# Cork tube tank build



## Sammie

Wanted to show you guys what I'm working on. 
Last week I got myself a new tank (18x18x24"), unfortunately it leaked so I haven't been able to start with the fun stuff until yesterday.

The design is based on this tank, but better


Not too much to show right now, but this i what I've got so far.
On the right where there's tree fern missing I'm going to put a quarter of a tree fern trunk, you know, like a 8" thick pizza slice 
But my order got screwed up so I'll have to wait till next week to finish it.

Hope you like it, I know I do.


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## srfdan

Looks nice. Do you leave the tubes open so frogs can hide in them?


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## Sammie

Thanks
The one on the background is filled with great stuff as it would be near impossible to get frogs out if needed to, but the other one is hollow to provide additional hiding places.

I noticed that my link doesn't seem to work properly, so I just want to clarify that I'm linking to my own build. Without knowing that my "but better" comment seems a bit smug


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## eos

I loved your previous tank and this one is shaping up to be just as good as well... Just to let you know, I'm totally chomping your idea. I've got a few cork tubes lying around and I'm gonna throw them into a tank similarly placed.


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## Cfrog

Gives me great ideas for ledges and bridges I am trying to make in my current build.

Keep the pix coming.


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## Sammie

eos said:


> I loved your previous tank and this one is shaping up to be just as good as well...* Just to let you know, I'm totally chomping your idea.* I've got a few cork tubes lying around and I'm gonna throw them into a tank similarly placed.


Well, I would assume some royalty checks are in place then

Hopefully I'll get the last piece of tree fern tomorrow so I can finally finish the hard scape and then I can plant it on friday night.

Everything else are pretty much done, I've fly proofed the front went with some fine screen, cut and siliconed glass to the top, added leca around the false bottom and boiled leaf litter.


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## Sammie

Not very much to update on, but I finally got the last piece of tree fern today.
It only took the better part of a month to sort that out, lets just say that I'm less than pleased with that vendors customer service

The trunk was a lot smaller than anticipated, but I think it still works. Luckily I had some tree fern panels to fill out the space.



Just a few more days now, and then I can plant this thing. I can barely wait!


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## Sammie

So I finally started to plant the tank. I still haven't planted the terrestrials or put in substrate, I'll have to give that some more thought.

Right now it looks a little bit messy, but I think it will "settle" in a week or two when the plants are rooted.


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## FroggyKnight

Nice plants! They should look very cool when established.

Any thoughts on inhabitants?


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## Sammie

FroggyKnight said:


> Nice plants! They should look very cool when established.
> 
> Any thoughts on inhabitants?


Thanks!
Not completely sure, when I started the tank I had _D. leucomelas_ in mind, but now I'm starting to think _R. imitator_ or _variabilis_.

Decisions decisions....


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## eos

Nice! Can't wait to see it filled in.


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## Sammie

Yea me too. It's something like a ton (give or take) of _Microgramma_ rhizomes in there, when they starts to shoot leaves It's going to be pretty green on the top tube. 
Hopefully it will look as awesome as I picture it in my head.


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## LoganR

What are the ferns you are using?


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## Sammie

_Adiantum sp._ (Looks like raddianum but not sure.)
_Humata heterophylla_
_Microgramma lycopodioides_
_Microgramma nitida_
_Microgramma vacciniifolia_
_Pyrrosia piloselloides_

For now


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## Sammie

Sammie said:


> _Adiantum sp._ (Looks like raddianum but not sure.)
> _Humata heterophylla_
> _Microgramma lycopodioides_
> _Microgramma nitida_
> _Microgramma vacciniifolia_
> _Pyrrosia piloselloides_
> 
> For now


I missed one, _Lecanopteris carnosa_.


