# First Viv 18x18x24 Exo Input Appreciated (56k Warning)



## DartLover (Aug 26, 2009)

Hey Guys,

This is my first build. I bought an Exo Terra a week ago and just started to build it up. It took me about 2 weeks on and off to get the supplies, with school and work I don't have much time so I try and squeeze in whatever I can whenever I can. I am going to have a water feature in this tank as well as a little pond/pool of water in the tank. I got a bunch of Great stuff and will be making my background from scratch. I sketched out my plan but still am not sure about a few things. 

Here are a few photos of the supplies I have as of now. I will be adding photos with my progress whenever I work on the tank. 

THIS IS MY FIRST TANK SO PLEASE HELP ME AND GIVE ME YOUR INPUT. 

Below every image will have a link, this link will be a bigger view of the photos for you.


Imageshack - dsc05070c.jpg - Uploaded by clemonde

Imageshack - dsc05071a.jpg - Uploaded by clemonde

This is the start of my build guys. Remember to please give me any imput you have.

First layer of silicone.

Imageshack - dsc05073d.jpg - Uploaded by clemonde

The next 4 photos are of the inside. I took pictures of how I am fruit fly proofing the tank. 

Imageshack - dsc05074l.jpg - Uploaded by clemonde

Imageshack - dsc05076r.jpg - Uploaded by clemonde

Imageshack - dsc05078.jpg - Uploaded by clemonde

Imageshack - dsc05081za.jpg - Uploaded by clemonde

This is how it looked after I took the BLUE tape off. 

Imageshack - dsc05086e.jpg - Uploaded by clemonde

And a closeup.

Imageshack - dsc05087w.jpg - Uploaded by clemonde

2nd coat of silicone. With the first coat you could still see though the silicone. After I put the second coat you could not see through the tank, it looked much better. I also made sure the interior of the tank was sealed as well and ran some black silicone along side all the corners. 

Imageshack - dsc05082e.jpg - Uploaded by clemonde

Imageshack - dsc05084b.jpg - Uploaded by clemonde

Imageshack - dsc05085o.jpg - Uploaded by clemonde

This is the start of my false bottom. 

Imageshack - dsc05088c.jpg - Uploaded by clemonde

Imageshack - dsc05089q.jpg - Uploaded by clemonde

I cut out my future pond area. This is how big the pond/pool will be. 

Imageshack - dsc05091t.jpg - Uploaded by clemonde

Imageshack - dsc05092rg.jpg - Uploaded by clemonde

This is how it is going to look once the egg crate is in.

Imageshack - dsc05093i.jpg - Uploaded by clemonde

I did not like the all white look it was giving off so I spray painted the egg crate and it came out great. 

Imageshack - dsc05094.jpg - Uploaded by clemonde

Imageshack - dsc05095e.jpg - Uploaded by clemonde

I had to wrap each piece with screen so nothing will clog my waterfall pump. 

Imageshack - dsc05096n.jpg - Uploaded by clemonde


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## frogface (Feb 20, 2010)

Looks good so far


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## D3monic (Feb 8, 2010)

Looks like you are off to a good start. Thanks for doing the step by step as well.


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## DartLover (Aug 26, 2009)

frogface said:


> Looks good so far


Thanks its good to hear from people that I am on the right track.



D3monic said:


> Looks like you are off to a good start. Thanks for doing the step by step as well.


Thanks, It took me months and months of reading to get down and dirty and start up my own tank. I wish there were more detailed posts on the forum and I fireguard I would just make my own. Who knows it maybe good enough to be turned into a sticky. 



-Clemonde


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## Davider (May 25, 2010)

Very cool tank. I will be building one myself pretty soon and I am definitely going to use this as a blueprint!


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## rcteem (Mar 24, 2009)

Looks amazing and cant wait to see more!!!


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## D3monic (Feb 8, 2010)

Any Updates?


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## DartLover (Aug 26, 2009)

Sorry for the long wait guys. Ive been extremely busy with plenty of things and just working on the tank when I have spare time. It is finally coming together. Let me know what you think.  

Again the link under the photos are there so you can see the full size.


This is how it looks with the pond set up. 

Yfrog Image : yfrog.com/4rdsc05107cj - Uploaded by clemonde

I did not like how the vents came out so I added more silicone to make it look a little more "clean"


Yfrog Image : yfrog.com/2mdsc05098wtj - Uploaded by clemonde

I scraped them with a credit card and it worked out great. Anything with a straight edge would work well.

