# 120 Gallon Myan Temple



## lincolnerickson (Oct 7, 2011)

I just finished my 120 gallon Myan Temple build. The idea was to have a jungle at one end and have that flowing into a temple at the other end. The buildings were made with wood and individually molded hydrostone blocks. These were then coated in silicone thinned with toluene.

I have a Picasa web album up for more pictures.




















Here is a plant list

Cissus amazonica
Tillandsia
Ficus pumila var. minim
Polyscias fruticosa 'California' (Ming Aralia)
Rahipsalis capliaformis
Kalanchoe pinnata (Life Plant)
Selaginella erythropus (Ruby Red Spikemoss)
Pilea glauca
Taxiphyllum barbieri (Java Moss)
Pepperomia japonica
Vanda hookeriana x Vanda teres (Miss Vanda Joaquim Orchid)
Selaginella
Phalaenopsis 
Schefflera arboricola (Dwarf Umbrella Tree)

The current inhabitants are 5 leucomelas. The tank has been setup for a few months and the leucomelas were just introduced March 6th. They haven't even explored the full tank yet. 

The temple holds a 32 oz fruit fly culture. The flies can escape out of two small holes in the top. The frogs can hide in the temple and there are also two coconut husks hidden under the moss. The drip wall also has many nooks and crannies for frogs to hide in. 

The lights are on for about 12 hours a day. I have a Mist King system with 7 nozzles that mists for 15 seconds in the mourning and 15 seconds in the evening. There are two small computer fans as well as one small vent to the outside to provide air circulation. I am still fine tuning the misting and ventilation and may need to add more ventilation in the future. 

The plants are all taking off. The Dwarf Umbrella Tree had about half of it's leaves rot off but it has now acclimated and is quickly growing them back plus some. 

I have been dumping white springtails into the tank for the last two months and they are now everywhere. I have just added Tomocerus sp. and will be adding pink springtails as well as some isopods.
If there are any questions about specific aspects of the tank, please ask!


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## cschub13 (Apr 27, 2011)

Wow! I wish I could see this in person!


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## ClintonJ (May 11, 2009)

Wow! Impressive! How long did it take you to build the tank?


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## ilovejaden (Jan 6, 2011)

wow thats sick man!! nice job!


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## lincolnerickson (Oct 7, 2011)

If you are ever in Bozeman, MT stop by Rook's Comics and Games and you can see it! 

Making the buildings took a long time. I think I had over 20 hours just making the buildings. Each small block of the temple was cast with a silicone mold and hydrostone. Each mold makes about 20 blocks and the Temple was over 1000 blocks. Then I had to paint the buildings with several different coats to get the shadowing etc.

Once the building were done, the tank came together pretty quickly. I mixed up about 10 gallons of ABG and planted the tank in a day. I would say that the whole thing was done in under 50 hours. 

I am not the most organized person and am also impatient so some time was spent fixing things that were done in the wrong order etc. I learned a lot making a tank this size and smaller tanks I do in the future will probably be put together better and quicker.


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## xm41907 (Nov 26, 2007)

Awesome! I've yet to see a "Mayan" viv on this scale before. Very cool.


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## Steverd (Sep 4, 2011)

Just incredible!!
Post post a few more photos and close-ups!


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## ghostpilot (Dec 29, 2011)

Very impressive. It looks like you have some great talent and a good eye for detail. How are the leucs liking it?


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## skanderson (Aug 25, 2011)

very well done. love the idea of a slow release spot for the flies.


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## Are2 (Jan 14, 2012)

skanderson said:


> very well done. love the idea of a slow release spot for the flies.


Got to agree .

Is that a grassy area at the lowest point? A build journal would be an interesting read.

Good work

Edit: just noticed the Leuc at the top of the temple. Epic


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## Rusty_Shackleford (Sep 2, 2010)

This viv is incredible!!! Please post more pics!


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## mahji (Mar 11, 2012)

Wow that's so near, I love it.


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## InHoc1855 (Apr 28, 2011)

haha, wow you definitely have some experience with table top wargaming to be able to build structures like that.

That viv is outstanding and by far the best temple themed tank i have ever seen.


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## Lifeguard (Jun 30, 2011)

did you have to make the mold for the blocks?


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## jpstod (Sep 8, 2005)

Excellent Job

Did you use Hirst Molds or make your own?


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## lincolnerickson (Oct 7, 2011)

Thanks for the encouragement everyone!

The lowest part of the tank is the front left. There is a small pond. The tank has a drain which will keep a small amount of water in the pond but I put a valve on it so I can keep the water level higher if I desire.

I do use the Hirst Arts molds. They are fantastic. Mine are 4 years old and still look brand new.

The only thing 'wrong' about the tank is that I don't know much about plants. I just started so my plant knowledge is pretty small. I am sure that some of these plants are going to quickly cause me problems by growing to fast etc. But for now they all look good.

I added a bunch more pictures to the Picasa web album. Here are a few from the new additions.










