# Jungle tank- Exo Terra large



## DTB (Apr 29, 2018)

This will be my first properly detailed journal as I am very excited to see how this tank evolves.
After 2 previous builds on a smaller scale, Ive decided to decommission my much loved, 3 ft fish tank which sits pride of place in the lounge room and replace it with a planted terrarium. The aquarium is just too expensive to run and due to work and travel commitments, requires more maintenance than I can afford at this stage. I have taken this tank about as far as I want and after 20 years keeping aquariums I am finding that I am enjoying the new challenges of building terrariums.

Few pics of the aquarium.








[/url]181008_Vivarium3_017 by David Burgess, on Flickr[/IMG]








[/url]181008_Vivarium3_018 by David Burgess, on Flickr[/IMG]

I am imagining a dense jungle hillside with exposed tree roots and plants and mosses growing all over them. A stream or at least a wet area running below the tree roots and a dense cover of plants on the jungle floor.








[/url]Screen Shot 2018-10-08 at 11.39.00 PM by David Burgess, on Flickr[/IMG]








[/url]Screen Shot 2018-10-08 at 11.38.32 PM by David Burgess, on Flickr[/IMG]








[/url]Screen Shot 2018-10-08 at 11.38.02 PM by David Burgess, on Flickr[/IMG]

I have gone with an ExoTerra tank as I really like how they look and I have no room or skill to build my own. I found one of the only 3ft Exo terra tanks in Australia (they are very rare down here) not far from me and after much haggling, begging and waiting for a decent sale to come up, I managed to purchase the tank for a reasonable (well, still expensive but I can sleep at night) price.

I plan on having a new stand built to keep the reservoir tank and pump and also a light hood to hide the lighting and misting systems.








[/url]181008_Vivarium3_002 by David Burgess, on Flickr[/IMG]








[/url]181008_Vivarium3_003 by David Burgess, on Flickr[/IMG]

This will be a slow build as I want to take my time and get this right. 
I have a Mistking system that I picked up while in America recently, waiting to be opened and at the moment I plan on running 4 x 13w Jungle Dawn LEDs.

The back wall will be mostly cork bark with some expansion foam/peat to fill in the awkward gaps where the cork would be wasted.

There will be a layer of aquarium Bio Balls on the base with some gravel around the edges for drainage.

I was lucky to be able to collect some really nice pieces of Eucalyptus driftwood on a recent trip away and I am hoping these will create the backbone for a really great jungle tank.








[/url]181008_Vivarium3_004 by David Burgess, on Flickr[/IMG]








[/url]181008_Vivarium3_005 by David Burgess, on Flickr[/IMG]








[/url]181008_Vivarium3_006 by David Burgess, on Flickr[/IMG]

After a few beers and some time to myself, I came up with a few placements for the timber (which still need to be cleaned properly).... Would a pressure hose be the best solution for cleaning of lose bark, dirt, etc?? What does everyone else do? Boiling or soaking is out of the question as I dont have the equipment or space to do that.
Any thoughts or suggestions on cleaning and the placements would be greatly appreciated 








[/url]181008_Vivarium3_007 by David Burgess, on Flickr[/IMG]








[/url]181008_Vivarium3_008 by David Burgess, on Flickr[/IMG]








[/url]181008_Vivarium3_009 by David Burgess, on Flickr[/IMG]








[/url]181008_Vivarium3_010 by David Burgess, on Flickr[/IMG]








[/url]181008_Vivarium3_011 by David Burgess, on Flickr[/IMG]

I think this is my favourite setup so far, I may trim the left piece down where it overlaps the right piece and add another bit far left or replace the one that hangs down.








[/url]181008_Vivarium3_012 by David Burgess, on Flickr[/IMG]








[/url]181008_Vivarium3_013 by David Burgess, on Flickr[/IMG]








[/url]181008_Vivarium3_014 by David Burgess, on Flickr[/IMG]








[/url]181008_Vivarium3_015 by David Burgess, on Flickr[/IMG]








[/url]181008_Vivarium3_016 by David Burgess, on Flickr[/IMG]

Please, all advise, suggestions and feedback is always appreciated


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## S2G (Jul 5, 2016)

Great idea. One thing to think about is plants below & light requirements. All that wood above and especially if you put broms on it will cast shade. Plants will zig zag growing trying to get sufficient light which can look scraggly.

