# 55 Vertical log



## dirtmonkey (Feb 10, 2007)

I'll be moving soon, so this will probably be a long slow project, and without frogs for a while. I decided to start a log here both to hear any great creative ideas from others, and to keep up a little motivation to get it done eventually. I'll also be getting two others up and running (45 gal. & 15 gal), and might start separate logs when they are getting put together. I just haven't decided on a style for those yet.

I'm starting this one with an old 55 gallon aquarium, the kind with extra-thick glass and a raised bottom. It's scratched up enough that I decided making a custom front and going vertical would look best. The main focus will be on the plants- a tall epiphyte wall mostly- but I'm thinking down the road a pair of leuc's or thumbnails might enjoy it.

Here's where I'm at in the planning stages. If some things seem like overkill, it's mostly because I already have almost all the parts floating around here. All I really need to get is some of the glass for the front, and acrylic for the top. Using what's on hand is especially important right now, back & neck injuries are keeping me off work for a while, so $ will be tight.

One thing I don't have already is a pump good for automated misting- maybe later, but I'd rather do it in person for now anyway.

I drew these up a while ago, and already changed my mind about a few minor things. These are the basic plans.




























One end of the tank glass will be replaced with acrylic to make the hole drilling easier, and to allow a little more light in since that glass is so heavy. I'll be putting in a couple glass cross braces to add strength & stability, the acrylic won't be sealed in place.










Here's how the ventilation and cooling might work; I've done something similar for a frog tank before and it worked well. The fan is just one of the stronger computer fans, they hold up to the humidity very well.










The "Cool Mist" part is an option just put that there in case I decide to try it out. In the hottest weather I would be running this from outside air, through the evaporative (swamp) cooler.

I won't build all this right away, just the fan part at first.

Realistically, I probably won't ever take it any further; just hanging a loose fan inside larger terrariums has worked fine for plants. In this case I want the fan outside the tank because it's easier to screen a few holes against curious frogs. And the hanging fans are kinda ugly too.

I want to get started asap on this, but updates will be slow- lots of things going on right now.

Vincent


----------



## the_noobinator (Jan 14, 2007)

you get an A+ for your diagrams.


----------



## dirtmonkey (Feb 10, 2007)

Thanks about the diagrams. I wasn't trying to make them to scale very well, just mostly reminders of what I'd thought up, and taking lots of time about it. That will be good for the frogs eventually, giving more thought to what would be the very best species for the setup. I've bred albino African clawed frogs, Dwarf clawed frogs, and Oriental firebellies (before the latter were illegal here); and kept several other kinds. But never any PDF before, so I'm a 'noob' in a way, and want to get the right kind for the best home.

I can build stuff and grow plants, but the final interior design will be the hardest part for me. I didn't get any designer genes. What I've always done before is just toss in some wood and rock, plant as much as possible, then let the plants themselves decide on the arrangement. Right now I'm thinking about the plants mostly, so I'll write about those here. 

I might have enough choices already, or on the way, to do something close to a biotope from the ground up to the canopy. A four-foot compressed rainforest in a box. A lot of my favorite plants (and people!) are Central or South American so it should be easy to find combinations I like.

I've collected lots of wood and plants already. I've changed my mind about a solid background that extends on to the sides. I think I'll make the background mostly a columnar tangle of wood, raised up mostly in the top 36" of the tank. That would be supported by silicone, some foam, and some twisted root wood anchored at the bottom, leaving as much floor space as possible between the roots. Having a column shape would mean I don't have to cover the sides with more foam/silicone. The silicone and foam would only need to attach to the back wall, which I can paint outside instead of trying to coat the whole thing with black on the inside. Both sides would be clear for viewing, but not the main focus because of all the scratches.

The drip streams will wet most of the back, for mossy & viney wet growing stuff, but there'll be lots of dryer projecting pieces to plant on too. I know from experience that many or even most gesneriads will grow epiphytically if they have moss and wet spots to get their roots into. Some don't need much at all, i.e. the succulent Codonanthes that grow naturally up on palm trees.

I've also decided to stop using LECA anywhere except in real hydroponic growing. It works very well, but I just get tired of looking at it or trying so hard to hide it, where I've tried to create a natural setting. So the bottom will be crushed local lava rock, under the planting mix/moss/leaf litter. The extra scratching from lava won't matter in this old recycled tank.

