# My 55 gallon corner bow front tank project



## Colleen53 (Jan 19, 2009)

This is my first post with pictures, so I hope I do this correct with the help of photo bucket. If it doesn't work, I will try again. I have pictures of the beginning of my construction to the end product. Hope this works!

Need to figure out how to paste pics. Sorry


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## Colleen53 (Jan 19, 2009)




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## afterdark (Jan 16, 2007)

Hi Colleen! Your tank looks great. I like the cork tube 'waterslide'. I'm sure your frogs will love hanging out in there.

Speaking of - what are you planning to put in that beauty once it's planted?


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## Colleen53 (Jan 19, 2009)

And now for the best part, I have a ALMOST finished product. There will be things added, but for now here are the pics!!!


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## gretchenellie (Aug 7, 2007)

the construction is very good!

that tank will look great once it has established.

have you decided on plants yet?



EDIT:

Oops! posted when you did.. nice plant selection!


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## Colleen53 (Jan 19, 2009)

My tank will house 5 Leucs that I have in another tank. I figure it will be about 6 weeks for them before they reside in their "Beverly Hills Mansion"


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## Otis (Apr 16, 2006)

I would watch those maidenhair ferns, they need good air flow to thrive. 

Very nice tank!


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## frogparty (Dec 27, 2007)

makes me want a corner viv


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## Colleen53 (Jan 19, 2009)

Appreciate your input and comments. My broms are from Antone and they seem to enjoy their new envirnoment-thanks Antone for the nice selection you sent me. I have java moss for the groundcover. A few Anthuriums mixed into the corners. I am trying baby tears (very tiny now) for the trailing look and the maidenhair ferns is an experiment. Any suggestions on other ferns would be appreciated. I am trying to locate peperomia prostrata to add in.


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## afterdark (Jan 16, 2007)

Tropiflora has P.prostrata. It's going crazy in my Galact viv.

Fern suggestion = ET Fern! Those things rock!


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## Lilypad87 (Feb 21, 2007)

very nice tank  just curious though usually i use coco fiber on the foam background, it looks like you used moss which i think looks a LOT better! what kind of moss did you use and how well does it stick up there?


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## frogparty (Dec 27, 2007)

Antone has the Peperomia prostrata


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## afterdark (Jan 16, 2007)

frogparty said:


> Antone has the Peperomia prostrata


Good point - always better to support a site sponsor!


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## Marinarawr (Jan 14, 2009)

Your tank looks fabulous! I really like the mossy backround *jealous*. I"ve been itching to try HC (Dwarf Baby's Tears) as a waterfall/dripwall plant. I'll keep watching to see how your Baby's Tears does .


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## Colleen53 (Jan 19, 2009)

Thanks for the suggestions of the plants. My background is made of coco chips and green moss mixed together and used enough silicone to hold it in place. It seems to be holding up well and it holds the moisture, which helps. This is a great site to get much help.


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## Mywebbedtoes (Jul 2, 2007)

Very nice Colleen. I look forward to seeing it in person some day.


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## Colleen53 (Jan 19, 2009)

This may be too soon to post my tank of 2 1/2 weeks new, but i just got some awesome tillansias from a sponsor on Dendroboard and wanted to show all. Great doing business with these type of businesses.








close-up of tillis and broms








Had to get a betta fish since my last name sounds like betta, which is really Baida. I have one in my other tank and they love the flightless flies that get into the water.








I am waiting another month before I add my leucs. the wanna be frog in the picture is a toy frog my son got from his Easter egg hut.  Colleen


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## matty365 (Mar 18, 2009)

Absolutely stunning.
This is on par with Takashi Amano's work in aquatic biotopes and also follows the golden rule to a tee imo.I am currently constructing my first viv and this has inspired me greatly and i thank you for that.
The moss background is fantastic so i think i will incorporate that somewhere in my viv if you dnt mind .
Thanks again 
Matty


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## Colleen53 (Jan 19, 2009)

Well, it has been about 4 months since I last posted pics. I did get some Peperomia prostrata for my trailing plant and it seems to be growing. Some of the plants I originally had in there were trial and error. I did find out that you don't put broms on the lower sections-they rot. I really like the cryptanthus 'red earth star' to give more color. My Leucs really enjoy climbing all over the place.


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## maverick3x6 (Jul 31, 2008)

absolutely incredible. Do you have a misting system or do you just rely on spraying the tank by hand?


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## Colleen53 (Jan 19, 2009)

I have a Zoo-Med Repi-fogger that I put on for about 20 minutes per day. I do mist the top every few days as I want my peperomia prostrata to fill in. A few other vines I have as well are in their as experiments.


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## maverick3x6 (Jul 31, 2008)

did you just get the repti-fogger? Be careful with that thing... they only last about 90 days before they break!


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## rob65 (Aug 27, 2009)

Yeah he is right! I had the fogger and mister both and I ended up taking them both back because they worked like crap right from the start. Good luck with yours.
Rob


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## MonkeyFrogMan28 (Feb 3, 2009)

maverick3x6 said:


> did you just get the repti-fogger? Be careful with that thing... they only last about 90 days before they break!


I must have lucked out. I have been useing mine since last Christmas with no problems. Awesome tank by the way. I like the betta fish Idea.


