# 18x18x24 the "am I doing it right?" build



## justwoot (Nov 26, 2014)

Hello denizens of the Dendroboard! I received an Exo Terra 18x18x24 for Christmas and have started my build on it. This is my first build and while I've done a lot of research the past few months to prep I still feel like I may screw something up. So that's where you come in. Point out to me the flaws! What can I do better? What did I do wrong? This is a learning experience for me so don't be afraid to speak up!

About me: I've been into reef aquariums for 6 years now and currently have a 120 gallon reef and a 29 gallon biocube reef. Had a reefer friend that had some PDF's and thought they were cool. So here I am. 

Here is what I have for the build so far: 

False bottom. I put in 7 support PVC doodads for the false bottom. I think I over engineered it a bit after reading some horror stories about false bottoms that collapsed I didn't want to risk that. Each pipe has four holes drilled into the bottom for water to move through them. I also drilled holes in the top and zip tied the supports to the egg crate so that they wouldn't slip while I moved the tank around. I was going to glue them to the bottom but this was surprisingly easier and less messy. There is a pond in the bottom right and the water fall tower hole in the back. 










I've got the back and sides siliconed for the Great Stuff. This was more of a pain in the butt then I thought it would be. Silicone does not spread easily like paint! 

You can also see I have the barrier on the false bottom and the waterfall tower is placed in position. This tower will act as housing for the pump as well as for a small fan I'll put in for air circulation. I put barrier block on the bottom to stop messy floaties from getting to the pump. At the top 1/3 of the tower you can see another barrier wrapped around - this is for the fan. I'm going to leave a space that is open to that mesh for the fan to blow out of. 










Top down view: 










A few questions before I move onto the next steps. 

1. Easiest way to build a transition from the pond to land? Great Stuff? 

2. Easiest way to prevent substrate from falling into the pond? Great Stuff? 

3. ABG mix - I got some of this from Josh's and it came all layered in the bags. Sooooo how do I actually place this in the viv? Do I want to keep the layers? Does it matter? Just dump it in? 

More questions to come I'm sure. I need to spray the GS next. I have several pieces of wood to use but I'm still undecided on the best placement for them yet. 

Also before anyone asks - Luecs. : )


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## AquaAurora (Jan 4, 2015)

Greetings fellow aquarist! I also come from a fish-y background but the freshwater side.. I've not tried salty setups, I'm also just starting into vivariums ^^ I've not started my built yet, just getting sups. Is that window/door screen or a anti-weed screen you're using?
I _think _you'd want to evenly mix the bag of substrate then put in as much as you need. If you used a substrate calculator to determine how much to get you should be able to dump most/all of it in. For getting out of the water feature I've seen people build ramps with the egg crates at 45 degree angles. I've also seen a few photos of people using thicker smooth gardening pebbles (inert ones) or small river rocks to keep water and substrate from contacting eachother.


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## justwoot (Nov 26, 2014)

I actually am using the barrier that josh's frog sells. I was going to just get some from Home Depot but I had to order other stuff and it was super cheap at Josh's and I only need a little so I threw it in. It looks like it's probable weed barrier to me though. It also saves me from having to buy an entire roll of weed barrier that I won't use most of. 

Thanks for the links on the transitions. I'll have to mess around a bit with some ramps and "railings" for the pond transition. I do have a bunch of pebbles like you post already that I was planning on using. 

Yes I got the amount of ABG based on what Josh's recommended for this size. I assumed mix but you never know. Thanks for the help!


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## VAnative (Jan 4, 2015)

justwoot said:


> It also saves me from having to buy an entire roll of weed barrier that I won't use most of.


You would have used it on your next build... Lol


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## bwagner (Nov 17, 2014)

Nice start, can't wait to see it going together.


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## justwoot (Nov 26, 2014)

VAnative said:


> You would have used it on your next build... Lol


Funny enough I bought enough of the Joshs frogs stuff for at least two or three more builds because I grossly miss-underestimated how much it comes with. 

In fact all in all I've got enough left over on everything to do another build this size at the very least.


