# how big is too big? :P pics of my new viv



## zaroba (Apr 8, 2006)

after having a small 55gallon viv for a few months, i decided to get something bigger. much bigger. since the end of janurary i've been working on a new HUGE vivarium. overall it measures 6'8" long x 2'8" deep x 5'9" tall. not including the base and the thickness of the wood, it is about 350 gals. in it will be tons of tropical plants, a natural looking cliff face background, and a 2 foot mountain in one corner with a cascading waterfall going into a streem that empties into a 3-5gollon pond. basicly i'll be trying to immitate a natural rainforest habitat with it.

heres 2 pics of it after the main construction was done:


















currently its inside and lined with a pond liner and waiting for the parts to come in that i ordered online. when they come, i'll be able to finish the plumbing and set it up.


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## frogman824 (Aug 10, 2005)

That's huge, I don't think I've ever heard of a tank that size....I'd love to see the progress on it though it should be interesting. Looks good so far, what kind of frogs do you plan to put in there?


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## zaroba (Apr 8, 2006)

no clue what frogs to get yet. was thinking of tincs since i heard they do well in groups.

heres pics of the progress:
Base section:









Bin section ontop of the base:









viewing section added:









then the pic in the first post with the plywood added inside.

each section was made seperatly so it could be brought inside threw a window piece by piece.


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## tyler (Feb 23, 2006)

That thing is monsterous. Look forward to how it'll look when it's completely finished.


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## patm (Mar 21, 2004)

Wow, that is one awesome project. Just out of curiousity, what are you going to do with the front? Are you going to hinge the front glass/acrylic, or is tank access going to be through the top? I can't wait to see that monster fully planted! Great job.

-Pat


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## kyle1745 (Feb 15, 2004)

Very cool and the only advice I would offer is to turn the top 2x4 on end and remove the 2 pieces of wood in the middle. Then get one big piece of glass for the front.


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## zaroba (Apr 8, 2006)

the front was going to open via 3 glass or acrylic doors on hinges.
was also thinking of trying to make a 3 sliding door thing.


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## kyle1745 (Feb 15, 2004)

The sliding door would be cool, but if it was me id try to make the whole front clear...


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## DaSlackMan (Feb 3, 2006)

I agree with Kyle... Unless you are going to go with the look of 3 individual smaller (if you could call it that) vivs instead of a single long one...


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## zaroba (Apr 8, 2006)

hmm..that would be nice now that i think of it, ty for the idea.

if useing sliding doors, thier wont be need for the front beams as they were mainly put in to hold hinges for the doors. but...hinged doors could always open vertically as well.

main reason for not having the whole thing open up at once is to prevent something escaping from one end while i'm at the opposite end


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## Frogtofall (Feb 16, 2006)

That thing is nice!! One thing, I'm not sure who told you, but Tincs are NOT group frogs... :wink: Leucs you may have been thinking of?

I look forward to seeing this all done as well.

How is the wood treated? Are you using glass or acrylic? What type of lighting are you gonna utilize?


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## defaced (May 23, 2005)

Similar to Frogtoall's question, it looks like all the wood is pressure treated lumber, is that right or is it just the picture?


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## zaroba (Apr 8, 2006)

maybe it was luecs. thanks for telling me before i got tincs.
i'll just play it safe and post a topic asking about frogs when the tanks ready for some.


well, the wood is pressure treated wood. i know, i know, its not safe. had to use pressure treated since i have no shed or garage to build it in, so had to build it outside in the rain, snow, and sun. however, the EPA banned the use of arsonic based chemicals in lumber back in 2002, so it might not be AS bad as it used to be.

the whole inside is lined with a 22mil pvc pond liner (its not yet in it in the pics)

for lighting, i have a 48" 2 bulb florescent fixture with 2 plant lights that will be mounted in a hood i'll be making for the viv and will be controlled by a timer.

for heat, i was gonna try varius sized CHEs. there will probably be at each end, with 1 at each end controlled by a thermostat.


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## defaced (May 23, 2005)

Answered my question, I just couldn't think of why you'd want the base made of pressure treaded lumber. With a liner I wouldn't worry about it. After all, PVC is trused with our drinking water.


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## zaroba (Apr 8, 2006)

was thinking about it a bit while i was out smoking a cig, and figured, it'd be somewhat easy to just put on sliding doors, plus nicer looking.

i already have aluminum channels that should be wide enough for 3 sheets of glass (got em free from some double paned glass windows that somebody was throwing out while remodelling) just need to buy some glass or try and seperate the double paned glass panels by removeing the thick silicon thats holding them together with a knife or sodering iron.

the middle wood on the front is easy to remove aswell.


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## Guest (Apr 9, 2006)

Someone posted pics of their viv with similar dimensions. They were planning a water feature big enough to take some archer fish. Anyone remember. They recently posted an updated pic.

Anyway, maybe if you find that post you can get some help on ideas and stuff. 
I can't wait to see how your vivarium is going to turn out!


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## Guest (Apr 9, 2006)

That is a great looking frame! I envy your uber capentry skills :wink:


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## bluedart (Sep 5, 2005)

One thing--- you realize that in all that space, the frogs will be hidden probably out of view (unless you put in like, 30 leucs). Then you have to feed them, and put in enough food so that all the frogs find something. Just... keep that in mind. But, otherwise, that's awesome! I'm really anxious to see how it turns out.


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## alifer (Oct 24, 2005)

Wow, the size of your viv is wild.
Your going to need a forklift to move it into place when your finished.

Are you building it into a wall in your house? You could cover the outside with sheet rock & finish it to match your walls to make it look like a built-in.


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## Guest (Apr 9, 2006)

that is amazing, cant wait to see how it comes out


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## SickVoodoo (Oct 9, 2005)

That thing is going to be sweet. I would go with the one piece of glass also. I know someone with 4 pumilios in a viv similar to that size and they have no problem with feeding but they are hard to spot. I would seed it with a lot of springtails, they would probably be self sustaining with all that space.


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## Guest (Apr 10, 2006)

I was thinking about your frame today and how you had all those openings on the front. That would make a nice set up for multiple vertical vivariums. Too bad you did not live close to me so I could bum you to build me one :lol:


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## JoshKaptur (Feb 17, 2004)

Seriously, how are you going to get it in your house? The 4x4s are way overkill. I'm really looking forward to seeing the finished product, as well as construction/setup journal.


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## zaroba (Apr 8, 2006)

well, its already in the house.

its not really one whole structure, its 3 seperate pieces that are stacked on each other.
to get it in the house, i unstacked the pieces, stood them on end on a skateboard, rolled them over to my bedroom window, laid them down onto a ramp i made from some scrap wood and pushed them into my room. i then went in the house and pulled them from the window, accross my bed, and put them on the floor.

i decided to use 4x4s since the middle one foot of it (the area below the open area) is going to hold the substrate. dirt weighs roughly 100 pounds per cubic foot, the holding area is about 12 cubic feet (2 feet x 6 feet x 1 foot). taking into account water, plants, rocks, and all the upper landscaping, the bottem of the viv will probably have to hold up over 1500 pounds.



it doesen't really bother me if the frogs are hiddin most of the time. i like looking at scenery as much as i like looking at animals


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## zaroba (Apr 8, 2006)

crap. lag induced double post


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## Dane (Aug 19, 2004)

God forbid you ever have to move.


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## zBrinks (Jul 16, 2006)

update>??? please . . . lol


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