# XXXL Exo-Terra PICS UPDATE! Jan 1st



## bellerophon (Sep 18, 2006)

Well as the title implies this is my first shot at any type of animal habitat. I build custom computers for a hobby so I guess we'll see if any of the skills carry over.

Material list as of today.

1 24x18x24 Exo-Terra
3 Azure pdf
1 Starter FF culture kit
1 Starter Temperate Springtail culture
1 Misc supplies for temp housing
4 Dendro Bedding
2 Tree Fern Fiber - 3 qt.
1 Ghost Wood Log - M(12-16") 
2 Eggcrate
8 3" spacers
3 Tubes of GE SiliconeII Black
4 Tubes of GE SiliconeII Bronze
1 Micro-Jet Pump Model 450
1 Black Hose 10'
2 Plastic Clamps 1/2" ID
3 Handi-Foam w/straw - 12 oz
1 .5" bulkhead with filter/90degree bend slipons
1 Triple (Deluxe Nozzles) Mist king Kit
3 pieces of driftwood from "driftwood-mary"'s Ebay store.
1 2 x 55 watt Bright Kit from A H Supply
2 5500K Compact Fluorescent Bulb from A H Supply
the list keeps growing.......

I was listing prices but that started to get depressing.

These two +more better appreciate this!









I've started blindly buying supplies as I'm still not sure how I want this set up. Here's the progress so far. 

Here's the general Layout I'm thinking of. I'm sure the drifwood I recieve will change this up a bit. I'm planning on a hollow area in the back down the center to allow acess to the microjet 450 water feature pump and overflow bulkhead. The water feature will come off the right and flow down a lazy slate rock river to a small pond at the bottom left. The foam background is just there to help me visualize the GS wall I'll be building.









The supports for the eggcrate are about 3" across and 1.75" high hopefully these will be ideal. The pump only needs .5" of water to operate so I figure I'll have my overflow set for 1". That should leave about .5 to .75" of airspace for roots to grow down through the eggcrate into the water.









Here's a sideshot to check the levels. the top of the bottom strip will be the waterline. The 1.125" diam circle is the cutout for the overflow bulkhead. The bottom of the top strip will be the bottom of the substrate and the top of the top strip I'm guessing will be the thickness of the substrate 1.5" deep?









I'm also planning of building some sort of stand/hood for the entire setup to get the unit about chest high. 

Thoughts and comments would be greatly appreciated.


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## Anoleo2 (Feb 1, 2006)

Welcome!

It looks good so far, but I'm afraid your going to get in trouble with those two different species of frog in the same tank.... (I suppose they are going in the same tank, right?)
They could hybridize and in the long run the Azureus could stress out the Leuc to the point of death... or vice versa... sorry.


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## bellerophon (Sep 18, 2006)

yeah thats what I've heard hence the big tank. I'm going to try and give them both lots of room for themselves and I dont plan on breeding anything so any eggs I see are getting pulled anyway. They're in a little 5 gal right now and they haven't been fighting yet. If things get touchy one of em will get the 5 gal to himself and the other gets some friends and a big home. They better play nice


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## DartMan (Nov 29, 2005)

I don't want to rain onyour parade, but PLEASE don't put two different speices together in the same viv. I know this viv looks and sound "big" to you right now, but believe it or not, it soon won't be. There are many factors to consider; cross breeding (it does happen), stress, diseases, feeding habits, etc.... I've seen some really big viv's 100 gallon PLUS and even then the owners did not have more than one species in them.

Your layout and plans on the other hand look and sound real nice! 

Keep us posted on your progress.

PLEASE consider.


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## bellerophon (Sep 18, 2006)

DartMan said:


> I don't want to rain onyour parade, but PLEASE don't put two different speices together in the same viv. I know this viv looks and sound "big" to you right now, but believe it or not, it soon won't be. There are many factors to consider; cross breeding (it does happen), stress, diseases, feeding habits, etc.... I've seen some really big viv's 100 gallon PLUS and even then the owners did not have more than one species in them.
> 
> Your layout and plans on the other hand look and sound real nice!
> 
> ...


