The fan is an old computer fan, which I will run with an adjustable voltage converter. The fan is a 12 volt model and is totally quiet when run at 6 volts, but still pushes a lot of air. 
Her is a pic of the back chambers removed & modified for my fan setup










This is what the fan and back chambers looks like in the tank










I needed a way to direct the air under the false floor then back out the front of the tank, so I used a shop wet vac attachment for an air diffuser. I cut the tube in half and hot glued the tubes to the wet vac attachment. 










I used black plastic mesh to cover the tubes and the raised parts of the false floor. The air will be pushed down the center back chamber by the fan, under the false floor and out of the air diffuser. I’m hoping this will also keep the front glass from fogging up.
Since I was dealing with a curved front glass I had to devise some way to keep my false floor & air diffuser sealed off. I came up with a false floor wall made from black acrylic, siliconed to the bottom of the tank. The false floor wall will keep water inside the wall and eliminates the need to use black silicon on the sides & front glass to hide the false floor. The one down side is that it might trap water between the glass & false floor wall if I’m not careful.










Here is a pic of my completed false floor










The next thing I need to do is work on the background. I ordered black handi-foam to make my background & I have Manzanita branches that were collected after the big fires in San Diego County a couple of years ago (so no live trees were killed in my collecting). I’ve had the branches soaking in a bucket of water for a few weeks and they are looking good with nice blacked highlights. 

I’ll post more pics after I make the background.


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## RGB (Jan 15, 2006)

Very cool design. I've thought about ways of doing a similar air diffuser under the front glass, i like how you did it. Looks good, keep us updated!


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## themann42 (Apr 12, 2005)

interesting idea with the light lens. did you try try turning on the light with and without that piece on to see how much light it blocks? how did u cut it? was it easy?


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## Frogtofall (Feb 16, 2006)

Thats lookin' pretty good. I'll be watching this one!


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## alifer (Oct 24, 2005)

themann42 said:


> interesting idea with the light lens. did you try try turning on the light with and without that piece on to see how much light it blocks? how did u cut it? was it easy?


I like the light lens, it really cuts the direct view of the lights, but the light level looks about the same to me. I took some pics with the lens on & off & I’ll post them tomorrow (I seem to have misplaced my camera link cable) to see if the camera can tell the difference. 

The lens was easy to cut. I bought a diamond encrusted cutting wheel for my Dremel and it cuts through every thing with ease. I took a side measurement and cut the lens to the correct size with a straight edge then I slid the lens into place. I traced the curved front with a marker, then cut the front curve. The handle is a piece of clear acrylic attached with Weld-on #16. .


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## alifer (Oct 24, 2005)

*Background pics*

I worked on my background Saturday and had the great fun of working with Handi-foam for the 1st time. I taped off the glass & false floor with blue painters tape then put duct tape over that. I hot glued my branches to the plastic backchamber to hold them in place while I was making the background. I got a little impatient and used up most of two cans of Handi-foam in about 10 minutes, not something I would recommend. The stuff is so sticky and messy it’s a total necessity to use disposable gloves. The foam kept expanding for 15 or 20 minutes after I finished spraying it on, so I stuck my hand into the largest bubbles and pulled out pieces to create ledges & planting holes. I covered the foam with a mix of cocoa husks & peat moss while it was still wet and tried to press the mix into the foam. Some stuck but not as much as I had expected. 



















I have to admit I like the look of the Handi-foam background and I think I’ll leave a lot exposed. I also experimented with Flevopol. I mixed up some of the Ace concrete primer with peat, cocoa husks & orchid planting mix and applied the mix to a few spots on the background. It was a little on the thick side the way I mixed it, so I pressed some peat & cocoa husks onto the top of the Flevopol. After it dried for a while I hosed off the loose mix, leaving the results you see in the pics. 










I figured I could always mix up and apply more Flevopol later if I decide too. 



















Here’s what I did with the extra Flevopol that I had left over
Flevopol Pots










Here is a comparison of the viv with the parabolic lens removed in the 1st pic 










& the lens back in on the 2nd pic just so you can (or can’t tell) the light loss.


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## Guest (Apr 4, 2006)

That looks great! Any plans for the future residents?


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## alifer (Oct 24, 2005)

Squidbillie said:


> That looks great! Any plans for the future residents?