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## justwoot (Nov 26, 2014)

UPDATES: 

Did some more work on it this week. I'm doing my masters degree and some certification courses at the same time so time tends to be limited these days. Trying to work on it at least an hour or two a night. My wife has been helping a ton as well. It's been a great couples experience so far. Put the kids to bed have a beer and work on a frog enclosure . . . people tend to think we're a bit strange 

So I decided to start with the foam. Before I could do that I need to make sure I could keep my "floating" piece of wood a float before I used the GS. Here is what it looked like: 










Masking tape was my friend. I really like the Malaysian drift wood piece that is in the corner. And the floating branch is pretty awesome. I plan to make some vines that go from that branch to the water fall/fan column. 

Here is another pic with some pots in place as well: 










I had an interesting challenge with the floating branch. I would have preferred to place the tank on it's back and spray the foam that way. However with the branch I couldn't figure out a good way to do it and keep it where I wanted. So we decided to spray with it upright. This actually had the unintended effect of making some pretty cool looking places in the wall. Here is the first pass with the GS: 










You can see that the waterfall/river is the mess of GS that is on the left hand side. I also used GS to foam in part of the pond and to create a barrier for the substrate to prevent it sliding into the pond. 

Next we carved: 










I carved the back and the water feature. There is a cave you can kinda see in the back as well. It's hard to also see but there are several shelves on the background for frogs to do well frog things on. 

The falls/river: 










You can see a straw going through the GS that's actually where the water will come out then the water splits around a "rock" in the middle of the stream. 

Next we will paint the falls and river in drylock to give a rocky look and then cocofiber/silicone the background. Not sure how far I'll get this week as we're leaving on Saturday to spend 10 days in Disneyworld. When we get back I'd like to get it fully operational and at least plants in as soon as I can.


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## frogpecker (Mar 20, 2013)

Very nice and really not bad for a first build. You should have seen mine...

But then you come with a reefer background. This clearly shows. 

I like your floating branch. With some moss and broms that's going to look awesome. Keep the pictures coming.


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## justwoot (Nov 26, 2014)

frogpecker said:


> Very nice and really not bad for a first build. You should have seen mine...
> 
> But then you come with a reefer background. This clearly shows.
> 
> I like your floating branch. With some moss and broms that's going to look awesome. Keep the pictures coming.


Thanks! I love setting up reef tanks (done about 7 over the years) and aquascaping is my favorite part so this is something I really enjoy. 

I plan on putting moss on the branch - can I mount a brom directly to it?


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## Charlie Q (Jul 13, 2013)

justwoot said:


> I plan on putting moss on the branch - can I mount a brom directly to it?


yeah, a brom would be really nice mounted on the branch.


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## justwoot (Nov 26, 2014)

Oh neato. I'll do that. 

I also have two pots in the back ground. What plants would be good for those? I know broms don't need to be planted in pots so I was thinking of doing something else. I have to admit that my knowledge of plants is very very limited.


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## justwoot (Nov 26, 2014)

Well a lot has happened since I last posted. I graduated college (at 32 . . . the 14 year plan works again!) took a vacation to DisneyWorld. Started grad school and just in the last week found time to actually work on this vivarium. But many once I started working on it again I really wanted to get it done. Here is what's happened: 

Finally got the back set with coco fiber. That was . . . messy but not as hard as I had been led to believe it would be. Had my wife help me so we tagged teamed it with one of us applying silicone and the other applying fiber. 










After that I got really impatient and wanted it looking finished. So next I made a vine (no pics of making it but I do have a completed pic) which was pretty easy to do actually and it looks awesome. I added my ABG, Spag moss, leaf litter, sheet moss, painted the outside to cover the false bottom. Here is what it looks like as of today: 

NOTE: I put some temp bulbs in the light fixture. These are not the bulbs I will be keeping. I ordered two jungle dawns so hopefully they get here soon. 

Front shot, you can see my vine going from the floating branch to the rock ledge on the right: 










Right side, better view of the vine. You can also see that I used the sheet moss around the waterfall/pond: 










And finally the left side: 










Things to still do

Order plants/springtails
Install my internal circulating fan in the tower
Plumb the water fall.
Install mosquito netting in the lid and front vent. I have this on order should be here Tue. 
Get glass for the top. 
Get frogs!


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## lochanrk (Mar 7, 2015)

Looks awesome so far!


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## Mohlerbear (Feb 20, 2014)

Yeah I like that piece of wood coming out near the floor. 


Loading bowls and building vivs! Braaap!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## ThePoshHerp (Mar 19, 2015)

Good afternoon sir,

It's looking great so far! I'm echoing what others have said, but this doesn't look like a "first time" build, I'm impressed.

