# 56 column construction jurnal



## Tommy24 (Jan 13, 2008)

So this is my first big viv. Got a 56 column tank that measures 30 wide 18 deep and 24 tall.










I started with the stand as I am most comfortable drilling and cutting wood and NOT glass!!! :lol: 









































I made the hood a split top. 










Now onto the electrical. I wanted to make sure I had enough outlets. I will be powering 2 light strips, fans, moon light, pump for water feature and a ultrasonic humidifier. 



















I made the first plug a GFCI so all outlets will be protected against ground faults










Now for the timers. I got them at home depot and I love them. You can program like 5 events per day and the timer evem knows when the sun rises and sets. Not sure why but it's cool.










Time for painting. I painted the inside of the hood white for best light reflection.



















I painted the rest of the stand with a chocolate brown with black glazing similar to what you would see in kitchen cabinet finishing. Quite a process. 3 coats then a coat of glaze.



















For lighting I needed 2 24" fixtures but had no intention on paying for CF. So I did some reading on overdriving and did some DIY. The fixtures are 4' T-8 shop lights from Home Depot.










Cut the fixtures down to size and rewired to overdrive 2 24" tubes. I must say that it is bright and each fixture only cost 8 bucks!!!!



















I mounted fans to keep things "COOL" and attached the fixtures to the hood. The blue fan in the middle will serve as a moon light. It is attached to an adjustable power supply to control brightness so we will see how it works out.




























Full view of the hood.










I made a shut off switch so I wouldnt blind myself when I opened the front part of the hood. Thanks Mike "defaced" for the idea. I read it on one of your threads.



















Here's the finished product. I built a frame the same size as the tank so I could put on the finishing touches, test the fans, etc.










Glad that's done!!! :lol: 
Time to drill the tank. I have been avoiding this!! I will drill 3 holes. Overflow, waterfall and ultrasonic humidifier.
I got a handy tool from HD since I dont have a drill press. It worked very well.










Got all 3 holes done and put in the bulkheads. PVC fitting from HD.










I siliconed some driftwood down to create the water feature area. Tomorrow I will silicone more driftwood to the back wall and then on to the handi foam!!!!










More to come soon. I will post more pics in a few days. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated as this is only my second viv. My first was for my daughter's fire belly toads. It was more of a test run so I could get practice using the materials.


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## tzen (Nov 22, 2007)

Beautiful work.
Best home made cabinet and hood I have seen.


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## yoink (Oct 21, 2006)

Excellent craftsmanship. I can't wait to see this thing finished.


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## carola1155 (Sep 10, 2007)

:shock: nice work on the cabinet, looks great

and props for havin the cajones to drill the tank yourself


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## RBroskie (Jan 21, 2007)

great looking tank! who's going in there when your done?


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## Hassan347 (Jan 8, 2006)

Wow, <3


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## jpstod (Sep 8, 2005)

Outstanding so far.

A Definate must watch Topic.


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## yadokuningen (Jan 29, 2008)

*Lights*

Tommy24, Awesome! Question on your lighting: was the original 4' strip for two bulbs or one bulb? Any details on the "re-wiring" or links to the info?


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## Tommy24 (Jan 13, 2008)

Thanks to everyone for the props!!!

BrOsk - I will be getting 4 Leucs from Kristy "Porkchop48"

yadokuningen - Try these links for the lighting. It's a long thread but worth it! It gave me all the info I needed. The original fixtures were a 2 bulb - 4' strip.

http://www.geocities.com/overdrive_lights/

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load ... 30707.html


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## AaronAcker (Aug 15, 2007)

Keep us updated when you get going on the inner design of the viv  looks great so far.


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## Tommy24 (Jan 13, 2008)

Well I got the driftwood siliconed to the back wall. Kinda tuff to take pics but here they are




















So here is my question for the group. Can I cut out this brace at the top of the tank. From what I have read it should be fine because the tank won't be filled with water. Just looking for some support I guess!!!!! :roll: 











This weekend I will hit the handi foam, silicone and coco fiber. I will keep you updated.

Tom


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## RPN (Mar 25, 2007)

WOW, I can't say enough. i think I just crapped myself, the stand is amazing, the wiring, the lights and fans , all of it is awrsome. Keep us posted. I'll be back every night till you finish this one off.


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## DartMan (Nov 29, 2005)

Tommy24,

That's gotta be one of the nicest "Journals" to date! :wink: 

Nice Job! Keep it coming.


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## Android1313 (Dec 15, 2006)

:shock: Wow! Awesome job on the stand and canopy!
I love the color too. One of the best I have seen (including my own lame attempts at stands/canopies)
I would say that you are probably fine to remove the center brace. I believe you are correct: they build them like that to keep the sides of the tank from bowing out, when they are full of water. 
Very nice work! Keep the pics coming!


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## jpstod (Sep 8, 2005)

Personally I would just leave it.
Make two insert to cover the openings.


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## porkchop48 (May 16, 2006)

I am in true awe at the tank. It is very eay to see that you have put alot of time and effort into this tank.

It is wonderful to see that the leucs will be going to such a great home. I am sure they will be very happy in there.


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## thetattooedone (Mar 26, 2007)

WOW!!!!! I agree that this has to be one of the nicest builds so far. Definitely keep us posted on your progress.

Brent


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## Tommy24 (Jan 13, 2008)

Comming along well. I am looking forward to posting some new pics when the gallery is back up!!

I have completed the background and the waterfall. We will see if the water goes where I want it to as I have read that this can be a challenge. I drilled 8 holes in the glass top for ventilation and the DIY misting nozzels. Next step is to put the SSmesh over the holes and put the tank on the stand. Then the fun part, Terra lite, substrate and plants!!!!! Any idea on the ETA for the gallery Kyle??