I’m still undecided about what PDFs to start out with. The local IRBA show is this weekend, April 8 & 9, so I plan on going and checking out the PDFs and picking up some plants for the viv. The IRBA shows usually have a couple of good plant venders with big selections. I hoping they will have a good selection of mini broms & orchids available for terrariums, maybe ferns & moss, too.


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## alifer (Oct 24, 2005)

4/8/06
I did a little local plant shopping today and came up with a few plants for my viv.
I stopped at Lowes and they had some Jewel Orchids in bloom, so I had to try a couple. 
I also picked up Selaginella, don’t know what species, for my background. 
I bought the smallest bromeliad I could find and I’m glad I didn’t get one any bigger or it wouldn’t have fit. 
I’m not sure what the other dark green plant is, no identification label, but I’m pretty sure it’s not a brom.
I also bought a small hybrid Orchid that is in the back left corner, but needs moved to the front of the viv so it gets better ventilation. 




























The flevopol covered pots work great for holding plants and they disappear into the substrate. The pots sit directly on the false floor for good drainage. I used orchid plant mix, milled sphagnum and coco bedding mixed together for my substrate. I went heavy on the orchid mix for the bottom layer, then more milled sphagnum and coco bedding for the top layer.










The parabolic light lens is working well to diffuse the light coming into the viv.










The ventilation system seems to be working. The side glass started fogging up pretty quick, but the front glass is clear so far.


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## RGB (Jan 15, 2006)

The dark green plant is a Dracanea compacta. I have a couple of them but they were too big for my viv. Not sure how big they get when mature. They do have a nice funnel in the center but unfortunately it doesn't hold water for more than a few seconds.

Looks nice, i like the Orchids.


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## alifer (Oct 24, 2005)

RGB said:


> The dark green plant is a Dracanea compacta. I have a couple of them but they were too big for my viv. Not sure how big they get when mature. They do have a nice funnel in the center but unfortunately it doesn't hold water for more than a few seconds.
> 
> Looks nice, i like the Orchids.


I was afraid it was a plant (Dracanea compacta) that was going to grow to large, thanks for the ID. It’s in a pot, so I can yank it out when starts getting oversized. I think I’ll order some mini-broms to replace the Dracanea.

I went to the IRBA show at the Del Mar fairgrounds yesterday and the whole show seemed really small this year & really crowded with people, elbow to elbow. Not worth the money to go, $8. for parking & $8. to get in, big waste of money. Only a couple of venders had PDFs and only one vender had any kind of selection other than D. auratus.


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## RGB (Jan 15, 2006)

Yeah, i was there too. I agree there wasn't much and it probably wasn't worth the $16 to get in. I did get some Rep-Cal and Herptivite for pretty cheap though. As you said there wasn't much selection other than auratus. Dane said he sold a couple of lamasi, but that's all he had brought.


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## Frank H (Nov 3, 2005)

RGB said:


> Dane said he sold a couple of lamasi, but that's all he had brought.



He sold them to me! MUAHAHAHAHAHA!


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## alifer (Oct 24, 2005)

4-20-06









I revised the plants in my NC24 viv & added water feature 
because it seemed a little boring on the 1st setup. 
The viv has been moved from the shop into the house now.









I have Xmas moss in the water & on the wettest areas.









Eleocharis radicans is planted next to the glass 
& the other moss is out of my yard. 
I tried to wash the moss really well and remove all the dirt.









I pulled this out of a terrarium growing on my patio.









Baby Tears, Bamboo, small hybrid Orchid from left to right









Jewel Orchids & Selaginella with some Xmas moss on the wet area









Some of the plants are experimental and my not like the wet viv experience.


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## RGB (Jan 15, 2006)

Looks sweet, does the air diffuser keep the glass clear? Have you decided on a species yet?


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## alifer (Oct 24, 2005)

RGB said:


> Looks sweet, does the air diffuser keep the glass clear? Have you decided on a species yet?


The airflow out of the diffuser is working well to keep the front glass clear during the day, but at night the room cools down to 60 or 65 and the condensation wins temporarily.

The humidity is running at 95% all the time and the temps in the viv have been running around 65 at night and 76 to 77 during the day with water temp at 70.
We haven’t hit any hot weather yet, so I don’t know how high the temps will spike on a really hot day. 