That said its excellent use of negative space and can be an epiphyte heaven.

Another consideration is weight. A light diffuser false bottom will keep things a lot lighter if you need to move it.


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## jenloi (Aug 11, 2018)

Follow for future updates. Nice starting setup.

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## DTB (Apr 29, 2018)

S2G said:


> Great idea. One thing to think about is plants below & light requirements. All that wood above and especially if you put broms on it will cast shade. Plants will zig zag growing trying to get sufficient light which can look scraggly.
> 
> 
> 
> ...




Thanks S2G, there will be predominately miniature orchids on the branches but good point about the light shadowing, I will have to keep that in mine. There won’t be too many Broms as I haven’t found too many minature species for sale here and what I’ve found will be used lower down along the back wall.
The gravel will only run agains the glass the height of the bio balls and about 10mm deep, just to cover the sight of the bio balls so the weight will be minimal, it’s more an aesthetic thing than functional.
I was only using the bio balls as I already had some but Egg Crate is a much better solution, more stable platform for the timber and cheaper too. Ive already sourced 2 sheets of 11mm today for ll$20 per sheet 1200 x 600mm and may prop them up with small, cut pieces of electrical conduit.
Many thanks for the idea!!


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## aussieJJDude (May 13, 2017)

Im subbing, I need some local inspo to see what is possible!

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## DTB (Apr 29, 2018)

aussieJJDude said:


> Im subbing, I need some local inspo to see what is possible!
> 
> Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk




Hey! A fellow Aussie! We should start up an Australian suppliers list, man, it’s so hard to find good plants and part down here without paying ridiculous $$$ I guess the market here is just too small


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## aussieJJDude (May 13, 2017)

DTB said:


> Hey! A fellow Aussie! We should start up an Australian suppliers list, man, it’s so hard to find good plants and part down here without paying ridiculous $$$ I guess the market here is just too small


I've been trying to source a few thing... its hard! Haha

Thats why Im subbing here, to see what you use and hopefully get some inspo from that! But do agree with you, things can get very expensive!

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## DTB (Apr 29, 2018)

Time unfortunately has been very short of late but I managed to lock myself in the garage for a few hrs last night and make some progress on the tank.

On advise from S2G I purchased some Egg Crate from a local plastics manufacturer, I was lucky to pick a 1200mm x 2400mm sheet up for $20, unfortunately it was coated in a reflective mirror coating but was assured it would be non toxic and would not peel. It will be covered completely anyway and a bargain is a bargain. 

I am still deciding if I will incorporate a palladium feature into the tank, I cant decide but I marked out the area I would like to use as a wet area and I can cut out the egg crate from that area later. The PVC pipes are not stuck to the tank in this area. The main thing I am struggling with is what to use on the border of the land and water. I am thinking of using cork bark pieces, for one it will cut down on weight as apposed to rock or pebbles and the plants will grow better over them hopefully.
I know some people use cork bark in aquariums but I have no experience with cork immersed, has anyone any advise regarding this??

I purchased a piece of 50mm PVC plumbers pipe and cut them into 30mm lengths, this will raise the base of the substrate 42mm from the bottom of the tank. I then used a Dremel type tool to cut out the drainage holes, it occurred to me that without them, water would drain through the substrate and gather inside the pipe sections and would not be able to drain out. Im sure everyone else already knew this but it was a light bulb moment for me. I unfortunately don't have a drop saw so all the pipe pieces needed to be cut by hand, by the end they were getting pretty straight but they were a little rough, again, its more a detail only I (haha, and all of you) will know about and there are enough supports that it didn't matter. These were put into place with a few daps of silicon to the bottom of the tank.

A small amount of progress but its something 








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Area marked out for possible wet area in the tank














Timber marked for cutting down now that the base has been risen


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## aussieJJDude (May 13, 2017)

Progress is looking awesome! I personally love the look of a paludarium, but i understand that they are a little more work. 

