# 44 gallon pentagon corner tank



## gthorpe2 (Jul 1, 2008)

I have a 44g pentagon corner tank that I want to turn into a viv with some thumbnails. I need to reseal it first, but here are my ideas...
GS background, false bottom, broms, (I need some other type of plants too. Need ideas), I have the original top to it, but I was thinking maybe I get some glass cut so I could keep the temp up and the humidity up too. (Suggestions) Maybe a small pond, maybe a waterfall. If I go with the original top, It only has a 18 1/2 inch opening for the light, and I couldn't find a good light that would fit in there.

Suggestions are welcomed.

I'll be resealing the tank hopefully tomorrow or Saturday.


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## boombotty (Oct 12, 2005)

I have a 50g pentagon corner tank and the lights I have I got from HelloLights.com. I used the 96w 18" quad and a 65w 24" duel bulb. This is plenty of light, if not too much. I have my 65w on from 8am-10pm and the 96w on from 10am-8pm. It works out pretty good. I also really like the depth of these corner tanks that you have to play with. I'll get some pics up soon, just put my solarte in there 2 days ago.
Scott


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## gthorpe2 (Jul 1, 2008)

What if I got a T-5 HO fixture with 2x24watt lights? Woud that work, or do I need more lighting?


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## boombotty (Oct 12, 2005)

I've never used t-5 lights, so don't know what to tell you on that. I have always used pc's and have liked them. Maybe someone else will chime in about t-5s.
Scott


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## jausi (May 14, 2008)

Hello there,

I currently using two t-5 light in my 65 hex viv, I don't think you'll need more than what you have my tank gets a lot of light and teh plants are doing great ;D, here are some pics from my viv, offcorse there not recent hehehe


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## gthorpe2 (Jul 1, 2008)

Should I do an eggcrete bottom? If so, how tall should it be from the bottom? Should I drill a hole in the back so I can drain it? If I do a pond, how would I keep the frogs from drownding, Would I put some GS at the edge of the egg crete? This is my first build, and I want to do it right.


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## boombotty (Oct 12, 2005)

I'll try to get some pics of mine up this weekend, been having problems uploading. On mine, I did a 3-4" "moat" around the whole front. My false bottom is about 4" tall with the water about 1/2" under that. Drilling and putting in a bulkhead is the best thing I have done to a tank. With a mistking on this one, it drains into a resivor and the water stays at the same level. You never have to worry about flooding.
Scott


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## boombotty (Oct 12, 2005)

Oh, and my water is about 3-1/2 inches deep, so I put in alot of black river rocks so the frogs won't drown. This still allows for use of some floating plants.
Scott


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## gthorpe2 (Jul 1, 2008)

Okay sounds good. Can anybody else chime in?


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## Bob Fraser (Nov 21, 2007)

Looks great!! Add a bunch of leaf litter and you ready to go.


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## gthorpe2 (Jul 1, 2008)

Huh??? This is about my build, and I haven't built it yet, I'm asking for suggestions.



mdsponge21236 said:


> Looks great!! Add a bunch of leaf litter and you ready to go.


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## jausi (May 14, 2008)

[B said:


> *Should I do an eggcrete bottom? If so, how tall should it be from the bottom? Should I drill a hole in the back so I can drain it? If I do a pond, how would I keep the frogs from drownding, Would I put some GS at the edge of the egg crete? This is my first build, and I want to do it right. *[/B].


I use lecca for my tank , I think is better and you dont have to worry about adding to much weight the your tank.


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## gthorpe2 (Jul 1, 2008)

jausi said:


> I use lecca for my tank , I think is better and you dont have to worry about adding to much weight the your tank.


That's what I have in my 10g set-up, but how many bags would I need to fill the bottom? If I do the LECA do I need to drill it?


