# 30 Gallon Half Cylinder



## lucaskers (Dec 6, 2012)

Hello Everyone,

I picked this up today to start my build. 










I also ordered a kit to make my own LED lighting. I figured this would need a lot of light to reach to the bottom. 

Next step will be to go to TAP Plastics and get a new acrylic lid made. You can see the one it came with is designed for an aquarium with a hole for a filter (bottom left). 

I'm researching between a drip wall and a misting system, but am currently leaning towards a mist setup as it seems way easier to setup and run correctly. I will drill the tank for a drainage plug. I plan on using epiweb and driftwood for the background and landscaping. 

Questions:

What would be an appropriate amount of mist nozzles for this size setup? 

What is a good substrate to use to support springtails? ABG mix?

Any ideas for material to seal the new lid and keep fruit flies in? Maybe some sort of foam tape? 

Thanks for looking,
Lucas


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## jglow84 (Apr 5, 2013)

Good luck with the build, its a cool tank..... I have a tank like this and it allows for a lot of vertical growth, but maintenance is a pain. Make sure you plan well cause sticking your arm to the bottom can be a challenge.


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## goof901 (Jan 9, 2012)

an acrylic lid will NOT work. It will warp due to the humidity. You will be better off with glass. I'm looking forward to the end product, it will look awesome!

And to your questions:

I don't know about the mist heads, I have not used them.

ABG mix will work fine for microfauna, as long as you have leaf litter on top of the ABG.

I would guess you will somehow have to get glass cut into a circular shape to cover the top. I honestly am not sure how that is going to work. Hopefully, people with cylinders will chime in for this part


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## jglow84 (Apr 5, 2013)

For the top, I used 3/8" soft rubber flexipipe, slit it and glued it on the top edge of the tank then just took a sheet of glass big enough to cover the top and set it on the flexipipe. good seal and I like it.

If you search my name or 30g elliptical in the gallery you should see a pic of mine and my lid/light box


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## lucaskers (Dec 6, 2012)

jglow84 said:


> For the top, I used 3/8" soft rubber flexipipe, slit it and glued it on the top edge of the tank then just took a sheet of glass big enough to cover the top and set it on the flexipipe. good seal and I like it.
> 
> If you search my name or 30g elliptical in the gallery you should see a pic of mine and my lid/light box


Slitting a rubber tube is a much better idea. Thanks! 

I picked up the acrylic lid today.










I forgot that acrylic warps. I will just use this to mock up all my holes and vents before I go to a glass shop and have them cut out the final version. 

I ordered the Mist King starter system with the plus pack yesterday. Can't wait until I start getting my parts in the mail.


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## lucaskers (Dec 6, 2012)

I decided I'm going to make a Hygrolon, wood, and foam background similar to this.

Hygrolon stump 2 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

I went to the beach and found some wood. Here are some potential layouts.

A.









B.









C.









D.









E.









I really like the big triangle shaped piece, but none of my other pieces seem to match well with it. I think I will go to the beach again and try to find a suitable match for it. Let me know what you think. Thanks.


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## Buddysfrogs (Mar 29, 2012)

I like E the best .
Buddy


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## Followgravity (Dec 31, 2012)

I would vote for E as well I like that arch/cave area at the bottom.


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## tarbo96 (Jan 12, 2006)

Is that the MArineland tank? Let me know how the lid comes out, that was the problem with mine.


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## lucaskers (Dec 6, 2012)

Yes it is the Marineland tank. I spoke with a couple glass companies and they quoted me at about ~$80 for a lid including holes for misters and vents. A little pricey but I don't foresee the lid being an issue. I will mock everything up on the acrylic piece I have and bring it to them to replicate with glass. 

I want to make the background outside of the tank and slide it in and glue it to the back. What would be a good material to make it on?

I think I decided on my final layout.









A couple other layouts just for the hell of it.


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## briley5 (Sep 27, 2012)

My 2cent is the 2nd placement in your last post. Love that it looks like tree roots. Great tank and I can't wait to see what you do with it.


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## Froglet54 (Jan 17, 2013)

I like the layout you chose and nice wood


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## Ellylove (Jan 18, 2011)

Man! That wood is sweet!!! Looking forward to seeing how this build turns out and how that wood looks all covered in moss!


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## jglow84 (Apr 5, 2013)

For the background You can use egg crate, or my personal favorite, the bottoms of coca cola crates (any HDPE crate will work). if you have a heat gun you can heat the plastic and warp it into shape. then just spray it with great stuff or silicone your bg material directly to the plastic. if you dont use gs, silicone screen to the back of the plastic so you have something to hold in whatever material you stuff in the cracks.


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## lucaskers (Dec 6, 2012)

I received my mist king, made my background, and got payed! Time to order some Hygrolon to cover the foam. 

My lights have been delayed but I should be receiving them this week. Hopefully plants are included in this paycheck as well.


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## lucaskers (Dec 6, 2012)

Small update. I received my glass top and installed the mist king. I also ordered all my substrate, hygrolon, and screen vents. Still waiting on my LEDs.



















Custom glass top









Everything is hidden from the front


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## Tolan (Nov 17, 2011)

Subscribed! I'll be eagerly awaiting updates from this


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## lucaskers (Dec 6, 2012)

Background mostly complete. I need to shave down the top. Waiting until I get my substrate to see how much.


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## Nismo95 (Jul 30, 2011)

I cant wait to see how that grows in with hygrolon... how much would you say it cost you to cover that?? I really love the look of it so far.


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## folius (Jan 2, 2013)

Nice work!


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## lucaskers (Dec 6, 2012)

Nismo95 said:


> I cant wait to see how that grows in with hygrolon... how much would you say it cost you to cover that?? I really love the look of it so far.


