# Grassypeak's Construction Journal 56K warning!



## Grassypeak (Jun 14, 2005)

Working on a new viv for my three D. leucomelas. It will be roughly 31”x12.5”x30” (LxWxH). It will be lit by two 65 Watt power compacts, one, if two make the tank too warm. There will be two half inch bulkheads in the bottom, and two in the rear pane. One of the bottom ones will be an intake for a canister filter. The other bottom bulkhead will be for the drain. One bulkhead on the rear pane will be for an overflow (plumbed along with the drain, to the house waste system). The final back pane bulkhead will be the outlet for the canister filter. It will start a small stream that will flow across the tank to a pool. The tank will be on a mist system and a drip system. Currently the drip system provides all of my aquariums with a little less than ½ gallon of water every four hours (over a 45 minute period). This amounts to roughly 2.5 gallons per day. I haven’t calculated how much water will sit under the false bottom but the 2.5 gallons of fresh water every day should keep it very clean.

This is a picture of the set-up for drilling the first hole.


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## wishIwereAnExpert (Jul 18, 2005)

Sounds like an awesome project. Just an idea: Your tank will be 50ish gallons. For a good group frog like leucs, don't you think a little more than three might be nice?

-Solly


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## Grassypeak (Jun 14, 2005)

These are my first frogs Solly,

I figured three might get me a pair without spending a fortune. I just purchased four E. tricolor as my second species. After quarantine they will go into a 22”x17”x12”. Not quite as roomy but hopefully big enough.


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## Grassypeak (Jun 14, 2005)

Some up to date pictures (sorry for the confusing shadows on the wall)

This first picture shows the back and base panes as well as the bottom front and side panes which will contain the water and false bottom.










If you really look at this shot you can see the two holes in the base pane and the two holes in the back pane.


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## Grassypeak (Jun 14, 2005)

Testing to see if it holds water.


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## Grassypeak (Jun 14, 2005)

Terracing with eggcrate.


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## josh_r (Feb 4, 2005)

that is looking really really good! im impressed! cant wait to see the final results!

-josh


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## Grassypeak (Jun 14, 2005)

Thanks Josh,

I’m trying to accomplish something on it every day but, right now, I’m pretty much stuck waiting for all of my wood to arrive.


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## josh_r (Feb 4, 2005)

that is really neat! im gonna have to read through this thoroughly to see how u are doin this and try it out myself. what kind of wood are u using?? do u collect killie fish?? i saw your link there. im looking into acquiring a few species from a friend who is breeding a number of them. take care!

-josh


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## Biznatch (Aug 30, 2005)

2 Questions, where did you order your wood and how are you planning on covering the egg crat that goes under water. Those are the 2 things i'm stuck on with my paludarium. Well and the noisy overflow, but I think I have it working now


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## Grassypeak (Jun 14, 2005)

For wood I’m using the following:

One large piece of driftwood that I purchased at an aquarium shop. It is supposed to be O.K. for aquariums.

One or two Jungle Lianas from Black Jungle.

A cork tube or two, also from Black Jungle.

One or two branchy ghost wood pieces from Vivarium Concepts.

As for the eggcrate that you see below the waterline;
It is very close to the front glass, probably ¾” or so. I plan on filling the area between this eggcrate and the glass with small black stones (non calcareous) 

Once the wood is secured in place, I’m going to start foaming. The whole thing should start to look more like a viv at that point.

Josh, Yes I do collect killifish, in both senses of the word. I’m not breeding any natives at the moment though.

Fundulus heteroclitis










Biznatch, I feel your pain with respect to the noisy overflows. I have a 75 gallon reef in my living room. It has two overflows that accommodate roughly 1500 GPH of flow. I pretty much silenced the overflows the way you did. Then I have the return lines in the sump above the water. The water flows onto a slanted piece of glass and then through a series of baffles (to try and reduce the micro bubbles). This configuration does away with the bubble blowing noise in the sump but not the waterfall noise! Oh well. You don’t notice it when company is over and the stereo is on.


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## josh_r (Feb 4, 2005)

awesome chris. what species of killies do u breed?? also, do u ever encounter stickleback where u are?? thanx for the information and i cant wait to see the final results. take care chris

-josh


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## Grassypeak (Jun 14, 2005)

Josh,

Some of my friends catch Sticklebacks on the southern shore of Long Island. I haven’t ever seen one in my net. They are interesting but can carry a nasty disease called Glugea. Glugea is a nightmare in a fish room as it hides for months before showing itself. By that time many tanks can become infected. 

