# Nates 40 Breeder Vert



## Nate Mcfin (Sep 22, 2010)

Well, I am finally ready to begin my viv. I am new to frogs, but have a background in planted aquariums. I have been researching for the build for quite some time now and its time to get this thing going! 
Pardon if the thread is pic heavy. As a noob, I have really enjoyed and learned from the pic heavy threads. If I get too carried away feel free to let me know. lol

The plan- 40 Breeder vert
Light- LED from Aaron Acker 
Vert Kit - from Aaron as well ( I would have built my own if I had done more 
research first.
In tank air circulation.- variation of Grimms. (isn't everything???
Mist King- purchased used from a planted tank forum I frequent.
I do have a humidifier to build a fogger, though I am not sure I will use it. 

Inhabitants - unknown at this time. I am leaning toward thumbnails ( I know they are not beginner frogs but I tend to OVER research) I also don't just jump into anything blindly. I will be asking questions regarding the inhabitants as I go along here.

I will start with the stand- I built the stand for a 20 gallon cube aquarium I had. I actually built two (one for a 40 breeder planted aquarium as well) The dimensions are perfect for my 40 vert. It is way over built a vert, but I feel good knowing it can hold the weight.

Here they are during construction.








I skinned the sides with bead board. 








after I took the fish tank down I recoated with paint and its all ready for a viv!











So last week I started the false bottom which I made from eggcrate. 









I zip tied the eggcrate together.









I the covered the false bottom with fiberglass window screen. I used zip ties on it as well. 








Nice tight fit installed!









Next up- the in tank air circulation!
Thanks for looking,
Nate


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## aurantiaca1 (Dec 13, 2010)

Nice pics! keep us updated..looks like its gonna be a cool viv.


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## Nate Mcfin (Sep 22, 2010)

So for the circulation I decided I wanted to try to make a variation on grimms idea. I first bought my fan. This is the one I went with. 
Sunon KDE1206PHV2-3 DC Fan 60mm MS.A.GN 12V 3 pin VAPO Bearing DC Fan 3800 RPM-Best Computer Online Store Houston Buy Discount Prices Texas-Directron.com
and of course a pic....









The fan is a bit loud at 12V but not hardly any sound at 9v. Both move a pretty decent amount of air.

Then I went to the home improvement store with fan in hand and I had an idea about using plastic gutter pieces to make the ducts. Note you can see the AC adapter I bought at Radio Shack to run the fan in the pic. We will discuss this soon.









Low and behold the fan fit perfectly with no grinding of corners at all! It just sits perfect.









I drilled a hole in the back of the elbow and put the wires from the fan into some leftover air tubing I had from my aquarium. This should prevent any rubbing and damaging of wires. The wires will run through a hole I drilled in the back of the tank. Here is a couple shots of the wire.

















Here is a pic of the whole thing put together. ( I have screen on the ends of each side but I cannot get pics as its not finished curing yet.) 









Now I am ready to start putting the background together. I am planning a GS and clay combo with ABG floor.


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## Grrrit (May 30, 2011)

Thats a great idea with the gutter piece. I may have to steal your idea but with two 90° elbows and with a very long center/straight piece of square tubing. I want to make a backpack unit for my CVB 90gal.


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## B-NICE (Jul 15, 2011)

Looking good, I like how the fan fits into the duct. People will be asking you about that all day.


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## Grrrit (May 30, 2011)

oh yea, i forgot to ask. have you heard from aaron? last i heard some people never received their orders a while back. i was goingg to also pick up the 40b vert light but never got a response from him.


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## xm41907 (Nov 26, 2007)

Grrrit said:


> oh yea, i forgot to ask. have you heard from aaron? last i heard some people never received their orders a while back. i was goingg to also pick up the 40b vert light but never got a response from him.


Aarons website no longer works. I think he's a lost cause at this point. If you ordered something and haven't received it yet, your best bet would be to request a charge back if it was with a credit card or file a complaint with Paypal. It's a shame. I was close to ordering his LED setup.


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## Nate Mcfin (Sep 22, 2010)

Thanks for the nice replies everyone!




Grrrit said:


> Thats a great idea with the gutter piece. I may have to steal your idea but with two 90° elbows and with a very long center/straight piece of square tubing. I want to make a backpack unit for my CVB 90gal.


 I am considering this also. I have no experience with cutting glass and that makes me nervous. The size unit I have now is too large inside the tank, so I am open to ideas! Getting the top off 




Grrrit said:


> oh yea, i forgot to ask. have you heard from aaron? last i heard some people never received their orders a while back. i was goingg to also pick up the 40b vert light but never got a response from him.


 I waited for quite some time before I received my light and vert kit. Both needed repair to get them working but I didnt want to send them back since it took so long to get them in the first replace. Sadly, I think I was the last to receive anything from him.


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## chinoanoah (Mar 9, 2009)

Very nice! Well done stand.


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## Nate Mcfin (Sep 22, 2010)

Well, I was considering scrapping the gutter idea even though the fan fit like a glove. I was trying to figure out how to take the curved part off so I could replace the fan EASILY. I did not want to have to tear apart the background to do it. I was actually just complicating things more than I needed to. KISS (keep it simple stupid!) applies to vivs as well. I will use the duct as designed and access the fan from the front if need be. The only thing I will have to remove is the screen. I would like to paint the screen to match the peat moss when it is put on the GS. Any ideas what type of craft type paints are viv safe? This would be just for the screen cover.

Anyway on to todays progress. I cut some eggcrate and put it across the back glass. This was used so the Great stuff would have a place to adhere. 
I shot the great stuff. I did not really get many pics in progress as the stuff is so messy, I did not want to stop to get my camera. 
Here is a few pics...the wood I used is manzanita that I had left over from stuff I found while putting together my aquarium. 








