# 36x18x20 56g build



## chefboyardee (May 31, 2013)

Hi all, Im going to post up my progress as I build a 56G viv for some terribilis. Im not always great at taking progress pictures through a build, but ill try to post as many pictures as I can remember to take

so far the plan is fairly simple:










it will be placed next to my couch/bookshelf (the pictured orientation is not right, the background will be closest to the bookshelf). One of the smaller sides foamed and corked w/ a 4.75" computer fan rigged in as a ventilation fan. Ill likely put the fan on a timer depending on how often I need the circulation. The frame for the column is made out of eggcrate and has a removable eggcrate top w/ mesh glued to place. the column has one forward facing exhaust port covered in mesh

the tank is a 36x18x20 tank and stand, with a 1" bulkhead in the bottom for a drain (via PVC ball valve). The substrate will be raised up approximately 1.5" via a eggcrate/diffuser plenum resting on PVC tubes and covered in mesh. 










ABG substrate is the plan. The expanding foam will be siliconed and covered in sphagnum to clean things up a bit. I found brown 100% silicone, so any exposed foam shouldnt look too odd. The small pond area will not get any deeper than the 1.5" plenum depth, but i may add a small portion of gravel

Although I didnt take any pictures of the initial setup, here is a couple progress pics through the foam carving and cork positioning


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## chefboyardee (May 31, 2013)

I still have some considerable carving to do before I can silicone the foam, but the hope is also to create some holes to place epiphytes of various types. Heres some of the plant selections i have so far










Lighting is supplied via a Finnex 36" LED 7000K/RBG fixture. It is (so far) plenty bright and in the right spectrum, and also has a great sunrise/sunset feature that pushes reds in the morning and blues at night, as well as fun (but largely pointless) features like cloud cover and lightning storms










I also have a number of pieces of wood Id like to add, as well as some pieces of "texas holy rock"




























Itd be nice to get some (but not full) moss coverage on the rock and stumps, although I think trying to manage things to that level of perfectionism will not last long

I still need to get a glass top, and some leaf litter. I live in miami, so I have access to a lot of strangler figs that are dropping a lot of their leaves this time of year. I may gather some up and bake them to kill any bugs, but if anyone thinks this isnt a good idea Im all ears. Id also like to gather some vines from the root shootoffs the trees put out and do more or less the same w/ them

more to come, ill keep you posted


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## C los7 (Sep 24, 2015)

Looking great.


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## whiteblaze11 (May 23, 2010)

Love the build so far! I would be careful with the big piece of Texas Holey rock you have because it can raise the Ph of the water around it since it is often used in cichlid aquariums. I don't know if this would have any affect on your plants or frogs just thought i would give you a heads up. Im also looking at getting one of the Finnex new led lights since the 24 hr cycle looks sweet!


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## chefboyardee (May 31, 2013)

whiteblaze11 said:


> Love the build so far! I would be careful with the big piece of Texas Holey rock you have because it can raise the Ph of the water around it since it is often used in cichlid aquariums. I don't know if this would have any affect on your plants or frogs just thought i would give you a heads up. Im also looking at getting one of the Finnex new led lights since the 24 hr cycle looks sweet!


yeah Im hoping slightly basic water wont be too much of a problem

the finnex is worth the investment! the sunrise/sunset feature is great, I actually set it back 3 hours so I have more time to look at the tank after work/school, and its nice that the controls are so flexible


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## FrogTim (Oct 1, 2015)

This is an awesome build and I really like how you maximized viewing space.

I would be careful with that rock because misting over time will greatly concentrate it's alkaline affects as water washes over the rock, into the substrate and then evaporates. 

I love my Planted+ 24/7 and glad you found out how to tailor it to your viewing needs. It's a perfect light for your build.

If you're running a false bottom I highly recommend using black contact paper or shelf-liner to black out the bottom from the outside. It's super easy to do, cheap and is a lot easier to modify than trying to silicone the inside of your tank black. It also makes for a much cleaner appearance especially coupled with a water feature.


