# 55 gallon journal



## markbudde

After being out of the hobby for 5 years, early this year my fiancee rejuvenated my interest in terrariums. We decided that we could fit exactly one terrarium in our tiny one bedroom apartment. 55 gallons (48"x13"x18") was the maximum that would fit in our living room, so I decided on that. 

The ultimate goal of this terrarium is to be self sustaining. I have read extensively on this, and written on this goal here. 
general-discussion/topic35619.html
I doubt the tank will be able to be completely self sustaining, but I hope to only have to add leaves and occasional kitchen scraps.

The overall design of the terrarium needs can only have the short end facing the wall covered in substrate, but must be transparent along the long axis. Initially I was going to add a water feature, but in reality that would eat up precious floorspace, which will be used to grow microfauna. Besides, I made a tank with a waterfall in it six years ago. The soil will be several experimental soils with different properties. Most of my plants will be grown epiphytically allowing an understory to develop, and they will be watered by an automated misting system. There will also be internal air movement, provided by a computer fan. This will all be sealed up, and hopefully only opened to prune plants and add leaves (any maybe remove offspring, if I'm lucky).

I scoured craigslist for a few weeks, and eventually found someone giving away a free 55 gallon. It came full of old aquarium stones and assorted crap, which I discarded, and wasn't in perfect condition. I washed it and washed it, but there was permanent (and I tried everything) hard water stains at the top, and various scratches, and the frame was warped/melted. So I sterilized it with bleach.










Next I drilled the holes. Having never drilled glass before, this was quite nerve racking. This was also a major reason why I didn't want to buy a new tank, as I feared impending doom. Luckily, there was no catastrophe and everything ended up working out. I drilled: one 1/2" hole in the bottom for drainage, two 1_3/8" holes for ventilation and two 1/2" holes ate the top for the misting system and temp probe. One word of advice when drilling with a hole saw. Use lots of water!



















The next step was to smear black silicone across the back of the terrarium, to hide the Great Stuff that I would be adding later. I also used the silicone to seal up the tubes sticking out the back for drainage and misting.










I ended up using two layers of GE black silicone II. It took one entire tube to cover the background and the false bottom. I didn't use gloves, and my fingernails looked pretty nasty for a couple of days.

Next step was to position the wood. I purchased a tree stump off of eBay, in part because of this pic of Shawn's colon tank.
member-s-frogs-vivariums/topic35018.html

The piece came to big for my small tank, so I had to cut it down to size. Here is a pic before I cut it.









I used a hacksaw to trim it up, and I don't will that pain on anyone, ever again. Do NOT use a hacksaw for this job unless you want an extended workout.








As I trimmed the piece of wood, pieces kept breaking off (not surprisingly). This was because I didn't have a vice, so had to hold onto stump as I cut it. Some good advice, USE A VICE!

Thats all for now :wink:


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## markbudde

Next step was to make the background and false bottom. I first glued the pvc spacers in place, so that they would not fall when the tank was moved vertical to make the background (after learning the hard way that this was necessary). This show was from directly above the tank.










I next installed the false bottom, and taped it into place, then added the PVC for my air flow system. This was somewhat difficult, because the pvc was sticking out the bottom that the tank needed to rest on. I solved this by putting some old text books to use as stilts for the tank. I should note here that I had previously covered the PVC end in the plastic mesh used to make the false bottom. 










Next I covered the back in GS, then placed my wood into the foam in a predecided position. It was a good thing that I took a picture of how I wanted them, because otherwise the position of the wood would never have been remembered correctly. I also used a cut up empty paper towel roll to keep the wood in position and to prevent my vent from being obscured by GS. 










A word of warning for anyone who hasn't yet used Great Stuff... Cover all of your wood in plastic and tape before GSing, otherwise you will end up with a huge mess (like I did). And its a pain.