This is def. under consideration. I've even been toying with the idea of a mesh screening seperating this viv into two sides. Most likely though the leuc will stay upstairs in the 5gal and the Az will come downstairs into the big tank.


Very little progress:

I'm still waiting on the driftwood to arrive and without it I'm finding it very hard to nail down a final design. Out of utter impatience I started to apply the silicone to the back of the tank. Here's a few shots.

For those who may be wondering, one 10oz. tube of caulk is just enough for the back of this size tank.









I dont think I've read anyone stating this, probably because it goes unsaid. I applied a little texture to the caulk while it was tacky to give the GS foam something to adhere to. Not sure if it'll make any difference in decreasing shrinkage but every little bit helps. I just used a scrap piece of eggcrate to apply the pattern. I'm thinking it may be wise just to cover the rear of the tank in crating and then foam directly over that.









Oh yeah, more added to the list of supplies. :? 

3 pieces of driftwood from "driftwood-mary"'s Ebay store.
1 2 x 55 watt Bright Kit from A H Supply
2 5500K Compact Fluorescent Bulb from A H Supply


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## DartMan (Nov 29, 2005)

You'll be pleased with Driftwood-Mary!!!! I bought a couple of pieces off of her a few months ago. She was REAL fast in shipping and even through a little extra!


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## bellerophon (Sep 18, 2006)

Mistking w/ 3 deluxe nozzles came in today. Works like a charm and really puts out more water than I imagined. Little noisy but thats a minor problem to overcome.

With the kit in I'm finally able to get some measurements for the glass company. Hopefully they can pull off the odd notches that the exo has in the front corners. If not I"ll just have to shim the entire piece up 1/4". I've also marked out 2 3" round holes above each door to allow for 80mm computer fans if needed to cool the viv during summer months.









Not much imagination in placement, this seems to be most optimal.


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## bellerophon (Sep 18, 2006)

Finally got the bulk of my supplies here. Still waiting on one piece of ghost wood from BJ that I ordered almost two weeks ago to finalize the layout. So far I'm liking this particular layout with the thick stumpy piece protruding from the side of the viv up near the doors. The part is pretty light for its looks though I think it may start to gain some weight once its moisture content goes up "dry as a bone right now". My question is, how would you recommend mounting this part securely? I'm hoping to avoid havig supports under it but I looks like I'm going to have to have something to take the majority of the weight. Also not sure how to go about siliconing/foaming the wall on that side. I'd like to keep most of it transparant so I dont lose too many viewing angles. 

Thoughts, Questions, Concerns?

Pictures in sequence from left to right. I do not intend to keep the carboard pipes in the viv, just holding the part in place till I make up my mind.


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## Guest (Sep 29, 2006)

that piece of wood looks pretty flat on the end thatll be up against the glass. if it is, id bet a thick glob of silicone will hold that wood, the extra moisture, and a few mounted plants


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## bellerophon (Sep 18, 2006)

Another little update

Well I finally gave up on trying to find a custom cut glass top for a reasonable price. For now I'll settle with 1/4" acrylic. Here its already drilled for the Mistking kit and pump power cord, still contemplating the venting over the doors. To finish it off and generally hide the plumbing from below I cut some eggcrate to fit snuggly on top. the 1/4" acrylic and the eggcrate are almost perfectly flush with the top of the exo-terra when placed on the inside ledge. This should allow my light hood to hold down the acrylic top if it were to warp from the moisture.


















Finally caved in and purchased the glass bits I needed for the bulkhead. drilled that in about 10 minutes and I'm quite pleased with it. I may have placed it too high however. It drains the water when its within 1/16" of the bottom of the eggcrate. I hope thats sufficient to prevent contact with the substrate.


