# 55G corner viv - Need inputs / Something is missing



## Rasmus2809 (Jul 12, 2013)

Hi there!

I have been working on this corner viv in the past year almost and now it's finally planted despite all the troubles i encountered along the way (including the front bottom glass cracked  ). 
I made my own LED DIY lighting, with Cree xm-l's and some red and blue diodes. It is a combination of 6500k, 3500k, 3 reds and 1 blue. They turn on and off at different times through the day to create a high light midday and low evening lighting. I'm actually in the progress of changing to dimmable GU10 spots but that's a whole other story  
Now the pictures: 

FTS:









Bottom part (sorry for the colors, i forgot to turn off the plant lighting)









Top part (colors again... i know)









The branch in the middle. Bought as Pyrrosia Serpens but i think it's too small?? Maybe it will grow bigger - already spreading along the branch 









The orchid branch. 









The Pleurothallis janetiae to the right has just bloomed a month ago. Many flowers 











Top left corner.









Branch on the ground with some good moss growth and some unknown orchids i bought in Singapore last year. 

















Big center orchid. Just a regular one from a supermarket but it is blooming regularly which is nice. 













I think the general design is pretty nice but i just think that there's missing something. I really cant figure out what it is. I have an idea that it's the amount of plants and the way they are organized but i don't know really. I have considered some homemade vines to go across in the middle but that might get too crowded and shady further down. 

Do you guys have any ideas for some changes or additional things i could add? I'm am quite lost right now.

Oh, and by the way there are no animals in the viv. I think it is too sparsely planted for dart frogs right now, which is a shame.

Best regards
Rasmus H-P


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## Charlie Q (Jul 13, 2013)

I think that you have a good start, but that the tank needs a focal point. perhaps a nice piece of driftwood that can breakup the monotonous space, add texture to the environment and provide a good mounting place for some cool plants.

That would be my recommendation. good luck!


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## Rasmus2809 (Jul 12, 2013)

Thank you for your advice! A bigger focal point is a great idea, it might help a lot.  
It will be difficult getting more driftwood in the tank though, it is kind of limited space for big pieces. But i will think about how it might be possible to add a bigger focalpoint.


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## Charlie Q (Jul 13, 2013)

Whatever you use, just make sure that it ADDS depth to the tank and doesn't make it any more 2D.


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## Rasmus2809 (Jul 12, 2013)

I tried twisting some rope and tested the look in the viv. I think it is pretty good actually! Some kind of focal point when it can't be driftwood  Of course i would cover it with silicone and some kind of substrate but you get the idea.
It is a good place to mount some plants as well i think. 

What do you think?


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## FroggyKnight (Mar 14, 2013)

I like it! The rope helps fill it in very well and I love your orchids, too.

John


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## Sammie (Oct 12, 2009)

I like the rope too, I'd say go with it
I would also add some medium sized vining plants to the background which would give it much more dept.

Here's a good example: http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/me...01265-my-display-300liter-65-gallon-tank.html


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## Rasmus2809 (Jul 12, 2013)

Thank you four your opinions!  I think i will cover the rope tomorrow if i can find black silicone. 

How do you suggest i mount the vines in each end? I was thinking expanding foam on top of the background (which is made out of expanding foam covered with Titebond III and coco) but i don't know if it will work... I guess it is the only way


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## Charlie Q (Jul 13, 2013)

awesome. the ropes definitely add depth. I also seconds sammie on the vining plants, you might even be able to get on to climb a rope.


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## jimmy rustles (Mar 10, 2013)

Gotta say that I like the rope even uncovered. looks like some kind of Indiana Jones jungle-pendant bridge out of ropes and wood tore apart.


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## Judy S (Aug 29, 2010)

The ropes may eventually rot unless covered with something...but I love the effect...anything that develops the back to front feeling will give that depth you are looking for...but I think it looks terrific...what kind of frogs do you think you would like to have...obviously the terrestrial ones wouldn't be the best choice, but there are so many choices...hard to decide.


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## Rasmus2809 (Jul 12, 2013)

I made some vines today. I will mount them tomorrow with some expanding foam. I made the vines with clear silicone and coco on top.


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## Rasmus2809 (Jul 12, 2013)

Regarding frogs, i will wait until i get some better plant growth. I am thinking some type of thumbnails but i don't know yet.


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## aratatatatus (Sep 17, 2014)

I was gonna say leave it uncovered. It will degrade over time but moss and plants will also take root in it giving a really cool look, you actually gave me really cool ideas with this.....


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## Rasmus2809 (Jul 12, 2013)

I'm glad that i gave you an idea  
However I think that the naked rope look better on the pictures than in real life. It looks really weird when everything else is natural and you have a nylon rope in the middle. 
Maybe if you make a vivarium with alot of manmade stuff like some fake ruins, broken ropes and some stones it will look nice. 
Let me know if you make something nice with uncovered ropes! I think it could look nice.


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## Rasmus2809 (Jul 12, 2013)

The finished result with the homemade lianas / vines installed. Now i just need to buy a few more plants. Some orchids, climbing vines and small ferns and this vivarium will be pretty awesome i think.

HDR shot with 3 exposures, merged in Photoshop cs6. 










Hope you guys like it, and thank you all for your inputs!


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## FroggyKnight (Mar 14, 2013)

The tank is really looking great! I think the vines really added something to the tank that was missing before, great call putting those in there. 

Thanks for the info on the photo. I'm a pretty bad photographer, so that information is always helpful to me and others I'm sure.