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## snake54320

Sammie said:


> _Adiantum sp._ (Looks like raddianum but not sure.)
> _Humata heterophylla_
> _Microgramma lycopodioides_
> _Microgramma nitida_
> _Microgramma vacciniifolia_
> _Pyrrosia piloselloides_
> 
> For now


I see we have the same tastes  

I'd go with variabilis, even so you might wanna get some small broms in that case. 
I could imagine a little bunch of lilliputiana in a corner of the canopy  

Regards,


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## FroggyKnight

snake54320 said:


> I could imagine a little bunch of lilliputiana in a corner of the canopy


TINY BROMS ARE DA BOMB!!!!

really, you have to add a couple…the frogs will thank you


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## lookitsadam

Two questions:
1. How is the upper tube attached to the tree fern? I want to do something similar in my next build
2. Is anything securing the plants to the cork other than their roots?




Sammie said:


> So I finally started to plant the tank. I still haven't planted the terrestrials or put in substrate, I'll have to give that some more thought.
> 
> Right now it looks a little bit messy, but I think it will "settle" in a week or two when the plants are rooted.


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## Sammie

lookitsadam said:


> Two questions:
> 1. How is the upper tube attached to the tree fern? I want to do something similar in my next build
> 2. Is anything securing the plants to the cork other than their roots?


It's not. It's glued (with silicone) directly to the glass and then I put the tree fern panels around it. 

I use both zip-ties and toothpicks, when the plants are rooted I usually remove the zip-ties.


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## jrodkinsey

Very nice build! I love the look of the tank. Like someone else already said, this tank is going to look great when it is established. Nice job!


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## Sammie

jrodkinsey said:


> Very nice build! I love the look of the tank. Like someone else already said, this tank is going to look great when it is established. Nice job!


Thanks

The plants and moss have been filling in nicely. I'll post some pictures in a few days. I'm just waiting for a plant or two to arrive.


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## Sammie

It still has some growing in to do before its frog ready, but it's starting to look pretty neat


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## diggenem

You planted it nicely!!

Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk


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## ticmike

Really like what you've done with this, brilliant and inspiring.


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## athiker04

Man, I love this viv. 

I would really like to build something like this at some point. 

I have a few questions if you don't mind.

I saw your fern list. Do you have a list of the rest of the plants and vines? 

How often are you misting this to keep the plant and moss growth going so well?

What's the lighting?

Ha, sorry for the inquisition. This just really struck me as quite beautiful. I kind of appreciate the fact that it doesn't look like a brom bomb went off like a lot of tanks. I like those too but this has a very clean, natural look.


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## dendrothusiast

Sammie your cork tank is one of my favorites I've seen in a while. I really like how each space was given to the plants to fill in.


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## Sammie

athiker04 said:


> Man, I love this viv.
> 
> I would really like to build something like this at some point.
> 
> I have a few questions if you don't mind.
> 
> I saw your fern list. Do you have a list of the rest of the plants and vines?
> 
> How often are you misting this to keep the plant and moss growth going so well?
> 
> What's the lighting?
> 
> Ha, sorry for the inquisition. This just really struck me as quite beautiful. I kind of appreciate the fact that it doesn't look like a brom bomb went off like a lot of tanks. I like those too but this has a very clean, natural look.


I totally forgot about your questions, sorry man!
I will make a list first thing tomorrow, right now I can barely keep my eyes open. 
I hand mist the right side of upper cork tube about once a day since the fan dries it out some. The rest I mist every three days or so. I could probably get away with less though.

Right now I have 55w (1x25w and 1x30w) worth of cfl's, only cause that's what I had on hand. This makes the tank a few degrees too hot though so I plan on changing them. I got "a big bag" of LED's today which I might use...I just have to figure out what is what

Thank you, I like that too 
I mean, I like bromeliads as much as the next guy but I think this layout looks better without.


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## athiker04

Thanks for the reply and good timing. I'm putting a vertical build together now and will probably be getting some plants in the next couple of weeks. Ha. I wasn't doing it intentionally but I think a pretty much copied your cork tube layout.


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## Sammie

I gotz *Berries*! (_Anthurium scandens_)

I was a little tempted to try one...are they poisonous?

_Dinema polybulbon_

I like these, in the morning they smell like vanilla and honey...a nice change from stinky @#% bulbos.


