# The Paru Project: A Dream Build



## BWeisy (Nov 30, 2015)

Well, I figured I'd get the ball rolling on this one. Construction won't be started until close to the end of April when the semester is over, but I thought that I would start the thread now so that I can get feedback prior to beginning the build.

I recently acquired a species I dreamed of having the opportunity and privilege to work with, a female O. sylvatica 'Paru', from a local frogger and member. I can't thank you enough man! She is currently residing in a very established 18"x18"x24". Since getting her and the tank I have done a massive trimming and made a few slight changes. (If anyone wants some Ficus 'Panama' cuttings let me know, I have a TON lol)

Here's some pictures of her and the viv:

(Previous owners photo)


(My current pic of her)


(A FTS I took)


Now, beginning in April I will be constructing a viv that will be suitable for a 1.1. The specifications of the build are as follows:

*Tank:* 24"W x 18"D x 24"H Exo Terra
*Lighting:* Single Jungle Hobbies LED
*Misting:* Mistking Ultimate System w/Dual Nozzle
*Background:* Will consist of various cork pieces and possibly driftwood that will be foamed in place with GS Pond Foam. Exposed foam will be carved and covered with silicone, then my own background mix will be pressed in.
*Drainage Layer: *Black Matala Sheet (I have used this in several of my builds and for customers and I love it. It is very lightweight, strong, and has a clean look)
*Substrate:* I will be using my rendition of the ABG mix with a plethora of leaf litter on top.
*Microfauna:* Various isopods and springtails
*Fauna:* 1.1 _Oophaga sylvatica 'Paru'_
*Plant List (So Far):*
_- Begonia 'Iryan Jaya'
- Begonia 'Lita'
- Begonia thelmae
- Carpet moss (from UE)
- Ficus sp. 'Panama'
- Ficus pumila 'Quercifolia'
- Ficus villosa
- Marcgravia sp. from Peru
- Neoregelia sp. (Several)
- Peperomia prostrata
- Philodendron 'Burle Marx'
- Pilea involucrata_

I will be keeping this thread updated as I progress with the build. Now, if anyone has any information in regards to locating or selling a *male Paru* please *PM* me (*Note:* I am located in Edmonton, Canada). I am not in a rush to get one and at best it wouldn't be until mid summer, but I like to plan things well in advance. I am also looking for brom's so if someone could also help me out here that would be awesome.

Please feel free to post questions, concerns, ideas or anything of that matter. I encourage it!

Until next time,
Braeden.


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## Y0urbestfriend (Jan 31, 2014)

Cool frog! Looking forward to seeing how the build turns out


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## JacobLopez (Jul 21, 2014)

beautiful frog! I want some ficus 'panama' clippings lol. pm me

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk


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## BWeisy (Nov 30, 2015)

Y0urbestfriend said:


> Cool frog! Looking forward to seeing how the build turns out


Yeah she's a beauty! And you and me both, I can't wait to get at it.


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## BWeisy (Nov 30, 2015)

JacobLopez said:


> beautiful frog! I want some ficus 'panama' clippings lol. pm me
> 
> Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk


Thanks! Now the only unfortunate thing is that I am in Canada and to my knowledge it's rather difficult to ship plants across the border....


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## JacobLopez (Jul 21, 2014)

ah yeah true. I didnt see that. I will still enjoy seeing this build unravel though!

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## azbombero (Dec 4, 2009)

Very, very nice build


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## BWeisy (Nov 30, 2015)

I finally got the opportunity to work on the build today so I put in some time building the stand for the tank and began the initial hardscape. There's still a ton of work to do but so far I'm happy with how things are coming along. 

I was able to get a 32"W x 19"D x 26"H Reptology tank AND stand for the same price as just the Exo alone.... needless to say I went with the Reptology. Plus it gave me a ton of extra room to play around with. I will post a list of the species of brom's I got a bit later, but I was able to get everything I wanted and more 





I also got an awesome branch that will be filled with various brom's, mosses and vining plants. I am customizing the lid and my local glass shop should have the sheet done sometime this week. I am also in the process of designing a light bracket for the Jungle Hobbies light so that it will hang above the tank.



This is the beginning of the hardscape. It took me a while to plan things out but it should result in the look I'm going for. For the ventilation shaft I used corrugated plastic and have a 60mm fan housed inside it. Air will be drawn in from the bottom left of the shaft and pushed out the front at the top.



And this is the first round of foam. I love when things go from nothing to the beginning of something!



Once everything cures I will begin stage 2 of foaming/hardscape. If everything goes as planned, I should have an update for you guys within the next few days.


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## Kalle (May 14, 2010)

Wow what an amazing frog! And looks like its new home will be amazing too! So please carry on, I want to see this finished! 😀


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## andfrogs (Apr 26, 2017)

What a gorgeous frog, can't wait to see her in her new home!


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## Gibbs.JP (Feb 16, 2016)

Everything looks promising so far... you know what you're doing. I hate to bring it up, and hopefully you'll have better luck...

I've found (and read) that foam will stick better to silicone than straight on glass. I did my first ever tank with pond foam right on the glass, and ended up tearing it apart 6 months later to redo it all (simply because I thought I could do a better job). I found that peeling off the foam from the glass was super easy. I've also read many times that foam on glass is prone to separate on it's own and people have to re-attach it. 

When building tanks, I cover the whole back (and sides) with black silicone, and then spray the foam over that. I've had no separation issues with that method, and have read that way is better for longevity. 

It might be too late, and it would suck to have to tear out the foam you have. It looks really nice as you show it. Hopefully yours will break the mold and hold fast! 