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## bellerophon (Sep 18, 2006)

Slightly further along. I'm still trying to decide on the placement of everything and this is the layout of the day. You can see the beginings of a slate waterfall in the back left that will somehow end in the pond up front. Probably end up with some sort of cave underneath the fall. Any ideas on how wise that is? Not sure if creating the cave area will rob that corner of light and stop any growth back there. The entire left side is blacked out right now but once I finalize everything I'll locate and open up a viewing angle *window* from that side as well. The eggcrate structure covering the walls is an attempt to minimize any shrinkage that I may encounter with the foam. Also of some debate is how I'm going to crate the flow of water over the slate. right now the 1/2" tube just ends above the back corner of the uppermost slab. I guess I need to block the end of the tube with something and drill a few small holes in the side of the tube were I want the water to trickle out of.


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## bellerophon (Sep 18, 2006)

Foaming and water feature test


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## cubby23 (Jun 12, 2006)

Great viv, and that is an awesome exo terra and huge. I saw you were looking to trade your leuc for an azur (as you should) did you find a friend yet.


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## bellerophon (Sep 18, 2006)

cubby23 said:


> Great viv, and that is an awesome exo terra and huge. I saw you were looking to trade your leuc for an azur (as you should) did you find a friend yet.


Thanks, there's been such a lack of responses I was begining to think my project was a flop :shock: I was able to find the leuc a new home ( to my sons dismay) but I'm still on the lookout for some new friends for my azur. Since he/she is only a few months old I figure I'll get two more and hope for a pair.


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## W3rdSmyth (Nov 18, 2005)

Not a flop at all!

I've actually been following the thread, I just haven't posted any responses. We're watching!


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## Guest (Oct 13, 2006)

Great job!!!  I cant wait to see this finished!!!! keep us posted!


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## Frogger 415 (May 28, 2006)

Looks Great.....Can't wait to see the end result . Keep up the good work !


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## bellerophon (Sep 18, 2006)

Thanks guys, Its nice to get a reply every now and then to let me know people are interested. I went ahead and gave a slate streambed a try tonight. It doesn't look too forced, hopefully it'll blend a lot better when the substrate is in. There are a few leaks but fortunatly they run straight out the bottom rather than soaking the areas around it. some moss/algea should fill em up in time I'm hopeing.


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## Frogger 415 (May 28, 2006)

Very Nice......I like it


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## krowleey (Sep 21, 2006)

very nice...but thats alot of coco fibering yuck lol :lol:


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## bellerophon (Sep 18, 2006)

yeah, I'm just begining to realize that. waiting for it to dry as we speak. In a fit of impatience I temporarily wired up my two 55w 5500k lights from A H Supply. i'm really dreading the planting portion of this whole setup. The broms all look the same and I cant decide if I should go tropicals, carnivorouse or broms for the majority of flora.


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## krowleey (Sep 21, 2006)

how deep is your subsrate going to be? i ask because your river looks close to being same level as your false bottom. my substrate is pretty deep 5 inches or so, but this is my first viv i built


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## bellerophon (Sep 18, 2006)

krowleey said:


> how deep is your subsrate going to be? i ask because your river looks close to being same level as your false bottom. my substrate is pretty deep 5 inches or so, but this is my first viv i built


Probably going to be about 2" to 3" in most spots and then taper down toward the small pond up front. My first as well so I'm not sure if that too little or too much.


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## *slddave* (Jun 2, 2006)

I would like to say that is the best riverbed I've seen so far. Yoink- stole your idea!!


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## MikeL (Jun 13, 2006)

I think its turning out awesome. The only thing that I would do different (and maybe youre planning on it already), is to go back over the background with some irregular/random beads of the handi foam to break up the pattern. Otherwise it looks great.