A few hours later, the GS felt like it was setting well, so I started trimming it up. Perhaps I was a tad impatient. I quickly cut into a huge air pocket, and the background started deflating :shock:. When I woke up the next morning, I found that the hole a found had refilled with foam, which had then extruded out of the hole and onto my background (like one of the "snakes" at the forth of july). This was easily cut off. Another note. I used 2 bottles of GS for a relatively small area. Overnight, the GS got into my false bottom and would have occluded my drain had I not put a foot long tube inside my false bottom. So be careful with that.

Here is an image of the tank after GS and with the supports removed. 










And here it is from the top, before trimming.










Next it was time to trim up the background and remove the excess silicone from the glass. I started trimming with a razor blade, but it quickly became clear that would not due. MY fiancee got me a scalpel and some tweezers, which worked awesome for trimming. I used a razor to remove excess silicone from the background, which worked just fine, mostly. One major problem presented itself, which was silicone on the glass adjacent to the wood. My hands were just to big to get in there. I got most of it off with the scalpel blade, but it was an unpleasant experience. I attempted to create a plateau above the wood, and another below the wood. This turned out well, but the lower plateau would eventually become covered in dirt anyway. :? 



















Next up is substrate...


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## markbudde

With the background all trimmed up, it was time to cover up the GS. I had ordered some tree fern fiber, because I read that it was great for growing epiphytes. When it arrived, however, I realized that it looked like cross between twigs and pine needles. So at the last minute I scrapped the idea of coverign my background in it and just used black silicone and peat moss. This turned out nice, and I created a small spot with the tree fern fiber as well. The background ended up pretty nice.










These pictures also have LECA covering the false bottom.










I also had been experimentign with ventilation/ air flow systems. I bought a super quiet Silenx fan, but it didn't move enough air through my pipes. So I ran out na bought a 4" computer fan. I couldn't come up with a way to put this 4" fan inline with my pipes. I eventually ended cutting up two old spray bottles and using the cone portion to attach the fan to the PVC. Here is a pic of that monstrosity.










This ventilation system actually works fairly well at moving air, but I certainly dont get a breeze. It's fairly quiet, though.

Next I wanted to position the wood before adding dirt, and also figured it was as good a time as any to try out my lights. Here are some pre-dirt images.



















Next up, DIRT!


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## markbudde

So read quite a bit on dirt. For the novice among you, here is a brief primer (well not brief).
general-discussion/topic31551.html
The IDEA is to add clay to the substrate, with the hopes that it will hold onto nutrients that would otherwise wash out of the soil. These nutrients can the be uptaken by microfauna and eventually eaten by the frogs. The problem with pure clay is that it will eventually turn to a solid clay mass, and then nothing will be able to penetrate it. So some pioneers here have come up with some ways (more like attempts) around this. One idea that intrigued me was developed by Brent Brock, which essentially involves introducing plastic into the clay particle to keep them from mushing together over time. He uses a mix of Redart clay (red potting clay) and soil, which is then infused with acrylic cement bonder, which becomes plastic when it dries. An important aspect of this voodoo (and I mean voodoo as a compliment) is to introduce calcium into the soil, as calcium deficiency is not unheard of in this hobby. This is especially important if you don't plan on dusting you food, which I don't plan on doing. So I went to the University bookstore and bought some redart clay, and mixed it with some soil and some sand in a five gallon bucket. Brent recommends adding water until it forms little aggregates, and then laying it out to dry. I'm not sure if his clay comes dry, or what, but this was impossible for my. I started with a brick of clay and it was hellish to try and mix it with dirt. So I kept adding water. This eventually turned into wet mud.










I then smeared this mud out into a 1/2" thick piece of dough on a sheet of plastic in my apartment and let it dry. After a couple of days when it was in its sexy dirt state, I crumbled it apart like bleu cheese and let it dry some more. Then I sprayed some quikrete bonder on it, and then some more. Eventually I had nice little plastic covered dirt nuggets. I sure hope that quikrete is safe for long term exposure!