The Hygrolon was $29.99 plus shipping. With a bottle of gorilla glue it was under $50. I still have plenty of Hygrolon left. I will probably double cover certain sections, attach some to the rear of the wood, and test it as substrate in one of the wall pots. 

I prefer this to the silicone and coco fiber method. The price was about the same. This took a lot longer due letting the glue get tacky before using the clothe, but overall was easier and less messy. You use a lot less glue compared to the silicone so a single bottle is enough. Most of the work was time waiting which can be spent doing other things.


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## Nismo95 (Jul 30, 2011)

good to know good to know. Now get this puppy planted so we all get to enjoy it!


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## lucaskers (Dec 6, 2012)

Another small update. 

Received all my substrate. Here is the box it came in. 








The guys over at Josh's Frogs must eat a lot of spicy food. 

Contents.









Received my vents for the top.









Cut the background to size, put in the false bottom, and cut a piece of screen to separate it. 









My lights finally shipped. I hope to receive them early this week.


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## Nismo95 (Jul 30, 2011)

Where did you get your ABG mix?? Damn, that is some professional looking packaging!


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## lucaskers (Dec 6, 2012)

All the parts for my lights arrived today. I bolted and soldered it all together. I still need to get some wire loom to tidy up the wires and hang the fixture. 

Reds, blues, hyper violets, and hyper reds to ensure I provide the proper wavelengths for my plants. Cool white and neutral white for color. 









Separate dimming switches for the whites and colors, power supply, fan, and hanging hardware.









Just colors.









Both on full.









White full and colors on half. This is probably how I will run them. My mind may change once the plants are in.









Finally, all white.









I will be ordering plants early next week. So far I'm planning on stuffing it with broms. I hope to add some orchids but those might have to wait awhile.


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## Dragonfish (Mar 23, 2012)

Nice! Makers LED heatsink? How was that to use?


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## lucaskers (Dec 6, 2012)

Dragonfish said:


> Nice! Makers LED heatsink? How was that to use?


This was my first time building an LED system, but I found it very easy to use. Although I don't think using a regular heat sink would have been much more work. This just makes everything cleaner in the end. 

I covered and heat shrunk all the wiring, mounted the light, and tucked the power supply away. I also replaced the fan it came with with a silent fan rated at 12dB. 









I will be ordering plants early next week. I have my plant list all sorted out and am just waiting for my paycheck.


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## lucaskers (Dec 6, 2012)

Planted!




























Neoregelia Nelson. This guy was too big to fit. Hopefully he can stay alive on my balcony. I live in slightly north of San Jose, CA. Anybody around here grow their broms outside?










I purchased a cheap light meter and now plan on doubling my light. I think I have to move the far left brom as well in order to get light down the right side.

Plant list.

Rhaphidophora pachyphylla
Rhaphidophora unknown
Begonia staudtii
Peperomia rotundifolia var. pilosior
Seemania sylvatica
Aeschynanthus micranthus
Lecanopteris sinuosa
Stylidium debile
Bulbophyllum mirum
Bulbophyllum lepidum
Dendrobium pseudolamellatum
Dendrochilum filiforme
Peperomia tetraphylla
Bulbophyllum purpurascens
Bulbophyllum ovalifolium
Dendrochilum convallariaeforme
Scaphosepalum breve
Pilea glauca 
Codonatantus 'Aurora'
Columnea 'Julia'
Davallia tyermanii
Dischidia 'North Carolina Farms'
Dischidia ruscifolia
Aeschynanthus gracilis
Alsobia dianthiflora
Streptocarpella sp.
Begonia 'River Nile'
Hoya Curtisii
Neoregelia Dungsiana x Giant
Neoregelia Dungsiana
Neoregelia Sunday Best
Neoregelia Smithii
Neoregelia Tunisia
Neoregelia Melanodonta x Pauciflora


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## zachxbass (Apr 21, 2008)

Looks great. Good job. I like the background idea. You some blend up some moss milkshake and add it to some of the background. Or not  that's just what id do

Sent from my C5155 using Tapatalk 2


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## folius (Jan 2, 2013)

Great job! The DIY work was really well done. That shelf LED hanger is clean!


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## redtxn (Apr 30, 2013)

very nice looking setup, I really like cylinder tanks. The curved glass has a nice aesthetic look.


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## Nismo95 (Jul 30, 2011)

Insane! Now I want a half cylinder tank to build! So legit!


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## lucaskers (Dec 6, 2012)

I was trimming the tank this morning and figured I'd snap a few pictures. Here is what it currently looks like. I cut everything back quite a bit for these photos. 










Album

Still no frogs as I am often out of town and don't know what I would do when away. Overall, I'm pretty disappointed in the hygrolon. Most plants don't seem to like it and prefer the wood.


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## tardis101 (Apr 11, 2012)

briley5 said:


> My 2cent is the 2nd placement in your last post. Love that it looks like tree roots. Great tank and I can't wait to see what you do with it.


Me too. I'd vote for that one.


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## Mohlerbear (Feb 20, 2014)

I had a local Frogger buddy at my house earlier today and he asked me what I thought of all the hygrolon I had in my tanks. Same answer man, disappointment. Your Tank looks freaking awesome though!!


Loading bowls and building vivs! Braaap!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## zerelli (Sep 14, 2009)

Cell cast acrylic will work



goof901 said:


> an acrylic lid will NOT work. It will warp due to the humidity. You will be better off with glass. I'm looking forward to the end product, it will look awesome!
> 
> And to your questions:
> 
> ...


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## Encyclia (Aug 23, 2013)

zerelli said:


> Cell cast acrylic will work


zerelli, I am not familiar with cell cast acylic. Is it something that any glass shop should be able to get? Is it more expensive? Does it have any other properties that would make it desirable other than not warping over time?

Thanks.

Mark


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