I want to run the viv without livestock for a few weeks just to make sure everything is working OK, see what plants will thrive or die and fine-tune the water flow. Right now I am running a tiny 30 GPH water pump in one of the back chambers and that has turned most of the background into a drip wall.


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## alifer (Oct 24, 2005)

*Brom Update 5/5/06*

I finally decided on Vents for my NC24 viv, so I wanted to add more broms. 










Frogtofall (great guy) sent me a five Neo broms today, so I thought I would post them.










Three of them I superglued to suction cups so I could stick them on the side glass instead of film canisters.




















I think I’m about finished adding plants now, I’ll let them grow & fill in some more . 
I had to replace a couple of plants that couldn’t handle viv life. 












.








The little brom on the left is my favorite. 

I’ll post more pics when I get my three Vents in a couple of weeks

Rick


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## alifer (Oct 24, 2005)

*more plants*

Well I only thought I was finished adding plants to my NC24 viv.
I was at a local street fair this morning and stopped at an orchid club booth.
They had some miniature reed-stem epi orchids that I couldn’t pass up.









I bought two plants and this is the only one with flowers, the other one is still in bud,
so I’m hoping for better colors on the second plant. 
These are some tiny flowers, about 1/3 the size of normal reed-stem epi’s.










Here is a picture of the whole NC24 viv setup, I don’t think I’ve posted one yet..
The viv is on a night stand in the bedroom.
I built the little black stand to raise the tank up a little for better viewing. 
(and to have a spot for my alarm clock)










Here is a pic with the hood raised and the lights on. (2) 36 watt PC’s










You can see the whole setup better with the lights off.
I added a strip of clear acrylic at the back of the prismatic lens top to prevent warping.
I was getting a lot of heat buildup between the clear light lens and the prismatic lens top,
which was raising the upper viv temps to around 80 degrees. 
I drilled a hole in the clear light lens and added a scroll fan with the double sided sticky tape.
The scroll fan sucks out the hot air trapped between the two lenses and pulls it into the hood.
The scroll fan also blows the air along the bulbs to help with air movement in the hood 
and the other two fans pull the hot ait out of the hood..
So far it seems to have really helped lower the temps in the space between the hood & the viv,
and the viv temps have dropped to the mid 70's, even in the upper parts next to the lights.


It looks like I’m finally ready for the Vents, which I’m picking up next weekend.
Rick


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## Guest (May 8, 2006)

This tank design reminds me of this.

http://www.tropicarium.ru/english.htm

http://www.tropicarium.ru/prototype.htm

Turned out nice.


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## Frogtofall (Feb 16, 2006)

Very nice Rick. That brom you like is Neoregelia "Tiger Cub". Your broms in order from left corner clockwise are...

N. fireball "Green" EL2038
N. fireball x punctatissima Rubra
N. pauciflora
N. "Tiger Cub"
N. rubrifolia

The planting is excellent. I also use the suction cup method to attach broms to the glass. Except instead of glue, I just use the little metal hook and crush it around the stolon.


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## alifer (Oct 24, 2005)

Frogtofall said:


> Very nice Rick. That brom you like is Neoregelia "Tiger Cub". Your broms in order from left corner clockwise are...
> 
> N. fireball "Green" EL2038
> N. fireball x punctatissima Rubra
> ...


Hey Antone,
Thanks for the ID on the broms and the words of praise on the layout & planting.
I'm glad to know I'm not the only person who uses suction cups to hold broms.
Rick


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## addam4208283 (Feb 19, 2004)

i know i just posted on NR.com but figured i would do here too. your vive looks great. how is it with keeping FF in? also what kind of vents doyou plan on putting in there?
ADAM


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## alifer (Oct 24, 2005)

Hey Adam

I don't have any flies in the viv yet, but the fungus gnats can’t get out until I open the top, then they fly out, so I don’t expect flies or frogs to escape.

I'm getting the three vents on Sunday from Dane @ junglebox.net


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## DaSlackMan (Feb 3, 2006)

Looking good! What has been the temp/humidity readings during the day and night?


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## alifer (Oct 24, 2005)

DaSlackMan said:


> Looking good! What has been the temp/humidity readings during the day and night?


Hi Joe,

The lowest humidity reading is still in mid 90% range during the afternoon and the morning humidity before the lights come on is reading 99%.

