# 65 gal leucomellas tank



## Link3898 (Sep 18, 2008)

alrighty so heres the beginning of the tank i started with the supplies i had.  fun stuff!

the stuff









the tank










alright so i dont have any Leica/hydroton and dont want to wait a week for it to get here so i just made a reinforced false bottom.. i dont like them but oh well they work..



























here is the aproximate places the wood will be placed.. the PVC thing is what i am using to gain easy access to the water below the false bottom if it needs to be filled if its low or cleaned out if its dirty or unhealthy.










































ok first layer of window screen. fiber glass i beleive









second layer is a flexable plastic grid thats supposed to be used for some sort of knitting thing.. duno like making a picture out of three inch yarn peices or something.... anyhoo works well as a substrate barrier..


















so heres the tank with the wood in it again...










now to go take everything back out so i can hot glue it in place.. then add the background which is going to be sloped a little. 

should i add a small pond up front before i get to far? what are your opinions? i kindda want to but am unsure where to put it.. in the middle or near the right end..

also how can i support the wood so that the substrate doesnt cover the roots? or will the great stuff be strong enough to hold it up off the bottom?


opinions welcome!


Thanks 
-Keith


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## McBobs (Apr 26, 2007)

I would just cut like 2" sections of PVC o use as spacers between the wood and the false bottom. It's easy and works just as well as anything. 

As far as the pond goes, I would omit it. I'm really digging the jungle floor look and i think adding a small water feature would only take away from the tree trunks.

Looking good so far! Keep us updated! 

-Matt


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## iridebmx (Oct 29, 2008)

cant wait to see it! i like stumps! i want to build a big tank with a nice stump.......cood luck!


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## rop21 (May 22, 2008)

Thats a cool stump, where did you get it? I'm trying to make a viv with an artificially made tree buttress but I'll skip the hassle if I could get my hands on a nice stump like that.


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## Link3898 (Sep 18, 2008)

hey thanks for the comments

i agree and have decided to leave out the pond (which was my original thought hence the pvc acess point )

i actually cheated... i got that stump from the huge pile of driftwood they have for displays at the zoo. lol one of the perks of working there

lol actually both peices were once one... i split the stump in half and used both peices in this viv.


so what does everyone suggest i do for the background? a smooth one with fine particulate stuck in silicone to the great stuff? or orchid bark stuck to the great stuff? orchid bark would hold more moisture, but the fine stuff looks to me more likely to be seen in an eroded area...
i guess i will wait and see how the great stuff turns out... that always has me nervous... i can never tell if it looks good or not and once you spray it its kindda hard to take it back....


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## McBobs (Apr 26, 2007)

Great stuff is much more intimidating than it sounds. It's sticky, gets everywhere and doesnt like to do what you want all that badly, but its really just a small part of the background. It's very easy to carve after it has cured and dont forget that once you have it covered in coco fiber and the tank is planted, you really dont see the background all that much. I fretted about it way too much on my first tank and now its just spray and go. There's not much more to it than that. Just dont spray it on too thick! 

-Matt


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## kyle1745 (Feb 15, 2004)

This looks like a great start, and a perfect tank size. Keep us updated on the progress.

One thought would be to use a leca base over the false bottom as with time the false bottom may give due to the weight. Leca is cheap and light. You can put the substrate of your choice over it.


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## kamazza (Sep 2, 2008)

I saw the flexible plastic knitting stuff in the craft section in walmart. I thought "Hmmm, I wonder if I could use this on a tank? I wonder if anyone else has? This would be good stuff". Has anyone used it before? If not let me know how it works for you. I might try it in the future.


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## kyle1745 (Feb 15, 2004)

If you are using it as a substrate barrier Id bet it would work fine. You can also pickup window screen pretty cheap just make sure to use the nylon stuff.


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## Link3898 (Sep 18, 2008)

this is the 5th tank ive used great stuff on.. it never does what i want it to and again it didnt.. i used the big gap filler this time and used 5 whole cans on the background and none really ever expanded well... so the background lacks the depth i was hoping for. lame but oh well....
so since the background didnt turn out the way i had hoped i was thinking about lacing it with peices of wood to look like a root wall. then plant all sorts of various broms and other epiphytes, leaving the stumps relatively open and just cover them in a moss/somethin type plant that just sprung up in my Terribilis tank a while ago. 