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## Colleen53 (Jan 19, 2009)

I have had this one for over a year now. My other tank that has a rept-fogger is about 1 1/2 years old. The fan in the fogger went out a few weeks back in that tank, I called the company and told them what had happened and they sent me out a replacement for FREE!! It works too. I will probably make my own fogger like you guys have done once these break.


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## Colleen53 (Jan 19, 2009)

Just took a picture of my tank which has been up for 1 1/2 years. Still enjoyable to look at especially the bumble bee frogs when they are out!!


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

it filled in pretty nice!!


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## pygmypiranha (Jan 1, 2009)

It looks pretty nice! It has come along very well.

How's the Betta doing?


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## markpulawski (Nov 19, 2004)

Colleen you do great work, very conscientious and thorough, looks like you planned it out very well. You could build vivs as a sideline of you wanted, I would buy one!!


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## Noxtreme (Aug 10, 2010)

thank you for posting this! i am about to turn my plated aquarium into something like this because i'm kinda over the fish tank thing. I did it successfully now I'm tiered of water changes and ph levels and co2, and EI, and bla bla bla (wrong forum for that). 
I HAVE THE SAME TANK and it is very hard to find anyone building vivs with them. i will be doing a build journal of mine from take down to build up as soon as i figure out to do with the last few fish. 
i have one quick question right now but im sure there will be more.
Do you have a top for your tank? if so how did you build it or where did you get it?


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## Colleen53 (Jan 19, 2009)

Thank you for your comments everyone. My husband likes this tank the best, even though I have my own favorites (I have built about 10 now). I would love to start a side business, but everytime I build one, I can't depart from it!!! So I find another spot in one of the rooms. As far as your build of the same tank, go slow as you mentioned. Have a plan and you will enjoy this. Unfortunately, the top was the hardest. I had made a top myself which didn't work very well. Then I had a glass guy build one, but it wasn't glass. It was made of heavy duty cardboard material and screen and I had that for a month or two. The best I have come up with is to use the front glass piece and get a plastic piece (very hard plastic, which I forgot what it is called.Something poly..........) for a frame and add/glue screen into the plastic. I had the plastic cut at a plastic company that sells this type of hard plastic that doesn't bow in. I made a template for him to cut out the section in the back where it would fit. You will need to buy the piece of plastic that they sell at the fish store that will fit into your glass and the new plastic in order to open/close the lid. I had him make two of these pieces so that it would be thick enough to put into the plastic hinge (for the glass and new plastic) and in-between I had the screen glued. It is working very nicely. A bit pricey for the time/materials that this guy did, but it works the best. Have fun with your tank!! I still have a 60 gallon tank myself. Haven't given up on the fish yet, but I do enjoy the vivs best,


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## Noxtreme (Aug 10, 2010)

Thank you for the reply. I am going to move slow on it as to try an make as few mistakes as possible. I think i will like the viv a lot since i can still have live plants which is what i enjoy the most about having a tank. I actually have the ADA 54 corner bow which is slightly different then yours but nearly the same. The top is what scares me most about the whole build for sure. I have 2 lights that i will need to try and adapt into it somehow. Plants will love them but the design will be made much more difficult for sure. 
i found this post

http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/parts-construction/40012-54-gal-aga-corner-build.html

which will help tremendously but i will need to make quite a few changes in order to fit all my light. I'm going to make a cardboard template and trace the lights and all that jazz just to make sure i get it right before i start buying and cutting expensive materials. 

Another post i found

http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/parts-construction/57563-pics-my-new-constructed-vivarium.html

is something i must do. I have a lot of very nice real pieces of wood from all my plant tank days (somewhat or a collector) but this stuff looks amazing. not to mention i can make it do whatever i want. The planning stage is about to begin soon. So i will link to my build thread once I get all the fish taken care of. I just have a Bolivian ram and a clown loach left to get rid of. The other fish can go in my 10 gal planted.

As an dedication to the plant tank gods here is what was my plant tank

















My layout for the viv will be pretty similar.


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## Colleen53 (Jan 19, 2009)

Your tank is sweet!! I just sold 6 of my rams to a guy that has a 400 gallon tank and is absolutely stunning with plants. Much work, but it looks gorgeous. As far as your background, I wouldn't put a ton of time/money into it. The post you showed was awesome, but once the plants grow in, you will not see it. Now your wood that you have in your fish tank, which would stand out in front will show. And if you have a water feature in your tank, you will be able to use some of your plants. The hood looks interesting. Wish I had the skills/tools that the poster has, to make stuff like that. Enjoy your planning!!


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## Noxtreme (Aug 10, 2010)

So it's six years later and my viv is done ! lol seriously. No plants or inhabitants yet but it's built and working. Plants will happen in the next months or so and I'll link my build journal here once I do that. I have pics and such of most of the building. I went all out to the best of my knowledge and I'm sure I will be doing automation sometime to try and keep humidity and temp constant. For now it's just timers.
It took me a full year to build but I obviously took my time and I over think everything which slows me down more. Did I mention I work slowly on these things. 

Main Equipment
2 Kessel a160aw tuna sun
Ultrasonic humidifier
2 Computer fans hooked to a speed controller and duct work pulling fresh air from under the false bottom 
Mist king system with 6 nozzles
3 timers, hygrometer and other little things

Do you still have your tank in this tread?


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