(Where on earth did you find that eggcrate!? Been looking for some for ages in melbourne, need to source out my local plastic orientated shops and see if they have them in stock.

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## varanoid (Jan 21, 2011)

Keep the updates coming!


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## varanoid (Jan 21, 2011)

Great idea with the notches in the supports for the crate btw. Thanks


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## DTB (Apr 29, 2018)

aussieJJDude said:


> Progress is looking awesome! I personally love the look of a paludarium, but i understand that they are a little more work.
> 
> (Where on earth did you find that eggcrate!? Been looking for some for ages in melbourne, need to source out my local plastic orientated shops and see if they have them in stock.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk


I had to go to a plastic manufacturer here in Sydney, it was plastix but I did see some places in Melbourne that also sold it while I was searching. I was lucky that they had some offcuts on sale when I called them (2400x1200 was a MASSIVE offcut) I got lucky.


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## S2G (Jul 5, 2016)

Looking good and making some headway


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## DTB (Apr 29, 2018)

The disco floor has gone in!! Its looking a bit Saturday Night Fever at the moment but the Bee Gees would be proud!!

After thinking about what you said aussieJJDude, I committed and decided to go the paludarium road. There will only be 5-10mm of water in the bottom, just enough to create a marsh zone for some aquatic plants and mosses to grow emersed hopefully.

I found the easiest way to cut the egg crate was with a grinder, just make sure you work in a well ventilated area, it creates a fair amount of smoke.

With the shape cut out, I cable tied lengths around the edges of the platform to stop the gravel and plant matter from the wet area moving under the tank, this also added more support to the pipes Id cut. By luck and no other, 2 squares of egg crate came within a few mm of the height of the pipe id cut. In hindsight I should have attached the walls first and then cut the pipe to size, oh well, we got away with this one! 








The next job was to cover the egg crate in mesh, this simple shade cloth that was purchased from Bunning (our Home Depot). I folded the cloth all the way around the edges and used cable ties to keep everything in place. It has worked nicely and it should do a good job of keeping the soil and gravel out.













I have left a 10mm gap around the sides and front of the tank so I can use gravel to fill the area from the suspended floor and the glass, this will hopefully create a more aesthetically pleasing look.

Next was to attach the pipe supports to the base of the egg crate, i simply siliconed these in place, this will make it easier to move the floor around until it goes into place permanently.

















Next was the lid, I found a sheet of 3mm glass hidden in the garage which was the perfect size for all 4 panels I needed. I used a screw driver to pry the corner bead out then pilers to pull the bead and mesh out at the same time, be careful here as the plastic frame is pretty flimsy and you could easily break the frame.



The Exo frame has a small channel for the bead running around the corners so it was easy to know where the silicon needed to go, you do need a fair amount so dont be a scrooge with the glue. Mine was pushed out of the channel but the glass was covered well and you can just trim the excess later with a knife.







The frame is very flimsy and as such bends and warps, I added weight to the frame while the glue was curing and checking this morning, the silicon is curing nicely and the lid is much straighter and feels solid. I am very happy with the result and will drill holes for the Mistking nozzles towards the end of the build.




I am still trying to figure out what to do with the water/land edge but I am thinking a mixture of stone/timber and Pond expander foam that I can shape and cover with peat and gravel. 

Thats it until next weekend when I head down to purchase the cork bark for the back wall. Woohoo!


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## aussieJJDude (May 13, 2017)

Oh wow. This looks amazing! I'm really excited to see where this goes, its really coming together quite well. Nicely done with the false bottom as well!

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## DTB (Apr 29, 2018)

ok, so after a walk through the local forest yesterday I came upon some inspiration and decided to give some carved foam a go for the water to land section. I am not sure if this will work out or not but there is no cost to it as I already have all the parts, so its worth a try.

Ive cut 3 bits of Polystyrene to fit in with the raised floor and then carved it down with a Dremel (type) tool. The foam sits about 25mm higher than the platform and will act as a wall to stop the soil from falling into the wet area, this edge will be softened with Sphagnum moss and Xmas moss. Ill cover the foam in silicon and then add a mix of peat, sand and gravel. hopefully once the plants grow in and over it, it will look natural and fill in nicely. 

