# 15 gallon column desk display



## Youngherp420 (May 3, 2011)

Hello fellow frogger

All advice and tips welcomed

This is going to be my last tank i will build till I am finished with college.(For now).This will hold a pair of pumilo, most likely some basti's. I hope this build will be inspirational to others and a place to of discussion and help for new members/long term members. I hope you all will enjoy this build and follow because I have some questions along the way.

*Design:* This will have a center piece of a tree trunk with branches going into the ground. The tree will go from the top of the tank all the way to the bottom. I want this tank to be seen from all angles to view the frogs and this masterpiece. I will have a small Conner piece deposit area for natural affect and from depositing tads( I hope). The tree trunk and branches will be piping that are bent to match the shape I wish to project.. Then covered with Eco web to promote moss growth and have a realistic look. I plan on having a false bottom that is 1inch or two high.

*Tank: * Going with a 15 gallon column with custom canopy for the top to hid all the equipment and a bottom covering to make it look nice 

*Lighting: * I plan on getting either a double hood with two 6500k bulbs or A round dome with LED lights. Or even something completely different, Not sure how I’m going to light this tank. Only for now

*Misting: * I will Have the Mistking system with maybe 4 nozzles to cover ever side of the tree. Not sure if that’s too much or not. I wanted to do the double nozzle one in the front aimed at the tree and the one in the back. 

*Circulation: * I want to get a small fan or too for recirculation in the tank, My plan is to get 2 curved pipes and middle piece. Then put the fan in the middle piece and have the pvc pipe go into the tank. Will explain later.

*Plants: * Not too sure on the type of plants or how many plants, All I know is a lot of bromeliads.

*Temperature: * I plan on getting a monitoring system to make sure them temperature and the humidity is absolutely perfect.

Finally I hope you enjoy and stay put. I will be going out for the tank tomorrow.

-Matthew-


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## Youngherp420 (May 3, 2011)

Got the tank today, had to do some negotiation with the people at petsmart ro get the price down to match the online price. well here we go, 

*And here we go with the build *

*The tank is 13-3/5L x 13-3/8W x 25H*

















the box

After opening it :

































The top









Debating if i want to make this a vent or just cover it and use the fans instead:









The bottom which i feel like i could use for something










This weekend will be the weekend to start working on it . But I am going to take my time to perfect this which I learned with making vivs slow is better

Enjoy everyone. feel free to comment


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## ClintonJ (May 11, 2009)

Cool tank! Good luck with the build. Subscribed!


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## Youngherp420 (May 3, 2011)

I posting pictures as I go even though i know how to make a false bottom i just want to make sure i dont do soemthing wrong

Didnt get far today just used what i had left of the egg crate to start. 



















just to show the hieght of the false bottom. (ran out)






















































made it bigger than i intended but I will fix it .

the real work starts this weekend


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## Brian317 (Feb 11, 2011)

Nice tank ! Looking forward to the build


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## WeeNe858 (Sep 13, 2010)

I've had my eye on that tank ever since it came into Petco's assortment (I work there.) The top is surprisingly compatible with a conversion and the light/ hood itself is a great way to light the tank. I suggest you use the light the tank came with as it isn't all that bad. Good luck with the build!


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## Youngherp420 (May 3, 2011)

ClintonJ said:


> Cool tank! Good luck with the build. Subscribed!


thankyou, Ill need it


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## Youngherp420 (May 3, 2011)

Brian317 said:


> Nice tank ! Looking forward to the build


thankyou


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## Youngherp420 (May 3, 2011)

WeeNe858 said:


> I've had my eye on that tank ever since it came into Petco's assortment (I work there.) The top is surprisingly compatible with a conversion and the light/ hood itself is a great way to light the tank. I suggest you use the light the tank came with as it isn't all that bad. Good luck with the build!


See I was debating on using that light. Because i want to get a custom glass top and drill for misting nozzels and for a fan, And i dont think the light will work with a tree in the middle with all plants.

I was thinking for along the line of a circular to cover all sides on the tree


BTW great tank


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## B-NICE (Jul 15, 2011)

I like that tank, just hate the top, its just a little irregular.


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## Youngherp420 (May 3, 2011)

B-NICE said:


> I like that tank, just hate the top, its just a little irregular.


tell me about it , I might just remove that Black piece down the middle of that. My glass top wont fit because its just above the trim. If that makes sense


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## DragonSpirit1185 (Dec 6, 2010)

Youngherp420 said:


> tell me about it , I might just remove that Black piece down the middle of that. My glass top wont fit because its just above the trim. If that makes sense


I got some great ideas for your lighting, circulation system and glass top and still keep your sleek look....
So for your air circulation I have pretty much laid it out int he pic. You will want to mount your fans underneath the rim to keep the channel inside open.
So then you put a pane of glass in the top of the glass sitting on the lip and silicone the glass in place and to the fans.
You face one fan up and one fan down. A fan pointing up on the right side will suck air in and push it through that channel or fan box. 
The fan on the left side will pull the air out of the channel and back into the tank. Then you place a pane of glass on top of that and you silicone it in place and you have a sealed fan box.
If the fans fail at any time you can cut the silicon and remove the fans.
Drill small holes in the plastic top for your wires to come out or drill a hole in the back piece of the glass top to run your wires out.