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## bellerophon (Sep 18, 2006)

Dendro bedding applied, what a pain in the a$$ that was! still not 100% satisfied with it but the more I try to fix the worse it looks. I'm a little concerned that some of the caulk may have gotten wet soon after applying the bedding, hopefully it will still cure correctly.

Now I'm a little hesitant on what to do next. Cant really finalize my lights, misters till I'm done making a stand/hood. Is it time for plants, leaf litter and springtails?






















> the best riverbed I've seen so far. Yoink- stole your idea!!


haha, thanks. feel free as I just modified others I've seen on here.



> go back over the background with some irregular/random beads of the handi foam to break up the pattern


I was planning on it but I ran out of handy foam. I've been tempted to use the GS foam I have laying around but I'm glad I didn't. Getting the foam completely covered seems next to impossible, thank goodness I went with the black foam over the yellow!


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## Guest (Oct 15, 2006)

looks great! what are you planing on using for a light? or a lid? keep us posted!!


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## bellerophon (Sep 18, 2006)

Brett68 said:


> looks great! what are you planing on using for a light? or a lid? keep us posted!!


thanks, its actually listed in the first post. that what the last few pics where lit with. 2x 55w CF's with 5500k bulbs


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## PoohMac (Aug 22, 2006)

I agree...I've been watching it for some time now checking on your progress. It’s defiantly not a flop. I think your tank is coming out great. You have a great eye for detail.


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## bellerophon (Sep 18, 2006)

thanks again, I appreciate the comments. Not much has changed since the last pictures. I've replaced the substrate with ABG mix from josh's frogs and seeded with temperate springtails. I dont expect them to last that long but should be a nice welcome home snack for the new residents. I have a Tropical flora package on its way from frogbroms and some vines from BJ so I expect the tank to be near completion fairly soon. Time to get to work on the stand and hood


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## bellerophon (Sep 18, 2006)

Lets see, a few minor updates. First off here's a current shot of the little ones that will be moving in soon (3 total). As you can see they're sorely in need of some real plants and a bit more room.










Since the exo is getting close to the point of inhabitance I figured its probably time to ff proof the doors. Only took about a minute or two for this sub par caulking but it blocks the cracks well and doesn't interfere with the operation of the doors. I'll clean it up a bit later.




















I'm sure you've noticed the wiring by now, thats a test fit of my new condensation busters. Three 30mm fans that fit perfectly inside the eggcrates grid. They're plugged into a fan controller so that I can adjust the speed as needed or stop them completely. I'll probably have this on a cheap timer to clear the glass just before I get up and get home every day. 



















As an added bonus the fan controller included two blue cold cathode tubes that I'm thinking of using for night time viewing. These have the option of being sound activated but I'm not sure how the blues bros. would react to that.


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## DaRkOmEn (Aug 23, 2005)

Nice, love the blue lights! I'm currently looking for some small fans and contoller for a 10vert rack system. Where could I find these??


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## bellerophon (Sep 18, 2006)

newegg.com has a nice selection of fans. Pay close attention to the noise level when choosing one though. they have 30mm, 40mm, 45mm, 50mm and also have the controllers.


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## wildboxer (Oct 22, 2006)

I cannot wait until you are finished! It looks really good so far. I really want to set up a vivarium. Hopefully I can learn alot from your project.


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## ralph (Sep 13, 2006)

Looking great so far. But wouldn't red night time viewing lights be better suited. Considering you would be able to see it, but your frogs wouldn't.


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## bellerophon (Sep 18, 2006)

Xeophex said:


> Looking great so far. But wouldn't red night time viewing lights be better suited. Considering you would be able to see it, but your frogs wouldn't.


