# New Rack Build



## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

So I got my Sherman Tanks! but the materials for my rack had been on back order for a bit, finally came in and got to work on it the past few weeks, still have a bit of work to do, but the major part of it is done. 
Thanks Mike (Rollingkansas) for lending me the saw and George for the engineering advice with his built and taking a look at his setup before i started on mine



The Girl came home and saw this and i was persuaded to move my operations down to the basement to keep the boss happy.


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

lots of connectors


Frogs have been sitting in tuppers for a bit, they want in their new home, the only good thing is that it served as a quaratine in the meantime.


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## frogparty (Dec 27, 2007)

nice tanks! Looking forward to seeing this rack!


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

Test to make sure it fits


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

This was as far i got the first week with lots of work interruptions along with the "home boss"


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## IEatBugs (May 15, 2012)

I love it! I am planning to do this same thing when I move one of these days. Are the supplies from EZ Tube?


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

Got the materials from Outwater Plastics in Jersey, just a 20 min drive from me, so no shipping needed


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

did a little work during the week, a little each day as work and personal life permitted 




Cool true sip developing tad pic


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## epiphytes etc. (Nov 22, 2010)

Are those connectors plastic? I'm sure it's stronger than it looks, but but they don't seem like they'd hold a whole lot of weight.


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## frogparty (Dec 27, 2007)

loving the fact that youve got support structures in between each viv. Plus the modular aspect of the way the whole thing is built means youve got a LOT of versatility.


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## Trickishleaf (Jun 29, 2012)

epiphytes etc. said:


> Are those connectors plastic? I'm sure it's stronger than it looks, but but they don't seem like they'd hold a whole lot of weight.


I can't comment on the actual weight capacity of the connectors, but seeing that these are pretty much the standard frog racks in Europe, it's safe to say they are well tested.


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

epiphytes etc. said:


> Are those connectors plastic? I'm sure it's stronger than it looks, but but they don't seem like they'd hold a whole lot of weight.


They hold the weight, i weight 225 and i was standing on each wooden piece while i was home alone yesterday to make sure it would hold the tanks, though prob not a smart thing to do, but truest me they hold the weight, they are plastic, but strong as hell. 




frogparty said:


> loving the fact that youve got support structures in between each viv. Plus the modular aspect of the way the whole thing is built means youve got a LOT of versatility.


Thanks Jason


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

Got to work on the second level Thurs a bit and on Fri




Was able to finish the structure by Sat afternoon



By this time i was really exhausted, as i had to keep stopping with some work issues and had to run out to a pool for a couple of hours.


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## Phyllobates (Dec 12, 2008)

Looks great Julio. That is going to be a really sharp looking rack when its all done!


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

Thanks, I am really looking forward to just playing around with the design of tanks since they are a nice size, 24" cubes!


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

set in its permanent spot



started working on one of the tanks yesterday


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## IEatBugs (May 15, 2012)

Which thickness tube did you end up going with, .065 or .044?


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## mydumname (Dec 24, 2004)

Have room for a third row above it there.

So the miter saw, how well did that cut the aluminum? What blade?


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

I used the .065


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

mydumname said:


> Have room for a third row above it there.
> 
> So the miter saw, how well did that cut the aluminum? What blade?


The saw works well, clean cut as if it was professionally done. 

You wanna get a blade with as many teeth as possible, i used one that was 180, but then that started to wear out a bit and got another that had 200 teeth, still did the same job, the whole thing i am sure i would have finished it in one day if work didn't keep calling


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## ggazonas (May 11, 2008)

Looks good.

Once you get started its really not bad, its all te planning and figuring out how you are going to build it which takes time.

Good job.


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

Thanks George, yeah once I got started it was pretty easy from there


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## Azurel (Aug 5, 2010)

Ok so I was going to build wood racks but these are what I want....That looks great Julio...Can the materials be bought anywhere?


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## frogparty (Dec 27, 2007)

Did I miss something? How is the wood sitting flush with the framing? It doesnt look like theres support underneath


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## mydumname (Dec 24, 2004)

The pieces can come with a flange


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## Azurel (Aug 5, 2010)

frogparty said:


> Did I miss something? How is the wood sitting flush with the framing? It doesnt look like theres support underneath


Looks like there is a 1/4"-1/2" lip on the beams that the wood sit on....


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

Azurel said:


> Ok so I was going to build wood racks but these are what I want....That looks great Julio...Can the materials be bought anywhere?