For lighting you are definitely gonna wanna go with LED bulbs.
If you place hinges on the side and put fixtures on it then the fixtures can be flipped out of the way to access the viv.
You could also mount the fixtures to the top of the canopy lid.
There should be a fan or two place on that back corners to keep the top cool so your temps don't get raised. 

The plug idea would be best for you to dump flies and springtails so you don't have to open the top and reduce escapees as well. what would be best to use is a PVC coupler with screw plug(pic below). 
Also get you a hole saw, stick the screw plug in a vise and cut a hole in the screw plug and stick you a small piece of glass on(or inside) top so you can make sure there is not frogs in the plug before you open so you have no escapees.









As for the glass lid...you want to permanently silicone that back pane in place, attach the hinge first then slide your front piece in there.
You can butt the sides against the circle things and still have room for the glass to sit and not have to remove them.
The front of the tanks circle things will need to be ground down so the glass and butt up against the front part of the canopy since there is no rim on the front.

I would do all this if I had the viv except I would change your idea of visible on all sides except for the back cause you could make and awesome background and make a better circulation system that will suck the air from the bottom. That would be rather complex haha.


Pic below maps everything out.
(if image is hard to read: click to enlarge, then click the X in bottom left corner to get it full size)










I hope I gave you some ideas here 
I would love to see a vid of how the canopy opens.
How much did this cost?


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## SOswanski (Mar 6, 2011)

DragonSpt,

How would you recommend wiring those fans to a power supply, would you be able to run all off a single 12V wall converter? Just now getting into this type of build and I like the look of that hood, but the electrical seems like it would get messy if you don't reduce down to just a couple of plugs.

Thanks!


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## Youngherp420 (May 3, 2011)

that picture so much sense and I love that idea indeed. thank you for that drawing to map everything out and explain it in words. the only thing is i want to keep the 360 degree view because i don't want to do a back round. Also I want to use 2 double misting nozzles to cover all areas. the glass top i like that idea the only problem with that is on the tank hood the middle piece that stretches across the top of the tank as a little piece that sticks up( if this make sense), So should i do to separate hood such as one for access to the tank and another piece for the circulation.

Now the circulation system is the only thing I understand but at the same time not sure how to power that many fans?

The lighting is there any round LED lights?

The canopy i did not buy. I want to custom make it. My friend can make a nice one, with the canopy being hinged at the top to open up to the equipment. Then a hole in the back for wires to come out and a box for a fan.




DragonSpirit1185 said:


> I got some great ideas for your lighting, circulation system and glass top and still keep your sleek look....
> So for your air circulation I have pretty much laid it out int he pic. You will want to mount your fans underneath the rim to keep the channel inside open.
> So then you put a pane of glass in the top of the glass sitting on the lip and silicone the glass in place and to the fans.
> You face one fan up and one fan down. A fan pointing up on the right side will suck air in and push it through that channel or fan box.
> ...


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## Youngherp420 (May 3, 2011)

this is the piece that stick up










should that piece separate the two pane of glass 

also for the how about a triple access door with 3 hinges 
1.one open left
2.one open right
3. one open in the front


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## jruffing46 (Jul 10, 2008)

What is your plan for the background? I also bought one of these tanks and I am looking for ideas.


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## Youngherp420 (May 3, 2011)

jruffing46 said:


> What is your plan for the background? I also bought one of these tanks and I am looking for ideas.


No backround just a center piece


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## Youngherp420 (May 3, 2011)

Well I did some work to my tank in the past two weeks i thinks it has been.Nothing to special but just to get a crack at it and the basic.Bought all the basics to start the construction of this master piece thats mine  So here is all the supplies

1.) 1 sheet of Egg Crate 
2.) 1 hot gun 
3.) 8 1''inch PVC pipe( only used 4)
4.) Blue 3/4 paint tape
5.) black silicone
6.) 40 piece white zip tie
7.) 1 3'' PVC pipes( the tree stump)
8.) 4 1'' PVC pipes( the roots)
9.) 3 1/2 PVC pipes(the roots)
10.) the tank of course ( what the hell)

sorry for poor quality photos.




























now the work 



















































Heres the mistake, siliconing the pipe before the side 


























































now false bottom


























































Finally alittle sneak peak of the tree


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## ClintonJ (May 11, 2009)

Nice tree! Going for the tropical birch look? Jk lookin good!