Since I added the scroll fan to the hood my high temps have been 76 to 77 and that’s with the temp/humidity gauge in the upper front corner. That’s about just a degree or two warmer than the temps in the room during the day. 

The low temp early in the morning is 67 to 69, it depends on how cool the nighttime temps in the room gets. 

My house does not have AC and the heat is turned off until next winter, so the room temp changes 10 degrees or so from day to night. I live close enough to the ocean that daytime high temps normally run in the mid to upper 70’s during the summer. I think everything will be fine unless we get some scorching Santa Ana wind and the temps jump up into the 90’s or 100’s.

I have a 5-gallon water reservoir sitting on the floor, which is slowly, but constantly circulating water into and out of the viv. Since the water reservoir sits on a wood floor over a concrete slab I think my water temp will stay in the low 70’s, even during a heat wave. I hope that will help to regulate the viv temps, or at least provide some cool spots for the frogs to hangout during heat waves.

-Rick


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## alifer (Oct 24, 2005)

2 juvi Vents in the same brom


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## biocmp (Mar 7, 2006)

Cool pic!


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## alifer (Oct 24, 2005)

^^^Thanks









It seems hard to get a decent shot of the Vents, but i do see them out a lot


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## alifer (Oct 24, 2005)

*long overdue update 10/7/06*

I have a long overdue update.

The three Vents in my care survived the July heat wave and are doing fine.
It looks like I have 2 males & 1 female based on the sizes.









I’m guessing the two that hang out together are a male & a female.
I thought I found eggs last week in one of the broms,
but I have not seen tads yet.









The broms from Antone have done well, with the N. rubrifolia (top right corner) doing really well.









I also found a large planting what I believe are a Neo species of broms growing at a local office complex, 
so I put a couple of cutting in my viv to try them out.









My 72 watts of light are not enough to keep the dark red colors on the broms,
but they still are growing well.

-Rick


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## Guest (Oct 8, 2006)

that viv turned out awesome, hopefully you will see tads soon !!! Give us another update when you see some tads or froglets!!


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## dragonfrog (Feb 16, 2006)

How old are Vents when they start to breed?


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## defaced (May 23, 2005)

Five months or so.


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## Frogtofall (Feb 16, 2006)

Nice updated shot. I hope you washed those office complex broms really well (or any plants you add to your viv for that matter), you don't want any mystery bugs. Heh.

How have the orchids held up?


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## cubby23 (Jun 12, 2006)

Awesome viv, and great conversion. Definitely one of the best journals I have seen.


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## alifer (Oct 24, 2005)

Frogtofall said:


> Nice updated shot. I hope you washed those office complex broms really well (or any plants you add to your viv for that matter), you don't want any mystery bugs. Heh.
> 
> How have the orchids held up?


Hey Antone,

I soaked the broms under water over night in a bucket of water, 
they were pretty loaded with spiders. 
I know what you mean about hitchhikers, 
I managed to add a tiny type of snail somewhere along the line 
and they lay down some unsightly snail trails all over the glass.

The jewel orchids have held up well and are still growing,
but reed-stem epi’s like a lot dryer conditions and rotted away.
The Mazus Reptans flowering plant that I added grew way to well 
and started overgrowing everything and I could never see the frogs,
so it was removed.

-Rick


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## alifer (Oct 24, 2005)

*Update 12-26-06*

Just some updated pictures










The three Vents are doing fine, but no tads yet.
Some of the brom pups are coloring up great, 
back to looking like the parent brom's original colors.









-Rick


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## Frogtofall (Feb 16, 2006)

Only thing that viv needs is some more broms.... :shock: 

:lol: 


In all seriousness, that viv is growing in very very nicely. I love it. Great work.


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## joeyo90 (Nov 5, 2006)

they must loe that thing its awsome


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## alifer (Oct 24, 2005)

Frogtofall said:


> Only thing that viv needs is some more broms.... :shock:
> :lol:
> In all seriousness, that viv is growing in very very nicely. I love it. Great work.





joeyo90 said:


> they must love that thing its awsome


Thanks......... 