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## GandalfTheGrey (Nov 18, 2015)

Looks good! Is the foam Tetra Pond Foam?


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## chefboyardee (May 31, 2013)

FrogTim said:


> This is an awesome build and I really like how you maximized viewing space.
> 
> I would be careful with that rock because misting over time will greatly concentrate it's alkaline affects as water washes over the rock, into the substrate and then evaporates.
> 
> ...


The plenum is slightly smaller than the actual floorspace, so hopefully it doesnt show through. If it does, ill look into getting some contact paper or something to block it from sight

Ill reconsider the rock, maybe stick w/ some slate instead




GandalfTheGrey said:


> Looks good! Is the foam Tetra Pond Foam?


uhh, i think its great stuff pond & stone, but more or less the same thing. water tight, no chemicals, safe to use in aquariums (have used it before in reef tanks)




thanks for the feedback everyone, ill try to get the carving done today and some of the small orchids/broms in place and post some more pictures.


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## chefboyardee (May 31, 2013)

did some carving today, the plant positions arent final; Ill probably put one of the two big broms out away from the wall and replace it with something else as its too symmetrical looking right now

I used the 1.75" drill bit I used to drill the tank to remove plugs of the foam/cork, worked surprisingly well. The larger holes were just carved out the old fashioned kitchen knife way




























still need to silicone up the foam and will reorganize, but its slowly coming together


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## chefboyardee (May 31, 2013)

mini update:

grabbed this grapewood stump, planning on adding it once the plenum/substrate goes in tomorrow 



















as for today, I siliconed the exposed foam and added some sphagnum. Here it is before cleanup:










post:









and with the plants readded and reorganized:


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## therizman2 (Jul 20, 2008)

Looks very nice so far.

FYI - grapewood rots super fast in a terrarium. Usually a year or less and it is much, may want to skip it and just stick to the other pieces you have picked out.


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## chefboyardee (May 31, 2013)

therizman2 said:


> Looks very nice so far.
> 
> FYI - grapewood rots super fast in a terrarium. Usually a year or less and it is much, may want to skip it and just stick to the other pieces you have picked out.



good to know! Ill likely use it anyway, at least until I can find a more permanent piece of driftwood


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## chefboyardee (May 31, 2013)

Opted out of using the grapewood, as it took up too much floor space. Im heading up to rural CT to visit my parents, so ill take a look around their spot for some cool looking driftwood. The plant placement isnt 100% yet, I might move them around a bit and I want to add more small ground cover plants 

I still need a cover, the current one only covers about 80% of the top, and I need to clean up the plumbing on the misting system. I grabbed a Climist misting system for this build; Ive owned mistking and loved it, but they increased their prices considerably and I figured I could do a product comparison anyway. So far so good, as far as I can tell its exactly the same components, so Im assuming the real comparison will come down to quality vs time

here are some updated pics










my dog says hi: 










closer view









area that will become the pond once the plumbing is completed


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## myersboy6 (Aug 23, 2010)

I didn't read the entire post so idk if you are planning on putting leaf litter down but you need some. It would make things look a bit more natural. Other than that it looks good!


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## chefboyardee (May 31, 2013)

myersboy6 said:


> I didn't read the entire post so idk if you are planning on putting leaf litter down but you need some. It would make things look a bit more natural. Other than that it looks good!


yup! leaf litter, more plants, a smaller piece of driftwood


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## chefboyardee (May 31, 2013)

ok, added some leaf litter today. Updates will be absent until after the new year, but hopefully I can find a nice piece of driftwood on my trip up north. The tank is still missing....something, and Im hoping the driftwood will cover it


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## chefboyardee (May 31, 2013)

ok, we're back in business, which is good because the terribilis come in this week

I found and cut a nice piece of driftwood so it would fit, and it adds a lot to the tank











so in addition to adding some more plants and what looks like pillow and hairtop moss, its starting to look really nice. Will need to add some vines of some sort, and am considering another LED



















frog hole


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## DragonSpirit1185 (Dec 6, 2010)

Just so you know cryptanthus and bromeliads don't do all that well being planted into the substrate. They are epiphytic plants. They will more than likely rot on you. Sure you see them all the time in pots at stores but in a viv with high humidity and constantly damp soil they tend to rot.
Looks great though I love that centerpiece of wood.