(left the camera at work and am still unsure about the root wall...)


that plastic knitting board (whatever its actually called) has worked well for me and seems to increase egg crates strength by dispersing weight more evenly.. i still suggest using screen though since the holes in the plastic knitting board are bigger than screen...



Where can i get Leica in bulk? i will have to do that next time... i wish i had read Kyles post earlier but the foam has been in for a day and a half now and the false bottom has been glued down....



looks like i need to start a a plant list... now i know the forest floor is relatively baren and mostly covered with large ferns leaf litter and bushes and such fourth but i like the mid/upper canopy look myself with all the different types of small plants...


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

the 2 stumps will make the tank look great, nice find on those.


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## Link3898 (Sep 18, 2008)

Hey thanks for the compliments so far, i hope this turns out to everyones (as well as my own) standards. 

heres the uncut plant list so far:

Peperomia prostrata
Philodendron Mini Red Empress
White Rabbits Foot Fern or Resurrection Fern possibly both...
Neoregelia lilliputiana
Neo. Chiquita Linda
various types of medium sized neo broms
Neo. Wee Willy
Dossinoides Indra's Web
Ludicia discolor
Macodes petola
Dossinia marmorata var Dayii
java moss
riccia moss
an unknown moss type that sprung up reicently
Tillandsia concolor 
Microsorum thailandicum
Cissus amazonica
Cissus discolor
Billbergia somethin
and ive got a bunch of others that i dont remember the names of.. i will take pics of them and maybe someone will know..
(note... not all this will be going in the viv but its what i have and what i am ordering. i am also going to be building a couple 10 gal verts and a i think 65 gal hex may be 45 i duno..)

i am going to just go with small chunks of orchid bark stuck to the background with silicone since it holds moisture... maybe highlight some areas with red soil/eco earth mix... we will see..

but for now im off to the DMV ( i hate the dmv... is this unanimous?) to get my drivers lisense renewed... be back in three years... lol


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## thedude (Nov 28, 2007)

man those are some cool stumps! any chance you would want to grab a couple more and send them my way 

those logs covered in moss with broms and tillandsias on the background would look awesome to me, with just ferns on the ground. but putting a bunch of canopy type plants always looks cool too. hopefully you wont cover up thos awesome stumps tho


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## Link3898 (Sep 18, 2008)

UPDATE TIME!! woo!! lol 

I think i am going to redo my plant list a bit... 


heres the tank now.. i noticed the false bottom was sagging as i kindda thought it would so i took everything back out and added more reinforcement. now it doesnt bow at all but i didnt bother taking new pics.. its exactly the same. all i did was take the dirt back out reinforce the bottom and put it back in..


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## AJ50504 (Dec 3, 2008)

that plastic knitting board (whatever it's actually called) has worked well for me and seems to increase egg crates strength by dispersing weight more evenly.. i still suggest using screen though since the holes in the plastic knitting board are bigger than screen...




It Looks Great . Please keep the pics coming . The Plastic Knitting board is called (7 needlepoint mesh) AZDR Recommended . If my friends new that I new the real name for that crap oh boy ! I have only been able to find it in 12x12 sheets so I haven't used it yet .


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## MJ (Jun 16, 2005)

Now that's some superb work!


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## NickBoudin (Nov 3, 2007)

Looking great!! Should have put some pots in the background though!


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## Link3898 (Sep 18, 2008)

Thanks everyone for the comments so far its always encouraging 



> It Looks Great . Please keep the pics coming . The Plastic Knitting board is called (7 needlepoint mesh) AZDR Recommended . If my friends new that I new the real name for that crap oh boy ! I have only been able to find it in 12x12 sheets so I haven't used it yet .


 those are the sheets i have found as well.. so i just overlaped them and cut to size. very easy to work with.



> Now that's some superb work!


woo! comming from England! you guys always have awesome vivs! lol i just hope that mine doesnt fog up LOL no swifty european ventilation system... 