Keep up the good work, and keep us posted with pictures! Do you know what frogs you're getting yet?


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## justwoot (Nov 26, 2014)

ThePoshHerp said:


> Good afternoon sir,
> 
> It's looking great so far! I'm echoing what others have said, but this doesn't look like a "first time" build, I'm impressed.
> 
> Keep up the good work, and keep us posted with pictures! Do you know what frogs you're getting yet?


Oh hey it says you are in PG? You are probably like five minutes away from me. I live in Orem on the border of Lindon/Orem. 

Thanks for the kind words! It is my first build but I've been into reef keeping for years and am sorta obsessive about reading up on everything when I start a new project. I made enough mistakes when I started out with the reef tanks to know that a little research can save you a lot of money and time. 

I am thinking I will get some Leucs as I read they are easy to take care of and a good first time frog.


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## peiji (Sep 16, 2014)

For other Utah County people (I'm surprised there are any) feel free to come take a look at mine or chat frogs or reefs. I've been doing reefs for 18 years, frogs for about 8 months but I've built 4 vivs so far and I'm working on my 5th. All my vivs are right off the 5th east freeway in American Fork.


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## justwoot (Nov 26, 2014)

Peiji I might have to do that. I recognize your name from the utahreefs board. You've been around on there longer then I have and that's saying something. Didn't know you had frogs. I actually offered you my spare skimmer a few months back when you had yours die on you.


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## justwoot (Nov 26, 2014)

Small update: Got the water fall/river working. Looks pretty good!










LED bulbs should be here end of this week start of next. Ordered plants and some springtails. Going to plant as soon as they get here then let sit for a week or two then frogs!


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## justwoot (Nov 26, 2014)

Last night did a few small updates on the viv. No pics as it was pretty standard stuff. I pulled the vent off the front and glued no-see-um netting to it in an attempt to FF proof a bit. I then took the splining off of the top and added a double layer of netting then put the splining back in and glued it all down. I keep the metal screen on top just layered the netting on top of that. It looks pretty fly proof now but I'm sure some will get out. 

Also did a little touch up on the waterfall. I had added a valve to the back so that I can control the flow however when I got it to the speed I liked I noticed that at one part the water was going over the edge for some strange reason and soaking the substrate on the side. Luckily I had some reef putty around that can be applied to wet areas (used for underwater puttying) so I was able to use it to direct the flow then placed some moss over it to cover it up. 

Jungle Dawn bulbs will be here Friday and so will plants! I still need to call the glass shop to get some panels for the top made.


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## ThePoshHerp (Mar 19, 2015)

justwoot said:


> Oh hey it says you are in PG? You are probably like five minutes away from me. I live in Orem on the border of Lindon/Orem.
> 
> Thanks for the kind words! It is my first build but I've been into reef keeping for years and am sorta obsessive about reading up on everything when I start a new project. I made enough mistakes when I started out with the reef tanks to know that a little research can save you a lot of money and time.
> 
> I am thinking I will get some Leucs as I read they are easy to take care of and a good first time frog.


No way! It's so rare you meet someone on these boards who live in Utah County. Hey, I give credit where it is due and there is definitely an artistic flair to your creation.

I did the same thing when I built my first viv: I tried to skimp where I could to save a few $ and it's amazing how quickly things fall apart from there. Do it right the first time or don't do it!


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## Wusserton (Feb 21, 2014)

Quick question, did you drill holes in your pvc that holds up the false bottom? Reason I ask is that I just now seen this thread and without holes drilled water can stagnate in the pvc and cause some real problems down the road


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## justwoot (Nov 26, 2014)

Wusserton said:


> Quick question, did you drill holes in your pvc that holds up the false bottom? Reason I ask is that I just now seen this thread and without holes drilled water can stagnate in the pvc and cause some real problems down the road


Yep. Each pipe has four holes drilled into the very bottom to allow water to pass through.


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## Wusserton (Feb 21, 2014)

Nice, its something people don't always think about and than after its planted what do you do? lol


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## justwoot (Nov 26, 2014)

Wusserton said:


> Nice, its something people don't always think about and than after its planted what do you do? lol
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


Luckily I came to this awesome board and read through about 200 build threads! That would have royally sucked to find out after it was all done. 

Updates: I did get it planted last night and my jungle dawns in the fixture. Picking up my glass top I had cut today so I can get rid of the awesome saran wrap I have on top. My fan came today as well so I should be able to install it this weekend. I also had a culture of springtails sent with the plants and added those as well. I'll get some more pics up soon when I have a chance.


