# 20 Vert Rack + Frogs [ lots of large images ]



## rjmarchisi (Feb 16, 2004)

New ventilation system I have been using for these tanks









Rob


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## amphibianfreak (Jul 21, 2004)

Looks really good. If I had more space I'd go with more 20verts. Right now I only have one though, along with some 10verts


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## DeeVas (Jul 2, 2005)

wow rob i cant believe you built another one. it looks amazing. what are u keeping in those tanks?


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## Darks!de (Nov 16, 2004)

Can you elaborate on the ventilation system and the sliding doors? Looks sick, gonna have to drop by to see it in person 

Luke


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## rjmarchisi (Feb 16, 2004)

Fantasticus, Standard Lamasi, Golddust Bastis and one tank has nothing in it, waiting for Colons ( hopefully ).










The ventination system consists of perforated aluminum screen, and an aluminum "L" piece. There are 2 pieces of glass, one that holds back the water, and the other piece is in the front ( 1" shorter in height ). The aluminum pieces rest on the piece on front and are all siliconed in place. To make sure that they dont fall off I added 2 clear "L" pieces on top of each side. The whole front pane of glass lifts up from the track and off the tank. Its a little risky with 5 fants bouncing around in there, but I just need to be careful while feeding.

Rob


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## froglet (May 18, 2005)

Rob i dont like the tanks, i think you should give them to me and make yourself some more 8)


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## Ryan (Feb 18, 2004)

Lots of pics? should have more what are you talkin about


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## Darks!de (Nov 16, 2004)

Where are the plants from Rob? Looks like you have a nice variety of small tropicals.

Luke


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## twisner (Jul 7, 2005)

rjmarchisi said:


> Fantasticus, Standard Lamasi, Golddust Bastis and one tank has nothing in it, waiting for Colons ( hopefully ).


which species in which tank?
how many of each,
and what sex ratios?


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## froglet (May 18, 2005)

> which species in which tank?
> how many of each,
> and what sex ratios?


He has 4 S lamasi, 4 Fants and 2 Golds. But i dont know if it makes a difference in which tank.


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## twisner (Jul 7, 2005)

thanks froglet


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## Guest (Feb 18, 2006)

Where did you get the drift wood? Did you cut it yourself? Is it siliconed to the side glass? I like them alot.
Your tanks are great!


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## themann42 (Apr 12, 2005)

that's a great looking set up. interesting ventilation too, it looks really nice. i'm also curious about the driftwood. i've never seen pieces that look like that, those are awesome. were they store bought or found? can we get more of a front angle pic of the entire setup?


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## Jordan B (Oct 8, 2004)

I love that set-up! Great job!

Jordan


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## CTM75 (Aug 10, 2005)

*eurovents*

I am glad someone finally did some euro style vents I try to explain these to people..i can use your pics now. looks nice..The only thing is , the open unobstructed part of the vent (not covered by the L-channel) should be right up against the glass right? for optimizing the upcurrent to keep the glass fog free...do you have an issues with fogging?


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## rjmarchisi (Feb 16, 2004)

Most of the plants were from Black Jungle and alot of the smaller orchids were from EBay. Some of the orchids have alreadly flowered twice and some arent doing so well, I need to move them where they dont get hit with the misting so much.
The ghostwood was bought at a local NYC store around 6th ave. and 28th street. They sell alot of dried leaves,mosses, woods and other supplies for the likes of store window propping, meaning that most of the pieces are alot larger and costlier. I got an 6' tall piece of really nice branchy ghostwood and a 4' tall piece, then took about 2 days to see how I would cut it to look best in the tanks. The pieces criss cross to add more depth and places to set broms into, and are siliconed to each side. The pieces were quite expensive, totalling over $200, but I was able to completely do 4 20 verts and still have some leftover.
With the style of ventilation there is alot less fogging than the 10s that I made previously, but like you mentioned the bottom of the glass is relatively fog free, but at the top there is some condensation. I suppose I could drill out some pinholes along the "L" channel to increase airflow, but my top priority was to make sure that this setup was secure enought and not have 12" x 16" pieces of 1/4" glass dropping .
I dont know if I can get a better front shot of the rack as it is in a room about 6' wide and the other rack is directly opposite from it, so backing up isnt an option.









Actually 5 fants


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## Dartfrogfreak (Jun 22, 2005)

Rob ,



What Jewel orchid is that in the first tank???

BTW Awesome tank setups !

I wish I could see them in person.

Did you build the stand also??

How hard was the vent system to make??
THANX,


TODD


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## rjmarchisi (Feb 16, 2004)

Macodes petola from Black Jungle
http://www.blackjungle.com/Merchant...Code=BJTS&Product_Code=JO-MP&Category_Code=JO

I made both wooden racks. The one that holds 8 10 gallon tanks was the first one I made, the newer one came out alot better. The vents weren't that hard, just took alot of planning. Any time you are in NYC ring me.

Rob


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## atomic_gnar (May 11, 2005)

Hey i really like that wooden shelf with the tanks. 

I was wondering if you have any plans that you used to make it? How you set the mist system up lighting, etc...


Also do you have any other pictures of it? like from a front view? Please PM me with any more info 
Thanks a lot
P.s I plan on making a similair shelf for tanks like that
Bart


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## bigmike (Nov 30, 2005)

Kudos on wicked setup!! I Love it.......