> Looking great!! Should have put some pots in the background though!


 hey thanks, i thought of that but then decided to leave them out until i had the foam and wood in place... i made the foam thick enough that i can carve out a place and jam a pot in wherever i need one.


the next part is always the most critical! must not plant wrong.. that will just screw it all up!



heres a new planting list i have though of so far. (i need to put together an order, i decided the plants i have are to miss matched and not up to par) but heres the bunch of what i have now that will be going in.
Peperomia prostrata
White Rabbits Foot Fern
Ludicia discolor
Microsorum thailandicum
Cissus amazonica
Cissus discolor
Macodes petola

i have to go back through and take pics of the rest.. i dont have a name for them right now...

does anyone know of a moss that will grow on wood other than Java moss? i wanted the stumps and roots on the background to be comletely covered over with green...

i will also be using a bunch of Neo. broms on the background so if anyone has any suggestions toss em here!


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## RedEyeTroyFrog (Jan 25, 2008)

its looking really good, i love the look of the stumps!

-Troy


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## thedude (Nov 28, 2007)

man with the background and those "roots" it looks even better! i cant wait to see it full of plants. good job!


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## Sitting_Duck (Sep 28, 2008)

Are you going to hand mist?


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## Link3898 (Sep 18, 2008)

probally for a while, but i do plan on getting a mist king system for using on the entire room and will be installing two misting heads in this viv.


while i am waiting for everything to cure i figgured i may as well start trying to come up with a way to design the lid so that the front glass wont fog. and so far what i have though of is

a glass top with a glass door. no ventilation. and install two 3 inch comp fans in the top corners aimed at the front glass.

would that cause to much air flow or other problems?

the second option was to make a glass lid that covers half the top front to back and goes all the way across. then take the open space remaining and fill half lengthwise in with a glass door, then the other half with two removable window screen's cut to fit the space. 
i had to cut out the center brace for this tank since in its previous use (young Varanus melinus) the heat light was shoved over it and melted it pretty badly


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## Link3898 (Sep 18, 2008)

ok...so i am unhappy with the DAP black silicone.... after curring for 5 days i went ahead and started to plant the tank, once i was about a third of the way through i decided to cut into the background to carve out a potlike depression and when i pulled out my knife it was black... the silicone hasnt dried yet and i noticed that when i misted off the background in the areas directly around mounted plants the background material didnt stick... so now i am left with a background that will dry out instantly and looks not so good.... like dirty smeared silicone...  


i havent had this problem before, can i just leave it alone and it will eventually cure then put a better brand of silicone over it (after scrubbing as much loose material off as possible) then try a different background mix? or do i need to remove the silicone and background entirely...


what does everyone suggest as a mix to use on backgrounds?


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## kyle1745 (Feb 15, 2004)

Make sure to check the expiration date... Normally expired Silicone has the properties you described.


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## Link3898 (Sep 18, 2008)

the exp date is 11/09


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## iridebmx (Oct 29, 2008)

i would just hold tight....the thicker parts will deffinetly take longer to dry .if it gets cured over the inside may nevr dry so just poke a needle or something small through it and it should dry quicker .if it gets into the tanks water im sure it would not loose all toxins and be harmfull though


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## Lance (Sep 8, 2008)

Link I had the same problem with a tube of silicone just like you did. Well in all honestly I wasnt too happy with the silicone so I asked around to find a different way to place cocofiber on the back wall. On Canadart I found Kwazarr aka CanadianGuy I believe for Dendroboard or just Ross . His method I found was way better. Find some Weldbond Glue  Home Depo has it. If you want the recipy pm me.


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## Link3898 (Sep 18, 2008)

Welcome to DB Lance,
i will consider the glue method, but i guess for now i want to let it sit for a few more days to see it it will set up completely so the whole thing doesnt peel off in 6 months once everythings wet..

i did just go punch a ton of little holes with a bamboo skewer all over the background and actually only hit 4 other places where it wasnt totally curred...


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## Lance (Sep 8, 2008)

Thanks Link. Ya I think Iridebmx was right about the silicone not cured yet. If you deside to use that weldbond back ground let me know.