I tried to get a picture as if you were looking through the 'forest' on the left side of the tank.









Two of the Leucs have already staked out the top of the temple.









Out of the 5 I got, there is only one shy one. He hangs in the dripwall most of the day.









I thought this pic might look like I was taking a picture of a temple from far away in the forest.









My favorite plant in the tank. It is growing crazy fast so I am probably going to have problems with it but for now it is exciting to watch. (Cissus amazonica)









This is the easiest plant in the world to grow. I just set the leaves anywhere and shoots went up from the leaf ruffles.









I put together an information collage so people who come to my store can read about the cool tank.


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## jpstod (Sep 8, 2005)

I can take some of the (Cissus amazonica) off you hands if it gets out of control..
 
Really love how you made the info chart.
I say I will every time I start a tank but then i also say i am gonna do a Electronic picture frame of each tank and species..some how I forget every time.


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## bobrez (Sep 10, 2011)

Awsomeness I would love to see this, maybe you could put some bigger picts up, in the mean time. FTS ftw. Great idea using an auto feader, can you share any more info, How its working out. Thanks Great Job


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## jdogfunk99 (Oct 16, 2007)

Great job. I wish more people did thematic tanks.


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## lincolnerickson (Oct 7, 2011)

Here are three pictures I took to show you the overall layout of the tank. The goal was to have a 'forest' on the left that flowed into some Mayan buildings and then a sort of grassy area in front of the temple. Hopefully when the Ming Aralia gets some more leaves it will look like a tree lined boulevard.


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## jpstod (Sep 8, 2005)

All that Fancy Scenery and They still want to climb the Glass...HAHA
No Matter what you do..frogs wanna be frogs and stick to glass


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## Spaff (Jan 8, 2011)

Awesome tank design! This really is impressive. One thing you might need to watch though is the Vanda Mis Joaquim. That plant needs a ton of like and gets really tall, like upwards of 6 feet and grows like crazy. I have Vanda teres that I bought a year or two ago. It was about 2-2.5 feet tall when I bought it. It's now over 5 feet tall.


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## Energy (Jul 17, 2009)

This is really cool. Epic work on the buildings and overall concept. If you really want to make it "pop" scale back the size of the plants in relation to the temple including leaf size and overall height. It will give the building a "grandious" feel.
Any larger plants could be "bonsai" style to more accurately mimic trees. Smaller plants would be natural bushes and shrubs etc. A nice java moss or riccia lawn for a cleared area at the foot of the building leading up to the jungle.

Truly a cool idea you have!


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## jacobi (Dec 15, 2010)

Ficus quercifolia (oak leaf ficus) or whatever its called would look awesome climbing up the side, it would resemble ivy on the side of a building. Biophytum sp. look like miniature palm trees... Looks really cool. I always wanted to do a Mt Rushmore tank. Use those polystyrene heads that wigs are kept on!


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## [email protected] (Mar 12, 2012)

You should post more pics!


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## frogparty (Dec 27, 2007)

I second the need for Biophytum in there!!! I t looks like a mini palm tree, and would be PERFECT for what youre trying to achieve


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## lincolnerickson (Oct 7, 2011)

I have an update for everyone. The tank is doing great. All the plants are growing in nice and the frogs are loving it. The autofeeder in the temple is working well. I think I might try the biophytum. I might put that inplace of the spikemoss in the middle. The spikemoss is going cray. I hate to mess with it but it is growing really fast!

As for pictures, here are some updated pictures.

The out of control Spikemoss









Amazonica is now over the building and attacking the ming aralia. I visited Black Jungle in March and got to see their amazing greenhouse. I now really want a Cissus amazonica as a houseplant. The leaves on their adult plant are amazing!









Mushrooms in the Petco moss with a frog









Java Moss and Pilea doing well

















Unknown aquatic plant growing.









Ficus pumila var. minima making it's way up a building. I have several positioned around the buildings, just need to wait now.









Thanks for checking this out. If you have any requests for specific pictures, let me know.


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## jacobi (Dec 15, 2010)

lincolnerickson said:


> Java Moss and Pilea doing well


Looks really good. What kind of pilea is this?

Jake


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## lincolnerickson (Oct 7, 2011)

Thanks.

the Pilea is Pilea glauca from Black Jungle.


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## Hugolamp (Nov 4, 2013)

Any update on how the tank is doing?


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## Shaggy2061 (May 26, 2013)

That is so epic i want it !!!

Seriously killer VIV! Gotta find those molds before i start my tank now wanna add a wall in there.


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## Shaggy2061 (May 26, 2013)

Just Curious as to how this on is holding up i want to do sorta the same but with the Tomb set from HirstArts.com


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## DendroJoe (Dec 11, 2009)

lincolnerickson said:


> Unknown aquatic plant growing.


I believed that is Java fern. leaflets are growing out from mature plat leaf.


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## Gastrotheca (Sep 4, 2020)

lincolnercikson, do you still have the tank? How are the frogs doing? Update maybe? Love the tank!


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