I also cut channels into the base of the foam to allow water to pass through from under the soil to the wet area.

This is the lightest weight solution I can think of, I want to keep the weight down in the tank as much as possible as I may have to move the tank in the next 12 months.


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## aussieJJDude (May 13, 2017)

Wow, that looks amazing

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## DTB (Apr 29, 2018)

aussieJJDude said:


> Wow, that looks amazing
> 
> Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk


Thanks mate ill find out soon if its going to work or not.Im putting on ther silicon/peat mix tonight. Fingers crossed!


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## DTB (Apr 29, 2018)

ok, does anyone else get 'new tank' fever?

I came home from work and went straight to the garage with 3 cold beers and a bag of silicon tubes.

I purchased 2 tubes of Selleys coloured roofing silicon (no mould inhibiters apparently) I bought 1 black and 1 Woodland Grey with the idea of creating a mottled pattern incase is showed through the peat. It just mixed into a pretty uniform grey but it was still a better look. This got messy and as i forgot to pick up any gloves I just used my fingers to smear the silicon all over the foam and dealt with it later.

I mixed together roughly 60% Canadian peat, 30% coir peat and 10% fine aquarium gravel and poured this over the glue, pressing the peat mixture into it so as to get a good cover. Its hard to see it properly in the photos as there isn't much contrast and its hard to see the detail but I am happy with the result and I think Ill use it in the final fit out. 

I am worried that the peat with wear off the silicon over time with the amount of water it will be exposed to but hopefully by then I will have a good growth of moss over the entire thing to hide any bare patches. 

Now to wait for the weekend and get stuck into the walls!


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## cam1941 (Jan 16, 2014)

Have you thought about water wicking up through the peat and into your substrate? You may have thought it all out but I wanted to make sure because it would be a lot easier to fix now then when your finished and the frogs are in…

I personally would use Drylok to not only cover the polystyrene but more importantly SEAL it. Polystyrene has been known to leech endocrine disruptors into water. This could effect your frogs reproductive systems over time. 

If you seal it in Drylok you kill 2 birds with one stone. No wicking water into the substrate and no leeching garbage into your water which may or may not effect your frogs. If you do go with the Drylok make sure you completely cover the poly, even the parts that aren’t visible.

The cool part is that you can add different colors to Drylok so that you can still create a natural look.

Hope that helps, good luck with your build…


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## DTB (Apr 29, 2018)

cam1941 said:


> Have you thought about water wicking up through the peat and into your substrate? You may have thought it all out but I wanted to make sure because it would be a lot easier to fix now then when your finished and the frogs are in…
> 
> I personally would use Drylok to not only cover the polystyrene but more importantly SEAL it. Polystyrene has been known to leech endocrine disruptors into water. This could effect your frogs reproductive systems over time.
> 
> ...


well, yes and no to be honest Cam1941, and here comes the complete truth..... the tank will not be for frogs. Don't hate me people!!! Unfortunately we here in Australia can not get Dart frogs that I am aware of due to quarantine laws so we have to live vicariously through you good people. This build will be for plants and minature orchids only. This is just such a great forum for sharing ideas and build techniques that we all gravitate towards it.

I had thought about the wicking but as it was for plants only I didnt pay too much mind to it.
I will only have about a half to one inch of water in the tank, just enough to grow aquatic plants and create a marsh type environment and the plants close to the edge will be marsh type plants so hopefully it wont matter too much but thanks for the advise, I will definitely keep an eye on the saturation and look out for Drylok if it becomes a problem. The foam shouldn't be too much of a problem to lift out and replace once the tank is set up.


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## bulleh (Sep 9, 2018)

DTB said:


> Unfortunately we here in Australia can not get Dart frogs that I am aware of due to quarantine laws so we have to live vicariously through you good people.


I feel for you!


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## cam1941 (Jan 16, 2014)

Cool man, no one cares if your build isn't for frogs... Most enjoy the builds, plants and habitats themselves as well, as they are all part of the hobby everyone enjoys. Also, you could always house a small gecko of some type, which are really rewarding to keep...