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## rjmarchisi (Feb 16, 2004)

http://www.rjmarchisi.com/frogs/rack_plans/

I saved the plans that I drew up as pdf documents, but only for the 10 gallon setups. These can be adjusted for the 20 gallon size. 

All of the misting nozzles are drilled 2" back from the front edge of the tank, centered left to right. The lights are compacts, that are either screwed into the support piece of the tank above, or restings on supports from the sides. In both racks I have drilled out ventilation holes in the sides to aid airflow and stop the buildup of heat.

Rob


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## dmartin72 (Oct 27, 2004)

Nice plans!


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## atomic_gnar (May 11, 2005)

do u have pics of all the tanks of the big unit?
id luv to see them


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## rjmarchisi (Feb 16, 2004)

All of my pics are on my website, you can browse around it. A bunch of the smaller 10 gallon tanks are here, and elsewhere in the site. I haven't taken any new pics with them all grown in yet.

http://www.rjmarchisi.com/frogs/04_26_05/

Rob


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## atomic_gnar (May 11, 2005)

hey rjmarchisi thanks for that link truly inspirational viv's. They are all sooooooooooo nice Truly amazing
great work :lol: 
Bart


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## Darks!de (Nov 16, 2004)

Rob, do you use the GS/silicon method solely? The backgrounds look very good, and i'm sure applying silicone and coco between all the wood would be quite hard. Is that what you did?

Luke


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## rjmarchisi (Feb 16, 2004)

I use the "traditional" great stuff/silicon/ground coco method. I take my time and cover sections of the background at a time. I use a 1" paintbrush to make sure the silicon is over all of the greatstuff, then pour in alot of the ground coco, pressing it into the silicon with gloved hands. Let the silicon set, dump out all of the excess coco, and repeat. It takes about 5 applications of silicon to cover the backs for me. I could probably do it in less, but usually I am not in a rush to finish a tank.

Rob


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## Erin0901 (Mar 8, 2006)

*Questions*

Wow! I love your set ups, very inspirational. 

I really like your vent system too, I think I get the gist of what you did but I still have a couple of questions. Do you know of other links or discussions that talk about how to implement this type of vent? 

It looks like you removed the plastic trim from around the edges of the tanks? 

Where did you get the perforated aluminum? Did you also use a screen or mesh to make sure the flies stay in? 

It also looks like your vents would double as an overflow, true? 

Do you also have a vent at the top as well? I cant quite tell from the photos. 

Ok last one  What other types of orchids do you have that are doing well in the tanks other than the jewel ones? 

Thanks!
Erin


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## Guest (Apr 19, 2006)

*Re: Questions*



Erin0901 said:


> photos.
> 
> Ok last one  What other types of orchids do you have that are doing well in the tanks other than the jewel ones?
> 
> ...


I got this little guy to bloom in my 55 gallon tank, it would fit easily in a ten gallon tank.
http://www.dendroboard.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=14735

Some other discussions of orchid success and failures
http://www.dendroboard.com/phpBB2/viewt ... urothalids

http://www.dendroboard.com/phpBB2/viewt ... ht=orchids

http://www.dendroboard.com/phpBB2/viewt ... ht=orchids

THis is a nice one.
http://www.orchidboard.com/community/sh ... .php?t=205

http://www.orchidboard.com/community/sh ... =31&page=3


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## rjmarchisi (Feb 16, 2004)

Most of the orchids are masdevallia and dracula and have been doing well, lots of flowering. 

I haven't been able to translate clearly the "euro" style vents and they haven't been responding to my questions so I winged it. All of the plastic around the rims of the tanks has been removed as well.

The perforated aluminum has holes that are a little smaller than a melo so no need for a screen, luckily there is a place locally ( Canal Street, NYC ) that sells all type of surplus metals.

I have drilled drains in the back of all of my tanks and plumbed them to a small bucket in the bottom cabinet.

The only vents are on the bottom and the top/front ( with the screen window kit type thing ).

Rob


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## brooklyndartfrogs (Nov 19, 2005)

Rob where in Brooklyn are you located?


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## rjmarchisi (Feb 16, 2004)

Carroll Gardens, about 2 blocks from the F or G line. PM or email me if you would like to stop by or meet up.

Rob


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## Erin0901 (Mar 8, 2006)

Khamul1of9,
Thanks for all the links to the orchid topics. I might have to get one of thoes Haraella odorata's  


Rob,

Where did you get your clear "L" pieces? What were they originally for?
Also, how did you drill the back of your tanks? I thought most of the aquariums have tempered bottom glass which would break if drilled?


Oh yea..

One more question, how did you do your top vents? I can’t quite see them from the photos and am tiring to figure out if the fit on the outside of the glass or if they are recessed in the glass (more options without the black trim on the aquarium)? Did you use the "L" pieces on the top vent too? I think I have figured out 90% of how I am going to do my door (minus my questions and assuming I can find all the supplies in my area) :? 

Thanks
Erin


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## dragonfrog (Feb 16, 2006)

*sliding doors*

Rob,
I know you are getting bombarded with questions about these FANTASTIC vivs. So I hope you are ok with a few more.

Could you please go into a little detail, (maybe some pics) of the way you have the glass doors set up on the vivs with the euro vents? In one of your posts you say they are sliding doors? It is hard to see any detail of them in your pics. Also, what glue are you using to glue the plastic hinges to the glass? Mine keep coming unglued. 
Thanks,


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