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## peiji (Sep 16, 2014)

justwoot said:


> Peiji I might have to do that. I recognize your name from the utahreefs board. You've been around on there longer then I have and that's saying something. Didn't know you had frogs. I actually offered you my spare skimmer a few months back when you had yours die on you.


Come over any time. I'm building my 6th viv and I just bought two paludariums. And yes, my reef tank and jellyfish are still doing well.


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## justwoot (Nov 26, 2014)

I actually have had this planted now for over a week. Ordered some plants from Josh's frog. Here are some pics: 

Full Viv: 










Top half: 










Bottom Half: 










A few things. The plants were pretty cold when they came in. There is a Begonia that I don't think is going to make it. The edges of the leafs are turning black. It looked pretty bad when I got it in the mail and hasn't improved in the past week. The big brom on the left I know would do better out of the soil but I just don't know where to put it at this time. It's way to big at this point to really put anywhere else. I dunno I might try mounting it to the stump. The ferns have a few small brown spots on them. Is this from the shipping or am I over watering? Should I just wait and see what happens? The vines all look happy with no problems. I might go to a local tropical plant store that's about 45 min away this weekend to pick up one or two more plants. I don't want to get too many as I need room for them to grow in but at the same time I want there the frogs to feel comfortable. 

I also got my fan in. I was going to put it in the tower with the pump. I had left room for it and screening exposed on one side. However the screen does too good of a job and it doesn't let much if any air flow through it. I've settled on having it on top of the viv blowing air in twice a day. So far that seems to be working and lets the ferns dry out. 

I also did get the glass for the top last weekend. I've been misting every day for about 45 seconds and keeping the humidity at about 90%. I think I'm going to cut misting back as I fear I'm over watering and the humidity seems to be staying around 88-92% even if I don't mist as often. 

I also got my fruit flies and culture stuff in. So yay got bugs delivered to my door! 

Going to get my frogs tomorrow! Exciting!


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## justwoot (Nov 26, 2014)

Updates! 

So I moved a few plants around based on how they were doing and added a couple of plants from a local tropical nursery here in town. I also got my frogs! I picked up three fine spot Leucs from Ch3tt here on dendroboard (he is local to me) they are two months out of the water. So here are some pictures!

One of the three fine spots: 










A different one in the viv right after I placed it: 










And the last one who did not want to come out of the cup and then wouldn't let go of my hand:









Close up of two: 










Some pictures of plants: 

Moved the big brom to the stump so that it wasn't planted and moved the fern that I had there to the back corner where it seems to be doing better. I also picked up three tillandsia and you can see one here next to the brom with one of my little guys hanging out in it:










Also got this mini African violet which seems to be doing well. It's had new flowers come out since I got it. I'll have to watch this so that it doesn't take over as I know they can grow fast: 










Two broms and one more tillandsia on the back. These three are doing great. 










And one of the entire viv right after I misted it:










So far everything is doing great. Plants have been in for two weeks and frogs for a week. My begonia did lose all of it's leaves - it had looked pretty bad in shipping but hopefully it comes back. The stalk seems ok for right now so I'll leave it and see what happens. 

The froglets are doing great. Two of them are always out in the open with the third being a bit more shy and preferring to hide under the leaf litter. I have seen all three eat at this point so that's a bonus. Now to watch it all grow in and for the froglets to grow up!


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## justwoot (Nov 26, 2014)

This has been setup for two months now. Things are going well and the froglets are getting large. The three I bought I was told were 3 months out of the water from a local guy but after going to a reptile show and seeing others that were three months oow I think mine were closer to a month when I got them. They look like they are three months oow now compared to other leucs of the same age at the show. A little miffed about that but they all seem to be doing well and eating so I'm not too upset. 

I did notice that I always have one out in the open but never the same one. It's funny they seem to rotate which one is out and about while the other two hide. Two of them are much larger then the third. Are the growth rates variable or is it possible the smaller one is male? I think it's probably too early to tell at this point just curious why one is so much smaller. It's eating well looks "Full" in the stomach area no pinched sides or anything just small. 

I am getting good growth on the plants. Nothing super crazy and only had one plant die - I consider that a success. My Spag and sheet moss also have come back to life with some minor growth. I'll get some updated pictures up soon.


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