But that wasn't even half of it. I wanted to have four varieties of soil in my aquarium. So I decided that a great idea would be to mix portland cement with clay based soil! The cement would act to "cement" the particles together, and also gives off calcium as it cures! So when I made the soil as above, I actually split ti into two buckets, and to the second bucket I added a little portland cement. I should note here that I did do a trial and confirmed that I could make a product with the properties that I wanted. So all was going well, and I couldn't get over how smart I was, when I tested the pH. Woops. pH was almost 10, which almost uninhabitable, and in which many invertebrates cannot live. So I started spraying some vinegar on it. Then more. Then a whole bottle. Retest the pH... No change  . So then I decided to try a little harder and procured some HCl. Added some of this... No change. The I added a bunch of HCl and noticed that my dirt was effervescing. This acid was acting on the calcium carbonate and giving off CO2 bubbles. I did somemore sleuthing online and found that by neutralizing the pH I would essentially by removing the cementing property of the cement. So I then gave up. Here is a picture of both kinds of dirt in my apartment. (dirt with plastic in it on the left, dirt with cement in it on the right). This is before I broke it all up.










And this is with it about ready to use.









My fiancee was incredibly nice during this period of a couple weeks, when we had a pile of dirt on our livingroom floor. She couldn't help but pointing out all the dirt everywhere that I could steal for free, and yet I had to make my own.

So anyway, the 4 kinds of dirt I ended up using were.

1) Dirt with plastic fortifier as described above.
2) Tree fern fiber, red mulch, peat moss and sphagnum moss.
3) Miracle grow organic garden soil, with a little red mulch and tree fern fiber for aeration
4) dirt with cement mixed in with red mulch, tree fern fiber and peat.

Hopefully these will provide some different micro habitats for a variety of microfauna as well as the frogs.


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## markbudde

Next step was to create a lid for the terrarium. Because it has to be self sustaining, I must be able to provide UV light to the frogs and microfauna, so that they can produce vitamin D3. The means that I have to build a custom top out of UV transparent plastic (ie solacryl or OP-4). Here is a thread I posted in preparation of constructing the lids.
parts-construction/topic36186.html#p267794

I searched long and hard for UV transparent plastic. All of the plastic shops in Seattle (such as TAP plastics) were of no help. All of them informed me that al acrylic was UV transparent, which is not true. They even gave me some literature, a section of which touts the UV blocking capacity of acrylic. I eventually found that tanning repair shops are the way to got, and got 2 sheets of plastic for about $35 each (shipped). I thus constructed my own lids for the terrarium, using a design recommended by Brian (dancing frogs). This method involves creating a five-sided box and placing it in the lip of the black aquarium top. I had TAP plastics cut me the strips for the sides of the box, and Kelsun Distributers get me the solacryl, cut to spec. I then solvent welded the strips together, as if I was makign a picture frame.










Here is the solvent I used. It actually dissolved the plastic and then when it dries the two sheets have become unified into one sheet.










Here are two half completed lids, which were then glued together.










Here are the completed lids, they still ahve the protective tape on them, and thus appear opaque. 










You can also see on that last photo, that I put rubber weatherseal around the lip of the tank (it appears as an orange strip). This is to create a seal and prevent insect escapes from the tank.

Here is a close-up.


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## markbudde

And here are some shots of the terrarium with dirt and lights on it.










In this one, you can see the return vent for air flow on the far right side.










Here is a shot of the opposite side from the wall.










And here is a shot from the other side.










And lastly, here is a full tank shot










I still have a decent amount of work to do. I have ordered a herpmist misting system, and am in the process of ordering some bromeliads and some orchids. I also hope to plant an african violet in the soil, to add some consistent color. Also, I need to build a stand for my lights, which will require some ingenuity. I hope to raise the lights a few inches off of the plastic to prevent warping and prevent overheating. 

And then, after the tank grows in a bit and I feel comfortable that I have a sustainable microfauna population, I can add some frogs. I was thinking about a pair of Intermedius.