Crappy pic, but I got baby _Anthuriums_ sprouting everywhere, _Anthurium gracile_ and _A. obtusum_.


This NOID (probably hybrid) _Begonia_ is finally starting to look good again. I've almost killed it three times...

_Begonia thelmae_

I was very surprised to find this flower the other day. I threw a 1" piece of half dead stem in the tank like a month ago and hadn't noticed it coming back.

No full tank shots though, I caught a really bad cold a couple of weeks back and sorta neglected it so some of the moss on the cork tubes died on me.
It seems like it's coming back pretty quick though.


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## Sammie

Plant list, as promised.

_Anthurium gracile_ (Seedlings, will be moved eventually)
_Anthurium obtusum_ (Same as above)
_Anthurium scandens
Barbosella cucullata_
_Begonia sp._ NOID
_Begonia thelmae
Biophytum sensitivum
Bulbophyllum aureum
Bulbophyllum cernuum
Bulbophyllum comberi
Bulbophyllum miniatum
Bulbophyllum purpurascens_
_Bulbophyllum sp._ NOID
_Cissus amazonica
Dinema polybulbon_
_Ficus sp._ "Borneo"
_Ficus villosa_
_Hydnophytum formicarium_ (Seedlings, will be moved)
_Lecanopteris carnosa_
_Marcgravia sintenisii_ (Will be moved)
_Marcgravia umbellata
Masdevallia minuta
Microgramma lycopodioides
Microgramma nitida
Microgramma vacciniifolia
Peperomia prostrata_
_Peperomia sp._ "Peru"
_Pilea involucrata
Pilea nummulariifolia
Pyrrosia piloselloides
Syngonium wendlandii_

And two NOID ferns.

I think that's all of them


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## rigel10

Nice list of plants. Where do you get them here in Europe?


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## Sammie

These two I buy most from:

Araflora; exotic flora & plant supplies
Startseite Bens Jungle Onlineshop

And then there's
Home | terra-jungle.de
www.wistuba.com - the carnivorous plant shop
OrkideImperiet.dk
https://shop.orchideen-lucke.de/
Orchids-shop.eu - Your online shop for orchids
Dusk Tropic

I also trade plants with other hobbyist from time to time, and on occasion I find cool stuff in the "local" garden centers


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## rigel10

Thanks, Sammie. I do not know many of these sites.


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## tongo

Hey sammie you're tanks are very cool! They look great


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## Dendro Dave

Sammie said:


> Plant list, as promised.
> 
> 
> _Anthurium scandens
> _


_

I've looked into if they are edible because I used to have this plant years ago, and I was also looking for edible plants that might fruit/rot and perpetuate fruit flies in a viv but the info was conflicting...

This site says No...
Anthurium scandens - Hortipedia

And this site says yes edible...
RE: [Aroid-l] FW: Anthurium fruit edibility

And that has pretty much been how the search has gone. One says yes, one says no... So my guess is a few won't kill you, but I wouldn't eat more then a couple. _


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## Sammie

I tried one, didn't swallow it though...just in case

It didn't taste very much, a little sweet. But I really liked the texture of it, kinda like gooseberry.


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## Dart_Man

I just noticed that this seems to be a larger/upgraded version of your previous 12x18 hygrolon/cork build. I really like the style, I can easily see why you wanted to try a similar but larger version . Keep up the solid work sammie! I hope it all grows back nicely now that you are hopefully rid of your illness. Keep updating us!!


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## Sammie

Dart_Man said:


> I just noticed that this seems to be a larger/upgraded version of your previous 12x18 hygrolon/cork build. I really like the style, I can easily see why you wanted to try a similar but larger version . Keep up the solid work sammie! I hope it all grows back nicely now that you are hopefully rid of your illness. Keep updating us!!


Well thank you, I'm all better now
No worries, I'll update soon enough. Yesterday I put the top with the cfl's on spacers (for the heat) and added two LED spotlights to speed things up.
It's _very_ bright right now




Sammie said:


> I tried one, didn't swallow it though...just in case
> 
> It didn't taste very much, a little sweet. But I really liked the texture of it, kinda like gooseberry.