You can buy them from any supplier



frogparty said:


> Did I miss something? How is the wood sitting flush with the framing? It doesnt look like theres support underneath



Yes Jason, they have a 1/2" flange so I creates an inner lip around the inner frame
Outwater M42 - page 204


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## singhm29 (Jun 28, 2009)

Wow, I really like the customization potential of that material your using for the rack. Really makes me want to convert...I wonder if I can find it locally in Toronto, what is the name of the actual product?


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## oldlady25715 (Nov 17, 2007)

These materials would be useful to design racks for a variety of tank sizes. It is an elegant display that can be customized in really artistic ways. I get sick of trying to figure out how to arrange tanks on bakers racks.


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## rigel10 (Jun 1, 2012)

singhm29 said:


> Wow, I really like the customization potential of that material your using for the rack. Really makes me want to convert...I wonder if I can find it locally in Toronto, what is the name of the actual product?


You can find it at hardware stores or bricos stores. At least to me here it's easy to find, even if it's expensive, one-inch aluminum tubes without flanges. More expensive (and hard to find) are the connectors. For this reason I have built a wooden rack: less expensive, but also less practical.


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## Azurel (Aug 5, 2010)

Julio how many feet did you use? Did you find it local?... Just wondering what types of shops I could find it. Really all we have here is the big box stores.


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

I got it from a store in Jersey called out water plastics, not sure how much materials were used, but u can kind guess since they are 2' cubes, but there are also different rods u need for square tubing, 90degree flanges, 180 degree flanges and 45 degree flanges as well


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## Azurel (Aug 5, 2010)

Julio said:


> I got it from a store in Jersey called out water plastics, not sure how much materials were used, but u can kind guess since they are 2' cubes, but there are also different rods u need for square tubing, 90degree flanges, 180 degree flanges and 45 degree flanges as well


Gonna send you a pm for clearer directions on how you built it and what the different rods and flanges were used for...if you dont mind?

This way we dont hijack your thread.


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## pa.walt (Feb 16, 2004)

when I saw the cutting saw on the table I thought that Julio lives by himself. but got the answer in the next post. 
also I was thinking of outwater stuff also for me in the future. but that question was also answered by you. yep their stuff can be used.
looks nice by the way. don't forget when its done full viv/rack shots.


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

Yea Walt, my girl was not happy when she came home and saw all the metal shavings all over. Will def post pics when it's fully finished with lights and the plastic pannels. Still waiting on my lighting, so using my old T5s in the mean time


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## kitcolebay (Apr 7, 2012)

Beautiful setup Julio!  Congrats!

-Chris


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

Thanks Chris,

Still have a bit to go on it.


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## stu&shaz (Nov 19, 2009)

When you left the first post on my room thread Julio,I never thought it would lead to this  One little thing,bolt that sucker to a wall mate,you are only two vivs high plus 2' base,so toppling is no where near the issue it could be,but I would do it anyway,hearing one story of one of these going over is enough for me,I just can't imagine what that guy went through.

Oh it looks fantastic by the way,don't I love a 2' cube
good luck

Stu


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

haha yeah Stu, its been a long time coming. 

I was thinking about bracing it to the wall since my floor where it sits is just slightly off, what did you use to bolt it to the wall?


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## stu&shaz (Nov 19, 2009)

I actually made up some brackets Julio basically bent/folded a bit of say 1/8th of an inch ali pretty thick Julio bent with vice and big hammer,in to an L shape. Then rawl plugged this to the wall, say 2!/2' screws or larger,it's a while back now mate as you say,but I would have gone overkill for sure!! Then drilled through into the verts in the lighting area and secured both together with biggish pop rivets. If one goes for the small lighting area verts then one avoids the vivs completely. I put two at the top towards the ends of the rack, Julio, and one central, towards the bottom. I strongly suspect my connectors are not of the same quality as yours,there was a bit,not much,of lateral movement,the third bracket eradicated this. these brackets are invisible with the lighting "doors" shut,so it doesn't compromise the look of the whole thing.
Buddy if you can fit your lighting before you go too far with the vivs,it will be much easier,even if it is only the brackets to carry the lights. It's a bloody fiddle doing it once vivs are in place doable,but not the easiest way for sure.

Mate this is really cool for me seeing you doing this,it has taken me right back to a time when keeping a dart was just a huge ambition,all that time researching(before frogs),growing plants making cultures, learning the ropes of building a viv was just coming to an end and we were just about to actually start being keepers,folks here finally had to stop calling me Stueynofrogs.

Can't wait to see this completed and what you do with the vivs Julio.

