# Mindcrash Tank Row



## mindcrash (Mar 3, 2004)

I thought I would start a thread documenting the build out of 5 tanks I received today.

These beauties were delivered by none other than Doug H., AKA Pumilo. This was Doug's first viv order and I'm very impressed with the result. He was extremely detailed in the planning and building of these awesome tanks.

They're all euro-sliders, complete with the awesome Sherman Vent. You can also see Doug's novel approach to a handle, the glass marble. It works great and is a nice, minimal solution for the problem of a handle. Also notice the fly-proofing of the doors that Doug has detailed before.

The big tank is 29"x15"x22", and will house my first frogs, a pair of Azureus. The four smaller tanks are all 16"x15"x22", and I intend to mix them up with thumbnails and Pumilio (not in the same tanks, duh). I'll be decorating the big tank first and then work on the smaller guys.

The cabinet is a 3 piece unit from IKEA, and I'll be mounting an identical cabinet to the wall above, flush with the tanks for a seamless look. They seem very sturdy, but I'll be keeping a close eye on them. Right now it needs to be leveled to the floor, as it's a bit wonky being built in 1926 and all. Nothing a few shims won't fix.

Anyway, here at the pics. Take note of the recently acquired cypress stump from travisc 

Stay tuned, I'll post updates as I make (slow) progress.


----------



## mrzoggs (May 27, 2012)

Very nice! Can't wait to see how they come out! Subscribed!


----------



## travisc (Mar 30, 2009)

Wow. What a nice setup. Those are going to look amazing! Love seeing the clean slate prior to a build - so much potential and fun construction time in the future! Glad the stump is working out for you! 

Note: I am sure you have this already in mind, but if you don't want to lose the cool appearance of the bottom of the stump, make sure to silicone some PVC pipes to the bottom of it even after placing the false bottom or whatever substrate you choose so the substrate does not cover it. 

Either way, it is going to look awesome! SUBSCRIBED!!!!!


----------



## VenomR00 (Apr 23, 2010)

Suggestion: With Ikea make sure you reinforce the joints at where the top meets the sides. They are incredibly weak.


----------



## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

Hey Travis, I got over there to deliver these today and spotted that piece of Cypress. I knew immediately that it came from you!


----------



## travisc (Mar 30, 2009)

Haha! Thanks Pumilo. Glad I can make my presence known out there. I should send you a complimentary stump for that! 




Pumilo said:


> Hey Travis, I got over there to deliver these today and spotted that piece of Cypress. I knew immediately that it came from you!


----------



## james67 (Jun 28, 2008)

lookin good. nice set up with the tanks in a row like that. how do you plan on lighting these bad boys?


IM OLD GREGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

james


----------



## kitcolebay (Apr 7, 2012)

Very cool! Love the "row"! Subscribed!

-Chris


----------



## kevin575 (May 7, 2012)

Nice tanks! Subscribed, and looking forward to seeing them come together.


----------



## Scott (Feb 17, 2004)

Pumilo stumps for stumps?

s


travisc said:


> Haha! Thanks Pumilo. Glad I can make my presence known out there. I should send you a complimentary stump for that!


----------



## mindcrash (Mar 3, 2004)

VenomR00 said:


> Suggestion: With Ikea make sure you reinforce the joints at where the top meets the sides. They are incredibly weak.


Any thoughts on how to do so? Angle brackets perhaps?


----------



## mindcrash (Mar 3, 2004)

travisc said:


> Wow. What a nice setup. Those are going to look amazing! Love seeing the clean slate prior to a build - so much potential and fun construction time in the future! Glad the stump is working out for you!
> 
> Note: I am sure you have this already in mind, but if you don't want to lose the cool appearance of the bottom of the stump, make sure to silicone some PVC pipes to the bottom of it even after placing the false bottom or whatever substrate you choose so the substrate does not cover it.
> 
> Either way, it is going to look awesome! SUBSCRIBED!!!!!


Thanks for the tip! I might have to cut it a little shorter to fit with the false bottom but I love the idea of the spacers.


----------



## mindcrash (Mar 3, 2004)

james67 said:


> lookin good. nice set up with the tanks in a row like that. how do you plan on lighting these bad boys?
> 
> 
> IM OLD GREGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
> ...


