# New Vivarium Construction (and Problem)



## Guest (Oct 24, 2006)

Hi, I'm new at posting here, but have been enjoying, and learning from this forum for a month or so.
Let me first establish that I'm a little bit of a "spy". I'm not housing frogs, but Crested Geckos. 
I've found many answers and hints on this forum (thank you) and am having a problem now with mold. So,....here are some pictures of the construction of my tank that may help diagnose some of my issues.

I was very inspired when a friend at work created this amazing tank: http://www.dendroboard.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=18335 

I figured I would try and create some kind of overgrown mayan temple theme, so I started hacking away at eggcrate, acrylic, and concrete patch and came up with this:

18x18x24 exo-terra tank
501 Zoo Med Turtle filter (I was having funky water issues, and this is helping).
Fogger
Pump (for water feature off of wood erupting out of wall, and small dripping waterfall)
Aquarium Heater (not being used at the moment (but wasn't sure, so I threw it in).








Finished Background in place:








Working on overhang:








Planning wood placement:








Wood placed, foam work done, etc:








Planted. (no idea what I'm doing at this point, just throwing in plants to see what lives and what dies :lol: )








Temp range is around 72(ish) dipping into high 60's at night. Humidity is around 80-90%.


















...now it's been a couple weeks, I'm getting mold (I'll post some pictures of that tomorrow....fun!) and my plants are not doing great (I think my drainage could be better. the substrate is pretty saturated).
Oh, and my substrate layer is: (from the bottom of tank, up)
-glass (duh)
-about 2.5" water
-1/4" air
-eggcrate w/screen mesh 
-hydroton pellets (1-2 balls deep)
-organic potting soil (maybe a prob?)
-moss and plants

Any and All advice would be great!
Thanks!!!
-Blair


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## Frogger 415 (May 28, 2006)

I'm no expert ......but I believe the soil is holding to much water , then again what color is the mold ? If it's white cotton mold that is normal and will go away on it's own .


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## zBrinks (Jul 16, 2006)

If the mold is just the fuzzy white stuff, it will probably go away on its own. Anubias sp. hold up great with wet roots, or in water, for that matter. If the bottom is staying wet, you could probabaly pull off some java moss, too.

Cool background! howd u do it?


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## Guest (Oct 25, 2006)

Here is the problem:

Dying plants...









and mold,....mold,...









...MOLD!









So now,... is there anything I can do?
it started as the "normal" white fuzzy mold, but now it seems my tank has a full blown case of cooties!
-Blair


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## Guest (Oct 25, 2006)

> If it's white cotton mold that is normal and will go away on it's own .


Thanks for the replies and suggestions zBrinks, and Frogger. When I get this under control, I'll try the java moss and Anubias.



> Cool background! howed u do it?


Thanks zBrinks! It's just sheets of acrylic cut into sections (the block faces), glued to another sheet of acrylic (like a mosaic) and covered with a light coat of concrete patch, then sealed, painted, and re-sealed. (I still need to take pictures of the process so I can post it,..AND so I don't forget what worked, and what didn't!)
-B.


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## zBrinks (Jul 16, 2006)

That background reminds me of a racecar track set I had when I was a kid - you had to get through the face's mouth before it closed. Temple of Doom or something.


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## Guest (Oct 25, 2006)

i think thats an awesome looking tank.you did a great job on the background. its tied in to the landscape very nicely and looks pretty darn natural for what it is. ive kicked around a lot of theme tanks, this being one of them, and im impressed by how well you pulled it off.

i think your soil could be the problem. if its not it may be wiht time. i would try and add something to the mix to air it up a little. maybe some sphagnum peat moss, or ground coco (bed-a-beast). mybe some sand or dried oak leaves would aid in drainage also. top soil on its own will compact so easily and wont let the water through to the drainage layer quick enough.

the mold is pretty normal IMO, and i wouldnt worry about it unless it spreads onto plants. you could always add in some springtails and they will start to munch on it.


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## zBrinks (Jul 16, 2006)

I know springtails are considered more of a "dart" food, but the young cresties Ive had in a viv consumed the springs with gusto - might be better to let the springtails be in the viv alone for a month or so and consume all the mold (and have time to get established) before sticking geckos in there. I noticed that the pic of the browning plant you posted appears to be right in the water - is that from a waterfall? Alot of plants like it moist, but not that wet! You may consider increasing the ventilation, too - Ive found cresties fair better around 70-80% humidity, and depending on the existing ventilation of your viv, you may have trouble keeping it there.


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## buddha (Oct 17, 2006)

how idid you paint it? did you use regular Acryllic? Did you use clear enamel Spray? and is that safe for amphibians?


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## porkchop (Aug 29, 2005)

Wow, really cool Viv, hope you get a handle on the mold so its usable.


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## Repti-racks (Oct 2, 2006)

*Nice job*

The vivarium looks great. ive ran across this when i first did an vivarium seemed like it was between venting and drainage . also make sure you using an wood that will hold up to wet enviourments like ghost wood.
good luck


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## tchok13 (Apr 5, 2006)

Awesome Viv, and by posting it, you must divulge how you created it!


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## *slddave* (Jun 2, 2006)

Until you show us exactly how you did the ancient stone thing you're banned from the board!!


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## defaced (May 23, 2005)

There might be some discussion about how he did it in this thread: http://geckosunlimited.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7873


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## Guest (Nov 4, 2006)

cool viv, like the stone


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## kyle1745 (Feb 15, 2004)

That is neat... Ive seen people do something like that with Styrofoam.


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