Yfrog Image : yfrog.com/2ddsc05099zj - Uploaded by clemonde

This is how it looks after you rub off all of the excess silicone.

Yfrog Image : yfrog.com/11dsc05102fj - Uploaded by clemonde

Yfrog Image : yfrog.com/08dsc05103bhj - Uploaded by clemonde

I had to seal up one side of my doors to make it extremely fruitfly proof. I put saran wrap on one side of the glass and put a long strip of silicone on the other side. I then closed the door and waited 24 hrs for it to dry.

Yfrog Image : yfrog.com/j8dsc05097jj - Uploaded by clemonde

This is how it looked after I cut off all of the excess silicone.

Yfrog Image : yfrog.com/j0dsc05100ij - Uploaded by clemonde

MORE TO COME WITHIN THE NEXT FEW DAYS!


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## colis123 (Mar 25, 2009)

Looks good


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## DartLover (Aug 26, 2009)

More Updates!


I cut out what section I was going to use for the pump.

Yfrog Image : yfrog.com/0ndsc05108gj - Uploaded by clemonde

I have read to many posts about pumps failing or breaking so I am making mine easily assessable.

Yfrog Image : yfrog.com/09dsc05109lj - Uploaded by clemonde

I spray painted it so it doesn't show to much under the false bottom. 

Yfrog Image : yfrog.com/judsc05110fj - Uploaded by clemonde

Wrapped the bottom with screen to keep any debris from going into the pump.

Yfrog Image : yfrog.com/1qdsc05112bj - Uploaded by clemonde

I drilled holes and put silicone on the bottoms of this pvc pipe. 

Yfrog Image : yfrog.com/5hdsc05118vj - Uploaded by clemonde

This is where they will be placed. 
Yfrog Image : yfrog.com/83dsc05119bj - Uploaded by clemonde

NOW THE FUN PART! GREAT STUFF!

Yfrog Image : yfrog.com/0tdsc05117ej - Uploaded by clemonde

A bit of advice. Put your false bottom in before you start to greatsuff.

Yfrog Image : yfrog.com/j6dsc05120uj - Uploaded by clemonde 


Yfrog Image : yfrog.com/5hdsc05121uj - Uploaded by clemonde


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## Nightstalker (Mar 30, 2010)

Looks good, so far. Question - Why did you seal up the holes on the tank with silicone? I understand you wanted to make it FF proof, but the holes are there to allow for ventilation and keep the front of the tank clear. I took the covers off of the front and used a couple of strips of no-see-um netting. Here is a link to my thread. You can see how I did it and it's not too late to redo yours. http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/pa...first-build-log-exo-terra-36-x-18-x-24-a.html


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## DartLover (Aug 26, 2009)

Your tank came out looking very nice. I wanted it to be totally sealed because I am going to have a section with a stainless steel 60x60 screen top. I may also be making a closed air or CAC (I think thats what it is called)top to circulate the air for 1 min every few hrs. That will be running with a little 1" fan.

-Clemonde


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## DartLover (Aug 26, 2009)

PLENTY of updates coming soon. 

I just cant figure out if I should do a coco background or coco and sphagnum mix for my background. Does it make a difference? are there any pros or cons for ether one?

-Clemonde


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## froghobbiest (Jun 17, 2010)

This looks great cant wait to see the updates and I like the step by step threads as well. Im thinking about using the foam as a background as well but its a cross between foam and cork bark


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## DartLover (Aug 26, 2009)

I know I know its been a long time sence my last post. I have been extremly buesy lately and have only been able to work on the tank here and there when I have time. Well enough babbleing and down to the tank. 

Here we go. 

I put on my background with brown GE silicone II. Make sure you have a good amount of disposeable latex gloves. I mixed coco fiber, peat moss, and spagnum moss and pounded it down on top of the silicone firmly so it really sticks. Make sure you put a good amount of silicone so you dont have bald spots on your tank. For my water feature I decided to go with bamboo look and thought it was perfect untill I set it up. As you can see it didnt look to nice and after a wile Im sure it will start to fall apart on me. 


http://img691.imageshack.us/img691/3205/dsc05422i.jpg

I ran a little water test on my bamboo "waterfall" and it did not go so well. As you can see all of the water was leaking from all ends. 


http://img832.imageshack.us/img832/4042/dsc05423h.jpg

I Scratched the bamboo idea and took another route. I got PVC pipe and cut it in half.


http://img823.imageshack.us/img823/5535/cimg2231.jpg

I then put silicone on the outside and dipped it in the extra background I had laying around. it ended up coming out very nice. 


http://img839.imageshack.us/img839/29/cimg2232.jpg

here is how it looks finished. Make sure you test it out before GSing it to your background. 