OMG euro racks euro vivs where will it end

take care 

Stu


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

Thanks Stu, 

i will update as the progress goes. 

i will look into what brackets to use later this eve when i go do a home depot run. 
I really need a frog room to have lots more tanks


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

Braced the rack to the wall yesterday and had a bit of time to start working on the tanks


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)




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## JonRich (Oct 19, 2012)

Moarr plants !!


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

i gotta wait til they grow in a little, have some broms coming in for the second tank, as that will be the new black jeans tank


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

got some sweet broms in from Michael's Bromeliads


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

leaf litter and some miniature peperomias added just needs to grow in a bit


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)




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## rigel10 (Jun 1, 2012)

The colors of Ameerega are gorgeous. Frogs really underrated. What size are the vivs?


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

Thanks, they are 24" cubes Sherman tanks, so far 3 down 3 to go


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## ggazonas (May 11, 2008)

epiphytes etc. said:


> Are those connectors plastic? I'm sure it's stronger than it looks, but but they don't seem like they'd hold a whole lot of weight.


They are actually a nylon material i believe. They don't look tough but they are. If these racks are assembled properly they can hold quite a bit of weight.


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## Azurel (Aug 5, 2010)

Whats the name of the broms? Michaels is awesome.


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

Those are neo. Eliza


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## Nismo95 (Jul 30, 2011)

I am now hating my wooden rack having seen these.. So just for that one rack, how much did material alone cost you? To compare to my rack close the same size I spent about 100 bucks on the wood. Also, I demand to see a full shot now with the rack and all the lighting on  I really wanna see the over all picture of the entire setup! gorgeous!


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

Thanks, but I am still working on it, the size the tanks would determine how much materials u use so it will vary drastically based the size tanks u would build it fort


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## goof901 (Jan 9, 2012)

Julio said:


> Braced the rack to the wall yesterday and had a bit of time to start working on the tanks


That's a nice looking marcgravia! Rectiflora?


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## frog dude (Nov 11, 2011)

Looks more like sintenisii to me. I love the colors! 

Gorgeous plants and tanks Julio. Love the tanks and rack, could you by chance provide a direct link to the rack materials? I searched all over the site but couldn't find anything. 

BTW I love the work you are doing with true sips, most people never get this chance.


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## FroggyKnight (Mar 14, 2013)

goof901 said:


> That's a nice looking marcgravia! Rectiflora?


I didn't even notice that guy! I love the look of that marcgravia, cool color

I'm envious......oh so envious....


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

It's a sentinsilis


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## bendick2112 (Jun 19, 2008)

Goodlooking rack!
Here in europe, this is the common racking for both herps and aquariums, seeing them i every pet store.


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

I figured, I beeen trying to get this for quite a while and dutch rana would not ship, and if they did they would guarantee that it would get here safely


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## ggazonas (May 11, 2008)

Nismo95 said:


> I am now hating my wooden rack having seen these.. So just for that one rack, how much did material alone cost you? To compare to my rack close the same size I spent about 100 bucks on the wood. Also, I demand to see a full shot now with the rack and all the lighting on  I really wanna see the over all picture of the entire setup! gorgeous!


The price is much higher. Aluminum tubing rangings from $20-25 per 8' sections, the connectors from $2.50-3.00 each and the feet are around $3.00 each. Then you have the tracking for the doors which is relatively cheap at around .50 cents a linear foot and the abs plantic sheets for the doors at around $15 per SF.

I built multiple racks for my frogroom. They generally cost between $400-600 and hold 8-10 tanks, sizes generally 18x24's 12x24',

Hope that helps.


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## rigel10 (Jun 1, 2012)

Nismo95 said:


> I am now hating my wooden rack having seen these.. So just for that one rack, how much did material alone cost you? To compare to my rack close the same size I spent about 100 bucks on the wood. Also, I demand to see a full shot now with the rack and all the lighting on  I really wanna see the over all picture of the entire setup! gorgeous!


This site can give you an idea of prices (in euros). Just follow the steps and then, with a converter, switch from euros to dollars.

Konfigurator - E.N.T. Terrarientechnik


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

Had a chance to work on some more tanks over the holiday weekend. Almost done, one more tank to go after this!




The patricias love that Ghost wood branch, they go up and down on it all day long.


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

one of the black jeans was up on the glass this morning, check out that blue belly!


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## Bob Fraser (Nov 21, 2007)

Looking good Julio, nice job ! Bet you can't wait for them to fill in.


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

yeah, there at least 8 different plants in each tank so it would be nice when it starts to fill in


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## mydumname (Dec 24, 2004)

Here is a "do you think" question.... Let's say I built a rack like this that had Exo Terra's. 24" on top, 18" in middle, and 18" on bottom for heights. If the bottom row and top row had water in them up to the height the Exo would allow....would this thing hold?

