# 44 Gallon Pentagon



## dubvstudent (Apr 4, 2011)

This thread is pretty much just a tease for now but...

I started construction on the thing over the Thanksgiving holiday but neglected to bring my camera along. I promise to take some picks this weekend though and document the rest of the build here.

The intent is to create a paludarium. I have already roughed out the waterfall using PVC and great stuff to hold it all together. The tank will have a series of shallow pools through which the water will cascade and feature a small ultrasonic fogger hidden (hopefully well hidden) in the upper pool. The waterfall and feature in general will be fed and circulated by an outside canister filter (ehiem 2213)

I stole some ideas from GRIMM (sorry, but hey, at least I will give you the credit) on the air circulation and the tank will feature 4 small fans along with a controller to keep the air from stagnating and glass from fogging up.

More details to come (and of course pictures)...


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## dubvstudent (Apr 4, 2011)

As promised...

The first thing I did was create a water feature using some lengths of PVC and great stuff (black pond version). There are a number of small pools carved into the face of the water feature where the water can spill over to lower layers. The top pool is a little deeper and hides the ultrasonic fogger. 

















Had to Swiss-cheese the bottom so water could flow back through relatively easily









I made a set of air ducts for in tank circulation. I used grimm's setup for inspiration and made it out of corrugated plastic material. There are 2 fans on one back wall and a matching unit on the other (4 fans total). The fans are 50mm x 50mm x 15mm each and from what I can gather are probably rated around 15cfm each (purchased at a local computer shop, 5 of them + the 12v adapter for $30). I will have to wait until the tank is almost fully set up to see if that is enough. If it still fogs up, I can replace them with 40 x 40 x 25s pretty easily which should move more air. I also purchased a cheap fan controller ($10 shipped on ebay) that makes it an easy, plug and play, type system.









Placed the insert in the tank. Just happy it all fit. Measuring twice really does work.


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## dubvstudent (Apr 4, 2011)

The next step for me was to fill in the rest of the background with great stuff. I carved out the excess and shaped it a little with a dremel.

























Here are a couple of pics from the top. It is hard to make out the detail or depth/size of the pools unfortunately.

















I also created some vines and mounted them.










More to come...


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## crittermom (May 26, 2009)

looks great! Can't wait to see it progress!


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## Loui1203 (Sep 29, 2011)

Looking good so far!
I'll be watching for the finished product.


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## WeeNe858 (Sep 13, 2010)

It does look great!

Would that wood happen to be sandblasted grape vine?


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## dubvstudent (Apr 4, 2011)

WeeNe858 said:


> It does look great!
> 
> Would that wood happen to be sandblasted grape vine?


Yeah, its grapevine.


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## dubvstudent (Apr 4, 2011)

Made some good progress...

Got the background siliconed and cover with peat moss.









Here is a top down view of one of the vents.









The plumbing is pretty simple. Water flows through the insert and down the front of the insert into the forward water feature. It then flows through the false bottom and rocks to a filter inlet placed in the rear corner of the tank.









The mesh covered pvc at the bottom support the first false bottom and insure flow through the bottom of the tank.









The first false bottom is mesh covered eggcrate and spreads the load over the pvc to support the rock work.









The rock wall is limestone. It was locally collect, washed, sunbaked, treated with TSP, and washed again. I was able to find grey silicone that matched it pretty well to fill in some of the larger gaps between the stone.









The second layer of the false bottom is inset between the rock and the insert and great-stuffed in around its edges.









Ready for the water test.









It took a while to get all the loose peat off the structure.









Good news, the water feature works.









Between the water feature and a the glass lid I should have no problems keeping the humidity up.









I have been growing out riccia and other aquatic mosses in an aquarium to give the tank a good start.









Looking good so far. I can't wait to get it fully planted.


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## Micro (Dec 26, 2011)

Looks great but thats a big water area in there. What do you plan on keeping in it?


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## Arpeggio (Jan 15, 2011)

It looks nice but I don't think tropical plants or frogs for that matter will like hard, lime water that will be inevitable with the limestone in there. Trust me I'm from WI...


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## thadmy (Dec 3, 2011)

Another problem could arise from the fogger you intend on using. Be careful if you plan on using the Exo-terra Ultrasonic fogger as it tends to get EXTREMELY hot. 

Best thing to do with it is place it in the back of your water fall so your frogs can't have access to it. It only creates a lot of fog if it is in 5-10 inches even though the box says 5 cm and the water around the fogger and the fog it releases are SUPER HOT and can cause burns on frogs and reptiles.