As for killifish I have the following:

3.1	Aphyosemion bitaeniatum "Majitam"










1.1 Aphyosemion striatum “Lambaréné” (northwestern Gabon) 
1.2 Aphyosemion wachtersi “Obilly” RPC9113
Many.Many Cubanichthys pengelleyi "Webber 82"
1.1 Fundulopanchax fallax “Kribi”










1.1 Rivulus tenuis "Paloapam"










1.1 Rivulus simplicis Collection location know but undisclosed.
Many.1 Fundulopanchax gardneri nigerianus " Misaje" Wild Type
0. 1 Fundulopanchax gardneri nigerianus " Misaje" Albino
Many.Many Fundulopanchax gardneri nigerianus " Misaje" Heterozygous Albino
1.1 Jordanella floridae *My favorite*
Note that J. folridae is commonly called the American Flag Fish. Can you see why?










plus a few other bits and pieces here and there.

I’m currently only really working with the Fp. Gardneri. My students have set up a breeding program with the intention of producing albinos. We are at the final stage, crossing a homozygous albino female with her heterozygous son. This cross should produce 50% albinos. 









There are pictures of some more of these here http://killifish.homestead.com/Currentspecies.html[/img]


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## josh_r (Feb 4, 2005)

that is VERY COOL!!! i love killies! some of the most fascinating fish! i know there are some people here in arizona that have desert pup fish and are producing them readily. not sure which species ( i dont know alot about them) very cool. keep me posted on your project. thanx

-josh


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## Grassypeak (Jun 14, 2005)

Oow! look what I got!
These just arrived from T&C Terrariums.










One Neoregelia 'Midget' and three Neoregelia lilliputiana X fireball.









Vriesea racinae









T&C don’t appear in vendor feedback but I believe it is O.K. to say nice things about them. They were very helpful to deal with. My order was processed quickly and was expertly packaged. Everything arrived in good shape. I would definitely recommend them.


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## josh_r (Feb 4, 2005)

cool deal man! i take it your viv is going to be comming together rather quickly now. i cant wait to see the results. ooh, on another note, im getting a VERY COOL FISH! im getting betta albimarginata! its a wild betta species and is a mouth brooder. very cool! i cant wait!

-josh


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## Grassypeak (Jun 14, 2005)

Josh,
Good luck with the B. albimarginata. That is a beautiful species. One of my friends recently gave up on them. I think that he lost three B. macrostoma and just got fed up with bettas in general. It would be great if more people would become successful with albimarginata. I’d like to have a pair some day, but I’d like to get them for like $20.


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## josh_r (Feb 4, 2005)

yeah, that would be nice...lol. why did your friend have such bad luck with them??? i have heard albimarginata is very easy to care for. that would suck to lose macrostoma. thats alot of money.... yikes. from what i hear with albi's, they are not picky with water quality, but ph of 6 with high iron in the water. room temps and a slight current. i hope i dont lose mine. we will see. take care man

-josh


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## Grassypeak (Jun 14, 2005)

Now that my semester is finally finished (I handed in my last paper on 12/31), I’ve got a little time to get some of my projects going again. Here is my viv as of this evening. I still have to re-foam the riverbanks and level the surface under the coco hut. Then I can start with the silicone and cocofiber.


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## MattySF (May 25, 2005)

Looking good. Any idea of what little goodies you'll be stuffing in the baskets on the back ground?


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## Grassypeak (Jun 14, 2005)

Mostly broms, maybe a Nepenthes or two. The cups have drainage holes in the bottom. The plan is for the misting system to provide enough water, without me doing any extra work. I’ll have to see what does well and what doesn’t.


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## Guest (Jan 5, 2006)

This is looking great! I really like the wood you have chosen to use. It will give you plenty of mounting options. Where did you find it?
It's hard to tell if I am seeing shadows, or a rail of some sort above the opening where the door will be. What kind of door system are you going to use?
Also, is that a vent under the door? Did you just use screen and egg crate?

Can't wait to see it planted. Your leucs are going to love it in there. They will be all over the place. :wink:


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## Grassypeak (Jun 14, 2005)

Thanks Rad3Dad,

The small branchy pieces of wood are ghost wood from http://www.vivariumconcepts.com/Wood-and-Cork-Bark.htm
The big piece is just an aquarium driftwood piece from the local pet shop.

As for the ventilation, yes it is no-see-um netting from Eastern Mountain Sports. It is siliconed to egg crate, which is admittedly not that attractive. I will be covering the front with a strip of molding.

I’m going to use two plexi piano hinges at the bottom of the door which is 10” high by 30” long.


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