*Big tip. you can also tape up the bottom of your tank when coco fibering your back wall to prevent it from going under the false bottom and making a mess. 


http://img688.imageshack.us/img688/998/cimg2229y.jpg

I used a bit of GE clear silicone do help my waterfall. It will help you direct the water where you want it to go. 


http://img828.imageshack.us/img828/8869/cimg2233.jpg


Working on the new updates now.

-Clemonde


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## DartLover (Aug 26, 2009)

More Updates 

I wanted to have a very nice stream in my tank leading into the pond. I started off with a 12" brick of Styrofoam. Once I placed it in the tank it fit perfectly. 


http://img801.imageshack.us/img801/1604/cimg2234.jpg

I then drew it out on a piece of paper and started cutting it with a razor. 


http://img834.imageshack.us/img834/3641/cimg2236.jpg

Next I carved out the stream with a spoon and then placed it in the tank to see how it looked and fit.


http://img705.imageshack.us/img705/6976/cimg2238.jpg

I liked how it came out so I then moved on and started to silicone it. I used the GE brown silicone again. 


http://img705.imageshack.us/img705/9821/cimg2239g.jpg

Spread it around.


http://img44.imageshack.us/img44/7807/cimg2240.jpg

And put the little pebbles on top and pressed firmly so they stick. 


http://img821.imageshack.us/img821/6394/cimg2241b.jpg

I had to place some Styrofoam on the back to prevent the water from rolling back. 


http://img651.imageshack.us/img651/1073/cimg2242i.jpg

I had some GS laying around so I cut it and placed it under the stream so it will make the stream slanted. 


http://img841.imageshack.us/img841/763/cimg2243.jpg

This is how it looked when I took off the excess pebbles off. I then put silicone on the sides so I can coco fiber/ peat moss them. I sealed the bottom of the river with silicone as well.


http://img837.imageshack.us/img837/6495/cimg2244.jpg 

I placed the creek in the tank on top of a weed blocker and placed it in the tank. 


http://img713.imageshack.us/img713/9416/cimg2245.jpg

Then started to place the leca on top of my false bottom. 


http://img715.imageshack.us/img715/8356/cimg2246z.jpg

I put a layer of the weed blocker on top of the leca and then made up my substrate. I used coco fiber peat moss organic charcoal and crushed up lava rocks as well as some sphagnum moss in my substrate. 

Here are a few shots of how it looked after the tanks first wet down. 


http://img822.imageshack.us/img822/9693/cimg2251.jpg


http://img838.imageshack.us/img838/57/cimg2250.jpg


http://img838.imageshack.us/img838/6614/cimg2249.jpg

Taped up the tank and prepped it for the spray 


http://img820.imageshack.us/img820/3851/cimg2252.jpg

Sprayed it with black spray paint. 


http://img842.imageshack.us/img842/6321/cimg2253.jpg

Here it is dried. and cleaned up. 


http://img838.imageshack.us/img838/8506/cimg2255.jpg

I also had my glass cut by my contractor. I put silicone where I have the waterfall on the top and put the glass on top of it. Gave it a few days to dry and used a razor to pull the glass off. Now the water fall is sealed off and not even a fruitfly can get in where I have my pump.


http://img833.imageshack.us/img833/8286/cimg2256.jpg


More updates soon. 

I hope you guys are all enjoying. 

-Clemonde


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## Tadbit (Jul 16, 2010)

DartLover said:


> I hope you guys are all enjoying.
> 
> -Clemonde


Very much! Please keep them coming! 

I always try to bookmark these great step by step builds as a learning tool for my first viv.

I can't wait for your next update!


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## DartLover (Aug 26, 2009)

Update coming soon! At least you commented. No one comments they just look at the page and that's it. Still working on some mosses and trying to get more plants in there.

-Clemonde


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## AaronAcker (Aug 15, 2007)

Looks good so far... Not sure if I skipped over it, but do you have plans for what frogs to put in? 

Tank will look really nice once its planted. good job


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