Glad finally someone got it 

Currently I'm tentatively planning on using 4 22" LED strips from Lightyourreptiles.com. Although after discussions I may have to make that 8 strips. So currently re-thinking the planned lighting setup.


----------



## Lukeomelas (Mar 15, 2005)

Those are some great looking tanks. Can't wait to see them all filled in. What kind of backgrounds will you be using? The LEDs will be a great choice, it is amazing how bright they are. I have some on my 30" vivs and they still blast light to the bottom. Lots of fun work ahead!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## frogparty (Dec 27, 2007)

Definitely makes me wish Doug lived close to me


----------



## mindcrash (Mar 3, 2004)

Lukeomelas said:


> Those are some great looking tanks. Can't wait to see them all filled in. What kind of backgrounds will you be using? The LEDs will be a great choice, it is amazing how bright they are. I have some on my 30" vivs and they still blast light to the bottom. Lots of fun work ahead!
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I've been thinking about the cork mosaic background method, but instead of using sphagnum in between the cork pieces maybe use hygrolon? I haven't quite decided yet and it may take some experimentation.


----------



## frogparty (Dec 27, 2007)

You would have to combine the hygrolon with something else to make it work. Either Epi web, matala, or GS


----------



## froggies3 (Feb 1, 2011)

Can't wait to see these done!


----------



## VenomR00 (Apr 23, 2010)

I have seen the metal L's being utilized or you can drill 2x4's from the top. Use the flat topped screws so they don't protrude.


----------



## mindcrash (Mar 3, 2004)

VenomR00 said:


> I have seen the metal L's being utilized or you can drill 2x4's from the top. Use the flat topped screws so they don't protrude.


I was thinking about 2x4's actually as it would provide a little peace of mind regarding the strength. Food for thought for sure.


----------



## Lukeomelas (Mar 15, 2005)

mindcrash said:


> I've been thinking about the cork mosaic background method, but instead of using sphagnum in between the cork pieces maybe use hygrolon? I haven't quite decided yet and it may take some experimentation.


The cork mosaic is a great look, even better when it is all covered in plants.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## srrrio (May 12, 2007)

mindcrash said:


> I
> The big tank is 29"x15"x22", and will house my first frogs, a pair of Azureus.


Looking at your DB join date I just love this ^^^ sentence, props to you. Your set up looks so clean I am jealous of your planning and ...your tank builder


----------



## asunderco (Apr 4, 2011)

Subscribed. Can't wait to see your builds! All us Denver folk need to go hang out one day!


----------



## mindcrash (Mar 3, 2004)

Updates will be slow as I'm getting married in 6 weeks and I've promised not to spend too much $$$ on the vivs until after we're done with that.

Anyway, I've started the maddeningly slow build process with the bulkhead on the big viv. I have space contraints because I don't want to move the cabinet out from the wall but only have about 2" of room between the back of the tanks and the wall. This rules out the standard bulkheads. I also didn't want to drill the bulkhead into the bottom of the tank as that would make moving them tricky and would also limit future use. 

I settled on trying to make the MistKing bulkheads work. I purchased 1/4" bulkheads, 90 degree elbows, and valves from Josh's Frogs and a 16mm bit from a vendor on Amazon. I purchased the items from Josh's Frogs because the shipping charges when buying direct from MistKing are ridiculously high. 

I drilled using anti-freeze as the lubricant/coolant and it worked great. I will be giving the interior and exterior a thorough scrub down once I'm done with all the drilling. I decided to live dangerously with the placement being so close to the edges, but I wanted to get it as low as possible in order get as much water out as possible without having to tip the fully-planted viv. This worked out well, thankfully.

I've attached some pics of the process. 

The bulkhead works great, but I did end up having to seal the exterior end with super glue in order to get it watertight. I'm pretty certain that was because I had chipping on the edges of the interior hole which made it impossible for the rubber o-ring to get the proper seal. I plan on routing the 1/4" tubing to a valve and a bucket under one of the cabinets to drain each viv as needed.

Comments, suggestions, questions welcome.

Next up: fans!


----------



## mindcrash (Mar 3, 2004)

Time for fans.

