# My 29 Gallon Vivarium



## alxamorales (Jun 14, 2009)

Well it was my first attempt in putting one of these together so I went with a simple layout with no water features and all that really fancy stuff. I wanted to put some driftwood in there but I really like the look of plants more.

Day 1









The tank and Coco fiber I found at The Home Depot.


















The Coco Fiber on the background.

Day 2









I put more fiber on the other two sides of the enclosure. Without even realizing I did both of these sides in one day with letting one side dry and wait overnight to do the other. Thankfully nothing tragic happened from this mistake.

Day 3









Up on its side and looking like something now.









False bottom put on. I used a little more than an inch and a half of gravel. I should have used a little bit more but I'm pretty sure it'll be fine.























































All in all I'm happy with how it came out. The looks great and unexpectedly the ivy broke apart perfectly so it wasn't as heavy to anchor into that corner and with the part that broke, I planted it into the ground. I might add a piece of wood later on and I have some broms on the way for some of the empty areas in my background. I used black electrical tape to seal the screen top and it seems to be doing a job so far. I haven't watered the soil yet as it was rather moist out of the bag and the plants I bought were root bound so I didn't want them to get over watered and possibly burn. I'm also waiting for my springtails to come in and I'm going to let them reproduce in the tank. I plan on putting some Vents in here. Any constructive criticism is greatly appreciated. -Alex


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

you will find that having the plants so much on the substrate will not be good, they will mainly don't like being so wet all the time, its a good start, you might want to ad som wood and leaf litter.


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## alxamorales (Jun 14, 2009)

I patted the soil down after the pictures so it doesn't look like they're submersed in soil. I have moss if that would work. Thanks -Alex


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## M_A_B (May 2, 2008)

Leaf little is ideal if you are keeping frogs..also it would look cool with some bromeliads or tilisandias (sp.?) mounted on the background. As a first viv looks pretty good tho. Whats going in here as far as inhabitants?


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## alxamorales (Jun 14, 2009)

A pair of Vents more than likely. I'll get a hold of some leaf litter soon then. -Alex


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## M_A_B (May 2, 2008)

sorry didnt see what you said bout the vents earlier..yeah with some leaf litter and some plant growth this will look pretty sweet.


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## alxamorales (Jun 14, 2009)

Ok so everything seems to be doing well so far. Some leaves are drying out and I'm not too worried about that but there's one plant I'm a little iffy about. The second to left plant in the last picture as you can see has a few leaves that are turning a little black. I think it's because of it being root bound in the plastic pot it was sold in and I have no idea how long it was there before I bought it. It wasn't too bad the first day I bought it but when I put it outside to get some sun before planting it the next day, the leaves got a bit dark and black as I described. Since planting it hasn't gotten worse though. Should I pull it out, trim the black leaves or is it fine and I'm just worrying too much? Thanks -Alex


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## Philsuma (Jul 18, 2006)

NICE.

I've eyeing that "rolled mat" fiber stuff at Lowes for quite some time.....


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## alxamorales (Jun 14, 2009)

It works great so far. It keeps the moisture in and drys out pretty well.


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## alxamorales (Jun 14, 2009)

Update: I pulled out that plant that was getting black leaves because it started getting pretty bad. I ordered some bromeliad singles and cryptanthurus artleys on Friday and put them in yesterday.














































Overall everything is looking good. One of my Peperomias that was really root bound lost a lot of its leaves but seems to be doing fine now but I'm still keeping a watch on it. The bromes and crypts I got yesterday are really coming to life after less than 24 hours of being put in when I thought they looked too dry for comfort. I'm still contemplating whether or not to get a piece of driftwood to put in there or just leave it with plants. I'm going to pick up some leaf litter later today hopefully. This has been a lot of fun to do. There are a few flies or gnats in the enclosure that I have seen in the cage but if I recall correctly they're harmless. Let me know what you guys think. Should I add a few more plants? Thanks -Alex

This is reminding me of a reef tank. Once you start buying you can't stop adding more things to it.


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## alxamorales (Jun 14, 2009)

Any ideas or opinions from anyone?


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## cliner (Oct 31, 2007)

I add a layer of spagnum moss then leaf litter. Some wood would really make it pop.


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## DCreptiles (Jan 26, 2009)

for a first viv that is a very beautiful tank set up its very standard yet well put together and i will say none of my first vivs looked that nice and they were as basic as they get. i did not know home depo had little mats of fiber that would make my life alot easier lol. but i really like the plants you got. only thing for me is this.. i mist heavy and that bottom would fill up in a heart beat lol so i switched to egg crate and pvc pipe's it gives me that nice gap i need and when time to drain its easy to pop a tube in and siphon it all out. for vents popa few more bromes in and some leaf litter and youll be ok. congrats and good luck with the vents.

-Derek


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## alxamorales (Jun 14, 2009)

Hmm I don't want to disturb the plants in there after this so is there anything I can do to add tubing or drain to siphon without taking everything apart? Thanks -Alex


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## alxamorales (Jun 14, 2009)

Yet another update!

So after a few suggestions of getting more bromes and adding some wood to make it "pop", I ordered 3 more bromes and some cork bark. Low and behold my creation:










It was a rather easy to put together. Just drilled some of the existing crevices and holes wider to have them fit in securely with the moss.




























The last picture shows my cryptanthus artley in the wall. I'm deciding whether or not I should move it elsewhere; perhaps where that English Ivy is and just plant the Ivy into the ground but I'm not sure. Let me guys know what you think. Also my leaf litter is coming hopefully tomorrow and I'm really excited. This is just like a reef aquarium. -Alex


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## alxamorales (Jun 14, 2009)

*THE FINAL PRODUCT*














































Everything is complete now. The springtails are in and are currently active after the lights went out and look great. Now I can just sit back and watch everything grow in. Can't wait to get my frogs!!! This was a lot of fun to do. It has kept me plenty busy with having a bad knee and not being able to walk around much. Let me know what you guys think.


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## alxamorales (Jun 14, 2009)

Hey guys, everything is growing in and looking good. I went ahead and bought a second springtail culture after deciding to dump in my first culture into the vivarium all in one shot. I got a little paranoid since I really didn't notice any life in the first culture when I recieved and it got stuck in the mail during Sunday. I know about the CO2 build up etc but I did notice a lot of smashed springs. The second one I got looked much more lively and responded more to when I put food into the culture. Since getting the second culture Wednesday I have been seeding it every 4 days in huge amounts and the culture still seems a lot.

My second question is that I really want to put in a piece of arboreal wood but is it too late to put one in? My fear is putting one in without any support and it'll fall over. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.


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