# 90 Gallon Re-Build - * Pic Heavy *



## Marty

I haven't posted in a while, so I figured I'll show you guys the latest project. I've redone my 90 galon diamond viv. After few years of service, the tree fern panels fell apart on me. I decided to build it to last forever. I used epiweb and mortar. Here are some pics of the process

I cant seem to find the early photos, so I'll start with the epiweb already glued to the glass with aquarium silicone. Some black foam is already on.




























Haba Create from Deven at HerpInvert. 













































Future waterfall.









Installed an extra light in the canopy. From AH Supply.









Misting System connected directly to the RO supply. Never have to fill up a reservoir.









This tank is not drained. Prior to this setup I had to disconnect the filter and siphon off a bit of water when the level was getting too high. I decided to use a spare pump and tap into the canister filter and pump off the excess water directly into the house plumbing. Now when I need to get rid of some water I just flip a switch. Actually, I have it rigged on a timer, idea is to turn it on daily for say 20 sec to pump off the extra water automatically.









Canopy open, with the extra light in the lid









Acrylic Lid lifted with a fan to keep the condensation off.









I hate false bottoms. For this setup I used epiweb chunks as a substrate. It will also act as a filter. Landscaping fabric on top. YOu can see the water area forming.









Didn't want the front to show epiweb, so I jammed some aquarium gravel in the front of the tank.









Ready for planting









Part of the plants from Antone of Spring Valley Tropicals. Vendor feedback removed MJ









Front Pannel with all the controls. Timers are visible when the cabinet door is open. These switches control the following: viv lights, cabinet light, waterfall (filter), heater, drain pump, air bubbles in the water, misting system and the fans... Timers are used for the drain pump, misting system and the lights. It was a pain to set up and organize the wire jungle, but it's a lot of fun operating the viv from the pannel.









Vivarium has been planted for about 1 week. Broms are dropping roots already.









I don't want to use and java moss nor any other moss for that matter. I'm going to experiment with riccia only. I got bunch of riccia from Brian of Brian's Tropicals. Vendor feedback removed MJ









More riccia

<...continued on next post, due to pic limit...>


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## Marty

The water area with a few plants.









Broms from Antone.


















Waterfall and some riccia









Misting System is working overtime in this tank. I want to make sure that riccia takes over the tank.









This is the fresh tank after about 7-10 days. I still need to add few more plants and wait for everything to overgrow. I'm waiting for some miniature orchids. Right now there is a group of 8 leucs roaming around the viv.


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## clwatkins10

You'll love that riccia. I got some inspiration from Brian when I made my first viv and covered everything in riccia. The wall turned out great. Is that mondo grass and ludwigia repens in the water area? Awesome, I can't wait for it to grow in.


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## melas

AWESOME! I really like all of the open floor area! Great Job!


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## deckmanx

That's such a sexy tank. Looks really good. Now I'm convinced I need to get Riccia for mine. Those broms look nice and fat, that'll be cool when they start throwing off pups. Nicely done!


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## Faceless

Very nice looking tank


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## Ed Holder

WOW, That is an amazing set up Marty! Especially loving the control panel.
Is that fan drawing air down onto the glass or pulling air up and out along the glass?

regards.....Ed


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## trunda

Very nice setup, id like to ask 2 questions. 1) do you circulate the air through the hood or only inside the tank? 2) What is the point of using epiweb when you cover it whole with mortar? Maybe im missing the idea?
Thank you and good luck, What are you going to put in there?


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## Marty

trunda said:


> Very nice setup, id like to ask 2 questions. 1) do you circulate the air through the hood or only inside the tank? 2) What is the point of using epiweb when you cover it whole with mortar? Maybe im missing the idea?
> Thank you and good luck, What are you going to put in there?


the hood has 3 fans and it's cooled by air from the outside. The tank has 2 fans in the acrylic lid and pulls air from the hood. Warm air defogs the glass and gets sucked back out in the back of the tank creating a very subtle air movement. 

Epiweb will never break down. I don't feel like redoing the tank in a few years. Tank has some 8 leucs in it.


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## kyle1745

Looks good, is this the third time for this one?

I forget did you build the tank or was it a standard aquarium?


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## Marty

Yes this tank has been around for a while. Glass cost me $600 so I didn't want to drill it, thinking that one day I'll make a discus tank out of it...(as if  )... I had it set up in the old house, then removed and disconnected everything, built it in the new one. Now rebuilt it again. 3 times the charm 

Few pics of the leucs


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## NickBoudin

Looks awesome Marty. The misting pump dosent drain the external filter and cause it to have to re-prime itself? Or cause any water in the filter to churn and make noise?