Your probably right, Blue is just the color it came with. As a side note I've just added up all the costs incured so far including viv supplies and frogs. Its just a tad (pardon the pun) over $1500 :shock: :shock: :shock: 

I'm no stranger to expensive hobbies but that sure did add up quicker than I expected. Thank goodness my wife is very forgiving


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## krowleey (Sep 21, 2006)

bellerophon said:


> Xeophex said:
> 
> 
> > Looking great so far. But wouldn't red night time viewing lights be better suited. Considering you would be able to see it, but your frogs wouldn't.
> ...



man do i feel your pain...and im planning another one here in the next couple of months after this one is well established


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## ralph (Sep 13, 2006)

bellerophon said:


> Xeophex said:
> 
> 
> > Looking great so far. But wouldn't red night time viewing lights be better suited. Considering you would be able to see it, but your frogs wouldn't.
> ...


"...just the color it came with"-- yea, in a PC modding kit!  

Sure the blue would look cool for YOU. But imagine if you were trying to sleep and some big bright blue lights came on.


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## bellerophon (Sep 18, 2006)

My tropical package from Antone came today! To be perfectly honest I was a bit disheartened when I opened it. "$70 for that little box!?!" It just didn't look like enough. Well as you can see it was just perfect! half way through I was saying "where am I going to put all this stuff?" :lol: 

Should be quite nice once it fills out. I took out all the leaf litter because I just couldn't find a place for such big leaves. maybe I'll break em up and try and get em back in there. Not sure if I have everything in the right place either. I either couldn't find the right info on the specific plants or they had no label but I did my best from pictures I've seen.


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## krowleey (Sep 21, 2006)

very nice, lol i was saying the same thing. although i may be adding a few more here soon, going to let this grow out some.


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## Guest (Oct 24, 2006)

And just wait until it all grows in! :shock: I always think i dont have enough plants..and then they grow...and then it starts looking like a jungle. :? Looks very nice.


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## bellerophon (Sep 18, 2006)

Do all broms have to face up? The one at center top I have kinda facing forward but its at such an angle that water will drip right out rather than collect in the center. Is that ok? Also I came up with a neat way of mounting cuttings on the background. I used a small ziptie at the top of each clump. I kept it tied loose so I can cut them out later if needed and then just cut the extra "zip" off at a sharp angle to create a point that easily stuck into the foam backing.


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## wildboxer (Oct 22, 2006)

It looks amazing!!!! Have you fired up the misters yet? I'm curious to see how you like them.


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## bellerophon (Sep 18, 2006)

wildboxer said:


> It looks amazing!!!! Have you fired up the misters yet? I'm curious to see how you like them.


Yeah I have actually. I'm not super pleased but I'm not dissapointed. For some reason the mister doesn't like to prime itself unless I take the nozzles off each time. probably something I'm doing wrong though. Once its primed though its very nice. A little loud but not bad overall.


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## Guest (Oct 27, 2006)

Truly magnificent!!! I love it !!!


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## kyle1745 (Feb 15, 2004)

That came out very nice!

Im wondering if you could explain a couple of things.. The lights, what are they or did I miss something?

Also I see from the pictures I see part of the top, but what did you replace the screen top with? Glass?


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## bellerophon (Sep 18, 2006)

kyle1745 said:


> That came out very nice!
> 
> Im wondering if you could explain a couple of things.. The lights, what are they or did I miss something?
> 
> Also I see from the pictures I see part of the top, but what did you replace the screen top with? Glass?


Thanks, I'd be glad to clarify.

The lights are 2 55w 6500k's from AH Supply. Right now they're just resting on top of the tank seperated from the eggcrate by some stips of the old Exo background. They should be a bit brighter than in the pictures after they're fully installed as the protective film is still on the reflectors. (later realized this was a bad idea, its now fused to the reflectors and have new ones on the way). The screen top was replaced by some 1/4" acrylic since the top of the Exo has some strange features that would be impossible to notch glass around without a waterjet. Unfortunatly my laser isn't rated to cut glass. I'm aware that acrylic tends to warp under high humidity and heat and I'm actually starting to see it curl near the edges already. To offset this the hood I'm building will rest on top of the edges of the acrylic/eggcrate and hold it down flat. Thats the plan at least.