Thanks to everyone who helped me with advice on this project, you know who you are. And thanks to anyone who was able to read this entire (read: overly lengthly) post. Lat me know what you think.

-mark


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## tzen

Nice work. 
The problem with good, long and descriptive build journals is that they don't leave much to ask about.  

Re cutting wood with a hacksaw: the tool you want is a thin-kerf pull saw, like this: https://www.hardwareworld.com/16-12in-Fine-Pull-Saw-pIRUAJ8.aspx

After curing long enough, wouldn't the concrete pH go back to neutral?


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## calvinyhob

Looking forward to updates!!!


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## topherlove

looks great so far


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## jdogfunk99

Great choice of wood, the whole thing looks great. Your analysis of the dirt may be true, but it seems like you're over-analyzing it.


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## markbudde

So I was adding humidity to the soil in order to test the ventilation system, and I guess this caused the GS to cure some more (one week after adding it to the tank). It expanded enough to completely block my drainage system, so now I have to take out the dirt and false bottom (which is held in by GS) and cut away the offending foam, and then replace the drainage tubing. I hope I don't have to take the whole back of my tank. :?


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## AaronAcker

looks good, and good luck de-assembling your viv :? lol... great hood, let us know if it warps too bad.


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## Shady

wow this looks great.. I have the same tank as you so you just gave me a bunch of ideas especially for the lid which is what I've been havin the most trouble with so thanks and cant wait for updates..


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## markbudde

Shortly after my last post I tore out my substrate to get at the drain. Here's a pic of the offending blockage.










You can see that the foam got into the false bottom and blocked up the whole back of the false bottom. I had to cut out the false bottom with a pair of wire cutters (which work wonders on egg crate), and then I had to cut through the foam to make a cave and unblock the tube. The whole tube was full of foam, so I had to replace it. After I fixed the blockage, I replaced the egg crate, and since I had cut it out I had to hook it back together with zipties. This seemed to work pretty well. After replacing the false bottom, I re-added the substrate, as you can see here.









The upper left is Dirty Old Man Substrate (Brent Brock's recipe). The upper right is a mix up red mulch, tree fern fiber sphagnum moss. The lower left is Miracle grow Organic potting soil with a little tree fern fiber and mulch mixed in for aeration. I wouldn't use the miracle grow soil again, it seems like it will compact pretty tight and is mostly peat moss. The lower right is the cement based soil described above mixed with mulch and tree fern fiber. In the future I would be interested in the baseball diamond soils mentioned in the ultimate dirt based thread.

I also built a stand for my lights to rest on, it is essentially a hollow box which sits on the top of the terrarium. I don't have any pictures of it, but if anyone is interested, I can post some.

So thats everything pre-planting, pictures of the completed setup next!


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## markbudde

So here is the final installment of my terrarium setup. The tank is setup between our computer area and out living area, so three sides are visible. Here are the three whole tank shots, from our living room walking around to the study area.




























I got the 6 orchids from Rob at Littlefrog Farm, and the 10 bromeliads and ficus from Antone at SpringValleyTropicals (both sponsors). The moss I took from the ground in Seattle, we'll see if it lives or dies (Moss covers every square inch of this town).

Here are some closeups of the plants.

Phalaenopsis equestris "W lavender"









Neofinetia falcata "chosentetsu"









Epidendrum porpax









Sophrolaeliocattleya "barefoot mailman" 'Laina'









Dendrobium moniliforme "Fairy Princess"









African Violet









left- Neoregelia "mosquito",  right- Oncidium "Teipel's Goldbar"









ficus pumila 'quercifolia'









left- Neoregelia "Wee Willy", right- Neoregelia "Lillipet"









After one week, most of the orchids seem to be doing well, and about half have new growth. I just put in the broms 2 days ago, so I can't yet tell how they will do.