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## Marty

NickBoudin said:


> Looks awesome Marty. The misting pump dosent drain the external filter and cause it to have to re-prime itself? Or cause any water in the filter to churn and make noise?


not at all... the pump isn't high flow and probably drains a glass of water in 5 sec. The siphon from the filter does much more then that so all is good


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## jubjub47

Awesome setup Marty. I think for the next project on it you need to get rid of those mechanical switches and go with some digital switches  Someone earlier on had asked why you used the epiweb and then covered it with the rock finish. I would assume you did this for something to adhere to? That riccia should really take off up there. Very nice selection of plants too.


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## Marty

My 2 year old son loves to flip those switches... I did the pannel few years back, to be honest there really is no need for it


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## Ed Holder

How did you power your fans, Also like to know how to adjust the speeds they run @

Cheers......Ed


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## Marty

Ed Holder said:


> How did you power your fans, Also like to know how to adjust the speeds they run @
> 
> Cheers......Ed


if you look at this picture










you can see a controller in the middle with 4 knobs. That's connected to a universal 12V AC adapter, one similar to this one










I can select the voltage and then fine tweak speed of each fan to get exactly what I need as far as circulation within the canopy and circulation within the vivarium.


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## kisanjong

great tank marty it looks amazing


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## Julio

tanks looks great!!


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## boogsawaste

Looks great marty! I love the look of the background. Thanks for making me want leucs again


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## Marty

I was always a big fan of leucs. Not the rarest, but very cool, with a nice call too.


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## boogsawaste

Marty said:


> I was always a big fan of leucs. Not the rarest, but very cool, with a nice call too.


I agree. A frog doesn't have to be rare for me to like them, just interest me.


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## heatfreakk3

i was wondering why do people put film canasters in there tank?


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## TimsViv

Remake #3 looks great. I have always been a fan of this tank. Can you post the two previous creations?

Tim


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## heatfreakk3

hello? i am kinda new and was wondering whats with the film canasters


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## Marty

I will post them, once this one starts to get that grown in look...for now it's too fresh with 1% growth 

film canisters? wow, you're impatient. Egg deposition sites for frogs. You didn't see any in this tank. Is this an unrelated question, out of the blue? Do you like holiday sweaters?


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## dart_king

They where 2 inches!


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## Dragas

heatfreakk3 said:


> hello? i am kinda new and was wondering whats with the film canasters


Did you try the search ? 

1 quick search using "film canister" (and I prefer to start with title only search) yielded this


Best of all you get the information instantly and I learned a few other things looking through other posts on the search results. 

http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/beginner-discussion/18790-what-purpose-film-canisters.html


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## heatfreakk3

sorry im new to dendroboard so i dont know everything yet


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## Marty

no worries m8, just jerking your chain


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## heatfreakk3

alright thanks man


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## dj98ram

Tank looks great! Nice job!


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## alexander

God i hate you!!!!
Why you so good...........


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## Fishman

I really like the big tank with a big group of frogs in it! Some day the wifey will let me keep one in the living room... I hope.


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## housevibe7

I always love your tanks Marty. Good job on the refurbish on this one, although I was pretty partial to the last rebuild


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## Marty

alexander said:


> God i hate you!!!!
> Why you so good...........


Haha, you give compliments like my mother-in-law 



Fishman said:


> I really like the big tank with a big group of frogs in it! Some day the wifey will let me keep one in the living room... I hope.


One day, I'll do a pimped out glass shower enclosure in the living room. Like you, I'm confined to my frog room - by 'the wife'



housevibe7 said:


> I always love your tanks Marty. Good job on the refurbish on this one, although I was pretty partial to the last rebuild


 The last one, got a bit overgrown with Java moss  Hopefully this one will overgrow with riccia. For those of you that want to see the previous version you can click here and scroll down to the 90 Gallon Azureus. This tank, I'm trying to do more with some miniature plants. Though the java moss look wasn't bad, just the whole wall of great stuff has detached from the glass and tank had to go. I had this tank decomissioned for so long I forgot that this one didn't even use tree fern panels


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## PacMan

What kinda of mini orchids did you get up getting? Im building up a small 29g tank for mini orchids. Gonna have to place an order for one of your misting systems .

The riccia will do well for sure. Thats a good idea with the epi-web. might have to try that out.


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## Marty

I didn't get any yet, once I have some I'll post back. Anytime you're ready with the system. 