-Rick


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## joeyo90 (Nov 5, 2006)

wow thats a good idea... ill have to whip out my dehydrator one of these days to try it


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## alifer (Oct 24, 2005)

*YA-HOO …*

YA-HOO … Finally after hearing calling on & off for months & what I assumed was occasional breeding behavior from my Vent threesome I finally noticed a large Vent tad in a brom last weekend. Apparently the parents have been feeding the tad or it’s been eating drowned FF because the tad looked pretty plump. On top of finding a big fat tad, I came home from work yesterday and all three frogs were inside a film canister breeding. I had added a film canister a couple of weeks ago just in case the Vents didn’t like the broms. 

This could not have come at a better time, because frog sightings in my viv were getting pretty scarce of late and I had not seen all three of the frogs in several weeks and it had been almost one year since I placed the three Vents in the viv. 

Rick


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## Guest (May 8, 2007)

Wow neat! Congratulations  Please post some pics if you can!


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## alifer (Oct 24, 2005)

§lipperhead said:


> Wow neat! Congratulations  Please post some pics if you can!












It's difficult to get a good pic of the Vent tad, 
it dives to the bottom of the brom when it sees me,
which is most likely why I didn't notice it until recently. 
I did get to sneak a look when the tad rolled over on it's 
back to eat a FF floating in the water.


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## alifer (Oct 24, 2005)

*1st Vent Froglet*

Great news, my 1st ever Vent froglet is hopping around the viv.
It was completely raised by the parents with no help from me.









New Vent froglet, the tad has morphed!!! 









Same vent vent froglet 









Updated full shot 6-26-07









The bottom film canister has a small tad from eggs laid a couple of weeks ago 
and there is a film canister just above that which has eggs from last weekend!!!

Rick


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## kyle1745 (Feb 15, 2004)

Looks good, and I would watch the lid as it could bow over time, and let the frogs out.


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## alifer (Oct 24, 2005)

kyle1745 said:


> Looks good, and I would watch the lid as it could bow over time, and let the frogs out.


Hey Kyle

Thanks, I actually had to replace my acrylic light lens last weekend with a new one because the old one cracked were it bends when ever it's opened. Other than the fact that it cracked after a year it’s worked well to prevent FF & frog escapes.

Rick


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## alifer (Oct 24, 2005)

I’m really enjoying the frogs lately. I recently bought a single female Vent from a local SCADS (Southern California Dendrobates Society) member and it has drastically changed the dynamics of my group of Vents for the better. For the 1st year my threesome of Vents was very secretive and would hide if they spotted me, although they did lay eggs and successfully raised one froglet. When I added the forth adult Vent that changed and now I can spot at least a couple of them out in the open at any given time and sometimes all five will come out in the open for a fruit fly feeding frenzy.  
-Rick


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## alifer (Oct 24, 2005)

Here are a couple of new pics









Vent on glass









Adult & Froglet 
I’ve been slowly pouring in leaf litter to cover moss
& I’m seeing the frogs hunting springtails often now.

-Rick


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## loogielv (Nov 28, 2008)

i know this is an old thread, but i dont care. This is retarded. This is absolutely retarded how nice this turned out. I dont believe I've ever seen anyone just throw out a few ideas, try them all, and they all work exactly as planned first shot outta the box...

"hrmm, i dont want too much light...what about diffuser?...bam. good to go"
"hrmm, i dont want the front to get foggy...how about an under bottom vent? bam. good to go"
"hrmm, the temp isn't bad, but it gets sorta hot up here..lets try this here and that there...bam. good to go" 
"hrmm haven't seen my frogs in awhile..maybe their breeding..hey look at that...good to go..."

seriously man, that's just awesome. a true victory story if i've ever read one.


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## alifer (Oct 24, 2005)

loogielv said:


> i know this is an old thread, but i dont care. This is retarded. This is absolutely retarded how nice this turned out. I dont believe I've ever seen anyone just throw out a few ideas, try them all, and they all work exactly as planned first shot outta the box...
> 
> "hrmm, i dont want too much light...what about diffuser?...bam. good to go"
> "hrmm, i dont want the front to get foggy...how about an under bottom vent? bam. good to go"
> ...


That's got to be the funnest reply ever, just great!

I'll have to take more pictures soon. The viv is still up & running & the Vents are doing well. I'm not actually sure how many Vents are in there, but some days I see several out at one time making the rounds looking for flies. There is one brave frog that is just about always out and not really afraid of me at all. 

Rick


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## loogielv (Nov 28, 2008)

yah man, pics are a must!

also you dont know how many you got in there? rough idea at all?