The upper parts of this tank should be more than bright and dry enough to grow a lot of things that might normally rot in a wet terrarium, like the grey looking Tillandsias, and rot-prone orchids. Heat in the top half might be an issue, but only in the hottest weather. The warmest lights will be held away from the cover a little, and vented with fans. This will also be in a room that's at least lightly air-conditioned in summer- I've got a window unit, in case where I settle down doesn't have central AC.

I'm making a list of my plants collected so far, growing out as houseplants or in terrariums. There are probably more hiding away in my propagation boxes. These are just the ones I'm remembering right now, that either need a terrarium, or I'm considering trying in there. Most of what will go into this viv will be from these. It will be a good start on keeping a complete plant list, which I've never been too good at :-/

Bromeliads:

Billbergia nutans (growing outdoors for now, but pups might look good in the viv until they get too big)
Cryptanthus (2 forms, grocery store types. The pink & pastel one is growing and blooming well, but I don't like the color much. The other is a two tone green with bright red centers, even on the pups. My favorites are more like C. zonatus, which is on order)
Neoregelia 'Chiquita Linda'
N. 'Liliput' (other broms on hold, like the orchids, until I have more settled down growing spots)
Tillandsia- these will be great in the high, dry, bright parts.
T. aeranthos 'bronze'
T. aeranthos (noid cv. or hybrid with colorful bracts and white flowers)
T. albertiana (Clumping type. My favorite, hopefully I can get more flowers once it's in a viv.)
T. araujei 'open form'
T. brachycaulus
T. capitata 'Burgundy Red' (valid cv.? Possibly T. abdita)
T. juncifolia
T. "Medusa" (?- appears to be a caput-medusae hybrid, flower bracts almost plain green)
T. nana
T. sucrei (Possibly T. sucrei x geminiflora 'Pink Sugar'. Why do I keep ending up with pink plants?!?)
T. stricta 'Midnight' (very cool!)
T. usneoides (and a similar, finer type)
-I think there are a couple other Tillandsias hanging around here too. Not T. ionantha, I just don't like those much.

Orchids: (planning for more jewels, and some miniature "twig" epiphytes later. I'll be reading a lot of the posts here to see which do best in a PDF type environment, and start mostly with those)

Anoectochiles roxburghii
Goodyera oblongifolia (cold growing native in the garden, but I'll try a bit just to see if/how long it'll grow warm)
Ludisia discolor
L. d. 'Nigrescens'
Macodes petola
Paphiopedilum 'Pinnochio' x bellatulum
Paphiopedilum (a very dark viniflora hybrid I've had for years)
-Reed-stemmed Epidendrum keiki that need some TLC before potting up for windowsills

Aroids:

Anubias barteri, various forms, incl. 'nana' 'sharp' & 'coffeeafolia'
A. (lanceolata?)
A. (minima?)
Cryptocoryne wendtii (bronze)
C. pontederiifolia
C. sp. (?)
Philodendron rugosum (Pigskin Philodendron. will get too big eventually but nice as baby plants)
Syngonium rayii (needs to get into viv ASAP; I chopped it up into small starts, then forgot to water for a couple days once... didn't take long!)
Syngonium podophyllum hybrids (blah)
Spathiphyllum sp. (small/dwarfish narrow-leaf cv., currently stuck floating in an aquarium to suck nitrates... where it's blooming)
-I lost the small Spathiphyllum species with the white center stripe, but will be looking for it again.
-silvery leaf small vine (can't find name yet, maybe juvenile Philodendrum ornatum?)
-unknown, small stoloniferous aroid from an old collection, so far NOID. Likes wet feet, and I've discovered it grows submersed too.

Ferns:

Bolbitis heteroclita
Davallia trichomanoides
Doryopteris cordata (and I want D. pedata!)
Lemmaphyllum microphyllum
Microgramma sp. (may be dead, hoping for new growth)
Microsorum pteropus 
M. p. 'Windeløv' 
Quercifilix zeylandica
-A small NOID sold as Asplenium bulbiferum: could be just babies, but haven't grown large yet.

Other cryptograms:

Selaginella plana
Riccia (either finer form of fluitans, or a different species)
Taxiphyllum barbieri (Java moss' new name)
-other mosses ordered, and re-ordered, but so far have never arrived.
-other noid mosses, volunteer growths.