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## Frogger 415 (May 28, 2006)

bellerophon , I think the tank looks great.......as I write this I'm waiting for my shippment from Antone that arrives today . Can't wait to get my tank planted and up running . Congrats on a job well done !


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## wildboxer (Oct 22, 2006)

Your viv has inspired me to choose an exo-terra as my first project. I would love to see your canopy when you are finished. 

What is the purpose of the eggcrate on the top? If you could have used glass instead of acrylic, would this still have been necessary? I plan on using glass to replace the screen on mine.


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## bellerophon (Sep 18, 2006)

wildboxer said:


> Your viv has inspired me to choose an exo-terra as my first project. I would love to see your canopy when you are finished.
> 
> What is the purpose of the eggcrate on the top? If you could have used glass instead of acrylic, would this still have been necessary? I plan on using glass to replace the screen on mine.


Awsome! To be honest I'm still split 50/50 on wether I want to continue with exo's or go the converted tank route. I'll probably go 10gal verts from here out just due to space, uniformity, ease but I'm very pleased with the exo's so far. The eggcrate's purpose is two fold in my case. first and foremost it functions as eggcrate is designed to, it hides the junk above it without blocking too much light. On top of that it also allows me to sit the canopy on top of it and hold the 1/4" plexi from warping. the plexi and eggcrate sit about 1/8" above the top of the tank when stacked. Glass can be used but the hinges for the front doors protrude out into the inner lip making it difficult to have a full seal up front without some very creative notching. Acrylic allowed me to make those notches very easily. Most just cut two pieces of glass and sit them on top of the screen sections of the cover but the largest exo that I have, the top is quartered not halved by the screens and I dont trust the screening to hold the glass securely.

Hope that helps.


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## stchupa (Apr 25, 2006)

bellerophon said:


> Do all broms have to face up? The one at center top I have kinda facing forward but its at such an angle that water will drip right out rather than collect in the center. Is that ok?


Should be fine as long as the roots receive moisture. It will adjust itself in time and start to hold water within a month or so. This how most of the broms I plant end up at first and I think the slight curve at the base makes them look as if they sprouted there.

You not only made an Exo terra workable but nice as well, my hat's of to you.


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## wildboxer (Oct 22, 2006)

bellerophon said:


> Glass can be used but the hinges for the front doors protrude out into the inner lip making it difficult to have a full seal up front without some very creative notching. Acrylic allowed me to make those notches very easily.


I'm fortunate because I have the tools to cut the glass (I work with stained glass), but it sounds like it is still a good idea to use eggcrate. I didn't think about hiding the clutter up above.

Your viv looks great. I can't wait to see some more pictures!


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## bellerophon (Sep 18, 2006)

stchupa said:


> Should be fine as long as the roots receive moisture. It will adjust itself in time and start to hold water within a month or so. This how most of the broms I plant end up at first and I think the slight curve at the base makes them look as if they sprouted there.
> 
> You not only made an Exo terra workable but nice as well, my hat's of to you.


Greate to know, I suppose I could always move it if it ends up too close to the top cover. Thank you very much for the compliments, viv construction is definately harder than it looks. Not the actual work involved but the creativity, which I'm usually lacking.




wildboxer said:


> I'm fortunate because I have the tools to cut the glass (I work with stained glass), but it sounds like it is still a good idea to use eggcrate. I didn't think about hiding the clutter up above.
> 
> Your viv looks great. I can't wait to see some more pictures!


Ah, you should be all set then. I cant wait to post some more pictures. Its all I can do right now to resist puttin the frogs in there. I'm sure they wouldn't appreciate the installation of the stand/hood in a week or so though. I'll just have to keep them in thier temp viv until I'm totally done.


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## Marty (Feb 27, 2004)

Beautiful job on the tank. A lot of engineering went into it and it shows !