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## roberthvalera (Jun 9, 2006)

DAP is the best silicone IMO. Every once in a while you get a bad batch whether it be DAP or GE etc. 
Robert


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## Link3898 (Sep 18, 2008)

roberthvalera said:


> DAP is the best silicone IMO. Every once in a while you get a bad batch whether it be DAP or GE etc.
> Robert


i dont think these batches were bad i think i just put it on to thick iin some places and it sealed over itself.. its all curred now so all's well again lol 

i have decided that most of the background is going to be hidden and will only be patching parts that i want to hold moisture better with a frog safe bark mix.


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## Link3898 (Sep 18, 2008)

Here are some pics of where i got to planting wise.... nothings set in stone er... foam yet and i am still planning on ordering a bunch more broms so its kind of bare.. 





















i would like to know everyones oppinions on this so far... what to pull what to add, since i am trying to make this as nice as possible any and all oppinions help.. (plus doing this as best as possible will help me later when i fix up all the Zoos displays... they need help... lotsa help...) 

i am not sure i am happy with it except the top right corner... minus the tillandsia's unless they will survive there.

i have no idea what i want to use on the floor aside from the Microsorum thailandicum at the base of the large stump, i want to keep that where it is.. everything else on the floor though i am unsure about... 

i think i will be covering that PVC drain cover with leaf litter..

which low growing greenery would be better to cover the wood with Riccia fluitans or java moss? i have both


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## McBobs (Apr 26, 2007)

I think a nice fern like a rabbits foot fern would look really nice in the lower right hand corner beneath the broms. It would definitely fill in that little bare spot a little bit and give the tank a few more hiding options. 

Everything is really looking great though! I just finished my 37g for patricias and am looking forward to getting some feedback on it. It's been a year in the making, but I can finally say that it's where i want it to be!

-Matt


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## NickBoudin (Nov 3, 2007)

Our substrate looks similar!


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## Link3898 (Sep 18, 2008)

NickBoudin said:


> Our substrate looks similar!


really? dont think ive seen what you use... i use a mix i make myself though, its worked out real well for the vivs ive used it in.. theres about 5 ingredients.. and i just mix until it looks right no measuring..

red clay soil
long fiber sphagnum
an orchid potting mix
a large chunk orchid bark mix with charcoal chunks (this mix averages between 1/2 in - 1 in peices
fine orchid bark
and compressed eco earth soil cocoa fiber i think

what do you use?


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## frogparty (Dec 27, 2007)

That paphiopedilum is going to probably out grow the spot you have placed it in, and the flower spike will hit the lid and potentially ruin the flower. With good draiinage there is no reason not to put it on the ground. They are terrestrial after all. Otherwise I would say that it looks really good. If you are interested in orchids that are actually from the areas( generally) that the frogs are from you might consider the pleurothallids. I have found that at temps in the mid 60s to the low 80s almost all of these I have tried do well and can add an exotic element to your vivs. Also it would add more realism to a zoo exhibit to have south american plants in with south american frogs as opposed to asian plants. andys orchids.com as well as j and l orchids. com both have great selections, and little frog farm is getting a better selection all the time. Try especially restrepia brachypus and several masdevallias. I have also had good luck with pleurothallis allenii and pleurothallis microphylla


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## Link3898 (Sep 18, 2008)

very good info! that paphiopedilum already flowered recently and i had put it in there before cutting the old spike off to see how high it reached and it missed the top by only a couple inches... still high enough to fry the flower.. i was unsure about placing it where it is now just for the reason that they are terrestrial, but your right... asia meets south america... not so realistic... lol unless its some sort of pest seed that was brought over in mud stuck on someones shoe... 
i think i may leave this one out of the viv and maybe incorporate it in another one sometime else.. i guess right now the only orchids i want to place in this one are true minature epiphytes that wont take up 12-18 inches of light space and jewel orchids at the base of the background since the broms above them will be jacking the light and they dont need high light to be happy...

i was recently looking at all the minatures at andys orchids but i dont know much about them and have no clue unless posted where they are from...

any suggestions on these guys? i like the super minatures as they just add a touch of variety to the tank not anything overwelming like alot of plants that get over 6 inches across...

i hope to have this tank replanted and aside from broms be grown over by alot of vines, mosses, and minatures.
i would also like to use minatures in the other tanks i am building and revamping.

immitator, pumilio, and williamsi are the other tanks i want to put minatures in...



unfortunately i dont have much say with what plants they get at the zoo i have to ask the horticulture staff if they have it in the green house or see if they can place an order for it.. and by then... ive already rebuilt 10 displays with the supplies i already have....




