# 18x18x24 Zoo Med Build Brom Heavy



## Jake H. (Mar 23, 2010)

I have been looming around on here for a few years and am just amazed by all of your builds and most of my inspiration has come from you guys. So, I will make sure to try and give as much credit as possible to those whose posts helped me with mine. Please feel free to leave comments or advice. 

This will be my second build and I thought I'd go all out for this one. I picked up this used 18x18x24 Zoo Med at the most recent Atlanta Repticon Show for only $50. I plan on making this thing dominated by bromeliads and am not really sure what will be going in it. Suggestions for the inhabitants would be great, but since I spent all my money on the build it will be awhile before I get any, haha. I will be using two 13W Jungle Dawns for lighting and a small computer fan for circulation.

Sorry for some of the blurry pictures, I am using my phone until I get my camera back from a friend.










I was trying to figure out what to do for the top because there are plastic pieces in the way. Then I saw a post (which I now cannot find) where someone just removed the plastic pieces. So I took a dremel and removed them. 




























I picked up a plane of glass at home depot and had it cut at Ace Hardware to 13 3/4" by 16 15/16". 










I then consulted Pumilo's screen vent construction post, http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/parts-construction/63781-screen-vent-construction-how.html. My vent is 3 1/8" by 17". 























































Next, I siliconed the front, sides, and back of the viv. I left a spot for where I will be drilling the hole for the drain. I asked my dad for a 1 1/8" diamond drill bit (for NEHerp bulkhead) for Christmas, so I wont be able to drill until then. 



















I made the false bottom out of egg crate, which ended up being more expensive then I thought. $12 a sheet at home depot. There are just too many people to give credit to for this one.










I ran out of screening, so I finished the remaining portion with weed blocker. I made sure to cut out an area for the bulkhead drain. 










I decided to do a cork/great stuff style background and thought this layout would look pretty cool.










I used the window great stuff recommended by NEHerp because it doesn't expand as much as the regular great stuff. 










I then covered the cured foam with GE Silicone II and eco earth. A day after I used the GE II I saw a thread that discussed the controversy over it. If I had known there was any controversy I would have never used it, but too late now. However, I don't plan on having a water feature and it will have plenty of time to cure before plants are added. So, we'll just leave it at that please.




























This all the work I can really do until I get the drill bit. I already know how I will drill it and keep the glass from getting on the background, so I'm not worried about that.


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## Jake H. (Mar 23, 2010)

Here are just a few pictures of the plants I plan on using.


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## JayC (Nov 13, 2013)

Looks awesome so far. Cant wait to see it finished! 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Heartagramtc (Jul 24, 2011)

I think the cutting of the plastic tabs came from my old thread that I haven't updated in a long time.
http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/me...heartagramtcs-12x12x18-slow-build-thread.html

I really like the BG and those are some nice plants you have. Can I ask where you got them from and did you mount them temporarily on the cork?

I'm sure its going to look great!


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## Jake H. (Mar 23, 2010)

Heartagramtc, yes that's it! Thanks again for the idea. I would go edit my post and put you in but it won't let me. Unless someone knows how.

As for the plants, I will put a full list and origins soon. But I got most of the broms from a member on here and the rest from NEHerp. I used floral wire to mount them, but I ended up using the cork pieces for the build so they are currently setup between pieces of egg crate (I'll get a picture up soon).


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## Jake H. (Mar 23, 2010)

I just got my camera back, so I went ahead and got some better pictures of the plants. 

Before I forget, I'd like to thank D3monic for their thread on how to upload pictures. http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/beginner-discussion/53573-tutorial-how-upload-photos-forum.html. 


Current setup.




























I'd like to thank diggenem (Tray) for some wonderful Neo's. 

I will use his picture from the ad.










The rest of the plants with the exception of the unknown (below) and the M. axillaris (local nursery) are from the great people over at NEHerp. I would specifically like to thank Jessica over at NEHerp for being so helpful.

So here is the current list of plants I plan on putting in the viv. 

- N. popoki
- N. Punctatissima Rubra x Tigrina
- N. Hannibal Lector
- N. domino
- N. chiquita linda
- Dischidia ovata
- Dischidia ruscifolia
- Ficus pumila 'Quercifolia'
- Pilea 'Jobe's Tears'
- Pilea moon valley (possibly)
- Peperomia capernata
- Nephrolepis cordifolia 'duffii' 
- Muehlenbeckia axillaris

Here is the unknown plant, if someone could give me an ID that would be great. 










Here are just some more pictures.


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## JonRich (Oct 19, 2012)

Nice build so far. Looks like you did your homework and it paid off .


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## ZookeeperDoug (Jun 5, 2011)

Don't sweat the GEII, while it is probably better to err on the side of causation, I also built several tanks using it before I knew any better. All those tanks have frogs breeding and producing viable offspring with no ill effects.