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## wildboxer (Oct 22, 2006)

I think it's time to post more pictures


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## bellerophon (Sep 18, 2006)

sorry for the lack of pics, there really hasn't been much going on with it. still haven't introduced the azureus to it as I'm waiting to complete the stand/hood first. you can be sure I'll post some more as soon as there's progress.


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## Rain_Frog (Apr 27, 2004)

_Your probably right, Blue is just the color it came with. As a side note I've just added up all the costs incured so far including viv supplies and frogs. Its just a tad (pardon the pun) over $1500_

I wouldn't be too sure that red light will not be seen with dart frogs. Remember, there have been studies done that dart frogs can see in color. It makes better sense if they can see red light because color vision is a diurnal adaptation.

Red lights are good for hylids (most I have read).

I'm assuming many species can see red because many darts are red. And the study on color vision was done on pumilio.

I simply would just dim down the cold cathodes or try an LED moonlight. Why do you need a moonlight? Dart frogs are asleep and hidden at night. Only if you were planning on mixing small treefrogs in there would any moonlight be necessary.

I would though, like to know where you get the cold cathodes. I'm planning on trying it for my clawed frog tank.


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## bellerophon (Sep 18, 2006)

I admit there isn't much use for a moonlight in this tank but I'm just enamored with the look of them. As I said earlier I never intended to purchase the cold cathodes but they came with the $13 fan controller that I purchased so I figured I'd give em a shot. 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813999506


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## bellerophon (Sep 18, 2006)

Here's a few pics of the plants growing in. 





























side by side comparison


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## bellerophon (Sep 18, 2006)

Well, the stand is about 3/4% done so I figured I'd throw some pictures up. Still need to fill with water, finish applying molding, mount a power supply and night lights in the hood, securely mount mistking kit, plumb drain to something, paint color coat, laser cut designs. not sure on the color, I'm thinking dark blue?


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## bellerophon (Sep 18, 2006)

Installed power supply, fan controller and night lights into hood.

Couple shots of the trio and a night shot.


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## wildboxer (Oct 22, 2006)

It's great to see all of the progress that you have made.  

Your canopy and stand came out really nice. I look forward to seeing it when it is all done. Now that it is up and running, have you noticed any problem with the front fogging up? It doesn't look like it from the pictures that you have posted, but I have heard it can be a problem.

I am offically on vacation this week and am looking forward to finally starting on my tank. I am a little unsure of my skills, as I haven't done anything like this before; but from the information that I have gained from this site (especially your project) I'm sure I'll do just fine.

Hopefully you can check out pictures of my project very soon.

Thanks for all of the inspiration!!!! :lol:


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## bellerophon (Sep 18, 2006)

As long as the three 30mm fans are running at the top of the door there's zero condensation. In fact even if the glass gets totally soaked by the misters the fans will evaporate it all within a few hours on low and within half an hour on high. Right now they're set to come on when the tank lights do. Here's a quick breakdown on how the fans are powered.

First of all you'll need a few computer fans, and old computer power supply and fan controller to adjust the speed of the fans easily.
Fan Controller

Here's a shot of the back of the controller. you can see the nightlight power out on the left, the power supply power in at center, and the three fan power outs on the right.









You can see them all plugged in here in this picture









current ATX computer power supplies will only turn themselves on when the motherboard tells it to (there is no switch on the unit). In order to get around this we simply short out the connection between the green "ps_on" wire and any black (com) wire at the ATX connector of the power supply.









Here's a picture of the short in place. dont forget to cover with elec tape to be safe. Once thats in place the power supply will start up whenever its plugged in. Now your all set to power 12v and 5v dc devices off of it.









hope that helps fill in any gaps for anyone wondering.

Thanks for the encouragement everyone. maybe I'll schedule some time in the future to actually sit down and watch my frogs. :roll:


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## bellerophon (Sep 18, 2006)

Just a little update on the progress of the exo stand.
I've built the interior of the base with two separate compartments in order to isolate the water elements from the electrical as best I can.