Anyways, sounds like you have a plan which is good. Have fun with the rest of your build...





DTB said:


> well, yes and no to be honest Cam1941, and here comes the complete truth..... the tank will not be for frogs. Don't hate me people!!! Unfortunately we here in Australia can not get Dart frogs that I am aware of due to quarantine laws so we have to live vicariously through you good people. This build will be for plants and minature orchids only. This is just such a great forum for sharing ideas and build techniques that we all gravitate towards it.
> 
> I had thought about the wicking but as it was for plants only I didnt pay too much mind to it.
> I will only have about a half to one inch of water in the tank, just enough to grow aquatic plants and create a marsh type environment and the plants close to the edge will be marsh type plants so hopefully it wont matter too much but thanks for the advise, I will definitely keep an eye on the saturation and look out for Drylok if it becomes a problem. The foam shouldn't be too much of a problem to lift out and replace once the tank is set up.


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## DTB (Apr 29, 2018)

It’s been a busy few weeks but I am happy to say that some real progress has been made in the tank. I was lucky enough to have to fly to Melbourne over the weekend so I made time to head to a few suppliers down there and picked up a whole big swag of goodies!!
With a suit case FULL of cork bark, a backpack stuffed with peat and a carry on over flowing with live sphagnum and plants, Sercuity at the airport didn’t really know what to do with me for awhile, haha! What made it better was they said it wasn’t even CLOSE to the strangest thing they had seen come through the airport (unfortunately they would tell me any more)
Thankfully all went well and I returned home with everything I had wanted to pickup down there.



























The haul, so many goodies!!!


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## DTB (Apr 29, 2018)

The cork is now in place, I’ve decided to try the stuffed sphagnum method for the walls as I had enough cork to cover the whole tank, I have not tried this type of wall before so time will tell if I’ve made a mistake or not.

I’ve left half the side walls uncovers as I want to be able to see into the tank partly from the sides to give glimpses of it from different views, especially as you walk past the tank. These 2 side pieces are not stuck yet and I still need to sand down the edge so it sits flush with the glass. I think it has turned out well, 
I certainly wouldn’t recommend doing this with every tank, with cork bark being $34 a kilo here in Australia, a 3 sided, 3 x 2 ft tank sure costs a bit to cover, I think I used about $150 worth of cork bark. But hey, as this will be a show piece tank, sitting pride of place in my lounge room, it was worth it.










Back wall almost done










Side walls fitted











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## aussieJJDude (May 13, 2017)

Wow, that looks good! I see that some of the plants look like it came from bunnings, but where did you source the cork?

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## DTB (Apr 29, 2018)

aussieJJDude said:


> Wow, that looks good! I see that some of the plants look like it came from bunnings, but where did you source the cork?
> 
> Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk


Thanks mate. Actually, Bunnings isn't stocking those ones as much this season (not up here at least). I took a trip to Collectors Corner out on Springvale rd, Braeside, they have an amazing range there and I picked up a Bulbophyllum ambrosia and a Bulbophyllum purpuraceum	and some great Neoregelia pups as well. 

The cork came from the great guys out at Australian Orchid Nurseries in Hastings. They only sell it in large sheets so you are looking at between $70 to $270 per sheet. They do have some really nice cork tubes but they are also pricey. Dont get me wrong, its the market price for a rare resource, but it still hurts.
Give Wayne and the crew a call, they are very helpful and lovely to deal with.


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## bulleh (Sep 9, 2018)

I'm really looking forward to seeing the end result of this!


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## DTB (Apr 29, 2018)

After some thought and beers and a lot of staring at the tank, I decided I wasn’t happy with the bank section and applied another layer of silicon and cover it with peat and gravel without the coir fiber. It’s not a major change but the bank is now a darker color and matches the gravel better. I think it will look good once I add some different size gravel and some leaf litter. I added some water to see how the wicking goes and if there are any problems, it takes 8 ltrs to the level I wanted which is great as there will not be too much weight added by the water. I’ll see tomorrow how much wicks up the peat.











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## jgragg (Nov 23, 2009)

Looks great, man. Good times, eh?!?!