Riccia is doing very well and there's new growth all over the place.


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## Marty

Same tank with few months of growth. Riccia has been filling in nicely in this tank. I've been taking pieces and moving it into new areas.


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## ray1taylor

Wow that is amazing. I love the pool you made the background is pretty awesome as well.


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## ray1taylor

wow that moss is beautiful! its so green!


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## plant_geek

Marty,
What species of nepenthes is that? What type of mini orchids did you go with?
-a-mazing tank by the way...


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## dart_king

I believe thats a N. Gymnaphora..


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## Julio

the tank looks gorgeous, lov ethe pitcher plants in there!!


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## dylanserbin

Just a little bit jealous.... haha


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## dart_frog_junkie

Great Tank I really like the Riccia and the little Pitcher Plants


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## raimeiken

awesome tank! how often do you mist per day?

Oh and what kind of Nepenthes is that?


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## Frogtofall

Good LAWD that looks nice!


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## maximusdendrob8

Nice work! Great looking viv, I like your stem work.


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## chinoanoah

Can we get an updated full tank shot? ...Hi Res?!?!


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## crb_22601

Wondering if you ended up drilling the back of the tank for tubing for the waterfall?


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## happy dart

Amazing job Marty! Sorry if you already answered this, but whee did you get your HabaCrete? I can't seem to find it. Also, did you have to seal it, or is it naturally waterproof and can be used for waterfalls with out any fear of degrading? Finally, did you have to cure it at all?

Thanks!


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## azure89

Nice job looks like a really sweet viv!


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## Marty

Few updated pictures of the setup.


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## Reefer420

Amazing, what a beautiful tank.


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## Julio

very sweet Marty!!!


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## frogfreak

Thanks for the updated pics Marty.

Looking good!


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## Morgan Freeman

I love the way the broms are sort of clustered towards the centre and the growth on the pond section, very nice work.


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## EverettC

Very nice tank, what kind of lights are you using? I'm thinking about setting up a tank again and lighting has always been an issue for me, curious what bulbs you got from AH Supply.


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## raimeiken

I love that pitcher plant!


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## Marty

Thanks. I'm using 3x55W from AH Supply, 6500K


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## eos

I wanna live in there. Looks great


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## pearldrums2

wow amazing looking tank!! Very nice we hope to be able to have a setup like that someday!!


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## pilo0024

so that's pretty much awesome. I noticed you got rid of that large leaf plant on the left side. did it just outgrow the tank?


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## Marty

Yes, it became a monster, every new leaf would come out, it would be larger than the last.


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## toastmaster425

very awesome viv! thats a biggg inspiration youve got there!


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## Fyre

Nice tank Marty. Bet you got a good deal on that Mist King system. LOL...I kill me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

--
tj


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## Marty

Thanks...yes, I know a guy that has nice systems


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## frogorf

That is a stunning viv you set up there. I have one question. The non-air plants. Did you place them right in the epiweb or are they in pots of soil?


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## azure89

I love this tank now that its grown in, what kind of moss is that? java? or are there different types of moss? Nice leucs too!


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## dendro-dude

duuuude,, that is a niiice tank. Leucs look very nice. 

Great job


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## clippo

stunning tank! - I love the layout.... similar to my own.


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## stevenhman

This tank still up?  Maybe a picture or two...?


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## Marty

It's still up, although I changed things a bit...I've pulled back on the green moss/riccia and added tons of leaf litter, I've ripped out a lot of the plants as they were getting too big...not as green any more. The moss exploaded after a while and became a noussance ... just too much of it. Things really grow fast in that viv....I should maybe plant tomatoes or radishes in it


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## stevenhman

Ah, ok. Do you remember where you ordered so much EpiWeb? There is a 125 gallon corner tank for sale locally that I have my eye on and I remembered this tank of yours.

I bet it looks good with a bunch of leaf litter in it. I can see how too much riccia could be a bad thing.


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## Marty

I got it from Ray Barkolow of FirstRays Orchids

He has his own brand called EcoWeb - same stuff


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## tonyguns85

how did u incorporate the fuvel into the little amount of water?


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## Lance

Oh Marty I think were needing some updated pics here


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## Marty

I have a little video of it on my facebook page. Make sure you click "like MistKing" when you're there ;-)

MistKing.com by Jungle Hobbies Ltd. | Facebook

Tank is mostly de-mossed now


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## jausi

great display tank!!!!!

I love that riccia and those frogs too!!!!