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## Nick_ (Mar 24, 2008)

That is sweet, I love the density of broms! I started one at the begining of the year.....I just this last week or so got around to drilling and planting it. I may get a stock hood just yet, I'm just worried about the summer heat here in California. Are you still running both lamps on a full 12 hour photoperiod?


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## alifer (Oct 24, 2005)

loogielv said:


> yah man, pics are a must!
> also you dont know how many you got in there? rough idea at all?


I'm thinking there are 7 Vents. Two of them are extra large, which I assume are the breeding females. 




Nicholas OConnor said:


> That is sweet, I love the density of broms! I started one at the begining of the year.....I just this last week or so got around to drilling and planting it. I may get a stock hood just yet, I'm just worried about the summer heat here in California. Are you still running both lamps on a full 12 hour photoperiod?


I modded the hood & it's now running 2-27 watt 6.5K PC's & 1-70 watt 10K metal halide. My wife is not too happy with the fan noise from the extra fans I had to add to the hood to keep temps down. I'm running the 2-27 watt PC's on a 12 hour photoperiod & the 1-70 watt MH on a 6 hour mid-day photoperiod. If I know we are going to have a heat wave I just turn off the timer to the 70 watt MH until the heat wave is over.

-Rick


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## Quaz (Nov 13, 2005)

I bet your reef tank looks really good too. Nobody coming from the reptile or amphibian back ground modifies and is familiar with lights, fans, and what not with these little miro-ecosystems. I bet you got a killer reef tank. or maybe a Takashi Amano look-a-like planted tank.

Good to see such success. I'm curious to see updated pics too.


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## alifer (Oct 24, 2005)

Quaz said:


> I bet your reef tank looks really good too. Nobody coming from the reptile or amphibian back ground modifies and is familiar with lights, fans, and what not with these little miro-ecosystems. I bet you got a killer reef tank. or maybe a Takashi Amano look-a-like planted tank.
> Good to see such success. I'm curious to see updated pics too.


Hey Quaz

Here is a link to my NC6 nano-reef tank. I used to have the link in my signature, but it doesn't seem to allow more than 100 letters since the site was redone a while back. 
I have not had much success with fresh water nano-sized planted tanks yet. They seem to take a lot of work to keep the plants growing well & algae free. I am in the planning stages of a little zero-edge type 1/2 gallon fresh water planted tank using LED lighting and low light slow growing plants. I have most of the stuff rounded up for the project and hopefully will have time over the holidays to work on the setup.
By the way I noticed you're from Broken Arrow, I'm originally from the other side of Tulsa, in Sand Springs ... so a big howdy-do to you. 

-Rick


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

great setup!! looks like the frogs are enjoying!!


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## PingKing (Sep 28, 2008)

very nice terrarium.


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## alifer (Oct 24, 2005)

I thought I better get around to posting some updated pictures of the NC24 vent viv, it's been a long time
Looks like I have 7 vents now (started with 4) & I did see new eggs last week 










Front view, if you look closely you will see a vent in one of the broms










I like the way the Jewel Orchid stems wind around the bottom of the viv










You can kind of see the Xmas moss wall on the back side










Here is a vent hunting for flies









I got tired of my light lens cracking after a few months when I opened it so I added a hinge

-Rick


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## R1ch13 (Apr 16, 2008)

Looks brilliant mate...

Its really changed alot, looks soo jungle like.

I do agree the roots winding around the ground looks very cool, reminds me a bit of Jumanji haha

Welldone and congrats on the baby vents.

Richie


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## alifer (Oct 24, 2005)

Just noticed a new froglet this evening for the 1st time !!!


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## GeorgiaB (Apr 23, 2009)

Looks good and congrats on the new froglet. I like the evolution of this tank over time. Its a very cool idea and it has matured really well. Again great job!!

Georgia


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## alifer (Oct 24, 2005)

GeorgiaB said:


> Looks good and congrats on the new froglet. I like the evolution of this tank over time. Its a very cool idea and it has matured really well. Again great job!!
> 
> Georgia


Thanks Georgia,

The viv might not look as nice & clean as when newer, but it's much more interesting because the Vents are out & about much more often than they were in the 1st year. 1/2 half of the population of Vents were born & raised in the viv & they seem much more bold. The new froglet makes for a total of 8 French Guiana Yellow Vents.

-Rick


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