I seeded the tank with garden soil from Florida, which had springtails and amphipods in it, I hope some start growing. It looks like a fungal bloom is imminent, so I hope there are some critters to eat it. I haven't yet received my misting system, so that's on the to do list. The tank is completely sealed, and has a bit of a heat problem, which I will have to fix before I add frogs. I might drill some holes in the lid to vent out hot air. Currently my humidity stays over 90% without misting for 2 days. I'm also considering adding another fan for air flow, but the plants seem to be doing well so far. I'll post more picks when it grows in, and when I add my frogs. Hopefully this will provide enough space to provide food for the frogs. I guess we'll see.

Thanks for reading.
-mark


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## markbudde

The two main tank shots didn't link correctly, so I'll try again.


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## calvinyhob

lookin good


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## Derek Benson

I like it. I have an old 55 and I was planning on putting background on the two sides instead of the back, since they are so narrow, as well as having brnaches extend from the backgound into the tank. Mine will be for some type of neotropical treefrog though. Enjoyed the pics!


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## xitch

awesome idea, but i had two inquiries.

first: what about water circulation? Of course some of the water will evaporate and re-condensate on the top and then fall, and with your misting system... however, i'd imagine that quite a bit of the actual nutrients that reside in the water would benefit from a pump or something circulating those nutrients to the top of the soil, and such.

the second inquiry was forgotten... perhaps i'll think about it during my test here in 20 minutes, and then, of course, i'll forget how to do the physics problems...

you must keep us up to date over the course of the next months


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## markbudde

Nutrient leaching is a potential problem, but I think it shouldn't matter in the long run. First of all, I plan on adding leaf litter to this viv, which should provide a source of nutrients. Second, hopefully the bugs will crawl throughout the soil and pick up nutrients from the bottom and bring it to the top, where the frogs will eat them (and eventually poop them out onto the plants). I don't plan on misting this thing to the point where water is pouring out of the drain everyday. I intend to only water it enough to keep the plants and wood sufficiently damp.

That said, it's an experiment in progress, so perhaps it won't be sustainable. Time will tell.
-mark


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## Mikee

Love it, nicely done! I hear ya on the hacksaw + wood lol i did the same except my piece was smaller.. what a workout..must of took me 30 mins atleast to cut through it..hahaha.


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## markbudde

A follow up here. Last night I got two 6 month old intermedius, which the breeder tried to sex based on size. The smaller one (presumed male) starting calling within 30 minutes of entrance into his new home. The male jumped all around the tank, calling, while the female stayed in the leaf litter for the first hour. They were on a reverse light cycle from mine, so it will probably take a few days for them to get over the jet lag. Both were foraging and eating before I turned out the lights. The smaller one seemed to go after the springtails and the larger one went after the mites. I'd been worried about all of the mites climbing up the glass and out of the tank (and onto my sofa) so it was reassuring to watch the frog clean the glass of all the mites.

All of the plants are growing nicely, with all of the broms no rooted and all of the orchids growing well. The temps are still running a little hot (high of 85) which I trying to control by increasing ventilation. Does anyone know how high intermedius can tolerate and for how long?

Thanks,
Mark


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## sounddrive

i have a couple of pairs of inters and they seem to like it alittle cooler like 74-76. some pums like it in the mid 80s.


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## markbudde

mine seem happiest from upper 70s to mid 80s. Low 80s is when they call and hunt the most, but I won't pretend to know what a happy frog looks like.


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## froggiefriend

Great journal! Any new updates..


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## Julio

great tank!!


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## markbudde

When I decided on the plants, I decided against fast growing creeping plants so it doesn't look significant;y more grown in now. The planst have all grown some, the broms are starting to pup out and the orchids have added a few leaves and one is about to flower. I'll try and post some updated pics when the orchids blooms.

Its a lot of fun watching the frogs climb all over the tank, but they never venture into the leaf litter anymore. The microfauna is still very productive, and my frogs seem especially fond of amphipods.