Possibly using 24" or 36" wide exos on top.


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## scoy (Jan 22, 2013)

Whats the orchid looking plant mounted to the backgrounds in the pics on post 64?


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## RedEyeTroyFrog (Jan 25, 2008)

Where's all the leaf litter??


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

I gotta post some updated shots, there are actually 3 types of leaves. Live oak, willow oak and southern magnolia


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## mydumname (Dec 24, 2004)

mydumname said:


> Here is a "do you think" question.... Let's say I built a rack like this that had Exo Terra's. 24" on top, 18" in middle, and 18" on bottom for heights. If the bottom row and top row had water in them up to the height the Exo would allow....would this thing hold?
> 
> Possibly using 24" or 36" wide exos on top.


Any thoughts on this?


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## oddlot (Jun 28, 2010)

Hey Julio,something you don't hear every day.....Nice rack man!Looking good.I've seen Georges rack and now yours,but I was originally concerned about how they would hold up to the weight,more so over time.I'd be nervous about it but it does look clean and neat.Is there a weight/height limitation/recommendation on them?I have all of my racks bolted to the wall directly into the studs especially after that earthquake we had last year.I'm glad you took that precaution after investing all that time and cash into it.Looking forward to seeing the finished product.


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

mydumname said:


> Any thoughts on this?



The weight is def not a prob, the tanks are full of water and no issues at all


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

oddlot said:


> Hey Julio,something you don't hear every day.....Nice rack man!Looking good.I've seen Georges rack and now yours,but I was originally concerned about how they would hold up to the weight,more so over time.I'd be nervous about it but it does look clean and neat.Is there a weight/height limitation/recommendation on them?I have all of my racks bolted to the wall directly into the studs especially after that earthquake we had last year.I'm glad you took that precaution after investing all that time and cash into it.Looking forward to seeing the finished product.


Hey Lou,

Thanks is def a nice look, I don't think that it's def an issue but hope nothing happens. The tanks are full of water and the weight does not seem to be an issue at all


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## mydumname (Dec 24, 2004)

How full? Like how many inches is the tank base plus how high of water?


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

24" base, have 2 inches of water at the bottom


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

The black jeans tank started leaking so had to take all the tanks down and move the rack off to get the tank out, it took a lot longer then I though and a whole lot of work.

In the process I found a clutch of eggs from the black jeans in a film canister but had to temporarily move themto another tank while I silicone their tank and hope it dries in the next 2 days


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## JonRich (Oct 19, 2012)

Black jean pixxxx


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## eos (Dec 6, 2008)

Julio... I just found this thread. Man, the rack and tanks look sweet. Unfortunate about the leak, but damn nice setup!


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

JonRich said:


> Black jean pixxxx


There is one a few post back, they are usually on the glass every morning but seem to be camera shy as soon as I reach for the camera they take off to the back


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

eos said:


> Julio... I just found this thread. Man, the rack and tanks look sweet. Unfortunate about the leak, but damn nice setup!


Thanks, the leak seems to be under controll now just a waiting game now for the silicone to cure


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## calebrez (Dec 9, 2009)

Love the tanks and the racks! Very clean and professional looking! Did you do a false bottom in your tanks? And are the tanks drilled for drainage? Just curious cause they look great!! 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

The tanks are drilled. And have a bulk head in the Back for draining I used a false bottom on it, I used feather lite along with styrofoam around the enter as a filler so I would not have to use so much feather lite


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## lookitsadam (Jul 1, 2013)

How did you attach the broms to the branches and tree fern pannels in that one picture? They look secure but I don't see anything holding them.


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

Some update pics. 

Orchid Bloomed in a just a short time of being in the tank. 


one of the black jeans


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

Moving tanks around. 

They are extremely heavy when they are this big. Had to have Damian come over and help me. Even after draining them they were about 150 pounds


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)




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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)




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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)




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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0NKpNGoQYI&feature=youtu.be


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## RedEyeTroyFrog (Jan 25, 2008)

Looks great Julio.... Gonna be freakin awesome when It grows in!


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

Thanks Troy, the plants finally settled in, took them a while so now they are starting to grow in a bit. so hope it wont' be much longer for the tanks to be nice and lush, still have to plant one more tank, which is being reserved for some awsome frogs coming in March!


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## RedEyeTroyFrog (Jan 25, 2008)

What frogs?


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

i dont' know if i am allowed to say, haha, will have to ck, they are legal frogs so no question about that.


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## tclipse (Sep 19, 2009)

Hey Julio, long time. The rack looks great. Where are you getting your tree fern panels from?


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