Mcbobs- i like the idea for the rabbits foot fern LOL and when i went to see if i have any left i have one small clump about the size of a half dollar... any suggestions on how to make this noxious weed act like one? ive been trying to get it established for no joke about 6 months and nothin.... i like the plant personally but Jayman from the zoo doesnt he said its a pain to remove from the building (indoor rainforest) and is as bad to remove as pothos!


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## Okapi (Oct 12, 2007)

How about some Cissus discolor growing up the background and a small begonia?

Edit: Heres a better picture


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## frogparty (Dec 27, 2007)

I think j and l orchids provide location information to go along with the species, and I think ecuagenera does as well. I would still reccomend restrepia brachypus as a great place to start for a miniorchid. Awesome flowers, forgiving to grow and flowers often and loves viv conditions. You don't see too many pics here of pleurothallis allenii, but mine has been flowering now non stop for almost a year in my viv, and when each seperate leaf is done flowering I get new plants growing out of the axils that can be cut off and used elsewhere. I could bust out the orchid encyclopedia if you want me to try to find some venezuelan orchids for you, but in general I think just going for the south american varieties would be fine. There are lots of masdevallias that work well in the viv as well.


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## Link3898 (Sep 18, 2008)

Okapi said:


> How about some Cissus discolor growing up the background and a small begonia?
> 
> Edit: Heres a better picture


Bottom right corner   


i love that plant and its growth rate is pretty good
you cant see the other clippings... i am starting it behind the wood so it grows up the background not the wood





> I think j and l orchids provide location information to go along with the species, and I think ecuagenera does as well. I would still reccomend restrepia brachypus as a great place to start for a miniorchid. Awesome flowers, forgiving to grow and flowers often and loves viv conditions. You don't see too many pics here of pleurothallis allenii, but mine has been flowering now non stop for almost a year in my viv, and when each seperate leaf is done flowering I get new plants growing out of the axils that can be cut off and used elsewhere. I could bust out the orchid encyclopedia if you want me to try to find some venezuelan orchids for you, but in general I think just going for the south american varieties would be fine. There are lots of masdevallias that work well in the viv as well.



nah dont bust out the encyclopedia lol south american are good enough
im finding plenty from Peru, Ecuador, Panama, Brazil, and a couple from Venezuela so that alone is way plenty..


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## clwatkins10 (Nov 15, 2008)

Sorry if you have already answered this, but I didn't see it. How did you get that texture on the foam? It looks great.


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## Link3898 (Sep 18, 2008)

nope havent answered that yet... what i did is right after spraying the foam i took a plastic 5 inch wide putty knife and just drew it back and fourth over the surface lightly to break up the continuous strings or bumps.. the foam sticks to the putty knife and helps grab more foam... gives it a really irregular shape that doesnt look sprayed on... 
 once dry the foam just peels off the putty knife like nothing at all


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## LucasJ (May 7, 2007)

Once you get more plants/let it grow in this should be amazing. The stump is quite the eye catcher! Can't wait to see this one with frogs.


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## Link3898 (Sep 18, 2008)

Just waiting on some broms and tropicals from Spring Valley Tropicals now. we will see what it looks like once i get the broms in. i am still moving things around and not happy yet with how it looks


How fast does riccia fluitans grow and spread on wood/moist sphagnum? i ran short but it would cost a ton to get the ammount i need.... is there any way to say break up a 2"x2" square and propagate it? or would that take months...

or how fast would it fill in on wood and such if i was to say spread each patch out by an inch or two? then i may barely have enough to cover the wood..