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## morphman

Very nice Marty. Other than wanting to take over what were the disadvantages of the Riccia ?? No baby Leucs showed up yet ??

Cheers.


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## arielelf

Beautiful Tank!! Really nice photography too.


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## myersboy6

i haven't seen this build in a while. I forgot how amazing it is! glad to hear the tank is still around


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## shibbyplustax

Marty,
Absolutly amazing build! after seeing this i am considering using some sort of concrete in my background instead of the old GS meathod.

a couple questions though:

did you have to cure the background mizture you used? if so how and how long?

did you seal the background wiht anything?

how did you get such a nice transition from your false bottom to the water area?


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## Marty

No, I didn't cure anything nor seal it.

I used strips of epi/eco web to seperate water from land. I then rubbed gravel, dirt, moss, peat, etc into the epi web. Eventually the 'shoreline' started looking very natural


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## Judy S

loved the tank...question about the "shoreline" of epi....you said you smeared the rocks, etc. into the epi--was that on GS, Habecrete, or silicone??? Is there just empty space under the "land" area and just the water portion being recirculated, filtered?? Where is the pump hiding?? Hopefully you will read this post and answer it as it is an oldish thread...


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## Marty

Judy S said:


> loved the tank...question about the "shoreline" of epi....you said you smeared the rocks, etc. into the epi--was that on GS, Habecrete, or silicone??? Is there just empty space under the "land" area and just the water portion being recirculated, filtered?? Where is the pump hiding?? Hopefully you will read this post and answer it as it is an oldish thread...


Epiweb, then a layer of black foam (like GS, but the pond stuff), then some habacrete on top of it. I don't like false bottoms with a large empty water area, so I have a lot of epi-web chunks and some gravel as a drainage layer. Inside that layer I have the intake for external filter, which is housed below the tank in a cabinet I built.


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## parkanz2

I love that pic of the three leucs tucked down in their own little pockets of the same brom.


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## davy

very sweet tank. you don't have trouble with algea? all my moss is gone bad trough algea.


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## Judy S

Marty said:


> Epiweb, then a layer of black foam (like GS, but the pond stuff), then some habacrete on top of it. I don't like false bottoms with a large empty water area, so I have a lot of epi-web chunks and some gravel as a drainage layer. Inside that layer I have the intake for external filter, which is housed below the tank in a cabinet I built.


Why the Habecrete over the black foam?? Wouldn't that just cover all the stuff, or foam Habecrete, then the smashed stuff?? I'm a little slow, but would like to copy the idea. When I "hide" the FB, I use the fiberglass screening, lay it flat on a black plastic trash bag...coat it with Gorilla Glue, and smash different size gravel to the screening. It is inserted between the FB and the glass as one piece..and can be taken out if there is a problem..and can be duplicated for the sides as well... Hopefully it will last a long time...


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## R.variabilis

Do you have any updated pics on your tank? Hats off to you.  when I saw it. Awesome tank!


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## Marty

OK, I figured I'd snap a few pics of what mess has become of this tank. Largely neglected, the tank has gotten badly overgrown. Leucs calling like mad in there, but it's become so dense that I decided to rip it all out and considerably thin things down and spread some leaf litter.

This is what it looked like before I started pulling plants out. Somewhat nice but unmanageable. 









Here's few photos of the tank after it got trimmed. Once you rip things out, it looks a bit crappy for a while, until it gets some new growth.























































Here's my favourite _Nepenthes gymnamphora_. I took the whole clump out. There's actually 2 plants in there now. It must have split on me.





































and here's the pruned version with more leaf litter and a bit more manageable. I purposely left it a bit empty, because that tank always manages to fill up within few months. As time goes by it will grow in a bit more and look a bit less pruned.


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## Marty

btw, excuse the crappy colors, I had my white balance set to custom so things are off a bit


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## freaky_tah

That looks awesome, I especially like the Nepenthes gymnamphora you have growing on the wood.


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## Dizzle21

that picher plant is awesome!!


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## dfrmav

man that pitcher plant is sick. looks like a combo of pitcher and venus fly trap. nasty man!


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## eos

Looks good overgrown.... looks good trimmed...


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## Marty

I'm re-posting this again, I changed settings in the gallery and reverted the photos to thumbs. Can't edit the thread

here it is again, I asked mods for a change, but didn't happen, feel free to clean it up

-----------------------------
OK, I figured I'd snap a few pics of what mess has become of this tank. Largely neglected, the tank has gotten badly overgrown. Leucs calling like mad in there, but it's become so dense that I decided to rip it all out and considerably thin things down and spread some leaf litter.