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## jausi (May 14, 2008)

Well I got a pretty good deal for tha bag of lecca I bought, I think it was $12 for a 25 pound bag (not sure tough), here is the link for my viv, I use just that bag and I even had half 5 gallon bucket of lecca for later hehehe, I did not drill my tank and I have waterfall, you can look for many options to do you water feature, how ever way you want to go there is a lot of info you can get from all the members.

http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/parts-construction/33124-my-first-viv-65-hex-tank-i-think-lol.html


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## iridebmx (Oct 29, 2008)

mdsponge21236 said:


> Looks great!! Add a bunch of leaf litter and you ready to go.





gthorpe2 said:


> Huh??? This is about my build, and I haven't built it yet, I'm asking for suggestions.


lol i saw this a few weeks ago and thought that was your tank too!

i guess we should look at the poster.not just the picture!



i think pent's are cool tanks because you can make it a center peice of a room(in the middle)but i like terrestrial based tanks a little more and pentagons are more for aboreal setups......................nice choice though,hope to see some pics!


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## gthorpe2 (Jul 1, 2008)

So I have the tank resealed, and I just purchased some egg create and have the egg create put together. What kind of screen should I use so no substrate gets in the water? What is the best mixture of substrate to use?


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## kawickstrom (Oct 3, 2008)

I use weed cloth in all my vivs to separate the false bottom from the substrate. you can get it at Home Depot or Lowes. Just cut it to whatever shape and size you need.

And just do a search for substrate and you can get some ideas from that. I use a mix of orchid bark, cocofiber, and peat.


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## jausi (May 14, 2008)

Is there any updates on your proyect??


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## Marty (Feb 27, 2004)

Try throwing some riccia in there. It should grow nicely in that viv. Looks great !


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## boogsawaste (Jun 28, 2008)

I have a 44 pentagon. First I made a gs background and while I was in there I put a piece of airline tubing behind it that goes from about 1/2" above the bottom of the tank up out the top. This is connected to an aqualifter pump that sits on top of the viv and directs water into the back corner as a drip wall. I used regular pea gravel from home depot for my drainage layer. There is no actual "pond" as I just moved away my regular substrate and filled where the water drips with pea gravel. Since this pic I have added some resurrection fern and a new neo brom; both on the walls. I also removed some other plants to "clean it up" a little as it was getting a little wild.


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

tank looks great!!


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## jausi (May 14, 2008)

How is yourtank doing???, is there any updates???


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## ChrisK (Oct 28, 2008)

What are you guys using for lids/vents on the pentagons? Any pics?


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## boogsawaste (Jun 28, 2008)

ChrisK said:


> What are you guys using for lids/vents on the pentagons? Any pics?


I got a glass lid from a local pet store. It's just like the regular glass ones for regular tanks so I just took that thin plastic strip on the back off and bought a piece of polycarbonate to fill in the empty space. I also replaced the flip up part of the lid with another piece of polycarbonate to mount my misting nozzles because I wasn't comfortable with drilling glass. I saved the piece though and want to try and drill it now and see how that turns out. 

For ventilation I just drilled some holes in the top and mounted a 2" fan on top of them. 

I can take a picture if you need one, but it's nothing special


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## ChrisK (Oct 28, 2008)

boogsawaste said:


> I got a glass lid from a local pet store. It's just like the regular glass ones for regular tanks so I just took that thin plastic strip on the back off and bought a piece of polycarbonate to fill in the empty space. I also replaced the flip up part of the lid with another piece of polycarbonate to mount my misting nozzles because I wasn't comfortable with drilling glass. I saved the piece though and want to try and drill it now and see how that turns out.
> 
> For ventilation I just drilled some holes in the top and mounted a 2" fan on top of them.
> 
> I can take a picture if you need one, but it's nothing special


Yeah that would be cool, would like to check that out


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## boogsawaste (Jun 28, 2008)

Sorry I forgot about this! Anyway here's the top.


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## ChrisK (Oct 28, 2008)

Cool thanks, that lexan doesn't warp at all? The big sheets of it seem pretty flexible


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## boogsawaste (Jun 28, 2008)

It wasn't so much warping as it was sagging because of the weight of the lights and whatever else I set on top. To stop it from bending I just put on an aluminum channel from home depot or lowes across the widest section (it's the sliver thingy), and haven't had a problem since. Been that way for 9 months or so. If I did it again I would get 3/8" as I used that on another tank and it is very rigid.


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