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## markbudde

*Re: 55 gallon journal *Update**

Six months later... Well, since I decided against ground cover, opting mostly for epiphytes, the viv doesn't look terribly more grown in. All of the plants have added some leaves and roots, but I wouldn't call it lush. I recently added some wandering jew, which I hope doen't take over too much. The frogs have been laying clutches for a few months, but all have been bad so far.

This week I added a new hood, using 220 watts of compact fluorescents, and today I incorporated the T-12 UV bulb into the design. The bulb was too long to mount in the hood, so I had to carve out (with a dremel) some wood to make room. I also had to carve out a groove to slide the leads of the bulb down.

Here is my new hood with everything but the UV bulb.









And here it is with the UV bulb. You can see where I had to carve the groove onthe left side.









I built it from scratch with 2 2x55 watt kits from AH supply. It was the first time iv'e built anything from wood from scratch, so it was pretty satisfying. I put 4 computer fans in it and it still gets pretty hot. Here is the tank with and without the new hood.


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## markbudde

And here are some updated pics from all sides.


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## markbudde

I keep waiting for this orchid to bloom. The spike keeps getting longer, and now has shot out smaller spikes off of the main spike. Its been growing for like a month and a half.










And the inhabitants.


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## pet-teez

It's looking great! I really like all the wood in there and the orchids 
especially how the roots are exposed).
Do your frogs use all the surface areas? Seems like they would from the image of those two perched on some wood


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## markbudde

> Do your frogs use all the surface areas?


Yeah, they really like all of the wood in the tank. It's setup so that they can get anywhere in the tank without touching the ground. After about the first month in there, they never go in the leaf litter anymore. I've seen them maybe 2 or 3 times on the ground since then. They definitely have their preferred sleeping and hunting spots, but I've seen them everywhere in the tank and they usually hop back and forth the whole length of the tank every morning. I would also add that they seem to prefer exposed wood over moss covered wood.
-mark


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## markbudde

About a year in, there are now 3 frogs and 2 tadpoles in the tank.


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## NickBoudin

Why have I heard in so many places that cedar mulch should NOT be used with any reptiles or amphibians for bedding? 


Beautiful viv, you should check out my website!


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## markbudde

I don't think I used cedar.


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## NickBoudin

What other kinds of red mulch are there?


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## markbudde

It was some kind of wood which was dyed red. It didn't have the texture of cedar.


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## sgvreptiles

Awsome tank! Love all the blooming flowers.


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## Derek Benson

That's awesome man


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## xfrogx

That's a badass tank for sure!


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## fleshfrombone

Absolutely beautiful.


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## jelly_shrimp

I just got a tank yesterday with a width of 12.5" (only.5" different from you) and I was just wondering, after you did your BG how much room was left for other stuff? Was it reasonable?


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## jelly_shrimp

jelly_shrimp said:


> I just got a tank yesterday with a width of 12.5" (only.5" different from you) and I was just wondering, after you did your BG how much room was left for other stuff? Was it reasonable?


Oh nevermind lol, I just read through your background process again, that's an amazing idea! I'm definately doing something like that, WITH GHOST WOOD!!!


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## Julio

the tank looks great, love the way it has grown in!


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## fleshfrombone

I'm doing the same, getting ghost wood in soon. Maybe we can compare notes.


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## jelly_shrimp

fleshfrombone said:


> I'm doing the same, getting ghost wood in soon. Maybe we can compare notes.


I wish I could but I won't be gettin the wood for 2 weeks, maybe, if I have to got to summer school...6 months! And if I don't, the only thing I'll be getting done is my BG, false bottom, and everything else that doesn't live. Because I'm going to Florida to see my mom for a month WOOHOO!!! So in...2.5 months, I'll porobably be able to get started, on my plants and such!  so you should wait 2 weeks, and if I can do it, wait 2 months, if I can't do it because of summer school...you can start lol


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## jm87

maybe i missed this in the pics but what covers the ends of your vent tubes? is there anything to stop the frogs getting down there and into the fan?


