# Here are three of my vivs



## neilr (Oct 9, 2004)




----------



## Bry (Feb 18, 2004)

Very nice! The way you set up those pics with the doors being open looks like something out of a fantasy movie where you would open the door and step into the rainforest.


----------



## Grassypeak (Jun 14, 2005)

Looks bright in there, what are you using for light?


----------



## mbrutger (May 23, 2004)

Wow...


----------



## MJ (Jun 16, 2005)

Great tanks you should be proud  

what size are the tanks (gallons or inches)


----------



## mbrutger (May 23, 2004)

what are the backgrounds made of?


----------



## Dane (Aug 19, 2004)

> where you would open the door and step into the rainforest.


 I agree. As far as fitting a jungle in a box, those take the cake. How long have they been growing for?


----------



## mack (May 17, 2005)

amazing!  what is growing against the fron glass in the bottom of the 3rd viv?


----------



## neilr (Oct 9, 2004)

Thanks for all the good comments guys. These tanks are about 7-8 months old. I built the vivs from acrylic, which is really good to work with but sucks because it warps if you dont get it thick enough. The vivs are all joined together, it is 4 foot long with a divider every 16 inches, so they are essentially 16 " cubes. These vivs are on the bottom of my rack and right now I am building one big one for the top it is 4' wide 3' tall and 2' deep, it should be really cool. 

All of them have about 2" of water exposed in the front. I keep freshwater fish and usually throw in underwater plant cuttings to see how they will do in a viv. Most plants do really well and grow better than in an aquarium. But to answer the question the plant in front on the 3rd viv is amazon chain sword. 

The background is great stuff with cement glue mix. I use loose tree fern fibre, peat moss, spagnum and aquarium gravel in the mix. It looks very realistic compared to only using only coco or peat. By the way the cement glue, I think, is way better than the silicone method.

The lights are 55w compacts. 

Neil


----------



## Jordan B (Oct 8, 2004)

It made me think of that Willy Wonka song, "If you want to view paradise, simply look around and view it..."

Jordan


----------



## Dane (Aug 19, 2004)

How many frogs are you keeping per cube?


----------



## trimtrig (Feb 15, 2004)

I have seen Neils tanks in person. They are just great tanks. I wish one day my tanks will look like his. His craftmanship on the cabnet is great as well as the tank itself. Really great work.
TQ


----------



## kleinhanz (Oct 18, 2004)

Nice tanks Neil!! 

That is the reason why we recruit people from Orgeon to join WADS....You and TQ (and others) have a lot to share.


----------



## stevendart14 (Feb 21, 2005)

*Wow*

I wanted to do something like this. Do the darts breed in the tanks successfully. Man, some great looking tanks.


----------



## neilr (Oct 9, 2004)

> How many frogs are you keeping per cube?


I keep 2 cobalts in one tank, not sure on sex but I think they are a pair, if not they are 2 males. In another tank I keep 2 powder blues I think they are 2 females. And in the other tank I was keeping 3 yellowbacks but I now have 4. I am planning on separating the yellowbacks.



> Do the darts breed in the tanks successfully


I got my first clutch of eggs from my yellowbacks about 2 weeks ago, they went bad. Yesturday I found another clutch of eggs, we will see how they turn out. As far the cobalts breeding I think if they breed it will be within a few months if they are a pair, they are about 1 year 3 months old.

Neil


----------



## Guest (Aug 26, 2005)

I want a tank similar to yours but on a much larger scale 8'x2'x3' and it has to hold about 10" of water not the whole tank but enough for a large pond area or stream and It has to have front doors like yours I cant seem to find any help on line I love your tanks they look great please respond thank you


----------



## Guest (Aug 26, 2005)

Did you build a false bottom viv or did you use a drain? Do you then use hydroton and then substrate?


----------



## neilr (Oct 9, 2004)

> I want a tank similar to yours but on a much larger scale 8'x2'x3' and it has to hold about 10" of water not the whole tank but enough for a large pond area or stream and It has to have front doors like yours I cant seem to find any help on line I love your tanks they look great please respond thank you


These 3 vivs are all on the bottom of my rack, on the top I am in the process of building 1 large one. Not quite as big as the one you are talking about but pretty good sized (4'wide 3'tall 2'deep). If your going to build it out of acrylic they can cut it to size for you and cut out a door or two. You just have to have a plan drawn up and ready to give to them. I would say that you should make sure that you use at least 3/8 acylic on a tank that size. Depending on the size of your doors you may not want to use acrylic hinges because they break easily. Im not sure if this is what you needed advice on. 





> Did you build a false bottom viv or did you use a drain? Do you then use hydroton and then substrate?


I did use a false bottom on these. I just made the false bottom short and put some screen down w/ gravel over the top to give it a slope. I also used a drain. I put it on the back at the level I wanted the water area.

Neil


----------



## Guest (Aug 31, 2005)

thanks for the advice I just need to find someone that can help me draw out some plans and put the tank together I am handy but I never actually made a tank before I also woulnt mind buying one


----------



## dmatychuk (Apr 20, 2005)

Neil,
Great tanks! Could you explain a little better what you did with great stuff and cement glue and what kind of cement glue and if you have any pictures would be great. thanks.


> The background is great stuff with cement glue mix. I use loose tree fern fibre, peat moss, spagnum and aquarium gravel in the mix. It looks very realistic compared to only using only coco or peat. By the way the cement glue, I think, is way better than the silicone method.


----------



## neilr (Oct 9, 2004)

> Great tanks! Could you explain a little better what you did with great stuff and cement glue and what kind of cement glue and if you have any pictures would be great. thanks.


I dont have any pics of the process but I can try to explain it. First I put in my false bottom and then silicone wood where I want it. Then I spray foam around all this, you can put spray foam a little heavier in some spots to give it a little more of a 3D effect. You can also put in film containers in for breeding and small aquarium plant pots in for plants (I was also thinking of putting in small cups that hold water for tads). Then I use Ace brand concrete primer/bonding additive (get it at true value/Ace hardware). I mix it 1part concrete primer/ 3 parts substrate. It will look kinda white in color but dries clear(kinda like elmers glue). I think this process is the same the dutch use with the flevopal, so you could also try making fake branches w/ this method. I used sphagnum moss that I ground up in the mix and it has started growing on the background, pretty neat. Plants really grow well on this.

Neil


----------