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## frogparty (Dec 27, 2007)

It grows fast...but probably not as fast as you would like it to. You can break it up into little clumps and spread it around


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## fraser2009 (Jan 4, 2009)

it grows very fast in aquariums floating if you want alot pump the tank with ferts and co2 you would have more than you will ever need


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## Link3898 (Sep 18, 2008)

humm... very good to know.. i was actually just getting ready to build a small DIY sugar/yeast CO2 reactor for a small 5 gal planted tank


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## Link3898 (Sep 18, 2008)

ok so i have changed alot of the planting around added some java and riccia... and a bunch of broms from Antone, i also (some may not like this) used a hot glue gun and glued (frog safe) chunks of large orchid bark to the background to hold moisture and be anchoring points for the cissius, java/riccia, and ficus pumilia(i forsee lots of ficus pruning in the future)
i figgured that once the broms and vines all grow in you wont be able to see the background anyway so why not make use of it now for anchoring and moisture?


what are peoples opinions on ficus pumilia? should i pull it now and save the hassle later? i have the oak leaf ficus in there as well in several spots and i know thats alot more manageable and the leaves stay smaller and it grows a lot slower..

i have decided that i dont want to much leaf litter so i am going to have the majority of openspace covered with riccia and only about a third of the floorspace covered with leaf litter kind of a temperate rainforest floor look...

ignoring the brom wall of course.... LOL


we will see what takes off and such once i have the cool air humidifier installed misting system installed and lights mounted in their final place...


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## hexentanz (Sep 18, 2008)

Link3898 said:


> what are peoples opinions on ficus pumilia? should i pull it now and save the hassle later? i have the oak leaf ficus in there as well in several spots and i know thats alot more manageable and the leaves stay smaller and it grows a lot slower..



The larger leaf variety is okay in a larger vivarium, you will still have to do some maintenance here and there but in a small tank it can be a nightmare. I recently ripped mine out of a 20 gallon because it was just too much to have to deal with and was overgrowing the oak leaf ficus i have in there as well.


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## frogparty (Dec 27, 2007)

I say leave it if you don't mind the maintenance of constant pruning. I like the way it looks covering a background and reaching towards the light. Otherwise just take it out and replace it with more oak leaf or wire vine


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## chesney (Jan 18, 2007)

I like the size of that tank!


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## Link3898 (Sep 18, 2008)

thanks for the comments!


ok so today i went out and bought a new cool mist humidifier and rigged it to fog the tank for thirty minutes 5 times a day while the tank is filling in to help give the Riccia and java a helping hand at adapting to life on land lol

whoever started the first humidifier with PVC adaptors and such should have applied for a patent! LOL  



i agree with the way the ficus looks climbing the backgrounds so i am going to leave it and if it does become an issue deal with it then 

i need to find the camera and take some updated pics... lol


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## Link3898 (Sep 18, 2008)

one thing i am noticing right away with the humidifier is how thick it makes the air... i am wondering if once i add frogs if that could become a health hazzard and if i should only let the fog reach a certian density... can this cause resperatory problems in amphibians? ive never heard of anything like this causing resperatory problems but what caught my attention was i was goofing around with it just seein what various tanks i have look like full of fog and when i started fogging one the terribilis is in the terribilis started opening its mouth like it was gaging.... i wonder if this fog was irritating its lungs or what was going on....

i hope someone has some idea or if i am worrying over nothing


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## Link3898 (Sep 18, 2008)

WOOO!!! picture updates!!!!


this shot reminds me of Jurassic Park  the dart frogs lurk in the mist, waiting to pick off unsuspecting fruit flies (dart frogs not actually in tank yet)















so heres where the tanks at so far... you can see the different background. that was a pain hotglueing each peice on there but now i can get some things growing on it and it will retain moisture... besides that in 6 months i wont be able to even see it...











heres with the humidifier

5 seconds









45 seconds









one minute














































this cissius discolor has packed on a ton of new growth!!!!











i am not sure i am done yet.. and am thinking i will probally pull that fern at the base of the smaller stump.. i dont know what kind it is so i dont want it taking over and covering things up 

i plan to have the drift wood and most the "floor" covered with riccia since this tanks for leucs not pumilio. i know i can get away with no leaf litter but i like some so i will have it to cover the drain cover and just in the background behind the main roots and such

let me know what you think! critiques and suggestions are highly welcome! i would still like to add miniature orchids and other little guys up on the background to increase the diversity but would need to figgure where to place them and what to pull to make room if needed


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## thedude (Nov 28, 2007)

man that keeps looking better and better! love the fog. gonna have to try something like that.....