You doing the rope vines and stuff coming off of it? If so, I vote a smaller diameter trunk. Looks like that tank filled up quite a bit without adding any vines, roots or plants yet.


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## Youngherp420 (May 3, 2011)

ClintonJ said:


> Nice tree! Going for the tropical birch look? Jk lookin good!
> 
> You doing the rope vines and stuff coming off of it? If so, I vote a smaller diameter trunk. Looks like that tank filled up quite a bit without adding any vines, roots or plants yet.


hahah. No vines just smaller branches coming off of the tree but your right it may be to big and i might have to cut back the diameter of the trunk


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## Youngherp420 (May 3, 2011)

He is a small protype of what i wanted to do on a larger scale. Plus its only my frist time so i thought i would test the method out














































So on a bigger scale is this a good start?

Also a few question arise.
1.) how would i be able to cover this with ecoweb when it is curved like this? I know I have to heat it up to bed the Ecoweb but how would i be able to get it around tight spots?

2.) Can i just drill holes into the pipe to attach plants for future Use?

more work is coming, Reptile expo tomorrow and will get alot of my supplies i hope

thanks all -Matt-


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## Dizzle21 (Aug 11, 2009)

Hey Matt,

I would wrap the first vertical pvc with the ecoweb, than get rid of the twisted pvc and just use twisted ecoweb like this and wrap that around the vertical branch.









To make this piece I cut a strip of eco web about 4" wide. put a layer of silicone on one side and folded the piece like a taco to make it 2" wide. It wont want to stay like this so use a screw gun and a screw the end of the folded piece to a piece of wood or workbench. Now twist the piece as many times as you can and screw the other end to the workbench or piece of wood. Let the silicone cure and unscrew both screws. If you don't have the tools, C-clamps might work as well. Than silicone or use a coated screw to hold the vine in place on the vertical branch. If you have any silicone that got squished out put some cocofiber or peat on it before it cures.


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## jruffing46 (Jul 10, 2008)

This is how my 15 gallon column turned out just to give you some more ideas.


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## Youngherp420 (May 3, 2011)

jruffing46 said:


> This is how my 15 gallon column turned out just to give you some more ideas.


great tank. what do you house in there?


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## jruffing46 (Jul 10, 2008)

Nothing yet. Eventually it will house some Southern Variabilis when they become available to me.


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## Youngherp420 (May 3, 2011)

Dizzle21 said:


> Hey Matt,
> 
> I would wrap the first vertical pvc with the ecoweb, than get rid of the twisted pvc and just use twisted ecoweb like this and wrap that around the vertical branch.
> 
> ...


sounds fairly easy to do and that branch shown above is very nice. Should i use the PVC pipe to make an out line shape for the eco web structure?
With that method could a make structure like so:


















I thought about using fishing line and tie the 2 the piece of Eco web around the branch.


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## Youngherp420 (May 3, 2011)

jruffing46 said:


> Nothing yet. Eventually it will house some Southern Variabilis when they become available to me.


Very nice choice, they will like the vertical space of the tank


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## asid61 (Mar 18, 2012)

Wow. I never thought of wrapping pvc in something.
How are you going to make branches though? More pvc?
And what if the baranches collapse?


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## Youngherp420 (May 3, 2011)

asid61 said:


> Wow. I never thought of wrapping pvc in something.
> How are you going to make branches though? More pvc?
> And what if the baranches collapse?


I using the PVC piping and heating area to get the curves and twist I want. THhen wrapping ecoweb around the pipe and stich the eco web togeather. The branches or the structure cant collapse because of the strength of the pipe wont allow it to happen, After the pipe being heated and cooled into position, it stays in place.

What was mention up there about just wrapping the ecoweb around the structure then remove it, Im not sure if it will collapse or not


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## Dizzle21 (Aug 11, 2009)

You should be able to use straight ecoweb. 
Asid61 the ecoweb isn't going to "collapse" If you havent worked with it before its pretty solid stuff. The reason why Illustrator used Pvc in that last pic was so he could fit a CU fan in their for circulation, and give some structure to the centerpiece.


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## Youngherp420 (May 3, 2011)

Dizzle21 said:


> You should be able to use straight ecoweb.


Even what plants are being attached? Never realy worked on this stuff? Does it work as well as I think


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## Youngherp420 (May 3, 2011)

Been taking my time with this tank and just have not figured out how i want to make the tree. The other day I went out to buy a smaller tree trunk and need help deciding which one 

here the choice










which one. the one on the left or right

here is the smaller on in the tank 








.

more progress soon


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## hydrophyte (Jun 5, 2009)

Looking good! I look forward to seeing this progress.