After doing a ton of research on the board, I settled on method of using a mistking nozzle assembly for the fan aparatus as described here: http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/pa...construction-using-spare-mistking-nozzle.html. Probably a little more expensive than piecing it together using various sprinkler parts, however the trade off was in simplicity of making these. The hardest part is fishing the wires.

Here are a few pics of before and after.







Next up, lighting!


----------



## mindcrash (Mar 3, 2004)

Another update, trying to get caught up here...

I was having trouble figuring out the lighting for these tanks. My original thought was to get LED strips made for each cabinet space, but that would have proven to be cost-prohibitive as I would likely need 2 for each cabinet. Luckily, Doug came to the rescue again with suggestion of using the Jungle Dawn 13W LED screw-in bulbs. Here's the solution I came up with to get them wired up. A bonus is that it also provides some much-needed rigidity to the bottom of the cabinet since before they were just floating freely.

The basic materials...


Ready to mount...


Power supply...


Mounted...


Wider shot...


And a final shot showing the mostly-finished product (not fully-lit as I still need 6 more bulbs)...


Time to build-out the interiors!

Thanks for looking.


----------



## mydumname (Dec 24, 2004)

mindcrash said:


> The bulkhead works great, but I did end up having to seal the exterior end with super glue in order to get it watertight. I'm pretty certain that was because I had chipping on the edges of the interior hole which made it impossible for the rubber o-ring to get the proper seal. I plan on routing the 1/4" tubing to a valve and a bucket under one of the cabinets to drain each viv as needed.
> 
> Comments, suggestions, questions welcome.
> 
> Next up: fans!


I would suggest doing something to prevent those bulkheads from getting clogged. It's hard to prevent all dirt/debris from getting through the false bottom and the 1/4" hole clogs easily. Not always to the point where water won't drain, but it can hinder it. 

I am switching back to 1/2" bulkheads for my exoterra conversion I have going on now.


----------



## kitcolebay (Apr 7, 2012)

That's looking very sharp!

-Chris


----------



## mollbern (Feb 10, 2013)

Oh my. 
That. is. awesome.


----------



## iRyan (Feb 17, 2011)

Looks amazing. I can't wait for the day when I have the money/space to set up something similar and get my tanks off of the bakers racks. 

Any thought to put the larger tank in the middle, just for symmetry purposes?


----------



## mindcrash (Mar 3, 2004)

mydumname said:


> I would suggest doing something to prevent those bulkheads from getting clogged. It's hard to prevent all dirt/debris from getting through the false bottom and the 1/4" hole clogs easily. Not always to the point where water won't drain, but it can hinder it.
> 
> I am switching back to 1/2" bulkheads for my exoterra conversion I have going on now.



Any experience blowing them out? I'll have tubing running from each to a bucket for drainage and it wouldn't be a big deal to try and blow air through them to clear any obstructions time and again.


----------



## mindcrash (Mar 3, 2004)

iRyan said:


> Looks amazing. I can't wait for the day when I have the money/space to set up something similar and get my tanks off of the bakers racks.
> 
> Any thought to put the larger tank in the middle, just for symmetry purposes?


It had never occurred to me until now, but I really, really like the idea.


----------



## mydumname (Dec 24, 2004)

iRyan said:


> Looks amazing. I can't wait for the day when I have the money/space to set up something similar and get my tanks off of the bakers racks.
> 
> Any thought to put the larger tank in the middle, just for symmetry purposes?


I like that idea.





> Any experience blowing them out? I'll have tubing running from each to a bucket for drainage and it wouldn't be a big deal to try and blow air through them to clear any obstructions time and again.


I think this would work if you have access to them. But if you have to do it once, you will probably have to do it again. Shouldn't be too hard to make a small box with egg crate and screen to mount over the entrance. Give more access for water and one more filter screen. 

I have some tanks with these bulkheads and I did not put anything in front of them to prevent clogs and I swear the water level is higher then the bulkhead. I will have to take a closer look.


----------



## roktman (Apr 10, 2013)

Looks pretty sweet! 
I don't I would have had the guts to attempt drilling...


----------



## mindcrash (Mar 3, 2004)

Thanks for all of the great feedback. Time for another update...

