# Vert aquarium conversion



## afroturf (Nov 2, 2008)

Well I've finally got round to sorting out a old 20G aquarium that had a cracked base. I wanted to create a vert tank for some small arboreal dart and to house some nice plants mini orchids etc. I shall be using an epiweb background, false bottom and a drip wall and also making some roots/vines for the background.

I didn't take any picks of the tank before I started on it, but you don't want to see that really (wasn't nice).

The tank itself measures 75x30x38cm.

Few pics,-

Outside testing for leaks




Viv door construction



Viv in place



I'd like a healthy covering of moss over the background so will be using some epiweb moss mix.

It will be a while till any frogs find their way in so will be focusing on the plants for the time deing.

Plants list so far.-

Marcgravia sintenisii
Neoregelia 'fireball'
Neoregelia 'chiquita linda'
Utricularia calycifida
Bulbophyllum forstii
Bulbophyllum wendlandianum
Bulbophyllum fasinator
Dendrobium jenkinsii 
Neofinetia falcata 
Trias disciflora
verious mosses.

More plant will follow


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## DrawntoLife (Nov 12, 2009)

seems promising, did you get your tank drilled for the drain? dang good idea wish I knew someone who could drill glass around here =p


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## afroturf (Nov 2, 2008)

DrawntoLife said:


> seems promising, did you get your tank drilled for the drain? dang good idea wish I knew someone who could drill glass around here =p


I drilled the tank myself, just brought a £3 bit off ebay. I drilled 7 holes in the tank 2 for water in/out 5 for vents. It was quite easy to do really.


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## afroturf (Nov 2, 2008)

Diy roots and substrate added



Not 100% satistfied with the roots especially after how long the took to make but they'll do, substrate used is a ruff ABG mix.

A lone Bulbophyllum in at the moment more will come soon.


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## kate801 (Jul 7, 2011)

Nice plant choice. I'm a fan of Trias orchids and currently have Oblonga, Nummularia (black), and Picta. I think your roots turned out nice too.


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## RNKot (Jun 9, 2010)

Thanks for root sharing, as per me they'r lovely 
Pls inform what from the thick roots are made of?


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## afroturf (Nov 2, 2008)

kate801 said:


> Nice plant choice. I'm a fan of Trias orchids and currently have Oblonga, Nummularia (black), and Picta. I think your roots turned out nice too.


Cheers, how do you find the Trias cope with viv conditions, i've tried to pick orchids that can hold up to high moisture levels. 

I've just ordered a few more orchids which cost a few bob, just hope I don't kill them when they arrive.



RNKot said:


> Thanks for root sharing, as per me they'r lovely
> Pls inform what from the thick roots are made of?


The thickest roots at the base of the structure were made of plastic plumbing pipe of various diameters brought from the local diy store these were heated with a cigarette lighter and bent into shape unfortunatly I didn't take any pics of the build process, the thinner stuff is made of poly rope. All was covered with elastopure and coco soil.


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## RNKot (Jun 9, 2010)

Thanks, i got the point.


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## eyeviper (May 23, 2006)

Looks nice man, You did a good job on the roots, you see a lot of real botch jobs with them but not in your case. what type of dart you thinking of?


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## antoniolugo (Apr 8, 2011)

Great build, those rots look awesome! keep us posted with new pictures.


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## afroturf (Nov 2, 2008)

eyeviper said:


> Looks nice man, You did a good job on the roots, you see a lot of real botch jobs with them but not in your case. what type of dart you thinking of?


Cheers, I really have no idea on the frog i'll keep in the tank, obviously some thing with a head for heights, maybe R. vanzollini or R. imitator 'jeberos'.

A few plants arrived from Europe this week, I could easily spend a few hundered pounds on orchids for the viv but just 3 arrived this week all tiny.

Lepanthes calodycton


Macroclinium manabinum has a 3 of flower spikes unfortunatly 2 had died don't know if this was due the them being posted but delivery time was only 2 days. 


Lepanthes telipogoniflora love this plant, has 2 flower spikes hope hope they survive.


Few picks of the initial planting also added an extra branch made of some excess Epiweb.




This weekend I need to add the Epiweb moss mix to the background and sort out the internal air circulation which has been a right pain in the you know what. I also might swap the Neo. 'fireball' for another smaller/more compact brom I have, I dont really like the leaf shape and has been showing more signs of red since I got it, I'd like the plants to be mostly green, hoping the orchids will supply the colour.


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## DragonSpirit1185 (Dec 6, 2010)

I heard epiweb can harm frogs cause their toes get caught in it and get ripped off :/

also what's up with the green hoses?


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## afroturf (Nov 2, 2008)

DragonSpirit1185 said:


> I heard epiweb can harm frogs cause their toes get caught in it and get ripped off :/
> 
> also what's up with the green hoses?


Yeah I heard that as well, It seems like it was one unfortunate event, and i know of many people using epiweb for years without any such problems. I've had it laying around for sometime now and as it cost quite alot I thought I better use it.