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## markbudde

jm87 said:


> maybe i missed this in the pics but what covers the ends of your vent tubes? is there anything to stop the frogs getting down there and into the fan?


Not sure if I posted about this. What I did was cut 2 pieces of screen the same size as the opening and then silicone them over the top (I used two layers because springs and flies could go right through a single layer). I then coated the whole tube, except the opening, in brown silcone and then covered that in peat. They are pretty well disguised. Thanks for reading.
-Mark


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## axolotl2

Wow  this is one of the best tanks I've seen in a long time, I am going to use some of your great landscaping ideas with my next one!! Thanks


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## Nora

This is impressive on so many levels. Good thorough explanations on all aspects of the build and great pics.

How is the self sustainability going? How often do you work on feeding - maintenance etc? 

I really do love the idea of more space and resources for the inhabitants and a balanced biocycle with less caregiver intrusion and am eager to know how that has played out for you. 

More info and updates please.


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## Laxman

possibly one of the most nicely done "see through" vivs that I have seen. Honestly looks amazing well done. most definitely will use some ideas for my first one.


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## RicktheRarefrogbreeder

Wow! Where did you purchase the wood?


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## markbudde

I got it at Petco. It's nice to be able to see it before you buy it.

I'll try and post some new pics when I get a chance to take some new pics. It need a manicure.
-Mark


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## stevenhman

Any updates? Very nice tank!


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## pygmypiranha

Love the tank. I really did like the idea of having the giant 'stump' on one side off center. It makes for a nice center piece in the cage. Very nice indeed.

Loved the construction diary and pictures. Thanks for sharing.. Have any updates or news on the frogs? Are they breeding or anything of that nature?


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## markbudde

OK, a minor update. I don't have any good whole tank shots because the glass is covered in algae, and there are eggs all over the tank, so I don't want to start moving around film canisters right now.

Last year, I replaced the lights with compact fluorescents from ahsupply. The lights were good, but they were too bright. They turned my viv into a sauna, so I only ran 2 of the 4 at any given time. This caused there to be some REALLY bright spots and some really dark spots. It also burned some of my plants (but made some flourish). It also let that thick bubbly algae go to town. It covered everything, broms, orchids, glass...

A few weeks ago I replaced the compact fluorescents with 4 48" T5 bulbs. This has let me turn off the fans in the hood. I also started an extreme desnail and deslugging campaign. I've pulled out well over a hundred snails over the past month, using lettuce as bait. I have not lost any clutches to snails since the anti-snail campaign began, and have also notice the first new growth on some orchids in a long time. It looks like one of my orchids might finish a bloom for the first time since I put it in. I haven't added any leaf litter lately due to the deslugging, so there is usually a lot more litter. 

Anyway, as I said, there are a bunch of eggs in there right now, there are currently 3 males, 1 female and one juvi.























































*The inhabitants...*
All 4 adults in one brom









Guarding his 6 eggs.









6 eggs in this canister.









3 eggs on this leaf









This guy was posing with his pack this morning.



























And the youngest frog in the viv.


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## Julio

great piggy back shots!!


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## ChrisK

Insane pics. So are you still using the clay at the top, and did the solacryl warp at all (and are you going to replace it at the 2 year mark)?


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## stevenhman

Wasn't it your plan not to feed this tank(from external ff cultures?)? If so, has this gone well?


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## markbudde

Took some new photos yesterday. It doesn't have that really cool grown in look some tanks get, maybe because it's mostly broms and moss. Because moss has grown to cover nearly every surface of wood, you can't see the depth in most places in these photos (since it all just looks like a mass of moss). Anyway, here are some current shots...

Front









The end cap of the viv.









The other _front_ of the viv.









This piece of wood used to be completely barren, now it's covered in moss. 









A shot through the viv, long ways.









A brom pup with a tadpole in it.