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## diggenem (Sep 2, 2011)

Looks like this is going to be nice!!!!! I'm going to keep my eye on this one! 

Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk


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## Jake H. (Mar 23, 2010)

Thanks Doug, that sure makes me feel a lot better. And Tray thanks once again for the neo's!


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## Jake H. (Mar 23, 2010)

Just a slight update, removed some silicone from the sides and did some touch ups. I am also expecting some more plants from NEHerp tomorrow.


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## JonRich (Oct 19, 2012)

Super clean work


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## Jake H. (Mar 23, 2010)

Sorry that its taken me so long to update this build. I didn't get the diamond drill bits I wanted for Christmas, but I got a kick ass drill. So I can't complain too much. I ordered my bits a few days ago and just got my 1 1/8" diamond bit in yesterday from Diamond Drill & Tool - Diamond Tools. 

I successfully drilled the tank, which was very nerve racking. However, I realized that I drilled it too high... eh. It will still work out, it will just hold a lot of water. Also, when I went to test the bulkhead, I found that the tank was still leaking. I had sealed it with some silicone when I first started the build, but I guess I didn't do it too well. So, I resealed it and now must play the waiting game.

Anyway, here are some pictures of new plants and bulkhead. 

Plants and bulkhead are from NEHerp, thanks again guys! 

-Davallia fejeensis
-Nephrolepis cordifolia
-T. techtorum
-T. bulbosa
-T. blue flower
-T. aeranthos
-T. myosura


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## JonRich (Oct 19, 2012)

Looks good. I might have missed it, what's going in here?


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## JonRich (Oct 19, 2012)

You might also want to look into building another tank soon, haha. If all the plants you posted will be going into this tank, you'll find that you won't have much planting space once it's all said n done. I recently started planting my 18x18x24 and I maxed out at about 6 Broms and I have backgrounds on 2 sides . 

Looks good tho. With all the Broms, have you thought about pumilio ? I have seen 1.1 pairs go for $200-$300 shipped recently and that's rite up there with most other 1.1 paired frogs . They will surely utilize the bromeliads .


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## Jake H. (Mar 23, 2010)

Yeah I realized after getting the last shipment of plants that I may have bought too many... haha. I actually just started working on a 20 gallon tall that I picked up at the petco $1 per gallon sale. So, hopefully all the plants will be used in these two builds. 

As for the frogs, I have been considering getting some pumilio and have seen some great deals posted by Blue Pumilio on FB. I recently saw some threads discussing clay substrate, is it necessary to use this for them? I would really like to use it because it sounds like a great idea, but its just too expensive for me right now. If I am going to keep pumilio I would like to do it the best way.


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## Jake H. (Mar 23, 2010)

Did a water test this morning and no leaks, so I went ahead and planted it. I ended up only using a few of the plants I had planned on using. The viv was seeded with temp white springs, dwarf purple iso's, and dwarf white iso's and leaf litter consists of oak and willow. Any feed back is greatly appreciated.


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## JonRich (Oct 19, 2012)

Looks good to me


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## Nismo95 (Jul 30, 2011)

loving the viv! Pumilio young are not as hard as some are led to believe.. however, the mortality is much higher than a tinc, or thumbnail.. We lost our first two born to be honest. We do not use a clay substrate or any additives.. We solely use bug burger in the grow out and LOAD it up with springtails.. 3 pumilio froglets in a 5 gallon grow out can decimate a springtail population in hours haha. So that is just what works best for us so far. Clay, is just an easier method IMO. But it just takes more money out of the pocket. I think in the long run, I will spend more on bug burger than clay.. but that will be a while. I have some very well started juvies of Vulture Point that will be available when weather permits... just throwing it out there haha.


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## Jake H. (Mar 23, 2010)

Thanks Jon. What all pumilio are you working with Brandon?


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## rigel10 (Jun 1, 2012)

Great tank, IMO, and great step by step! I would like, if possible, large size pics of the viv and some details to better appreciate your work.


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## Jake H. (Mar 23, 2010)

Thanks! How do I upload larger sized photos? The site won't let put pictures any larger.


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## SpaceMan (Aug 25, 2013)

One way to do it is to use the BBCode with the


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## Jake H. (Mar 23, 2010)

Sorry you lost me, I am just not very computer tech savvy. I attached some pictures without resizing them, hopefully this works.


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## eos (Dec 6, 2008)

Great looking tank! I love brom filled walls.


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## Aldross (Dec 30, 2013)

Thats a great looking viv. You can never have to many plants. Extra just means you have a reason for another build


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## rigel10 (Jun 1, 2012)

Great tank for me too!


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## Jake H. (Mar 23, 2010)

Thanks everybody! I have a lot more plants left than I anticipated, so I might need to start on a third tank... I'll take any excuse to start a new build, haha, I think I definitely caught the building bug.