When I tried the berry the taste was very familiar, so I squished and licked another one today and it came to me! They taste just like white grapes, just less.

But while they don't taste poisonous I wouldn't recommend anyone to eat them...

Edit: If you don't hear from me in 24 hours, assume the worst.


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## Sammie

Not much of an update, but I added a _Tillandsia filifolia_ to the tank last week. It looks pretty nice up there

When I first got it I couldn't stop brushing it against my face, it's soo soft

And as a "bonus" you'll get a sneak peak of my next project. It's about 7' tall and a little over 30" wide. And no worries, it's not as crooked as it looks in the picture, I don't know what happened.


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## ngeno626

very nice cork build. the plants grew in perfect!!! 
ill definitely keep looking back to this for your next build


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## Sammie

ngeno626 said:


> very nice cork build. the plants grew in perfect!!!
> ill definitely keep looking back to this for your next build


Thank you
My new build will get it's own thread when I have more to show. 
Hopefully I'll have time to cut the glass today.


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## Enlightened Rogue

Wow!
I don`t know how the heck I missed this thread. (damn lounge)
Fantastic job, seriously.


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## jrudd013

Beautiful!!!! Im still learning about mounting plants. Anyone know of a good thread. Searching isnt helping.


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## Enlightened Rogue

Post a question in the Plants section, Antone or plenty of other people will help you.


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## Sammie

jrudd013 said:


> Beautiful!!!! Im still learning about mounting plants. Anyone know of a good thread. Searching isnt helping.


What did you type? I found plenty by searching "Mounting plants" 
http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/plants/18830-how-do-you-mount-epiphytic-plants.html Amongst others.


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## Jeremy M

Sammie said:


> _Dinema polybulbon_
> 
> I like these, in the morning they smell like vanilla and honey...a nice change from stinky @#% bulbos.


Hey, sammie- first off, I've got to say that your style of viv is one I have the utmost appreciation for, and am thrilled that it's been 'proved out' so to speak in that you've been able to re-create a similar one to your smaller tank. Both are vivs I check back regularly and eagerly to see if they've been updated on. I do have to say though, I did quite a double-take when I saw your Encyclia (/dinema, /radicans- I think Encyclia sounds the coolest, therefore it is the name I use  ). I've been planning on ordering this species from Andy's for a while now once I can justify the shipping cost, and have preemptively decided that it's my very favorite orchid- a ridicuous thing to say for never having kept it, I know, but it's too late now  . My question is about the size of this orchid. I had assumed that the combined pseudobulbs and leaves were about the length of a typical finger, but the photo you have of them seems to suggest that they are much, much smaller, more on a scale with Bulbophyllum alagense! Perhaps I'm just getting confused with the scale and my mind's thinking of your smaller viv, but would you mind taking a picture of this plant's bulbs and leaves with something for size reference, like a finger or a ruler? Many thanks!
-Jeremy


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## Sammie

Thank you Jeremy
The battery on my camera is out, so I can't take any pictures right now I'm afraid.
It's a lot smaller than a finger, but bigger than _B. alagense_. The bulbs are maybe 1" tall (or whatever an American quarter is) and with the leaves about as wide, maybe slightly bigger.

I'll have to search for my charger, but I should be able to get some pictures tomorrow.


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## Kuhny11

Your tanks are awesome man! I have a quick question, do you use hygrolon on your cork tubes or just plant the plants in small holes in the cork? I'm doing a cork background with cork tubes on the ground as well and would love them to look like yours. Any insight to your secrets would be awesome! And perhaps a list of te plants you find grow best on the cork. I hope I can get something this great looking on my attempt!


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## Sammie

Thank you
There's no Hygrolon in this tank. Some plants I wedged in holes and crevices in the bark, but if you look at the first set of pictures you can see a bunch of zip ties in the cork, and that's mainly how I do it. Though, I prefer toothpicks since they decompose but sometimes it's better/easier to use zip ties.