> ok, does anyone else get 'new tank' fever?
> 
> I came home from work and went straight to the garage with 3 cold beers and a bag of silicon tubes.


Oh yeah, you bet. _Burns like hell_. My treatment is a lot like yours. Problem is, I usually go so far down the rabbit hole, my beers get warm!


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## DTB (Apr 29, 2018)

jgragg said:


> Oh yeah, you bet. _Burns like hell_. My treatment is a lot like yours. Problem is, I usually go so far down the rabbit hole, my beers get warm!



Hahaha, phew! Glad it’s normal then 
I started up my camping fridge next to the tank to make sure they don’t get warm  I love how lost you get in these things! Luckily I have an amazingly patient and understanding partner.... but I probably owe her a weekend or two away after this build.




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## Kinstrome (Oct 6, 2017)

Apologies if this has been noted already, but did anyone notice the "snake" in the driftwood in the ~14th & 15th photograph of the first post?

EDIT: These:


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## DTB (Apr 29, 2018)

Kinstrome said:


> Apologies if this has been noted already, but did anyone notice the "snake" in the driftwood in the ~14th & 15th photograph of the first post?



Haha, I certainly didn’t but I can see it now. I would be worried if I had a snake hanging like that in the tank. He certainly doesn’t look too healthy!!




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## DTB (Apr 29, 2018)

Firstly, a huge thanks to TheForSaken for his post on his stand build, a beautiful design and really easy to build, thanks mate! 

That being said, I went and visited my friend Jara from Kentville Carpenrty as I own a circular saw and thats about it. We had a great day building the stand and drilling out the glass lid (which was surprisingly easy and satisfying) by 3.30 that afternoon we had a lid fitted out with the misting system and a beautiful cabinet that looks better than what I could have imagined. Happy guy here people!

** A word on the glass drilling, I found I could not stop the glass from flaking a little on the side opposite the drilling but this was very minor and the flange of the Mist King nozzles covered any chipped bits that occurred. A slow steady speed starting at an angle was the key to a nice hole. Also i could not find an Imperial glass cutter here in Australia but a 15mm bit did the job perfectly.








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## aussieJJDude (May 13, 2017)

Wow... that stand is art itself. I wish i had the capability to put together something like that...

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## DTB (Apr 29, 2018)

The key is to surround yourself with friends that are much more talented than yourself 

Finished staining the cabinet last night and I am LOVING the way it has turned out. 










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## DTB (Apr 29, 2018)

Grow out tanks, starting to collect a nice selection of plants. The mosses and Sphagnum was purchased as is from Australian Orchid Nursery down in Melbourne and both bags are growing nicely sitting on the washing machine near the window  Few more orchids to be delivered and we should be just about ready!!











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## DTB (Apr 29, 2018)

We moved the tank upstairs the other night and I can start putting the final pieces in place! The Mistking is all plumbed in and looks really neat. I ran the pipe 180 degrees under the reservoir tank using the female to female elbows to keep everything tidy. I plan to put a removable false wall on the inside of the cabinet to hide all the cords but for now they are at least working.










The back wall has been stuffed with sphagnum moss, I haven’t tried this type of wall before so it will be interesting to see how it goes over time



















The gravel, soil and water have been added as the aquatic plants were starting to look a little sad sitting in the tub for so long. I still don’t have all the lights set up but I have enough LEDs from other decommissioned tanks to keep everything happy for now I hope 
Only a few terrestrial plants added for now as I still don’t have the suction cups to attach the fans. It’s mostly ferns and cryptocoryne wendtii which I will try growing in the soil. Springtails have gone in and also a few small Bulbophyllum which will eventually spread out over the side and back walls. It’s finally starting to look like what I imagined waaaay back at the start of all this. 





























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## DTB (Apr 29, 2018)

Few more plants











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## McBr (Oct 26, 2018)

Very nice work!


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## DTB (Apr 29, 2018)

Thanks McBr, it has been a fun build doing something on a bigger scale!