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## Youngherp420 (May 3, 2011)

hey all, I havent been on hear in months due to school.work and personal reason. I just had no time what so ever. But things have settled down and now im ready to finish.

Im going out this week to purchase all the supplies such as the ecoweb,the fans,and everything eles that is needed. so by next weekend alot will be done and will be posted about my progress.

thanks for all that has stay tuned


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## Youngherp420 (May 3, 2011)

Between work and personal events I havent been on here or able to work on this tank but I will be starting this tank again soon once things settle down. I may down size my frog collection until things settle down then start back up, I have not decide yet. 

Thanks all who are staying tuned

-Matt-


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## jeffz (Feb 7, 2012)

cant wait to see this done. i have always seen these tanks and was curious about planting one.


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## kate801 (Jul 7, 2011)

I have a couple of vivs made out of this tank. It's a fun one. I like the dimensions.


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## Youngherp420 (May 3, 2011)

jeffz said:


> cant wait to see this done. i have always seen these tanks and was curious about planting one.


I cant wait myself and planting is going to be a fun experince. Hopefully when it comes time to plant, I will make it look natural and well balanced

just overall a good tank


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## Youngherp420 (May 3, 2011)

kate801 said:


> I have a couple of vivs made out of this tank. It's a fun one. I like the dimensions.


Thats one thing that caught my eye was the demensions of this tank


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## kingfisherfleshy (Mar 17, 2012)

Like the dimensions as well. 

Think this will be a cool tank. 

Following along as well as I am thinking to add another small "nano" viv with my 20L im constructing now.


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## Youngherp420 (May 3, 2011)

kingfisherfleshy said:


> Like the dimensions as well.
> 
> Think this will be a cool tank.
> 
> Following along as well as I am thinking to add another small "nano" viv with my 20L im constructing now.


Tonight Im going to completely work on it with drilling the glass for mister. contructing the tree and everything else. 

What do you mean "nano" viv as in size?


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## kingfisherfleshy (Mar 17, 2012)

Yes I do...however now looking at many people's theres nothing nano about 10-15g in the frog world. 

I am a reefer by trade...so Im having lots of fun calling everything nano right now. 

Already putting stuff aside for my next project - A Fluval Spec. 

Not sure what will go in it livestock wise if anything. 

What is that eco web? Very interesting idea, Im eager to see it completed.


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## Youngherp420 (May 3, 2011)

kingfisherfleshy said:


> Yes I do...however now looking at many people's theres nothing nano about 10-15g in the frog world.
> 
> I am a reefer by trade...so Im having lots of fun calling everything nano right now.
> 
> ...


Now I understand coming from reefing that have nano tanks to here its a big jump in the word "nano" 

and yes it ecoweb, I wanted to use Epiweb but you cant find it in the states and i found one dealer but it cost so much, So then i learned that Ecoweb works just as well so I am eager as well to work with this and ssee how it turns out .

Stay tuned


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## grokfish (Feb 8, 2010)

Hi Youngherp420,
Just came across this post...I just built a small grow-out viv, for my new Leuc, with the same aqueon 15 gallon! It is a great little tank, stand and hood. I actually used that space where the filter fit to hook up the mister. I found that eggcrate fits in really nice. After wrapping the eggcrate with mesh, I zip-tied the mister nozzles and it is solid. I also wedged a couple pieces of cork in the gaps on the side of the light (I decided to keep the lid and light). When the hood is in, it 'locks' everything in place. If I had time and effort, I'd hook up a fan to the eggcrate to get some air movement.
Are you still planning on doing Basti's ? I am contemplating, when I move the leuc to its permenant home, to rebuild it and house 2 pums. 
Sorry, this is a crap photo of my 15 gal. What's nice about this set-up is the 5 gal misting tank fits comfortably in the stand (it has a hole in the bottom which lined up perfectly with the outlet of the jug) with enough room to house 3-4 FF cultures and other supplies.
Can't wait to see yours completed.
Matt


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## Youngherp420 (May 3, 2011)

Is 40mm fan with 11-15cfm to much or perect for my tank?


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## Youngherp420 (May 3, 2011)

I am finally back on here after months of being unable to work on this tank, I'm sorry for the wait. To many distractions but the wait is over, today I am going to work on this tank, its been to long . The only thing i need is help with is where is good place to buy a thick piece of glass so I can drill multiple holes and what would be a good life for this?

thanks


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## 1995sportster883 (Dec 16, 2012)

What are you doing for lighting?? I have a 20L and 10gal vert I'm working on and it driving me mad trying to figure out what light to put on them.

Adam


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