List of plants that work on cork? Dude, there would be like thousands of plants that can grow on cork. I don't know were to begin. 

I hope this helps.


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## Kuhny11

Thanks for the response! I was more wondering what your favorite to grow on cork or what you find is the most hardy/ best growing. Also I noticed you said you use ventalation fans, any way I could see a pic of how you do this? Do you just put them at the top on opposite ends, one blowing air in and one out? Sorry for all the questions, just a newb trying to get things right the first time haha.


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## Sammie

Oh, I see. Well, I really like how the thick green roots of Anthuriums grabs on to cork. Same with Philodendrons and many others. One of my favorite vivarium plants (which many may find boring) is _Philodendron scandens/hederaceum_, I absolutely love it.

I have only one fan in this tank, it can be seen in the upper left corner of this picture:







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As you can see it's hanging from the top and blows towards the doors just to circulate the humid air.
If you do it the way you describe the dry outside air would lower the humidity too much (at least that's been the case for me, been there done that).

No need to apologize for asking about stuff, that's why we're here


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## Kuhny11

Thanks again, you've given me some really great ideas! May I ask what type of fan you are using? Is it water resistant? Also, how did you make your glass top? Is just just sitting on top of the mesh or is it a snug fit? Thanks!


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## Sammie

No problem man.
I don't remember the exact brand but it's a regular 40mm computer fan, it's not made to be water resistant but most computer fans seems to be able to handle the conditions.
I removed the screen and glued (with silicone) 2 pieces of 4mm glass in to the frame. I left about 3,5cm (1" is like 2,5cm) in the front and put in new screen.
I now wish I had made the ventilation strip just a little wider, I think 2" would have been better.


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## Sammie

I haven't updated in a while cause I thought it hadn't changed that much, but looking at the old pictures there's been some growth
Since I planted the tank I've decided that I want all my tanks to be done by country (For piece of mind.) so I went over the plant list and saw that by choosing Costa Rica I wouldn't have to replace too many plants, so Costa Rica it was. 
I still have a _Kohleria_ hybrid in there that I will move eventually, but right now I don't really have anywhere to put it.



Unfortunately I lost a lot of moss, but I'm hoping it will come back in time.
Also I just trimmed the _Pilea involucrata_, so that's why it looks a little weird.


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## Judy S

any frogs? With all the beautiful foliage, would you ever see them!?


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## Sammie

No frogs unfortunately.
I had planned to go to an expo and look for frogs today but I just couldn't do it.


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## toadstoool

Sammie said:


> Not much of an update, but I added a _Tillandsia filifolia_ to the tank last week. It looks pretty nice up there
> 
> When I first got it I couldn't stop brushing it against my face, it's soo soft
> 
> And as a "bonus" you'll get a sneak peak of my next project. It's about 7' tall and a little over 30" wide. And no worries, it's not as crooked as it looks in the picture, I don't know what happened.


Wow super nice viv just wondering what the small leafed plant is behind the tillandsia is


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## Sammie

That would be either _Peperomia sp._ Peru or _Ficus sp._ Borneo. I think it's the Peperomia you're referring to though.


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## papa_mcknight

Love how the floor has grown in, looks so natural.


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## papa_mcknight

Ive been away from the forums for a while, is this tank running still? And the smaller one?


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## Sammie

papa_mcknight said:


> Ive been away from the forums for a while, is this tank running still? And the smaller one?


Yep, still up and running
I'll try to get some pictures up in the next few days, I just have to do some overdue cleaning as I kinda neglected this tank.

The small one I tore down and redid, I'll ty to get some fresh pics of that too.


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## papa_mcknight

I look forward to it. Always liked your setups


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## waterbed fred

Sammie said:


> Yep, still up and running
> I'll try to get some pictures up in the next few days, I just have to do some overdue cleaning as I kinda neglected this tank.
> 
> The small one I tore down and redid, I'll ty to get some fresh pics of that too.


SWEET!!! Can't wait to see the updated pics!! I admire the style you did this in. VERY natural looking!!!!


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