# New project, Exo Terra 24X18X24



## A&MGecko (Sep 17, 2010)

Well started with some coco fiber panel, and some egg grate glued to the back, looks like a great grip for the GS, also I drilled 2 holes, 1 for drainage and for for options (fogger, river or nothing, option is there tho).








Double screening for extra hole to make sure frogs can't escape.


----------



## A&MGecko (Sep 17, 2010)

Some great stuff work done, made a ledge in the back, a little cork bark, few rocks and made the side panels a little less boring then flat. Trying out where to add a branch here for broms.








A little closer look out to the ledge.








Lots of silicone and oven dried coco fiber to glue all together, this is the part I hate the most doing, lol.


----------



## Okapi (Oct 12, 2007)

looking good. Try the clay method next


----------



## A&MGecko (Sep 17, 2010)

Yeah clay sounds good but I have never played with it, I have 0 experience with clay but I have read around is much easier to work with since you don't need to silicone coco fiber on it after you done.
Well, here is some more work done. Added the false bottom, another branch for more broms, and attached the first 3 broms on the other branch and a mini orchid. Some moss around to start with and I tried out my fogger, looks awesome so far working well. The mist system is not done yet, need to find the right size tanks for drainage and pump to fit my shelf unit bottom.








Here just added some more moss to the bottom, more leaf litter will cover the rest when I am done with planting. I must say the fogger looks great but I think I am starting to hate this machine, may have to find another one that actually works properly, seams like the level of the water in the bottom of the machine gets to high or to low so the fog is not produced as is suppose to.


----------



## Okapi (Oct 12, 2007)

The tank looks great, im just worried about the substrate choice. From the pictures it looks like potting soil.
What species of orchid is that?


----------



## A&MGecko (Sep 17, 2010)

Nope is not potting soil, is a mixture I make myself, it has 6-7 things in it and one of them is perlite, hence the white dots, but is all pure items wit no fertilizing, 70% of it is made from the coco fiber brick, then some perlite, some small charcoal, some leaf litter chopped down, some tree firn fiber, some fine fir bark and some chunky peat moss. The orchids is from josh frog, should be a wandering Jew Bolivian, makes white little flower, pretty awesome, the plant lost the flower after the shipping, but hopefully will get more on.


----------



## A&MGecko (Sep 17, 2010)

Well, I finished to plant the viv, some comments are welcome since this is only my second attempt to build a viv, if I should make some adjustment. I fitted lots of broms in there and some have pops already started, so 3-4 more should be coming up soon. I will add a few film canister when the frogs arrive.
Suggestions are welcome.
















And with the fogger on.


----------



## GRIMM (Jan 18, 2010)

Looks a lot better with the added leaf litter and plants now. 

As for suggestions, I would recommend getting a few different varieties of creeping vines to crawl up the back wall. As of right now it looks fairly dry, but with some green covering it up it will look nice and lush. And also, since you have a misting system you should have no trouble growing moss along the branches. Try to pick up some java, or some _live_ tropical mosses from a local orchid enthusiast and tie it on with some fishing line. In no time you will have the branches covered with green, and you will be able to mount mini orchids into it. I wouldnt count on any of that sphagnum to come back to life. I've only been lucky enough 1 out of 10 times I have used it.


----------



## Colleen53 (Jan 19, 2009)

Very nicely done and I love your broms. Where did you get them? Be careful with the one on the ground though, it may get too wet. I am also working on the same tank size and will be needing plants soon. Also, what type of lighting do you have?


----------



## A&MGecko (Sep 17, 2010)

OK this is the PIC with the fogger on, put a duplicate before, lol.










> As for suggestions, I would recommend getting a few different varieties of creeping vines to crawl up the back wall. As of right now it looks fairly dry, but with some green covering it up it will look nice and lush. And also, since you have a misting system you should have no trouble growing moss along the branches. Try to pick up some java, or some live tropical mosses from a local orchid enthusiast and tie it on with some fishing line. In no time you will have the branches covered with green, and you will be able to mount mini orchids into it. I wouldnt count on any of that sphagnum to come back to life. I've only been lucky enough 1 out of 10 times I have used it.


As of now the misting system is not on as I have to find the right size tanks for my rack, but I will sure work on the moss, will order some today. The fogger does a good job as of now but like you said the tank is a bit dry on the walls, and would love green branches.


> Very nicely done and I love your broms. Where did you get them? Be careful with the one on the ground though, it may get too wet. I am also working on the same tank size and will be needing plants soon. Also, what type of lighting do you have?


The broms are from Josh frogs, I love em and they sent some with baby already growing on it. I do have a dranage system, the water should never touch the dirt, you think is better to lift off the brom anyway? I use plain old shop lights from home depot for my racks.


----------



## Colleen53 (Jan 19, 2009)

Lifting any broms off the ground is good. Broms love bright light or else the color of the broms will fade fast. I just know mine have and you need very bright light. Just keep a close eye on their color in a few weeks and see if they fade? Keeping the light on for 10-12 hours a day helps too.


