# My New EXO 36x24x18 Build Journal



## arkay (Dec 26, 2007)

So I was greatly inspired by highfyre and this tank http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/parts-construction/50661-my-first-viv-build-220gln.html as I am not building my tank to be exactly like this one I did take away a few elements and techniques. I thought the idea of carving the rock wall in great stuff and siliconing it was neat and seemed much easier than cementing styrofoam. So heres what I have started.

There will be water in the front traugh looking area, coming up to a more shallow area where roots and sand will be, like a lake in the woods. There is 1 drainage and 1 water flow tube through the great stuff to the back access area. Along the front will be 2 led light strips. One blue, one white. These will sit under the water. The second pvc tubing will be for an ultrasonic vaporizer to shoot fog up into the woods from underneath. On the left is the rock wall. Its a little hard to see the contours in the pic due to lack of shadows. 

I hope it all works out as planned. So far so good. next step is my least favorite. The siliconing...


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## eos (Dec 6, 2008)

Oooooh.... fancy!


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## bricespice (Jan 4, 2010)

Great job starting the foam. Looks like you are going to have some nice rock work. Keep us updated. I have the problem thinking 3 dimensional.


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## arkay (Dec 26, 2007)

Finished my lake area today. Used a dark brown silicone then put the roots and rocks where I wanted and covered it all in sand. After it dried i vacuumed all the sand out. Looks better in person, the ground actually looks pretty darn realistic and textured. I was very happy. I hope it stays that way once submerged.


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## boabab95 (Nov 5, 2009)

AWESOME!!! **Subscribed**


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## jpstod (Sep 8, 2005)

Very Unique approach on the lighting.

I have been thinking about selectively placing Blue Christmas lights in a tank.


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## Nate Mcfin (Sep 22, 2010)

Great looking start and nice journal style as well.


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## arkay (Dec 26, 2007)

Started the siliconing today. Used the jungle mix for soil and some spagnum moss. It was somewhat difficult sticking the soil in some spots so the moss really made it easier. Adter the last build I took someones advice and used the black silicone over the clear. WOW what a difference. So much easier and harder to tell if you missed a spot. I'll add more silicone ontop of some of the cementing to transition it more. Next step is the rock wall.


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## Hornet (Sep 29, 2010)

excellent thread mate, cant wait to see how this ends up


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## arkay (Dec 26, 2007)

Finished up the cementing last night for the rockwall. I used a premixed tile morter, sandstone color, which actually went on really nice however the color was hardly sandstone, looked more like purple to me. Anyway, I applied 3 thin coats using a damp sponge, then blotted the last coat to give it a rocky texture. 

After the cement was dry I painted a solid coat og Honeycomb color acrylic paint over the entire wall. I then dry brushed lighter cappuccino color which highlighted the texture. I was very pleased at how it came out. 

Next step is to join the two sides by siliconing over part of the rock wall and applying the soil. This should create a nice transition.


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## andry (Jun 15, 2010)

Love this! I'm actually going to be doing something similar with rockwall combination as well + water feature in a 75 gallon tank. I love the color combination you used for the rock wall. I may copy this from you. 

Subscribed


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## arkay (Dec 26, 2007)

Cool thanks for the comments. I got the paint from Michaels, its Folk something. I can post the brand and # tonight. I also mixed it with a little water to make it thinner and get in the cracks easier. It also made a small container go a lot further. I first tried a sponge brush but that didnt work well so I switched to a Camel Hair paintbrush.


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## andry (Jun 15, 2010)

Would love the info on the paint, thanks!


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## zBrinks (Jul 16, 2006)

I'm betting the paint brand is 'FolkArt' - I use the same stuff. You can also mix it with water in a cheap spray bottle and squirt it on - I emphasize cheap because doing this will result in ruining the spray bottle pretty quickly.


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## arkay (Dec 26, 2007)

The paint is FolkArt Peinture Acrylique 942 Honeycomb as the base and 451 Cappuccino as the highlights. I also ran out of the base paint and bought Americana brand Cocoa which was the same color as the Honeycomb.I used a bathroom dixie cup about half full of paint with about a tablespoon of water.


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## arkay (Dec 26, 2007)

New pics after finishing up the siliconing. With and without a flash. For some reason without the flash it had a bit of a yellow hugh to it. With the flash it was too bright and drowned out the color a bit. I have to get batteries to my other flash so I can control the intensity better.


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## arkay (Dec 26, 2007)

This weekend I pretty much finished up the inside minus the plants.

I added clay balls on the bottom, then a screen mesh, then the jungle mix soil. I drilled a hole in the rockwall and added a fake vine with the smaller vine wrapped around it. I then applied silicone to it and stuck on some moss. After it dried I peeled off the moss that didnt stick. I then cut the fog pvc tube to length, attached an elbow, added a screen, siliconed it and applied dirt. 

The fogger is a vicks ultrasonic humidifier with minor adjustments. I placed a toilet gasket in the exit, pushed in a PVC coupler, then a PVC threaded reducer, then an enbot barb. It works better than expected.

I also attached a small pump to a rock wall drip and an old powerhead to create curculation in the main water feature.


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## arkay (Dec 26, 2007)

I added some leaf litter and some black film to cover the front of the glass where the layers of substrate are.

Last thing to do ib cut out a plexiglass lid with 2 fan vents and a few circles for the MistKing mister nozzles.

The underwater lighting looks really cool. Especially with the fog. It's a little hard to photograph because the flash removes any of the lighting affects but it looks like a spooky halloween grave yard or something.

Anyone have a favorite place to order plants from? 
I know I want to get atleast but not limited to the following:
Assorted Broms, atleast 1 red fireball and 1 mini skirt (probably about 5 total)
Creeping fig (Ficus Pumilia)
Moss
Salvinia Natans
Cryptanthus


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## 2010tony (Oct 27, 2010)

Hi Arkay, it is soooo fancy and amazing, looking much special. I completed my fish tank with waterproof ultra bright blue / cold white led strips from the Hero Led Store . use 96 led narrow angle beam basic leds. It is very bright. But your tank looks much more special than mine,because you used so special design and make it look like a real coral reef. Attached mine, but too simple . Pls kindly keep me informed so that we can learn some desin from your work 










Than you!

Tony.


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## arkay (Dec 26, 2007)

Today some of my plants arrived. I got 6 awesome broms from Dartfrog Megastore some creeping fig and something else I forgot the name from Lowes. I'm still waiting for some live jungle moss, Grub Fern, & Salvinia

I also worked on the hood some. I got a sheet of plexiglass and cut it to fit. I then lined the edges with silicone to make a nice sort of gasket so it sits on top a little better. I then added 2 old computer fams for ventilation. Once my MistKing arrives I drill holes in the front for the nozzles.

I got some digital timers and set them to run 
7:30am lights on
9am rain for 5 minutes
10am fog from the humidifier for 5 minutes
9pm lights out
9pm LED's under water on
12am all lights out


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## arkay (Dec 26, 2007)

*Re: My New EXO 36x18x18 Build Journal*

So I think its all complete for now. Just missing the Moss which should hopefully grow. I spead out the moss milkshake, we'll see how it works. I also added some land on the left where the fern now sits. And a few other plants. Last 2 things are to install my mistking once it arrives, wait a few months, and add frogs... let me know what you think.


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