Amazing frog, and regardless of the construction, I'm sure the tank will look great. Keep posting pics!


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## doclizard (May 6, 2012)

Great start, cant wait to follow along!


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## BWeisy (Nov 30, 2015)

Gibbs.JP said:


> Everything looks promising so far... you know what you're doing. I hate to bring it up, and hopefully you'll have better luck...
> 
> I've found (and read) that foam will stick better to silicone than straight on glass. I did my first ever tank with pond foam right on the glass, and ended up tearing it apart 6 months later to redo it all (simply because I thought I could do a better job). I found that peeling off the foam from the glass was super easy. I've also read many times that foam on glass is prone to separate on it's own and people have to re-attach it.
> 
> ...


Yeah I really dropped the ball on that one. I had full intentions of doing that too just because like you said, it gives the foam something more to grip on to and I didn't want to risk something peeling off. All I can do now is hope for the best. I have 2 builds I finished a little less than two years ago where I didn't silicone the glass prior to foaming (at the time I had no knowledge of applying silicone first), and they are still going strong...... fingers crossed I get lucky a third time and it holds!

I appreciate your advice and concerns!


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## BWeisy (Nov 30, 2015)

Another update as promised. After almost a year of planning, hoarding unique pieces of wood and catching some lucky breaks with plants, seeing this build come together has been incredible and has surpassed all of my expectations.

After the foam cured I applied the silicone and pressed in my background mix, then allowed that to fully cure. Here is what things looked like.




And here is how things look with the mounted brom's.






This is still far from being complete but so far I have achieved and surpassed the look I had envisioned.


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## BWeisy (Nov 30, 2015)

And for those of you interested, here is a list of the brom's as seen from left to right:
N. 'Punc Rubra X Tigrina'
N. 'Mo Peppa Please'
N. 'Bonkers'
N. 'Angel Face'
N. 'Gemini'
N. 'Cougar'
N. 'Prairie Fire'


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## chulainnledsom (Mar 28, 2017)

Nice build and some great looking froggies!


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## Albinopied (Apr 4, 2017)

Very nice! Good flow to it!!


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## oldlady25715 (Nov 17, 2007)

Love the size of the tank for a few large obligates. Nice work!


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## BWeisy (Nov 30, 2015)

Finally got around to take pics of the initial planting. I'm still not done and will be adding plants here and there as things begin to fill in more, but it's getting closer to completion. And it might be hard to tell in the pictures, but all of the brom's have colored up immensely in the short period they have been under the light. If you can afford it, I highly recommend the Jungle Hobbies Advanced LED. You won't be disappointed!







*Plant list at the moment:* 
_Begonia 'Iryan Jaya'
Begonia 'Lita' (This one didn't appreciate being shipped so its in recovery for a bit until it's more stable)
Begonia soli mutata
Begonia thelmae_
Carpet moss from UE
_Marcgravia sp. 'Peru Burgundy'
Peperomia prostrata
Philodendron 'Burle Marx'
Pilea cadierei
Pilea involucrata
Selaginella kraussiana _


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## ardengardell (Oct 31, 2018)

Any updates on this build? Love to see how it worked out


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## alsofaac (Aug 21, 2013)

Looking beautiful, so far. Looking forward to its completion. 
If you ever figure out how to ship plants to the US, I'd love some cuttings of Ficus "Panama", plus any others you can spare. Thanks.
Arnold


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## BWeisy (Nov 30, 2015)

ardengardell said:


> Any updates on this build? Love to see how it worked out


Sorry, I had totally forgotten about this thread and have been posting updates of it in other threads. I'll take some pics and post them here shortly!


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## BWeisy (Nov 30, 2015)

Here's a long overdue update...

I had intentions of this build housing O. sylvatica 'Paru', but being an undergrad student I had to postpone that dream until I can comfortably finance the project. The female was sold to another member and he took on the challenge (she's killed all males she's come into contact with so far....)

Being that it was a large display I decided that my A. bassleri 'Chrome Blue/Green' from UE would love it and they did, producing a ridiculous amount of tadpoles. There were 3 froglets I decided to hold back so this viv now houses 1.1.3. I'd love to show pictures of them but they vanish the second I put my face up to the glass. Hopefully in time they become bold like the male and female who don't budge even while trimming and cleaning things up.

There have been a few other changes with plants being added/removed over the year, but everything has grown in nice and lush. 





































I learned lots throughout the duration of the build and have acquired more knowledge all around, so once I graduate I plan on using the remainder of my student loans and going all out on a build as a grad present to myself. 

But for now, I hope this is a decent enough update and I will do my best to update things more often in the future.


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## S2G (Jul 5, 2016)

I love the layout of everything. I've tried to get a pilea moon valley (top left) to grow, but they never do well for me for some odd reason


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## BWeisy (Nov 30, 2015)

S2G said:


> I love the layout of everything. I've tried to get a pilea moon valley (top left) to grow, but they never do well for me for some odd reason


Thanks! That does seem odd that you can't grow that though, I can't get mine to stop. I have always treated it similar to begonias because I've heard of it melting quite fast from some. They love the humidity, but hate constantly wet leaves. Not saying that's the case for you, maybe I just got lucky with it where it is.


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## Tomheaser (Aug 28, 2018)

Very nice wish I had room to do a couple of them


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## Esmi (Oct 28, 2017)

what species is your central bromeliad and the left onen?


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## BWeisy (Nov 30, 2015)

Esmi said:


> what species is your central bromeliad and the left onen?


The large central one is N. 'Angel Face' and the one on the left is a N. 'Mo Peppa Please'


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