This is what it looked like before I started pulling plants out. Somewhat nice but unmanageable. 









Here's few photos of the tank after it got trimmed. Once you rip things out, it looks a bit crappy for a while, until it gets some new growth.























































Here's my favourite _Nepenthes gymnamphora_. I took the whole clump out. There's actually 2 plants in there now. It must have split on me.





































and here's the pruned version with more leaf litter and a bit more manageable. I purposely left it a bit empty, because that tank always manages to fill up within few months. As time goes by it will grow in a bit more and look a bit less pruned.


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## Happy_Frogger

Beautiful tank! Is this just a terrarium or is there frogs in there too?


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## eos

Happy_Frogger said:


> Beautiful tank! Is this just a terrarium or is there frogs in there too?


It's a D. Leucomelas tank


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## Heartagramtc

YOu can see two in the last picture. one is in the corner of the upper right. and another is below the big brom on the left side to the right


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## Dendroguy

Is that a zygopetalum?


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## Neontra

Wow Marty, NICE! One quesion though, did all that moss just start to grow there or did you plant it. If you planted it, what type is it?! thanks!


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## Nievesgirl

Marty said:


> I hate false bottoms. For this setup I used epiweb chunks as a substrate. It will also act as a filter. Landscaping fabric on top. YOu can see the water area forming.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Didn't want the front to show epiweb, so I jammed some aquarium gravel in the front of the tank.


How is the epiweb holding up for substrate ? I my want to use this for my build but not sure.


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## stevenhman

I think he used the epiweb/ecoweb mainly as a drainage layer.


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## Nievesgirl

stevenhman said:


> I think he used the epiweb/ecoweb mainly as a drainage layer.


I am only quoting what he stated on page one "For this setup I used epiweb chunks as a substrate" 

This looks like he used epiweb as the substrate in this picture.


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## Marty

Epiweb chunks as the drainage layer /slash/ substrate. I don't really use any growing medium. On top of the epiweb there's landscaping fabric and on top of that thin layer of coco/jungle mix, then leaf litter. 

Epi web will never break down in a tank, so it's holding up like on day 1


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## TimsViv

Always liked your tanks Marty! Tagging this one for future reference. We moved into a new house last year and we are finally settled in and I am in design mode for a new tank.

Tim


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## harrisbt

I really like this idea, but have a few questions. How well do the plants root past the landscaping fabric into the epiweb? Would window screen (or something else) work better even though it'd let through the finer substrate matter? Would there be other unforeseen (by me) disadvantages?


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## fullmonti

Looks great!

So it looks like pitcher plants can grow as epiphytes, & don't have to have substrate? I ask because I was planning on getting one or two & planned on putting them in hidden pots. It might be nice to have the option of putting them on a branch if they would do well.


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## Dendviv

Another beautiful and inspirational thread... 

Thank you so much for this! ; )


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## Marty

Well, it's been almost 14 years since I rebuild that tank. Since then a ton happened. My collection had to go, 2 kids and change of priorities in my life. Some health issues, but the 90 Gal is still going. I took few pics yesterday and was thinking that damn, I need to prune this thing. IMO, It does look good so overgrown, but I know in a month will just devour the whole tank, so here are few shots before it gets a haircut


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## Marty

here's a little video of the tank as well on FB

https://www.facebook.com/mistking/videos/vb.133553576365/10154853747936366/?type=2&theater


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## Red Beard

Wow! Thanks for revisiting this thread. Are all the original inhabitants still in it as well?


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## Marty

Red Beard said:


> Wow! Thanks for revisiting this thread. Are all the original inhabitants still in it as well?


Well...I hate to mix and I never did when I was much harder into the hobby, but when I got rid of my collection, I had few that I did not sell (or want to sell) so they all went into this tank 

I still have few original lukomelas there, pair of patricias, single basti and a pair of fantastikus oh and a vent or two. They all've been playing nice for years, no issues at all. This tank is the definition of homeostasis. Biological canister filter just with peat and wet/dry media. I also put the Jungle Hobbies lights simulating day cycle.


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## kromar

very nice setup, i like it
did you ever change the substrate in all that time?


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## Marty

hmmm...I don't think so. It's just leca pebbles, separated by landscaping fabric and some vivarium mix/cocofiber mix. Any dead leaves that drop I just leave so, no I never did. I do sprinkle some oak leaves maybe once or twice per year, new viv pods, etc that have disintegrated as well over the years.


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