John


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## aratatatatus (Sep 17, 2014)

I wouldn't use nylon rope, I would find a natural too alternative like hemp or heavy duty twine something biodegradable and the train different small plants and mosses to cover the ropes giving them a "forgotten in the jungle" kind of feel. But now I has more ideas for my terribilis build xD kind of playing with a ship wreck on a jungle shore kind of idea......using some untreated wood, of course not pine. I'd have to find something that wouldn't be harmful to the frogs.


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## Rasmus2809 (Jul 12, 2013)

Thank you John! I really think the lianas were the final touch to the hardscape. Now i just need some good moss growing on them, and a couple orchids on the middle liana.Then a climbing vine on the one to the left together with some ferns as well. 



It sounds like a great idea! I actually used one hemp rope on the first test with lianas as you can see on the first picture a couple of posts up - it's the brown one to the left going down to the floor. It looked pretty good. I hope you succeed making a nice viv with some ropes and stuff.


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## Rasmus2809 (Jul 12, 2013)

I bought some new plants a week ago, here is the result:










The new plants are listed here:

Cattleya aclandiae x coccinea

Dendrobium tetragonum var. giganteum 

Psygmorchis pusilla

Ascocentrum ampullaceum deep orange

Cirrhopetalum (Bulbophyllum) miniatum

Neoregelia liliputtiana "tiger"

Pyrrosia nummularifolia

Peperomia rotundinfolia "mini jungle morph" 

Tillandsia caulescens

Peperomia numularifolia

Moss (sorry for the german): 
Lappenmoos lebend
Sphagnummoos lebend

What do you guys think of the new setup? Let me know if i should change anything


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## rigel10 (Jun 1, 2012)

Very very nice! This tank is amazing! What about frogs?


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## Slengteng (Sep 16, 2014)

You created a stunning viv! Love it!


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## snake54320 (Dec 16, 2011)

What an improvement !
Congrats, keep us updated plz


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## Rasmus2809 (Jul 12, 2013)

Thank you very much! 

Regarding frogs i haven´t decided yet. For this viv i think Ranitomeya would be the best choice, but i can't seem to find anyone here in Denmark. So that's why there is no frogs yet.
Maybe i will build a smaller viv just for frogs with some more bromeliads and more foliage and larger bottom area for some dendrobates. I dont know yet.


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## rigel10 (Jun 1, 2012)

I believe that this person in video is Danish, so you may contact him. However, Denmark is near to Germany and the Netherlands, so it should not be hard to find frogs there. If I can - I who live in southern Italy, 1000 km from the border with Austria -, anyone can.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQx7QLGGvs0&list=UULrpiCo4WBhZAnCWHXPDOjQ


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## Rasmus2809 (Jul 12, 2013)

Thank you so much! 

Some pictures from today: 

New leaves on the bulbophyllum:









The Pleurothallis janettiae is blooming soon....









And the orchid from a supermarket is blooming soon aswell:


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## Rasmus2809 (Jul 12, 2013)

3D-update:

I tried to make a 3D picture of my vivarium with the cross-eyed technique. It worked! I can't explain you how to do it since i'm not a native english speaker, but here is a link that explain it: 
How to see 3D photos @ Neil Creek – Photographer
What you want to do is following (copied from the link above):

Sit square in front of your monitor, with the image directly in front of you, at about arm’s length
Sitting further back makes it easier – you don’t need to cross your eyes as much – but makes the image look smaller
Make sure you keep your head level horizontally, tilting your head will prevent you from merging the images
While keeping the stereo pair of images in the centre of your vision, slowly cross your eyes
The stereo pair will go out of focus and you will seem to see four images, as shown in the animation above
If you find it hard to cross your eyes, it can help to hold a pen in front of you and look at the tip with the stereo pair in the background
Gradually cross your eyes more and more – if using a pen to assist, start it close to the monitor and move it towards your nose
Continue crossing your eyes more, untill the centre two of the four images overlap and you see three blurry images, as in the animation above
Try and hold the centre image together – it is possible to “lock” it in place and see it as one image
The “locked” centre image should appear in 3D!
Now the tricky part, focus – while holding the 3D image in place, relax your eyes – drop the pen from your field of view if you are using it
If you can keep the 3D image locked and relax your eyes, it should eventually pop into focus, as in the last frame of the animation above

Now the picture:










I really hope it works for you because it is really amazing.


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## rigel10 (Jun 1, 2012)

I'm not sure I have seen a 3D viv following these instructions, but I'm sure I have seen a very very nice viv!


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## Rasmus2809 (Jul 12, 2013)

Thank you  
You should definitely try it out though. It is quite amazing once it works 
It gets easier the further away from the picture you are. Actually, it is just the size. Small picture = easy, but decreased detail.


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## jimmy rustles (Mar 10, 2013)

2 pictures from a slightly different angle merged as a gif data like this http://twistedsifter.files.wordpres...reographic-gifs-by-dain8-dain-fagerholm-1.gif would be an easier way for a 3d picture.


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## Rasmus2809 (Jul 12, 2013)

Yeah i know, but not nearly as effective  With the 3D gif wiggle you just get a feeling of depth. This method it actually looks like frame from a 3D movie. 
I just read that only 10% can make this work, so i guess it's a bit limited. 

I'm sure that someone eventually will see it. Just try to search "cross eyed 3d pictures" on google - there's a lot of images using this method and some of them might be easier than my vivarium.


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## zonz540 (Feb 8, 2012)

Worked for me. Pretty cool, actually.


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## planted-tnk-guy (Mar 9, 2014)

That was pretty cool, worked for me as well. It just takes time to let your focus go while looking in one place and allowing your eyes to do the work. Most people try to hard and it won't work if you are forcing the issue. The eyes and brain are cool things.


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## bwagner (Nov 17, 2014)

Never seen/heard of being able to see it 3d like that. 

Problem now is hopefully my eyes uncross by morning .


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