----------



## A&MGecko (Sep 17, 2010)

Well, I lifted the broom off the ground, got some cuttings here and there of some nice little wall plants, I am sure it will cover the back and the sides of the viv with time, the java moss is also on the more exposed branches, any more touch up you guys think I need to make? Need to finish this, on Thursday I will get the new frogs for the viv.
















And with the fogger on.


----------



## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

looks great, i would keep an eye out for that brom in the substrate as it can get too wet and rot out.


----------



## A&MGecko (Sep 17, 2010)

I did lift it from the substrate, I added a small piece of wood to the base of it, it may not look clear from the pic, I will take a close up PIC to show, but the big brom is not in the substrate anymore.


----------



## Colleen53 (Jan 19, 2009)

Your tank looks awesome, but even though the brom in not in the soil on the bottom, it will still get too wet from all the moisture when you spray. Broms need to "dry out" a bit. That brom is too pretty to ruin!


----------



## A&MGecko (Sep 17, 2010)

I surely don't want to kill the brom, it is sitting on 2 pieces of wood, not touching the soil at all, one from the main branch going across and another piece I put by the side of the other, the base of the brom dries out between misting, and nothing is touching the soil, is that still not enough? Should I lift it more?


----------



## Colleen53 (Jan 19, 2009)

My experience and hopefully others as well, broms need to be up as high as possible. With your brom on the bottom, it will lose color. Trial and error and you will see.


----------



## VenomR00 (Apr 23, 2010)

t depends really on light strength in my opinion... One that I have that is close to light is bright red where as the one farthest on the bottom is still turning red in spots.


----------



## A&MGecko (Sep 17, 2010)

Well, I think if I put all broms at the same level the viv is not going to look that naturalistic, I have seen many vivs done here on this forum, I don't see anyone putting all broms at the same level. My intent is not at all to kill the plant, I will monitor it and see what happens, I can always move it out of there if I notice color loss or any stress with the plant.


----------



## Okapi (Oct 12, 2007)

Brom color loss isnt a bad thing. Its just them reacting to the change in lighting by producing more chlorophyll to increase the amount of energy they can produce in the new lower light conditions. 

Biological pigment - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


----------



## A&MGecko (Sep 17, 2010)

OK, then if color is not what I should be looking for what sign should I be looking for to see if the plant is doing well?


----------



## beav9900 (May 23, 2010)

the all important question is, what is going in here? please post pics when frogs are in!


----------



## MD_Frogger (Sep 9, 2008)

Colleen53 said:


> My experience and hopefully others as well, broms need to be up as high as possible. With your brom on the bottom, it will lose color. Trial and error and you will see.


This is not always the case. Some broms "up as high as possible" under certain lighting will burn the leaves when others do fine. 

Also I have numerous broms "planted" directly in the substrate and have never lost a single one.

How's that female on male escudo aggression Alberto? This tank looks to be coming along nicely...and you thought it was going to be quick and easy to build these things


----------



## A&MGecko (Sep 17, 2010)

Well, considering the suggestions I lift the brom up a bit off the ground, so we will see what happens.


> the all important question is, what is going in here? please post pics when frogs are in!


Well, I had one brom planted in the substrate and I was suggested to lift it off the ground, so I did, because of chance of brom been to wet and die. Will post PIC with new frogs as soon as quarantine is over, got the frogs tho.


> How's that female on male escudo aggression Alberto? This tank looks to be coming along nicely...and you thought it was going to be quick and easy to build these things


Well, they seam to hang out together a lot on the top of the tank I got from you, so no problems anymore, but I still hear no call from the male. About the tank, I had another one done before this and I messed up with something, I think one of the tube of silicone I picked up was not silicone, so I am using that first tank just to hold plants until I remake it, this is the second one a bit bigger complete but I am wasting time putting together the RO system and mist system I bought, the escudo should have had larger tank already, but I will work on a 18x18x24 exo terra for them as soon as I am done with all the system working, I did buy other frogs for this new tank, I couldn't pass it up,  , but maybe I get eggs before I move em, lol, also got to make another one for my pair of "almirante", not sure 100% they are almirante but I have the show in NY soon, I will ask the guy where I got them from which ones are those for my records.
Alberto


----------



## Colleen53 (Jan 19, 2009)

Just wanted to share my same tank size that you have as I just completed the planting. No color on broms yet, but should in a few weeks. Also wanted to add to this post that when planting your broms where ever in your tank, some broms do better than others. One poster mentioned he has not had a problem with his brom in substrate/lower level. Their are exceptions to this rule like any planting rule out there. Some broms are "forgiving". Hope your broms are adjusting to their new enviroment

.


----------



## A&MGecko (Sep 17, 2010)

Here is an updated PIC of the viv with one of the frog, the others where hiding, no trace of them right now. Lots of roots growing on the broms.


----------