Build out has begun! My first inhabitants are going to be for one of the smaller vivs, so naturally I started building one of those first. Pretty basic, but here goes:

Placement of the ecoweb background. I traced an outline of the piece of cork I chose and cut the pattern out with a box-cutter. This stuff is pretty tough, it took quite a few passes to cut out. I decided to take this step so that I could retain that 1" of floor space since this is already a smaller(ish) viv. 


Cork placement and false bottom installed.


View of tank showing slope that was necessary to fill in some gaps under the cork. Substrate is Turface. Some of Doug's clay will be layered on top, and then leaf litter on top of the clay.


Initial placement of cypress stumps from Travis.


...and initial planting! I was able to get started planting because a very generous local DB'er gave me a ton of cuttings. 


More planting will be done tonight as my shipment from Josh's Frogs will arrive today. Lots of broms in this one for the future pumilio. Also awaiting delivery of some moss mix and lianas from Folius!


----------



## mindcrash (Mar 3, 2004)

Update 2 of the day...

Time for the big tank, intended to house Azureus.

Skipping ahead a little on this one. I decided not to cut out the pattern of the cork bark in this one as I'm not as concerned about losing that extra floor space. 


Here's after initial planting and cypress stump placement. Same Turface substrate, but I'll be skipping the clay on this one and just layering the leaf litter on top.


And here's a wide shot of the tanks side-by-side. I placed the big one in the center per the suggestion of a genius DB'er yesterday. Love it.


...will be adding a lot more plants and leaf litter to this soon as well.


----------



## Nath514 (Jul 8, 2012)

Looking really awesome! Can't wait to see them all full!


----------



## Dart_Man (Mar 23, 2013)

WOW. Really great setup you have there. I especially like the clean look of the tanks set up side by side on the shelving units and how well it all fit together. The symmetry with the clean tanks and same fans etc works super well. I envy your ambition and your superb execution. This is an inpirational thread to say the least.... I have subscribed to see your progress along the way, cant wait to see more. Major props!!! Keep it up!

-Aaron


----------



## mollbern (Feb 10, 2013)

This is a dream. Really love the amount of work and precision put in to making the whole display look precise and just clean. You are good! 
I'm also really liking the topography of your substrate. 
Excited to see the progress! Subscribed...


----------



## rigel10 (Jun 1, 2012)

I like your setup and the shelving unit, ideal for an home living room of a building designed by F.L. Wright.


----------



## mindcrash (Mar 3, 2004)

Thanks for the feedback guys. I'm working hard to make it look nice so (nearly) wife will continue to tolerate it.


----------



## TDK (Oct 6, 2007)

mindcrash said:


> Thanks for the feedback guys. I'm working hard to make it look nice so (nearly) wife will continue to tolerate it.


If that's your photo in your avatar she tolerates a lot already. Nice looking tanks.


----------



## mindcrash (Mar 3, 2004)

Well, frogs will be moving in soon so thought it was high time for another update.

All tanks are planted, just need to grow now, which they seem to be doing nicely. I've provided two view of each of the 5 tanks, one directly facing it, another angled down while looking into the front.

I'm really excited to see how these grow in.

Let me know if you have any questions or suggestions.


----------



## pdfCrazy (Feb 28, 2012)

So, what frogs are going in them? If I remember right, you mentioned pumilio right? Tanks look good, theyll look better once grown in!


----------



## lando (Sep 10, 2010)

I like it! When are the frogs moving in?


----------



## mindcrash (Mar 3, 2004)

pdfCrazy said:


> So, what frogs are going in them? If I remember right, you mentioned pumilio right? Tanks look good, theyll look better once grown in!


That's exactly my thinking regarding the growth. Just need to give that time. 

I'm planning on a pair of Azureus in the bigger tank, a trio of pum's in the 2nd, and the rest are up in the air. I'm kinda leaning towards Vanzolinis for frog #3,
but am in no rush.


----------



## mindcrash (Mar 3, 2004)

lando said:


> I like it! When are the frogs moving in?


The next couple of weeks should see Azureus and Esperanza's coming in.


----------



## kitcolebay (Apr 7, 2012)

They look DAMN good! Do you have a full view of all the tanks complete?

-Chris


----------



## mindcrash (Mar 3, 2004)

kitcolebay said:


> They look DAMN good! Do you have a full view of all the tanks complete?
> 
> -Chris


Flattery will get you everywhere 

Here's a full shot, room dark and lit.


