# New viv, a la Vivarium Works



## MichelleSG (May 1, 2010)

Scott needed more room in his work space so that means my tank was finished. This one is a Zoo Med 18 x 18 x 24 with the new thick glass. This sucker is heavy 51lbs with nothing in it at all. The rocks that you see in it are all his new casting type, fake rocks that weigh almost nothing. Which is a good thing because dang, I could barely move this beast as it was. The only real rocks in it are those small ones under water, large gravel really. They may need to be pulled along with the water when I move this to it's permanent home since I'm a small person and my weight lifting capabilities are somewhat limited. I have yet to get the stand for it (haven't decided what it is I want to put it on yet) so it's sitting on my kitchen bar facing towards the middle. One side of the bar faces the kitchen, the other the living room so now there's a side view from either the kitchen or the living room. It works temporarily but it's not easy to take pictures of so sorry, the pics make it look really narrow.










The water fall is powered by a Fluval 205 and it starts sort of dead center in the middle of the rocks. Any higher and there would be too much splash factor. The light green plant on the left has roots that can survive under water so if that area becomes saturated from the waterfall it's no biggie. That would be the plant on the lower left here








I'm not familiar with it but it has nice broad leaves and Scott says the leaves will sometimes turn red and varying shades of green. We'll see if the plant likes me and behaves. 

I have 2 Exo light fixtures up above so the plants should grown in evenly and I think there are 3 or 4 different types of vines involved back there. When they all grow in I think this thing is going to be very lush.

This tank isn't going to be for darts, this one is for some Vietnamese mossy frogs I have on order from Michael Novy, just waiting for them to get a bit bigger and the temps to get less than 3000 degrees so they can be shipped. That's why many of the plants you see are on the larger side and the water level will be kept high enough to house fish for the frogs to eat.










The water is really murkey because I have the filter but have yet to put any media in the filter. Right now it's just pumping water and not cleaning it. It's a work in progress but once I get filter media and a stand it'll all be golden. Under water plants too, I'm going to adding those once I get the filter media in and before I add the fish.


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## VivariumWorks (Feb 27, 2008)

Here is the build journal:

As you can see its nothing super fancy.

My replica rocks piled together and great stuff foamed in place.

A few plant cups above also foamed in place.

Then covered in silicone sealant and sphagnum peat moss. (I like it better than the coco husk. Darker brown color and WAY cheaper. Plus you don't have to soak/dry it. It is usually already dry from baking in the heat for months in the Wal-Mart parking lot.)

After that the plants are added in, along with the gravel.

(I did drill the tank and plumb in a canister filter due to the large water volume and interest in keeping clear water. Lots of activated carbon will pull out the tannins and keep the water from turning tea-brown too fast.)

But as you can see, this is nothing super hard. Any novice can do this. No need for making your own fake rocks that look cheesy and makes a mess. No need to buy kitty litter and make a background that will chip/fall away if you let it dry out. (However this method could be used to lay up on top of the structural GS if you really wanted.) No grout layer and days of pH neutralization. This tank from start to finish took me a grand total of one day. The GS cured in about 4 hours. The silicone/peat in about 2. The planting took the longest. And really only the fact that the bottom leaked is why it took so long. (2nd brand new zoomed that has.) Granted this IS about my 200th vivarium, but still, there is no reason why any beginner could not make this tank with a basic pump instead of the canister if they don't want to hassle with drilling.


































































































Yes you too CAN make something like this. These rocks will be available for purchase soon. Currently undergoing last few bits of testing.

See also here:

http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/parts-construction/54478-replica-rock-casts.html


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

nicely done, the replica rocks look great!!


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## Kugamazog (May 12, 2010)

That looks fantastic, do you have a rock mold for a nice waterfall?


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## VivariumWorks (Feb 27, 2008)

Yes and no. I have two designs that are meant for waterfalls. One fits at least an 18X18 and the other fits a 12X12 or a 12X18. Aside from those two you would simple pile up the rocks and make your own. Which in some ways I think is the better option so you can tailor your waterfall to your liking and size needs. But as for a stand alone waterfall that sits in a corner like the self-contained units from exoterra or zoomed, no I don't have any of those yet. I might in the future if they are something desired by enough people.


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## chesney (Jan 18, 2007)

Awesome tank!


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## tommy2 (Feb 13, 2007)

Nice job! thanks for sharing....


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## steelyphil (May 8, 2010)

I like how you did the waterfall , the two tubes coming out. Now I'm thinking I should have had it draining into a filter. My water is really dirty.


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## JoshH (Feb 13, 2008)

Now are these rocks made of the foam or resin?


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## MichelleSG (May 1, 2010)

steelyphil said:


> I like how you did the waterfall , the two tubes coming out. Now I'm thinking I should have had it draining into a filter. My water is really dirty.


I don't do the nasty stagnant fetid water thing. It's like a phobia hold over from raising fish I suppose. The canister filter makes it so the water changes are as simple as flipping a switch and draining it into a bucket. I know a lot of people are gun shy when it comes to water features but if done right (and done by someone with more experience than me, thanks Scott!) it's really awesome. We have it set to a mellow flow too, you can't hear it at all from outside of the tank.

As for the rocks being foam or resin you have to wait for Scott for answer that and I think that may be covered in the video he's making. He'll go through the whole process and what the rocks are made of. I'm just warning you now though, it's an expensive process if you want to use the same stuff and go through all the failures that will come up. He's perfected the process but it took years of trial and error and a heck of a lot of investment. I think one whole paycheck of his last month went to the company he buys the product from. And we're chemists, were not talking about a $10/hr paycheck. It's fun but it ain't cheap!


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## steelyphil (May 8, 2010)

Actually, I can still do it and hook it in to a canister filter .


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## MichelleSG (May 1, 2010)

Try it, you may be a clean water convert!


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## Venutus1 (Feb 13, 2010)

Nice work. Like the look of your work.


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## VivariumWorks (Feb 27, 2008)

These were rigid foam rocks. The resin ones I'm holding off on making at the moment as I've already got that method down pretty good. I'm currently working on getting the foam ones perfected. These ones came out to a quality I was happy with so I used them.

I've sent off some of my designs to a few people on the board here that should be getting them sometime in the next week and will be using their feedback to help adjust the final product specifications.

But basically for most dart frog guys, the rigid foam ones will be what they will want most likely. The resin will be for the aquarium guys as the foam floats.


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