A closer pic of the manzanita...if you look close you can see where I joined two pieces. They just seemed to flow a little better together than seperate. I screwed the two pieces together from the back side. I tried to bring the wood in and out from the background so that it doesnt get completely lost once the plants go in. 








This one shows the screen and the fan that I mentioned above. (This is the intake not the return)









This one shows the wires from the fan which I ran through air tubing and through the back of the tank. A quick note regarding drilling the glass....if you you are planning a tank and want to drill some holes but are nervous, dont sweat it....it is not really as tough as it seems like it would be. Research and you will be fine!









One more full tank shot from a little farther away...









Next up (after a little more great stuff is put on)....applying the peat/silicone to the background and making the ABG mix. (yes it will have tree fern fiber!)
Not in the picture is the charcoal.









Then on to the mist king!

Thanks for looking!
Nate


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## Kaben (Dec 2, 2011)

Great thread - i look forward to readin more as you progress. Please dont take as long as Grimm though!


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## Nate Mcfin (Sep 22, 2010)

Kaben said:


> Great thread - i look forward to readin more as you progress. Please dont take as long as Grimm though!


 There unfortunately will be a pause in things as I am still researching the plants I want to put in it. I learned during my planted aquarium construction that using less species of plants (2-4) rather than having "collectoritis" tends to work better. So I am really taking my time with the selections.


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## Nate Mcfin (Sep 22, 2010)

On to todays progress!

I finished shaving the GS on the background and made up my background mixture. I used grimms mixture for the background, only I substituted Tuolene for Xylol (xylene) 
Link to Grimms mixture-
http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/parts-construction/65988-peninsula-13.html

My mixture-
2 parts silicone and 1 part xylene mixed well then 1-1.5 parts peat moss.

I did find that the mixture was too thick to paint but did press well using my hands. ( Of course latex gloves were used!!) The second batch I made I thinned up a little more with xylene which seemed to work a little better for me. 
Here is the finished product! There are a few spots left to touch up once things dry.








Here is a closer pic...you can see the air intake screen which will be either hidden by vines, plants, or painted. I am undecided.









After the background was in, I decided to start working on the fogger. I picked the Vic dehumidifier up several months ago when Harbor freight had them on clearance. 









I followed this method by ChrisK to put it together.
http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/pa...eally-easy-ultrasonic-humidifier-journal.html

The soft tubing they had at my local home improvement store was relatively soft and wants to crimp. I will be replacing the soft hose with pvc tubing during the final install. 
Here is a pic of the tank filled with fog! ( I know I should have waited for the background to cure but I couldn't resist a peek.









See in the next installment!
Nate


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## Bokfan1 (Oct 17, 2010)

You're going to want to cut the excess of that tubing off. If u leave the foggger one for extended periods condensation gathers in the slack and eventually blocks the fog. Great looking tank!

BTW where did u get the manzanita? I havent been able to locate any...


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## Nate Mcfin (Sep 22, 2010)

Bokfan1 said:


> You're going to want to cut the excess of that tubing off. If u leave the foggger one for extended periods condensation gathers in the slack and eventually blocks the fog. Great looking tank!
> 
> BTW where did u get the manzanita? I havent been able to locate any...


 Thanks! The hose is actually going to be hard plumbed I think, but I will at the very least clean up the install and shorten the hose.

I found the Manzanita in my bosses yard. Its everywhere here. lol


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## DragonSpirit1185 (Dec 6, 2010)

looking good so far 
In case you didn't know you should put the fogger on a timer and not let it run all the time.

Can't wait to see more


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## Nate Mcfin (Sep 22, 2010)

After a LONG break with the construction I am ready to get going again!
After I put the background in, I had a problem with the great stuff melting. I figure it was due to the xylene. It created an odor and the silicone took forever to quit smelling like vinegar. I kind of put the tank on the back burner due to the odor for awhile and I have finally gotten around to fixing it. I added another coat of PLAIN silicone and peat. No dilutions this time around. It was messier but ultimately proved the way to go. If I was making another GS background this is how I would do it. 


I ordered some plants from a sponsor D) and they arrived a yesterday. I also put together my ABG mix. The plants are creeping fig (Yes, I read the good, the bad, and the ugly) It also looks great. I also have Selaginella sp3 and a Jewel Orchid ( Ludisia discolor var. Alba) 








The schefflera is not going in the viv, I just forgot to move it out of the pic. LOL

A quick snap of the ABG mix (made with Frogboy and Pumilos recipe) 











Broms are ordered from a forum member eyeviper. Thanks,Eyeviper!! It is a little warm for shipping this week so we are holding off a bit on that. I have Mo Peppa Please,cheers, Chiquita Lindas and a Green apple coming so a little variety.




Planting teaser( the next time wont be until broms are mounted.


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## tnwalkers (Jul 15, 2012)

looking forward to the finished planting great job so far


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## Nate Mcfin (Sep 22, 2010)

Time for an update. The LED I got from aaron was not enough to grow the plants sadly. I upgraded to a 3 bulb 24" T5HO from catalina aquarium. I have one of their lights in my planted aquarium and have been SUPER impressed with them. Sadly a few of the plants did not make it but I kept several even though they looked like goners and a few of them came back. I have since added a few more back into the viv. The mister and everything is automated and set up to keep the humidity up. All looks great inside the viv. Now I wait for it to grow out and then I will add frogs. I am currently doing some bug culturing for them. Hopefully I will be getting frogs before too long. Hard to believe I started this thread almost a year ago!


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