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## Tommy24 (Jan 13, 2008)

*New updates*

Finally figured out how to post pics without the gallery. Here is the begining of the background.



















Here comes the silicone and the coco. Just gotta love the smell!!










My daughter loves to help with this part since we did a background for her fire belly toad tank.



















I made the waterfall out of slate.










FINALLY!!! I got it up onto the stand.



















The "control panel" and sump. I used a small powerhead for the return to the waterfall. 5 gallon sump for a waterfall but I like the fact that I can get to the pump easy.










Home made misting system. I used a 2 gallon pump sprayer from home depot and a sprinkler timer. Work great and it's very quiet. I haven't used powered pumps myself but I have read that they are loud. Love the idea of automatic misting for cheap!!!










Living hinge for the top. I used fiberglass drywall tape between the layers of silicone for added strength. We will se if it holds.










I finnally got some planting done. Not much for now but after I get some more broms and things grow in it should look good.


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## tzen (Nov 22, 2007)

All right.
First I was impressed, but now I'm getting resentful.
Your hardscape is as good as your case. 
Way too frickin awesome.


Cute kid, too, BTW.


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## RPN (Mar 25, 2007)

I'm still impressed with your build, it looks great. Can you tell me more about your misting assembly? It looks like all wattts elbows and plug end from H-Depot?


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## topherlove (Jul 14, 2006)

really amazing, love the hardscape as well, can tell alot of time went into that tank.


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## pigface (Apr 28, 2006)

Tom , Wow , Lookin good so far .


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## moore40 (Jan 29, 2008)

Tom, it looks great so far. I would also like to know how you constucted the misting system.


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## Tommy24 (Jan 13, 2008)

*Misting system details*

I have been busy with a couple of projects this weekend. I would rater be working on a new VIV!!! :twisted: 










Thank you all for the compliments. They make this hobby even more rewarding. Some have asked for the misting system details so here you go.

I used 1/4" black tubing and John Guest fittings along with misting nozzels from ebay and a teflon coupler 1/8" x 1/8" female.










Here are some links to get this stuff online. You can go with the teflon coupler or a 304 stainless.

http://www.waterfilterstore.net/sitemap.asp
http://www.buyfittingsonline.com/fittings/cat370_1.htm
http://modularhose.com/llpf.htm

So the set up goes from the 2 gallon pump sprayer from Home Depot to a 1/2" ball valve. I like to have the shut off if I need to service the system. From there it goes to a John Guest fitting to 1/4" tubing.



















Then it goes to a sprinkler timer, also from Home Depot. This thing can do up to 8 cycles per day but the minimum time is 1 minute. It can also do different times every day of the week if you like.










You also needed PVC coupler from 3/4" hose thread to 1/2" pipe thread so you can thread in the John Guest fittings.

Here is the supplier.

http://www.indianairrigation.com/GARDEN HOSE FIT..pdf

Then it's on to the nozzels.



















The sprayer powers all 6 nozzels with no problem.

Hope this helps.


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## Tommy24 (Jan 13, 2008)

Just realized that I haven't posted a pic of the Whole Enchilada.

So here you go!!


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## EricT (Nov 10, 2007)

I really really like your Viv .. You did a phenomonal job. Thank you for sharing


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## moore40 (Jan 29, 2008)

thanks for the update, simple yet effective a must as far as I am concerned.


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## weta (Mar 2, 2008)

thank you very much for posting. I love your misting system :idea: 
cool viv too, great design and workmanship.


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## RPN (Mar 25, 2007)

Thanks for the misting INFO, wow you really opened my eyes to the prices I had paid... Your full tank picture looks amazing. I'm now planning my build. Hope you dont mind me looking this up every other day and asking questions?


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## Jungle_John (Feb 19, 2007)

loogs good i love the stand and i love the background!


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## topherlove (Jul 14, 2006)

great craftsmanship, the wood and stand look amazing.


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## RPN (Mar 25, 2007)

I forgot to mention that the best thing about these builds and this hobby is => The smile it puts on our kids faces. Its one thing to have small glimpses into our breeding or holding tanks, and contraptions for holding juvenile frogs, eggs and tadpoles. 
But our kids, friends and family love to look into these tanks for surprises. 
Great job on an excellent build!


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## Tommy24 (Jan 13, 2008)

Got a great pic of one of my Leucs today. Makes me so happy!! :lol: I thought I would share.










The treo will move to the big viv next month. They are in a 10 gallon holding tank for now. I will post some new pics when I put them in.


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## EricT (Nov 10, 2007)

Great pic ... Beautiful frog ... I think a lot of people don't appreciate the Leucs... One of the prettiest in my opinion... Keep the pics coming


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## Sokretys (Dec 16, 2007)

Tom, i like everyone else really appreciates your craftsmanship and journal. You did a fantastic job.

I have a question regarding the performance of the sprayer? with your 6 heads...does it soak your viv. or do you have it go several times a day? how often do you have to repump? thanks a lot


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## Tommy24 (Jan 13, 2008)

The viv definately gets soaked but I have a bit of ventalation and an internal fan as well so I mist twice a day for a minute each time. I have to pump the sprayer about every 3-4 days. I expect that I would only have to pump it one a week with 2-3 nozzles.


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## Frank H (Nov 3, 2005)

That is an awesome setup, Tom! 8)


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## moore40 (Jan 29, 2008)

tommy I have been looking for this thread for almost two weeks. Finally I found it and the pics I wanted for the hood don't come up. Is there any way to get them back on? It help to see how you did it a lot thanks.


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