Here you can see the top compartment with a six outlet power strip and a repeat cycle timer for the misters. Obviously it needs a little wire management but I'm just getting the logistics worked out right now.








In this picture you can see the bottom water compartment for the drainage and misting reservoir. At the moment the misters are using a 1 gallon bottle but I have extra emply 5 gallons that I'll be refilling at the grocery store (30 cents a gallon). Both the drainage and misting bottles are easily swapped out when needed and there's room for three of them plus a few one gallons for storage. You can also see the mistking pump mounted to the top. Still makes quite a bit of noise so I'll have to find a nice way to isolate it.








This is a shot from the outside back of the stand, not totally thrilled with the amount of wires but I suppose its against a wall anyway.








And this is just a picture of the inhabitants wondering what I'm doing drilling holes in thier stand this late.


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## wildboxer (Oct 22, 2006)

You have really come a long way! Keep the posts comming.


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## titan501x (Dec 7, 2006)

very nice, how much did the whole thing cost to make?


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## RBroskie (Jan 21, 2007)

i have read this entire thread and think you did an amazing job! being new to the hobby myself i am about to embark on the construction of my first viv and will be unashamedly stealing many of your ideas to use in my own project! lol hope you dont mind. thanks for some inspiration.


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## MartinShaver (Dec 20, 2006)

What plant is the large leafed one in this pic?


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## bellerophon (Sep 18, 2006)

Philodendron burle marx


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## Curt61 (Jan 16, 2007)

Hey, I am not sure if this will fix your noise problem or not, my brother has a 250 gallon saltwater fish tank, he has a 75 gallon sump under his tank, that thing was so noisy you couldn't sleep withen 30 feet of it because the sound of falling water was so loud, he got some foam insulation and covered the whole inside of the stand with it and it cut down on the noise alot. 

Hope this fixes your problem, Curt.


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## wildboxer (Oct 22, 2006)

I was re-reading your thread (it's a GREAT resourse) and I am confused about the fan installation. If I understand your top correctly, the plexi rests on the exo lip and the egg crate sets on top of that. When the fans were installed, did you do anything to keep the FF from getting out or was this unnessasary because the FF can't fly?


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## titan501x (Dec 7, 2006)

wildboxer said:


> I was re-reading your thread (it's a GREAT resourse) and I am confused about the fan installation. If I understand your top correctly, the plexi rests on the exo lip and the egg crate sets on top of that. When the fans were installed, did you do anything to keep the FF from getting out or was this unnessasary because the FF can't fly?


if the ffs try to go through the fan, they will get chopped to tiny bits, i've seen it happen, its funny. but, when the fans are off, they can get through, most people will cover the opening for the fan with mosquito netting


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## leucofrog (Dec 16, 2006)

i wish i could do something like that with my exo  its 18x18x18, but my dad said to keep my first one basic

maybe in a few months...


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## bellerophon (Sep 18, 2006)

oops, guess I didn't mention that. Yes there is some ff proof mesh between the fan and plexi to stop escapee's. since the fans aren't running 24/7 its best to have it there.


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## wildboxer (Oct 22, 2006)

Now that you have been living with your setup for a few months now, what's your opinion of the misting system? Did you ever get the priming probem resolved? That had me a bit concerned. 

It's been awhile since you've posted pictures....Have you gotten any farther on your canopy and stand?


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## bellerophon (Sep 18, 2006)

I'm very pleased with the misting system. The priming problem worried me as well but seemed to go away once the system was set up correctly. Now I have the inlet tube plumbed into the bottom of the water container rather than draped over the top. removing it when I refilled seemed to cause air bubbles. now I can fill from the the top without taking the tubing off.

no further progress I'm afraid. too busy with other projects.


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## wildboxer (Oct 22, 2006)

I know how that is....I go ADD with all of my hobbies. There is just not enough time in the day.

Thanks for the info.


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