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## FrogTim (Oct 1, 2015)

I really like the tank. I would recommend moving the bromeliads as well it almost looks like you could just move them an inch higher and mount them on the wood.

Why are you contemplating another led? Not bright enough?


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## chefboyardee (May 31, 2013)

thanks for the feedback, ill make sure to move the epiphytes up a few inches so theyre not sitting in wet soil. 

I was concerned with the lack of growth in the few weeks i was gone, and was thinking it was due to lack of light, but I had the climist system on a schedule that was just putting too much water into the tank and I think thats what was slowing things down. Using the sunrise/sunset feature instead of it being on max also probably didnt help. Ill keep an eye on things and see where it goes


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## FrogTim (Oct 1, 2015)

Plants tend to grow their roots first when they are acclimating to a new environment. 

I'm not sure how long since it's been planted but my vivarium took a couple months to really see 'noticeable' growth. I think the best way to judge growth is by taking weekly pictures from the same angle/distance. 

I'm guilty of viewing my vivarium everyday and not thinking anything is growing since I'm not noticing the subtle changes everyday that add up to noticeable growth. Seeing the vivarium once a week you really notice the changes.

If it's been a month or two with no growth or your bromeliads losing color, then I would consider additional lighting.


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## chefboyardee (May 31, 2013)

ok, so as suggested by frogtim and dragonspirit, the epiphytes were moved upward and out of the soil (though it doesnt look like it, rest assured they all have several inches above the substrate). In addition to that, Ive got the circulation fan running and I think I have a misting schedule down that works 



















climist comes on at 9am for 15 seconds, and again at 5 for 30 seconds. The fan is running 24/7 for now, though I might adjust to keep humidity up if need be. Im also contemplating replacing one of the two glass covers with a screen top to aid in air circ

heres a top down view w/ one of the glass panels removed, and the far left plastic being where the climist is plumbed in










I desperately need a camera that isnt my phone. Id love to buy a SLR camera, but I would literally only use it for taking pictures of my frogs


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## chefboyardee (May 31, 2013)

so I grabbed some macros w/ my phone that werent terrible, I look forward to being able to take pictures of frogs instead of just plants  they're due to arrive on wednesday


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## chefboyardee (May 31, 2013)

froglets! 

I was really really worried that they'd disappear into the leaf litter, but credit to josh's frogs for breeding some awesome terribilis

havent tried feeding them yet, but will try later today. Theyre so TINY.























































I think I can get a hold of my friend's camera and get some better pictures as well


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## Encyclia (Aug 23, 2013)

What a nice job you have done with this build. I am not usually a fan of water features in a dart build, but you seem to have done a great job with this one. The tank has the space for it. My compliments on your choice of frog, too. I love my terribilis (though mine are mints). All of my other tanks, the frogs just scatter when I open the glass. My terribs, though, just sit there and stare me down until I close the glass again. And they say "keep walkin'" when I walk away ;-)

Great job!

Mark
P.S. Superior screen name, too


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## chefboyardee (May 31, 2013)

so, frogs are in and happy, and some of the plants are even showing growth!



















feeding time!


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## chefboyardee (May 31, 2013)

interactions with the frogs thus far:


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## chefboyardee (May 31, 2013)

cryptanthus is blooming!


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## chefboyardee (May 31, 2013)

some new gifs from feeding time, as well as some pics. 

all 4 seem to be doing well and eating a lot. two seem to be frog-bros and hang out in the same leaf, while the other two occupy completely opposite ends of the tank





























got a weird slime mold









not sure what type of moss this is but its taking off


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## chefboyardee (May 31, 2013)

some updated gifs and pics


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## JenniBee (Jun 22, 2015)

This looks really great! I love the new piece of wood you found!


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