# 18x18x24 ExoTerra



## Gnarly (Mar 3, 2011)

Hello Dendroboard! 

I'm currently in the process of customizing a 18x18x24 ExoTerro terrarium for a pair of darts. 
While this will be my first set of dart frogs, this will be my second paludarium. So while I enjoy the process of the build, I'm also trying to decide which species of darts will most appreciate the finished processed. I'm not in a rush though, I will happily enjoy the plants for at least a month of two before the little frogs will be making their way home. 

So, without anymore adieu here are a few pictures of what I've got going on so far. Please comment, suggest and question away, I'd love to hear what you seasoned viv-builders have to say. 

Here is the tank with the background it came with and the repti-filter/waterfall. 










I constructed a false bottom using egg crate material and pvc pipe. I used pieces and layers to create the exact shape I wanted. I cut a small section out in the right front corner to make room for my water feature.










Now I'm working on building a small stream with the Great Stuff expanding foam. I'm trying to multi task and add texture to the background with expanding foam and some rope, since you only get one shot with the can of expanding foam. I've add a few places for planting some tillandsia in the background. I will be covering this with a fine coco fiber and moss mixture. 

Pictures of this process soon to follow.


----------



## gschump79 (Jun 27, 2009)

my two cents would say it looks like you might want to add more pvc support under the egg crate as the soil mixture can get heavy and sag if not break overtime especially around the edges.


----------



## Gnarly (Mar 3, 2011)

A very solid suggestion; I will further support the false bottom. Thank you. 

Here are a few more pictures of the stream I have been working on. I used Great stuff expanding foam and dropped some aquarium gravel into while it was still tacky. 










I painted it with silicone, moss, gravel and coco-fiber. And threw a layer of coco fiber on top. 










I left it to dry for a few days and applied a second coat, getting all the spots I missed the first time around and added a few larger rocks. 










For the background. I siliconed some rope to the styrofoam, and covered it with Great Stuff. I used plastic drinking straws to create some drainage for my little planting pockets. I don't want any rotting plants. 










Then I painted it with a mixture of silicone, moss, and coco fiber and then sprinkled dry coco fiber over it. I didn't go all the way to the bottom of the background with this process, as it's going to be covered by the false bottom. I allowed it to dry for a few days and then cut off the extra foam and silicone that made it's way over the edges of the styrofoam background. 









It's difficult to see the texture of the background in this picture, it has a lot, Although it looks so flat here. 

Now I need to a way to hide the eggcrate and pvc bottom. I was going to cover the mesh that hangs over the edges with silicone, cocofiber and a decent amount of aquarium gravel. I'm worried this won't lay nicely against the glass, though and I'm a bit hesitant to silicone the glass itself.
Suggestions for this step? 

Although it's coming along I've still got a bit to go. 
I'm still looking into frogs for the tank. I was thinking a pair or trio of Ranitomeya Variabilis, though I'm a bit hesitant as its discouraged for noobs to stay away from the smaller guys.


----------



## Gumby (May 27, 2010)

You can use black contact paper or spray paint the glass to hide the false bottom. Looks great so far!

-Chris


----------



## Gnarly (Mar 3, 2011)

Thanks very much. I like the idea of contact paper. I don't want to do anything too permanent, as I always want to leave room for revisions. 

I put what I had so far together, just to make sure the fit was right & I didn't have to make any more adjustments before I start doing a test run of the water system. And because I'm starting to get a little excited :] 
Well, it turns out I'm going to need to do just a bit of tweaking, there's a bit of a gap between the bottom and the background I'm going to need to seal up a bit to keep substrate or inhabitants from falling into the false bottom abyss below. 

Here's a picture of it; there's a nice little brom I picked up while I was out and about getting supplies for this little venture. I think it will make a nice addition. 










I'm happy with it so far.


----------



## Gnarly (Mar 3, 2011)

I have the next three days off, so I hope to make some more progress on my project. 

I've painted the mesh for the back of my pond and threw some rocks into it, so the false bottom won't be visible through it. I left a little section unpainted, with a bit of pvc tube covered by mesh because I was sure how much the silicon was going to obscure the flow of water.










I received a brom and three tillandsias I ordered today. I have another bromeliad I picked up for the tank. I was thinking of moving a bit of selaginella kraussiana and cissus amazonica from another tank I have. Any other suggestions for plants? 

I'm not sure what the best way to attch my tillandsias to their little planting cups is. I am torn between simply gluing them and putting a few rocks into the cups and then anchoring them down with the rocks. I don't want to weigh the background down. 
How have you guys attached your tillandias? Pictures would be great.


----------



## slipperheads (Oct 17, 2007)

For attaching things to backgrounds, I simply take hooks from Michaels, bend them into U shapes, and stick the two prongs into the GS. Then I take the epiphyte and put the roots in through the hole  . As far as plants go, I tend to go all-out and hit up Tropiflora for my stuff. Someone will chime in though with specific suggestions.

Will


----------



## Gnarly (Mar 3, 2011)

I've done a bit more work on the exo terra. 
The waterfall is up and running now, though it's going to be shut off for a few hours while some silicone dries in the tank. 
I've added an exo terra vine, and stuffed two of the tillandsias into some of the cracks, and added a bit of sheet moss to fill up the space. I'm hoping there isn't moss to rot the plant. The plant is in there nice and snug though. I just tucked one of the others into the background, though, I don't think it will find a permanent home there. 










The tank as a whole after today. 










Now that I've let water circulate through the filter I seen even more spots I've missed on the background I'll be going back to get. 

I'm waiting on some substrate and plants I've orders. I will have more pictures up after I receive my order.