I also hope to cover most of it with the epiweb moss mix and other plants so hopefully there won't be much bare epiweb on show.

The green hose is attached to a Eheim external aquarium filter it to run the drip wall. Water drains from the false bottom into the filter and is pumped up to the top and runs down the back two panels via a custom spray bar. It runs for a few minutes 3 times a day.


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## dartfrogger24 (Oct 27, 2011)

Great tank 
Even though you seem to disagree, I think the roots are pretty cool. Those are by far the best artificial ones I've seen. Nice work!


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## skanderson (Aug 25, 2011)

very nice looking start and i love your orchid selection.


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## afroturf (Nov 2, 2008)

Added a few more plants and also added the epiweb moss mix, already started to see some green from this.

Plants added 
Polypodium vulgare
Sophronitis cernua
Platystele umbellata
Stelis sp.
Unnamed Neo brom.



Still working on the ventilation/air circulation. I originally planned on having an enclosed external system but found that the pipes cut down the air flow too much. I'm now trying to work out the correct setup for an internal system. I have probably broken 6 fans in the process but think I have finally sorted the layout, I'll have 3 60mm fans blowing air over front panel to keep off condensation and another 60mm fan in one corner directed at some plants /orchids. The fans are connected to a controller so can adjust fan speed, so humidity isn't too low.


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## Sandsifter (Sep 8, 2011)

afroturf said:


> The green hose is attached to a Eheim external aquarium filter it to run the drip wall. Water drains from the false bottom into the filter and is pumped up to the top and runs down the back two panels via a custom spray bar. It runs for a few minutes 3 times a day.


How reliable do you find this?

Beautiful viv btw 

Chris


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## afroturf (Nov 2, 2008)

Sandsifter said:


> How reliable do you find this?
> 
> Beautiful viv btw
> 
> Chris


Cheers Chris, It works brilliantly so far the, due to the height of the tank though the filter I use is quite large/powerful its a Eheim 2026. If I were to make the tank again I'd consider using a powerhead in the false bottom instead. As the epiweb is so free draining the dackground didn't hold on to the water for too long, but now the moss mix has been added it is constantly moist and also allow the water to run down the root structure to instead of straight down the dackground.


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## Mworks (Mar 23, 2008)

Great set up - well done! 

Is there a specific reason you are installing a re circulation system?

Regards
Graham


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## afroturf (Nov 2, 2008)

Mworks said:


> Great set up - well done!
> 
> Is there a specific reason you are installing a re circulation system?
> 
> ...


If you mean re-circulating the water its got two main uses firstly to keep the plants moist mainly the moss as this dries out quickly especially close to the lights. It also helps keep humidity up as it would fall below the desired levels with the fans running. It also looks good to.


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## dfrmav (Feb 22, 2011)

this is a great setup! i'll probably use real tree fern fiber rather than epi web in my next build, but this is cool. i really dig the way you augmented the otherwise flat epi web with the roots. great idea!


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## tessa_leonie (Nov 9, 2011)

So pretty, I'm trying to contain myself and not spend another fortune on orchids. Yours are making it pretty hard


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## DragonSpirit1185 (Dec 6, 2010)

afroturf said:


> Yeah I heard that as well, It seems like it was one unfortunate event, and i know of many people using epiweb for years without any such problems. I've had it laying around for sometime now and as it cost quite alot I thought I better use it.
> 
> I also hope to cover most of it with the epiweb moss mix and other plants so hopefully there won't be much bare epiweb on show.
> 
> The green hose is attached to a Eheim external aquarium filter it to run the drip wall. Water drains from the false bottom into the filter and is pumped up to the top and runs down the back two panels via a custom spray bar. It runs for a few minutes 3 times a day.


ah that's what I thought.
I plan on using a zoo med 501 filter
or this one I just found...I love Tom Aquariums....you get good quality stuff cheap. I already have a 501 filter but this is a good deal for less than $30








Rapids C80 Canister Filter - Up to 20 gallons - 2.5 in. x 5.5 in. x 8 in. | Canister Aquarium Filters | Filters | Aquarium - ThatPetPlace.com

is there any way to control the flow rate cause I'd say yours is pumps out pretty fast..


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## afroturf (Nov 2, 2008)

tessa_leonie said:


> So pretty, I'm trying to contain myself and not spend another fortune on orchids. Yours are making it pretty hard


I know what you mean I had a list of over 30 orchids I was cosidering for this tank, it could easily have been 100. 



DragonSpirit1185 said:


> is there any way to control the flow rate cause I'd say yours is pumps out pretty fast..


With my filter flow rate is't really a problem as it on a timer and it can run as long as I like, (still working on the best settings), however the fiter you use needs to be powerful enough to pump the water to the top of the tank. I wanted to use a smaller Ehiem filter but this wasn't powerful enough to pump the height of the tank, so the fiter you pictured may be a better option as it can be located near the top of the tank instead of low down. If you need to control the flow rate you could use some ball valves to slow it down.


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## goof901 (Jan 9, 2012)

how do you make the roots??


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