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## Encyclia (Aug 23, 2013)

Really coming together nicely, DTB! Your planted tank was really nice, too, so the bar was already high for that spot 

I am interested in seeing how the "bank" of your water area stands up over time. My experience with this has been that, especially when frogs are introduced, the substrate just goes tumbling into the water and it is never clear again. I think this could be combated by stabilizing the bank with some vegetation so that the area right next to the water doesn't have exposed substrate. Maybe a fringe of baby tears, Riccia, Urtricularia, or something like that? Baby tears grows really well in my vivs. It might require pruning on the water side, the terrestrial side, or both, but you know how to do that ;-)

Mark


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## DTB (Apr 29, 2018)

Thanks Mark, there is a high caliber of Vivarium builder on this forum so that means a lot. 
I’m also interested in seeing how the wall goes, it is probably the weakest link in the tank so we will see what happens. I have some Java, and Xmas moss I will try and grow out of the water up to the soil and also some Glosso (haha, same place everyone else bought those seeds from China!!) that I was going to try at the edge. For the near future the only animals in the tank will be a few freshwater shrimp eventually so there should be less of a chance of the soil being disturbed.... the biggest risk will be constantly fiddling with the tank and knocking crap in the water myself!


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## DTB (Apr 29, 2018)

Fans have finally been installed. 2 on the plants and 2 on the front glass. I’ve connected them to a 4 channel controller so I can change the speed of the fans individually (I found all the parts on a YouTube channel that someone built and supplied the links for the parts)

I had to purchase some generic suction cups as I haven’t been able to source any Exo Terra ones here in Australia (that were recommended) they work ok but I’ve added a safety tether just Incase they fail and the fans fall into the water (one let go last night so it has already paid for the extra effort!)

The fans are really quiet but they don’t clear the glass too well. I may change them later but for now there is great air moment in the tank. (The glowing controller lights up the underneath cabinet nicely too, I’ll mount the controller to a shelf at a later date)


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## DTB (Apr 29, 2018)

Isopods and springtails are in!! I sourced the isopods from my lunch area at work and the springtails came from my worm farm. As I won’t be keeping animals in the tank I think it should be fine to bring in a clean up crew from the wild. I can’t see them doing any harm to the plants. Am I wrong in thinking this?
We have a very tiny springtails here in Australia, not sure of its scientific name but I’ve been breeding them on charcoal and feeding them yeast. No idea what they are but I was sold them awhile ago and have a healthy culture now going, I added a tub of these as well.... I should really find out what they are yeah?? Haha, sorry everyone, such bad form, it was a bit of a ‘throw it in and see what happens’ affair (ok, in fairness I used the same culture in my other tank and that still seems to be doing ok so it wasn’t a total Hail Mary)


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## DTB (Apr 29, 2018)

Shelf has gone in and the fog system has been plumbed in. I ended up buying a cheap fogger from Ebay and attached a fan to the top of a kitchen container. I followed the plans I found here: 

https://youtu.be/fF16dFey9mg 

It works pretty well, not as much fog as I would have liked but it was a fun little DIY project, I may put in something better later on. 
The fog was more for visual effect while we were sitting around the lounge room more than humidity levels so I’m not too worried if it pumps out heaps of fog anyway.

I’ve also mounted a small battery powered LED lamp above the door that has a sensor attached to it. It’s kinda cool to have the light turn on automatically when you reach your hand inside, haha, I love it! A little bit of fancy for the cupboard. It stays on for 20 secs at a time which is a bit short but there is a manual switch if I’m messing around for awhile.

I still need to mount the power board to the right hand side so it is off the floor Incase of a water leak but we are getting close to completion, woo hoo!!

...... and now the fun part, all the remaining plants have arrived in the mail and the planting can be finished!!!










So freakin excited!!!


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## DTB (Apr 29, 2018)

And we are in!!
All plants are planted and attached.
I am so happy with how it has come together.

The orchids were attached to the logs using nylon sewing thread. I first placed some sphagnum moss down as a bed and wound that to the log, then the orchid and a small amount of sphagnum over the roots and tied it all off. I’ve placed some live moss and some Xmas moss around them to hopefully grow in amongst it all.

The orchids and bromeliads on the walls have been pinned into place with tooth picks and skewers then covered in live moss.