----------



## Kugamazog (May 12, 2010)

Gnarly said:


> I've painted the mesh for the back of my pond and threw some rocks into it, so the false bottom won't be visible through it. I left a little section unpainted, with a bit of pvc tube covered by mesh because I was sure how much the silicon was going to obscure the flow of water.


One thing I learned with covering mesh is it blocks water flow. You'll need to punch discrete holes with a small knife so the water levels can equalize when that waterfall is on.

Other than that, it looks great. Also, your tank looks like it would do best with 2-3 frogs that prefer to hop around on the ground rather than climb too often. A pair of one of the tinctorius would do well there. Just choose a color pattern you like.


----------



## VenomR00 (Apr 23, 2010)

That TIllandsia in the back may die. They are really really picky about water standing water. I would make sure that were you move it to is a place that water would flow to.

Love the tank though ^^


----------



## Gnarly (Mar 3, 2011)

VenomR00 said:


> That TIllandsia in the back may die. They are really really picky about water standing water. I would make sure that were you move it to is a place that water would flow to.
> 
> Love the tank though ^^


Thanks Venom. 
I actually move that Tillansia last night to a piece of driftwood. There is no chance of water rotting it in its new home. 
I am waiting for new new plants before I post more pictures.


----------



## Gnarly (Mar 3, 2011)

Kugamazog said:


> One thing I learned with covering mesh is it blocks water flow. You'll need to punch discrete holes with a small knife so the water levels can equalize when that waterfall is on.
> 
> Other than that, it looks great. Also, your tank looks like it would do best with 2-3 frogs that prefer to hop around on the ground rather than climb too often. A pair of one of the tinctorius would do well there. Just choose a color pattern you like.


Good point. I noticed this quickly as well. 
If you look in the bottom left corner I put a little piece of over with mesh over it. I cut a small slit in the mesh and silconed the pipe in place. This is my port of the flow of the waterfall. It seems to work well. 
I covered the visible parts of mesh and pvc with rocks for aesthetic reasons.

And thanks so much for the frog suggestion. I was actually shifting my focus from the Ranitomeya Variabilis to the Tinctorius or Leucomelas.


----------



## Gnarly (Mar 3, 2011)

Alright. So I've made a bit more progress. 

First I added some sphagnum moss and a bit of driftwood. 









Then I added a mix of coco-fiber, cypress mulch, with a bit of flourite, gravel and potting soil. Not picture worthy. 

& then I planted! Which is totally picture worthy. 









I still need one more brom for the bottom right side of the background. 
I hoping everything fills in. 

And then I added leaf litter, which really pulled the tank together.


----------



## Gnarly (Mar 3, 2011)

Here is one more picture. It's a bit better than the others. 

I'm thinking of putting a little coco hut on top of the waterfall.


----------



## Fishboyfromohio (Sep 25, 2010)

Looking good I've enjoyed your build so far. Any plans for more plants?


----------



## whatamithinking02 (Mar 14, 2011)

Looks really nice!


----------



## Gnarly (Mar 3, 2011)

Fishboyfromohio said:


> Looking good I've enjoyed your build so far. Any plans for more plants?


Thanks. 

Yes, I'm going to be ordering another brom for the back wall. I planted a small clipping of selagnella from my other tank. 

I'm also trying to think of something to cover the background a pit more, though I've planted some wandering jew and columnea carnival at the base and I'm hoping it decides to grow upwards.


----------



## Gnarly (Mar 3, 2011)

So I had a bit of an issue with the humidity of the tank. 
I have a glass top for it, but I am also using the screen top it came with because I wasn't able to cut a notch in the glass (I don't have the skills or tools necessary) for the wires that need to go into the tank and didn't want to leave any spots for escape. So when the glass top sat on the tank there was still a bit of room for air flow at the top and the tank was not staying humid. 
My husband suggested I put seran wrap on top of the tank. I've done this successfully in my first tank and thought it was a good quick fix. I taped the edges to keep it in place and neat. Now it's staying nice and moist in there.


----------



## Gnarly (Mar 3, 2011)

I've mostly finished the planting, and there a cute little coco hut in there now. I am just looking for one more mossy type plant I can use to cover the bulk of the higher sections of the background. Any suggestions? 

I'm also going to plant something in the water. Possibly an anubias or two. 

I took out the cryptanthus bivittatus that I had in the back wall because it was not doing so hot. It was not in the best shape when I recieved it, and it continued to deteriorate after I planted it. It's in plant rehab right now but I'm not too sure I'll be able to save it. 

I also moved the t. ionantha fuego because it was a bit too soggy where I originally planted it. 

Here are some of my new plants. 

Neoregelia Mini Skirt. It's so nifty; I saw it in another tank thread and ordered it that night.









Neoregelia Olens x Fireball









I placed a few clippings of selaginella from my other tank. This stuff looks pretty cool when it grows in a bit and really seems to like humid damp conditions. There is also a bit of lemon button fern in there. 








The ionantha is being held on with just a touch of tape while the silicone dried on the branch. 

here's another clipping from another tank I keep just fish and plants in. It was actually growing out of the back of the tank. Its cissus amazonica. It's pretty tiny right now but I'm hoping it takes hold; I've found it to grow fairly quickly once it's found a spot it likes. 









All together now:


----------



## Gnarly (Mar 3, 2011)

I have an update, with lots of pictures. 

Here is the tank tonight. 








I took out the columnea and I'm trying to revive it. It was a bit too damp in the viv. for it I think. I also took out one tillandsia on the vine because it was getting squished by the fern. 

This is my pretty tillandsia tenufolia bloom. It's a bit more purple in person, and the pink is a bit more vibrant; the flash kind of did a number on the color. I'll try to get a better picture of this one. 









And here are some of the inhabitants. My lovely little frogs. I named them X, Y & Z.


----------