You can see a piece of dogfood in this picture. I add dogfood to my viv every couple weeks. It will mold over, get covered in springtails and other bugs, eventually turn to dirt and frog poo and then turn into moss. All that moss growing on the little column of wood originally grew on decayed dogfood. I cut the moss back significantly before taking these pictures.









You can see an orchid spike about to bloom in this pic.









All of the broms (almost) have finally pupped. I now end up throwing out a pup about once every two months.









When I first set the viv up, I had the misting tubing running along the top of the viv. To prevent the frogs from hanging out there the whole time, I covered the whole misting tubing in a kitty litter (bentonite)/peat moss mixture. Here you can see how well the moss has done on this. Other places the bentonite dried up and cracked off.









On the lower left side of this photo you can see a brom with a huge root system. Just to the right of it is mini-trailing african violet (currently not in bloom), also with lots of aerial roots.









Due to the way I added all of the wood when I set it up, this tank has a lot of hiding space/tunnels under the wood. The frogs rarely venture to the bottom of the viv, but if I hold off feeding for a few weeks you will see them move down to the bottom. Here is an example of a tunnel under the wood, shot through the aerial root system shown above.










All of the moss in this photo is green, but looks yellow in this photo.


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## markbudde

ChrisK said:


> Insane pics. So are you still using the clay at the top, and did the solacryl warp at all (and are you going to replace it at the 2 year mark)?


See my update for an answer to the bentonite question. As far as solocryl, I'm still using the same lids, but am no longer using UV bulbs.


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## markbudde

stevenhman said:


> Wasn't it your plan not to feed this tank(from external ff cultures?)? If so, has this gone well?


Steven,
I feed this tank fruit flies about once a week; there are currently 5 frogs and at least 2 tadpoles in there. I feed the viv dogfood, fishfood and tadpole bites a few times a month and there is still a LOT of microfauna in it. If I hold of on feeding flies or petfood for more than a week or so, the frogs will migrate down and start hunting in the substrate. When I see them on the ground I know it is time to add some more petfood to the viv. I feed them flies mostly get them their vitamins, but if I feed flies 2x a week then they breed more also.


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## eos

That's a phenomenal looking viv! I love all the root systems you got going on!


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## pygmypiranha

Have any tips for moss growth? Love all the moss and algae. Just trying to get the same results. 

Looks just great.


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## moore40

Love this tank, just great looking.


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## D3monic

Wow stunning tank! Truly an inspiration.


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## Bob S

Looks great. Love all the orchids. Are you concerned about the red dyed mulch? and why did you go with the red dyed? If you posted why sorry I did read through your entire thread. I ask for I spread all different types of mulch where I work for the past 15yrs and I see the resin that comes off the dyed mulches. I know people say that it is all natural.


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## Herpetology101

Excellent journal! really that was worth the hour going through it. Awesome documentation, atruly an educational thread.


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## JJhuang

That stump was worth your workout. That thing looks very nice and goes well with the setup nice choice on wood.


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## markbudde

Thanks. As the tank has matured, the stump has become covered in moss and looks very nice in person. I'm really happy with how it has turned out.


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## maxdendros

Any updates?


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## vivbulider

Try adding some fruit and Put in flying ffs


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## gbeauvin

I apologize for the thread necromancy, but this thread really makes me want to abandon the idea of a 20H vert viv and go shopping on craigslist for a 55 or better yet a 75... Just lovely!


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## Boyd75

Did you make your own misting system?
how so?


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## froggies3

Boyd75 said:


> Did you make your own misting system?
> how so?


He said on the first page that the misting system was from Herpmist, which I believe has gone out of business. This thread was from a long time ago and I have not seen him post after this. So I do not think he will respond.


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## frogparty

Mark has a family and is super busy...he doesn't post much anymore.The tank is still going, froggies seem happy enough for sure


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## markbudde

Just an FYI that this tank is for sale.
http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/frog-classifieds/90786-mature-55-gallon-tank-4-intermedius.html


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## frogparty

Don't feel like moving it to southern California?


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## markbudde

I'll give you a call.


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