# waterfalls and background concerns



## serial hobbiest (Mar 5, 2017)

Hi everyone. Over the past month or so, I've been sponging up all kinds of info in regards to vivarium builds with waterfalls, as I'm about to begin my first build ever. I understand it's not a good idea to allow water to continually pour through the substrate, and so I assume the same reasoning must apply to a coconut coir covered background- especially when mixed with peat I would think- is that correct? I must ask this, because allowing a waterfall to simply drip all over my background would really simplify the build, like in this Josh's Frogs video: 





Wouldn't this rot the background? How long would you expect this to last before unsightly bare silicone patches are exposed?


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## hp192 (Feb 28, 2016)

You definitely don't want water continually pouring through the substrate..it'll cause all sorts of problems for the plants and frogs. As for the water pouring down the background, I can't tell you how long it'll take before the coco is washed off, but there are other solutions. You could put a cork bark panel on the back and have the water drip down that. You could insert wood and rocks into the background very close together and have the water drip down that....any foam still showing through probably wouldn't be very noticeable but it if was, you could cover it with some java moss. Test the water feature out very well before you get too far into the rest of the build...water NEVER seems to go exactly where you want. It's a lot easier to build the vivarium around the water feature rather than try to build a water feature into a built vivarium, if that makes sense. Good luck.


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## kromar (Jun 6, 2015)

that water splash in the video looks aweful, i did my own waterfall feature and in the end decided to not use it since it was causing to much troubles. that said, if done properly it is certainly possible to have a running water feature for a long time.

apart from the things mentioned above, these are things i would consider when trying it again.

- enough space to the substrate to get a nice water feature or separate the pond from the rest of the substrate
- external filter with overflow mechanism
- no or minimal overhanging on the wall, so there is no splashing. splashing can have a far reach and makes the substrate really wet and causes all sorts of troubles
- clearly defined water path so it can only go that defined way
- dont put water lens (swimming plant) in the water feature, it will cover it completely and you cant get rid of it once you have it:O

and i agree with hp192, build the water feature and test it really well before finishing the build, changing/fixing it afterwards is most likely not a possibility.


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## Keni (Feb 1, 2017)

I built a Waterfall in my 40g. Here is my thread If you want to check out how I did it.

http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/members-frogs-vivariums/307201-40g-breeder-viv.html

If you have any questions just ask me


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## serial hobbiest (Mar 5, 2017)

Thanks, looks great! I'd love to try the Drylok over foam method, only I can't justify buying a gallon of something that I only need a cup or two of. Not at $50 a gallon anyhow.

It seems that so far everyone has kinda missed the point of my inquiry, however, which was to address the subject of water constantly soaking the background mix like the vivarium in the video. Is there any real concern with that if I were to use nothing but coconut coir?
_Somebody_ out there must have had a background-soaking waterfall, right? I'm curious to know what it was like after 5 years or so. Does the coir rot away, or does it hold up?


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## kromar (Jun 6, 2015)

of course will it rot away but i have not been owner of a tank for long enough to answer "how long" it takes. im sure there is someone around who knows those things


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## AOA (Jan 19, 2017)

i have a mid humidity viv that has coco and coir submerged in water, on the BG, and at waters edge. Not a lot of flow to the water....quite languid. It had red spotted newts in it for 3 years and now just guppies for the past 2. the newts crawled all over it constantly. No rot at all that is noticeable, only minimal has come off. I used the titebond method. use lots of glue and get the material well saturated. press it in well and let it dry completely. good to go.

The parts lining the river section of my 75 paludarium has held up great for the past 4 years now. I lost some of the mix (20%) that wasn't well saturated or pressed in good enough. The drip wall section has been running the entire time with multiple generations of moss on it and some small climbers. Has held up well too.

Hope this helps

JD


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## oldlady25715 (Nov 17, 2007)

I think the coconut would rot and decompose over time. Plus it's not that great to grow plants on,


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## serial hobbiest (Mar 5, 2017)

Thanks AOA. I bet any coconut coir that remains submerged will last pretty much forever, just as do all the stumps and logs preserved at the bottom of man-made lakes. I'm scrapping the whole drip wall idea now anyhow... Not a whole lot of room in an 18x18x24 to begin with, and from what I've been gathering, the pain of it all isn't usually worth it.

But thanks anyhow. Good to know the soggy areas hold up.


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## AOA (Jan 19, 2017)

serial hobbiest said:


> Thanks AOA. I bet any coconut coir that remains submerged will last pretty much forever, just as do all the stumps and logs preserved at the bottom of man-made lakes. I'm scrapping the whole drip wall idea now anyhow... Not a whole lot of room in an 18x18x24 to begin with, and from what I've been gathering, the pain of it all isn't usually worth it.
> 
> But thanks anyhow. Good to know the soggy areas hold up.


despite my love of water features, i gotta agree with you on this one..best of luck!!

JD


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