----------



## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

Aaron, how many 13w Jungle Dawn LEDs do you have per viv, or just overall for the entire rack?


----------



## mindcrash (Mar 3, 2004)

Pumilo said:


> Aaron, how many 13w Jungle Dawn LEDs do you have per viv, or just overall for the entire rack?


Hey Doug, there are currently 12 of the 13W Jungle Dawns. Each of the smaller tanks has light from at least 2 bulbs over it. I feel like it's enough light and am getting good reds in some of the broms. I have been toying with the idea of adding some of the lower-powered ones to spots that may need a boost but haven't determined if it's necessary yet.


----------



## pdfCrazy (Feb 28, 2012)

Well, they look really well lit. You should get some awsome growth pretty quickly.


----------



## volcano23000 (Feb 22, 2012)

Every time I see this thread on the home page, my stomach drops. I never like seeing the words "crash tank row" consecutively.


----------



## rigel10 (Jun 1, 2012)

I think your (electric) bill is very expensive!


----------



## Azurel (Aug 5, 2010)

mindcrash said:


> Flattery will get you everywhere
> 
> Here's a full shot, room dark and lit.


Looks amazing man...excellent work.

sent from my Galaxy S lll


----------



## mindcrash (Mar 3, 2004)

Azurel said:


> Looks amazing man...excellent work.
> 
> sent from my Galaxy S lll


Thanks! I can't wait for it all to grow in.


----------



## mfsidore (Oct 10, 2012)

Wow.....


----------



## blehrer (Feb 10, 2013)

Looks great, very clean.


----------



## pdfCrazy (Feb 28, 2012)

It'll be nice to have someone else besides myself doing a few "big" frogs around Colo. Everyone I know primarily is doing thumbs. Plan on any other large species besides azureus?


----------



## mindcrash (Mar 3, 2004)

pdfCrazy said:


> It'll be nice to have someone else besides myself doing a few "big" frogs around Colo. Everyone I know primarily is doing thumbs. Plan on any other large species besides azureus?


Nope, just the azureus. I plan on filling the rest of the tanks with thumbs and pum's.


----------



## mindcrash (Mar 3, 2004)

Minor update....

Doug had suggested that it wouldn't be a terrible idea to add some UVB lighting to my tanks awhile back, possibly with a tube over the screened section on the top of each viv. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to make that work with my setup, but inspiration struck when Todd of Lightyourreptiles.com posted his side mount sockets for sale! This presented an affordable and flexible solution to my problem.

I obtained some of these from him, wrapped the heat shield in reflective tape to help bounce some of the light back down into the viv, and installed an exo-terra UVB CFL bulb.

Not sure how much UVB will actually be getting into the vivs, but I figure it can't be detrimental and a little extra light won't hurt either.


----------



## blehrer (Feb 10, 2013)

Unfortunately, from what I've read, UVB is blocked by standard glass, while it allows UVA comes through. Not sure the +/- of providing UVA only, but it sounds like you would need an open or screen top to allow the UVB through.


----------



## mindcrash (Mar 3, 2004)

Ben - you're right, glass blocks it. However you'll see that I positioned the bulb over the screened portion of the lid. While I'm certain the screen still blocks some of the UVB, some will also get through. Where before there was 0% UVB, now there's more 



blehrer said:


> Unfortunately, from what I've read, UVB is blocked by standard glass, while it allows UVA comes through. Not sure the +/- of providing UVA only, but it sounds like you would need an open or screen top to allow the UVB through.


----------



## blehrer (Feb 10, 2013)

Gotcha. Either way, it's an awesome setup. Hopefully the wife is still enjoying it enough to let it continue. If not, give me a shout and I'm happy to help you load it up in the back of my truck.


----------



## mindcrash (Mar 3, 2004)

Quick update. Just received a new pair of Escudo from Robert Nhan. Hopefully they like the new digs. The viv is out of control with Doug's awesome pink springs, so we'll see if these two can make a dent in the population


----------



## Cfrog (Oct 28, 2011)

Wow, that is one amazing set up!


----------



## mindcrash (Mar 3, 2004)

I've been adding inhabitants and my teenager shot this video today of two of my Colon's hanging out and calling on one of the fans...thought it was kinda funny. These guys are pretty bold.