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## Nismo95 (Jul 30, 2011)

Jake H. said:


> Thanks Jon. What all pumilio are you working with Brandon?


currently, we only have bastimentos and vulture points. We are in the works of expanding our collection as I type lol. Plan to add 13 more tanks this year, all of which will be strictly for pumilio. Any chance you have an abundance of that leaf litter around? live sand oak and magnolia is growing old on me lol. And I have always loved the look of those leaves.


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## Jake H. (Mar 23, 2010)

I have no problem getting southern magnolia, they're all over the place. I get my willow and oak leafs from my campus in the fall. However, the school maintenance does a pretty good job of getting rid of all the fallen leaves. I could look for some more if you'd like. Would you like a specific oak species? I believe we have southern red oak, water oak, and white oak.

What other kind of leaves do you guys use in your leaf litter?


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## Jake H. (Mar 23, 2010)

I got around to getting some better shots. Already starting to see some growth and the moss has really taken off. Even have some random sprouting occurring. 

However, the Nephrolepis cordifolia is not doing very well. Anyone have any idea as to why that may be?

Also, should I plant something on the ground near the middle of the viv or should I just leave it as is?


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## Groundhog (Dec 17, 2006)

The plant without ID is _Calathea lancifolia_(Marantaceae). Nice plant, but it will grow large enough to obscure some of your neos.


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## Jake H. (Mar 23, 2010)

For those of you with this size viv, what misting and fan cycles are you running? 

Right now I am doing four 30 second mists and six 30 minute fan intervals. I just want to see what is working well for others.


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## JonRich (Oct 19, 2012)

On my 18x18x24 exo I was running the fan every two hours for 1/2 hour. And misting twice a day (morning and night, getting the tank pretty wet.). But after a week I was noticing the tank would dry out, especially the area where I wanted to promote moss growth. 

I now run the fan once a day around 3pm for an hour . The tank fogs/sweats quite a bit before the misting, but the plants/moss like it. I think I will sacrifice visibility to get everything established, then increase the fan frequency .


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## Groundhog (Dec 17, 2006)

I do like Jon's approach.

You are in Hot-lanta? Hmnnn... Once a tank is established, I like to provide some seasonality; bear in mind, many tropical climates have seasons--not warm/cold, but wet/dry. As such:

In late Spring and Summer, I will mist frequently, maybe 2-3X per day for short spurts (do not saturate the substrate!)--but run a small fan all day. Bromeliads and many other epiphytes appreciate some air flow. No fan at night, let the air "stagnate" a bit;
In dead Winter (i.e., for two months), I mist less, maybe one min., or two 30 second shots a day, and run a fan for only short periods as per Jon's post. 

I think the reason this works for me is because I use the fan essentially as an exhaust. It blows across the tank right to left toward the vented screen (on the left side), away from the areas that need to be more humid.

Hope this helps.


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## Jake H. (Mar 23, 2010)

Month 5 update. I've added and removed a few plants. I am still looking for a piece of wood to place on the ground and in the center of the viv. This should hopefully house some pumilio when I save up enough money.

I built my own fogger so I took some pictures while messing around with it.


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## rigel10 (Jun 1, 2012)

Great tank! Your plants are going well! Flowers of bromeliads are always nice, but I uprooting them with pliers as soon as they sprout.


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## Jake H. (Mar 23, 2010)

rigel10 said:


> Great tank! Your plants are going well! Flowers of bromeliads are always nice, but I uprooting them with pliers as soon as they sprout.



Thanks! Why do you remove the flowers?


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## rigel10 (Jun 1, 2012)

They rot in a while and they stink. Also, I read somewhere that broms are long-lived without flowers. In addition I get a nice cup in the center of the plants, good for my frogs.


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## eos (Dec 6, 2008)

I see the lemon button has sprung back to life... sooner or later it's gonna send off trailers and will eventually grow everywhere in the tank... even on the glass... 

That's gonna be a pumilio paradise.


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## Jake H. (Mar 23, 2010)

Yeah, its starting to sprout out a bit. I can't wait for it to explode. 

I will try and get some better pictures of the trailing plants as well as the brom offshoots.


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## reptiles12 (Jul 18, 2012)

Any updates on this? I really enjoyed this build


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## Jake H. (Mar 23, 2010)

Hey everybody, I actually traded this tank to agrosse a few weeks ago for some of his R. benedicta. Since I'm in college I don't have much free cash, so this trade actually worked out pretty well. 

Here is the last picture that I took of it. If I get Alan's permission, I will post pictures of the awesome additions he made.


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## Slurpeesnow (Feb 13, 2014)

Gorgeous, broms really got color.


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## Jake H. (Mar 23, 2010)

Here is the viv now, after Alan added a few broms and moved stuff around. He did an awesome job with it.


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