Random families:

Begonia (miniature hybrids) 'Rhinestone Jeans', 'Red Planet', 'Little night music' ('Little Night Music' turned into a big weed last time in a viv though!)
B. prismatocarpa (more small growing species and hybrids on the way through trades)
Bertolonia marmorata (really needs its own space I think, it's definitely not subtle!)
Dischidia nummularia 'Pebble Beach' (I'm hoping for a solid green reversion too)
-(desperately seeking to replace a Dischidia I've lost- similar to, possibly same as the red/purple form of D. hirsuta)
Eleocharis radicans (acicularis) (growing outdoors for now)
Ficus pumila 'Quercifolia'
Fittonia (odd shaped sharp leaves w/ dark red veins)
Hatiora (Rhipsalidopsis) rosea (small Brazilian species, not the Easter cactus hybrid)
H. salicornioides
Lilaeopsis (macloviana?)
Micranthemum micranthemoides (sold as umbrosum)
Ophiopogon japonicus 'Nana' (growing outdoors for now)
O. planiscapus 'Nigrescens' (Seedlings, 'Black Dragon' x self)
Pellionia daveauana
Peperomia caperata (2 spotted, splashed variegated forms. They're too unnatural looking for me. I'll probably trade for something else instead.)
P. meridana
P. rotundifolia var. pilosior (Don't remember seeing this for a while... wonder if I left it outside or something stupid like that)
Pilea depressa
P. glauca
Piper sp. (smallish green leaf, from an old collection. Needs to get back in a warm humid viv ASAP before I lose it all)
Plectranthus oertendahlii
Ruellia makoyana

Lots of gesneriads. I haven't drawn up a whole list of those yet, and haven't even started the seeds of most. I used to have a huge collection; hundreds of species and hybrids. This will probably be the fastest growing part of my collections since I'm still peripherally involved in gesneriad groups, and gesneriad people really like to share their plants around. I also have seeds of many others not started yet.

The gesneriad starts I have ready for a viv now are:

Achimenes erecta 'Tiny Red' (beautiful little leaves, bright red flowers, easy, trailing/climbing growth in a viv. I started WAY too many seeds of this!)
Alsobia dianthiflora (very cool small, velvet-leafed, grows kind of like a mini strawberry. Great white super-fringed flowers)
A. x 'San Miguel'
Chirita tamiana (has been shown here before, fun little plant, easy & fast from seeds)
C. gemella
C. sp. USBRG 98-083 (another warm growing Vietnamese dwarf like the 2 above. I don't think it's been formally described yet, but I've been out of the loop)
C, sinensis (and a few other larger Chiritas)
Codonanthe & xCodonatanthus (a few) (Need bright light and prefer to dry a little to bloom well)
Episcia (several including a couple of my own hybrids)
Gloxinella lindeniana (great leaves, fragrant flowers, and very easy in a viv!)
Kohleria amabilis
Koellikeria erinoides 'Red Satin' (beautiful leaves, fragrant flowers that smell like coconut tanning oil)
Lysionotus pauciflorus (growing outdoors for now, but has done well in terraria with good air movement)
Nautilocalyx pemphidius (bizarre crocodile leaves)
Nematanthus (a few)
Saintpaulia (I'm not the biggest fan of African violets any more really, but there are the wild species and a few really odd and different hybrids I do like. Just keep the big splashy frilly froufy ones away LOL)
Sinningia pusilla, concinna, and some hybrid descendants
Sinningia (various complex mini hybrids)
Sinningia leucotricha (& other larger species, plus my own hybrids from some litho-epiphytic tuber-caudex species)
-One of the showiest little rhizomatous gesneriads for a viv is xPhinastema 'Califonia Dreaming', which can be completely purple under the right lights. I'll get that again soon, along with other Phinaea and Diastema species.

These are over half the total plants I have now After getting out of the hobby for a while (traveling job), and recently starting to collect again, I'm focusing on terrarium/vivarium plants with some cacti & succulents on the side.

Most everything are still small starts, but I'll be propagating like mad, to have enough for trading (and hopefully a little eBay selling to support the habit!) before next Winter.

Thanks for letting me think 'out loud' here. I hope at least a few people find it a little interesting, even if it's closer to a novel than a forum post!

Vincent


----------



## dirtmonkey (Feb 10, 2007)

One other part of the plan that has changed- I'm not going with the reverse flow undergravel filter in the sump any more. It will be a soil-based substrate tank planted heavily with rooted plants instead. There will be a coarse sponge over the overflow inside the viv to prevent escapes, and that will get cleaned out often. 

There will still be more than enough biofiltration to keep everything in good shape, between the lava rock under layer, sponge filter for the return pump, and all the exposed surfaces and plants in the water. It's not going to be an animal-heavy system at all.

V


----------