I also drained a fair bit of the water from the base as I’m a bit worried about the amount of wicking I may be getting, I will see how it goes over the next few weeks and if it’s a problem I’ll just turn that area into more terrestrial area and plant it out

There are still a few tweaks to make and I need to build the hood and install the Jungle Dawn lights when they arrive but everything is in and hopefully settling in. 

I have the lights running from 11am to 11 pm
The fans run 23 hrs a day
The fogger runs for 1 hr from 6pm till 7pm ( for visual fun ) and the fans stop for that hr
The mister runs for 20 seconds at 1am and 7pm everyday.

I’ll add a complete plant list in a few days, there are 31 or 32 species I think I counted all up.






























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## DTB (Apr 29, 2018)

Here is the complete list of plants I have used in this build, 33 species all up. There were so many I just could not get my hands on here in Australia so this is the best of what what could be found and suited my design idea.
There are some stunning flowers among the orchids and I am very hopeful they will flower at some point.

PLANT LIST

bulbophyllum ramosii
bulbophyllum tingabarinum 
bulbophyllum frostii 
bulbophyllum ambrosia
bulbophyllum purpuraceum
bulbophyllum hirundinis
bulbophyllum alagense 
bulbophyllum dayanum 'red'
macodes petola 
plectorhyzza tridentala 'tangle orchid'

pepperomia 'peppermill'
pepperomia prostrata

neoregelia 'wild tiger' 
neoregelia 'tigrina' 
vriesea red chestnut

cryptanthus 'marian oppenheimer'
cryptanthus earth stars

nepenthes albomarginata

calathea insignis 'rattlesnake plant'
fittonia 'tiger'
fittonia 'jade'

mini african violet "ballet snowcone"
mini african violet trailing form
viola hederacea "aust native violet'

davallia canariensis 'hares foot fern'

anubius barteri
cryptocoryne wendtii
bolbitis heudelotii

sphagnum moss
selaginella apode
taxiphyllum barbieri 'java moss'
vesicularia montagnei 'xmas moss' 
bush moss


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## DTB (Apr 29, 2018)

Oops, 2 more...

bulbophyllum lasiochilum ‘dark’
bulbophyllum pardalotum 



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## rigel10 (Jun 1, 2012)

Good job! Great layout! Reminds me of my last redone viv!


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## billybob (Mar 9, 2014)

any updates.


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## SoloSK71 (Dec 25, 2018)

That is one amazing tank. Congratulations!

I have to say that if I lived in Australia I would have built a much bigger tank and lived inside it. Have you seen the size of some of the spiders they have there?!

Solo


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## ds51 (Oct 13, 2017)

well what a grate build hope mine turns out half as good as yours
well done mate


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## DTB (Apr 29, 2018)

SoloSK71 said:


> That is one amazing tank. Congratulations!
> 
> 
> 
> ...




Haha, yeah but there are currently 3 spiders living in the tank that i cant find!! They just keep building webs!!!
I think im safer on this side of the tank 
Ill try and get some new pics up soon. Still figuring out ventilation issues. 


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## DTB (Apr 29, 2018)

Its been awhile since i posted anything on the tank. After waiting 3 1/2 months for my lights to arrive... thats right, 14 weeks for the courier to deliver them, i had all but given up but they FINALLY found the package and delivered it.

In the meantime we moved house, so the tank is settling again but its starting to look great. The whole display look so much better in the new place and my partner loves it which is a big bonus as im sure everyone out there can appreciate! Hopefully the plants will start to really take off with the 4 x 13w jungle dawns installed. 

Ive also installed a small fan in one of the vent holes in the light box to draw air out of the tank at night and is doing a pretty good job of lowering the humidity and temp, hopefully this will simulate a more natural environment for the orchids, we will see if the plants respond or not over time.











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## DTB (Apr 29, 2018)

and we have the first orchid flower of the tank!
A beautiful Bulbophyllum purpurascens which sat doing nothing for 6 months then shot out a new leaf and spike in the same week, Unfortunately the petals got damaged before I photographed it but it look great no-the-less.
Happy tank owner here people!!








[/url]_H7A7338 by David Burgess, on Flickr[/IMG]


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