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## MukelG (Jan 29, 2009)

That's awesome. Did you just split the tubing for the humidifier with a T split and use aquarium pump returns for the spots where the fog comes in?


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

looking sweet!!!


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## Link3898 (Sep 18, 2008)

Hey thanks for the comments!


today i got the lid all secure and made some screen vents. 

for the first picture i did sew the gap bewteen the fog line and screen so nothing can get out, aside from flies which just crawl out the screen....
and i glued some screen over the outlets for the fog so no frog can climb up in there and potentally fall into the humidifier...




















i have two overlaping peices of glass cut as the middle section so i can slide if open more than the first screen if i need to work in the tank. (this actually came as an accident as the ACE i get glass cut at stopped carrying the double strength glass so i got two peices and a bunch of 1 inch wide strips thinking i could reinforce it... nay.. i had to buy an aluminum reninforcement to keep the glass from bowing but now i can slide the lid open wider than before so it worked out for the best.. ( i will take some pics of that when the lights turn back on)



other than that i am still just looking things over and still trying to decide what stays what goes and what needs to be added...... i dont think i have a very good artistic eye for this... so i am stuck... i feel it just doesnt look right.... somethings either missing, the plants arent in the optimal positions, or theres not enough variety, somethin... i duno but it feels off....














i beleive its ready for the frogs(who have been sitting two feet away watching the whole time) once things grow in a bit.. its excape proof as of today and the wood is soaked through enough the humididy stays relatively stable.


ooh i forgot to mention, yeah i did just put a T in the clear hose for the fog and yeah those are returns from my salt water supplies (its been cleaned throughly and the T and clear hose is new


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## frogparty (Dec 27, 2007)

I don't think I would change anything bro. Looking really sweet with all the work you have done.


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## Link3898 (Sep 18, 2008)

Awesome thanks! i am just filling in the places where i wanted riccia to grow now... other than that i decided just to leave it alone and let it do its thing and maybe once those new broms expand and reach full size and the vines cover the background i will be happier with it... 

thats always a problem for me... whenever i set up a new viv it looks baren because i am used to seeing grown in tanks at the zoo so i see mine and go ugh... i can still see the base of that plant...


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## frogparty (Dec 27, 2007)

I could see a microgramma lycopoides creeping through that tank or the microsorum black jungle sells. Microgramma is at least a S American species


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## Link3898 (Sep 18, 2008)

i didnt really stick to the south american plants to well.... mainly just used what i had on hand (except for the broms from Antone)

Microsorum thailandicum definitely arent from the area i dont know if riccia, or java moss are ether, but i love em so what the heck... in fact... ive got Microsorum thailandicum in most of my vivs...  on the next viv i build i am tinkering with the idea of mounting several thailandicum together to make a clump mid to high on the background  ive got one small clump mounted up in the small stump in this tank and am going to watch it to see how it does. i am sure it will be happy and has been suggested as a preferred planting choice on some websites so i am curious to compair coloration and growth rate between the two


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## frogparty (Dec 27, 2007)

Im not great at sticking to s a species either. But I can still see a microgramma creeping around in there. Love the snakeskin look of the lycopoides. I am getting the microsorum from black jungle tomorrow, frogs supposedly like to lay eggs on it, and my leucs only lay on leaves, can't get them to use the ol' coco hut/petri dish to save my life


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## Link3898 (Sep 18, 2008)

So i figgured i may as well do a small update on this vivarium.. yeah i know i am bringing back the dead... but only for a little while, becides the last full tank shot wasnt even grown in at all... its been a while and all inhabitants are very happy, though... in a strange unlucky twist all five leucs turned out to be female... huh... 

anyhooo heres the tank as of a few weeks ago.










and heres some of what i wake up to every morning 











and heres a project that I am building right now. its only about 40% done i would guess in this pic... its a 7 foot tall open air Panther chameleon enclosure. (the barriers that keep the panther in arent in place yet) oh and ive added a bunch of plants since this photo....


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## Morgan Freeman (Feb 26, 2009)

Looks awesome. Love the panther tank.


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## klik339 (May 17, 2010)

loving all the plant growth on that leuc tank. keep us updated with the furcifer pardalis enclosure, that tree looks great in there


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