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## WeeNe858 (Sep 13, 2010)

Looking great!

I should warn you that grape vine is unfortunately not the best for humid environments as it molds constantly and as stated before, the limestone will react to the water its in.

Still a great tank nonetheless.


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## BethInAK (Jul 12, 2011)

the umbrella cracks me up.
I think the wood is gorgeous!!!!


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## EvilLost (Jan 10, 2011)

how exactly did you do your water feature? 

you said you just carved out great stuff, but in my experiences this does not work at all....I've even tried creating a guide-path with plastic covered by GS with little to no success :\


looks like a great tank for some water dragons tho!


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## dubvstudent (Apr 4, 2011)

EvilLost said:


> how exactly did you do your water feature?
> 
> you said you just carved out great stuff, but in my experiences this does not work at all....I've even tried creating a guide-path with plastic covered by GS with little to no success :\
> 
> ...


It has a PVC frame. (you can see it in one of the previous prictures.

The great stuff layer is rather thin in most areas after being carved.

@Beth - the umbrella is just for $h!ts and giggles. It is one of the cheap paper ones for cocktails so it has to come out soon. This isn't my tank. I just built it for my uncle and we keep putting tacky little props in there just to mess with him. We have named the tank "porcupine creek", after a location from one of his favorite sitcoms. I plan on getting a small flat piece of driftwood and wood-burning the name into as a finishing touch.


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## dubvstudent (Apr 4, 2011)

Arpeggio said:


> It looks nice but I don't think tropical plants or frogs for that matter will like hard, lime water that will be inevitable with the limestone in there. Trust me I'm from WI...


Thanks for the kind comment. I'm glad you like the tank.


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## dubvstudent (Apr 4, 2011)

thadmy said:


> Another problem could arise from the fogger you intend on using. Be careful if you plan on using the Exo-terra Ultrasonic fogger as it tends to get EXTREMELY hot.
> 
> Best thing to do with it is place it in the back of your water fall so your frogs can't have access to it. It only creates a lot of fog if it is in 5-10 inches even though the box says 5 cm and the water around the fogger and the fog it releases are SUPER HOT and can cause burns on frogs and reptiles.


I'm not sure who makes the fogger??? Mine operates in about an inch of water at optimal conditions. Anything deeper and you don't get much out of it. It is in the top pool, covered by a rock and moss in the last picture. Since there is no real need for it it will not be on that often, and only while someone is there (as it is operated via "the clapper") so I don't think it poses much of a threat to future inhabitants.

Mine doesn't get that hot either??? I have put my finger to it while it was on. The sensation is hard to describe, sort of an uncomfortable vibration I guess but not really that hot???


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## brinkerh420 (Oct 2, 2011)

Where did you get that moss on the logs? It looks super lush and green.

Love the umbrella!


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## dubvstudent (Apr 4, 2011)

brinkerh420 said:


> Where did you get that moss on the logs? It looks super lush and green.
> 
> Love the umbrella!


Most of it is ricca. I grew it out in and aquarium and just placed it in there. There is some flame moss and willow moss in there as well. All those plants are commonly available in the aquatic plants trade.

Some of the moss is gathered locally. This is not typically advisable but I have done it before with no ill effects. To treat it I rinse it out and remove all the loose organic mater that I can. I then place it in a bleach solution and let it sit for a while. I then drain the water/bleach mixture and run through a couple of cycles of regular water. Again, this is probably not advisable and many on this forum would recommend against it. However, I have never experienced problems so long as the it was done thoroughly.


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## Joshua's Exotics (Dec 6, 2011)

I Like i kinda did same thing with a 60 Gallon it came out awesome.


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## dubvstudent (Apr 4, 2011)

Some big changes in completing this thing. First off, alot more plants. Hope the Tillandsia do OK. Might stay to wet for them though.

In an effort to go more frogs/fewer fish, the rock wall was removed. Might still put some shrimp in the water and see how they fare. Got some additional gravel and driftwood to finish off the bottom.









Added some moss to the lower driftwood and added a nice thick layer of leaves and some springtails to complete the setup.









No frogs yet. I'm still trying to get in contact with a local breeder I have bought off before. For now, just letting the plants take hold and fill in.


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## dubvstudent (Apr 4, 2011)

Finally got the luecs in there.










Eating well and exploring. I will have to try to get a quality photo of all three of them together.


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