Colon's Calling Video by aaronrames | Photobucket


----------



## kevin575 (May 7, 2012)

Wow! They are already calling! I had to wait 9 months to hear mine (Leucs). But I got mine while froglets, plus the smaller frogs might mature faster. Congratz! You might start getting froglets before you know it.


----------



## pdfCrazy (Feb 28, 2012)

Your Colons look great. are they Bocas Del Drago? My Black Jeans gave me a clutch the first week I put the male in the tank. I've got tads in the broms right now. So dont be suprsised.


----------



## mindcrash (Mar 3, 2004)

pdfCrazy said:


> Your Colons look great. are they Bocas Del Drago? My Black Jeans gave me a clutch the first week I put the male in the tank. I've got tads in the broms right now. So dont be suprsised.


Fingers crossed that I'll see tads soon. These are Villegas line.


----------



## rigel10 (Jun 1, 2012)

So, what frogs do you have? Colon, Escudo ... (I would be happy if I had these frogs).


----------



## mindcrash (Mar 3, 2004)

rigel10 said:


> So, what frogs do you have? Colon, Escudo ... (I would be happy if I had these frogs).


Right now azureus, colon, and escudo, with varadero and vanzolini in the works.


----------



## mindcrash (Mar 3, 2004)

Quick update. Revamped my lighting setup with the new 20w Jungle Dawn Glow & Grow's, combined with 2 9w Jungle Dawns to add a little more brightness to the spectrum. I'm really, really pleased with how these light the vivs, it seems a bit softer and not as sterile. I was also able to bring the lights a little higher off the tanks mounted this way so hopefully I do a little better on heat. Only time will tell on that and plant growth, but I think I'll be pleased. 

I used the LYR side-mount fixtures and supported the ends of the 20w bulbs with some 18 gauge wire.

First pic is how I arranged the bulbs, second is with room lights on, third is with room lights off.


----------



## mindcrash (Mar 3, 2004)

A couple of pics of inhabitants....

Varadero hanging out on the internal fan and Escudo chilling in his brom.


----------



## KRich Frogger (Feb 15, 2013)

not sure if anyone asked already....im to lazy to read the other comments lol 
what are you using for you're backgrounds in the tanks, epiweb ?


----------



## mindcrash (Mar 3, 2004)

KRich Frogger said:


> not sure if anyone asked already....im to lazy to read the other comments lol
> what are you using for you're backgrounds in the tanks, epiweb ?


It's EcoWeb, basically the same thing, just a different brand that's a lot cheaper.


----------



## KRich Frogger (Feb 15, 2013)

awesome thanks, did ya have to order it or did ya pick it up local


----------



## mindcrash (Mar 3, 2004)

KRich Frogger said:


> awesome thanks, did ya have to order it or did ya pick it up local


I got it from firstrays.com. Kinda 1995 website, but I got my order safe and sound


----------



## mindcrash (Mar 3, 2004)

It's been a bit so thought I'd post an update showing the tank growth. 

Pic 1: Colon
Pic 2: Escudo
Pic 3: Azureus
Pic 4: Varadero
Pic 5: Vanzolini

Thanks for looking!


----------



## frogparty (Dec 27, 2007)

SUPER CLASSY! Very very nicely planted and scaped tanks, and I love the display rack. Now I need to drill a back hole in some tanks and add a fan like that! Im gonna have Wes drill my upcoming tanks with a rear hole for a fan as well!!!!


----------



## mindcrash (Mar 3, 2004)

frogparty said:


> SUPER CLASSY! Very very nicely planted and scaped tanks, and I love the display rack. Now I need to drill a back hole in some tanks and add a fan like that! Im gonna have Wes drill my upcoming tanks with a rear hole for a fan as well!!!!


Thanks!

And just to clarify, the fans are mounted from above.


----------



## rigel10 (Jun 1, 2012)

Gorgeous! I'm thinking of doing something similar for my brother in law. Very inspirational!


----------



## frogparty (Dec 27, 2007)

yeah, I was unclear. I can see that. Love the idea. I used to think fans were unnecessary, but now that I have them, I wont be going back to not putting them in


----------

