# A buttress tank



## roxrgneiss (Sep 30, 2007)

No, no, it's not the long awaited buttress tank I intend to finish one day... however, this is an amazing epoxy buttress made by a friend - I just inserted it into a tank and added some BG and plants.  You can see a construction thread for the buttress *here*. I'm happy to display and enjoy his work at home.

The tank is a 24x18x24 exo terra and the BG and vine material is ecoweb (scrubber pads basically). The previous lighting over the tank (changed it approx 6 months ago) had bulbs with a lower color temp, which explains the coloration difference of earlier / later photos. The tank work began April of last year. I think it needs a different moss, but a majority of the original plants are still in the tank since it was planted in May.

I was running a geotechnical lab last spring (note the hydrometer), so I used some of the lab space for the initial phases. I think two or three tubes of silicone were used, so it was smelly for a few weeks.




























I sewed some ecoweb around extra misting system tubing to make this vine. The other vine is a trimmed length of ecoweb with a wire embedded. 














































I like how it's turned out / growing in, though I'm hoping to get more vines to grow on it eventually. That was essentially the draw to buttresses for me - a more natural looking BG that would display vines well. So far, the Monstera clings well to the epoxy surface more often than not.






































Mike


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## ghostpilot (Dec 29, 2011)

That looks amazing!


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## curlykid (Jan 28, 2011)

beautiful. i love how natural your vivariums look! keep it up.


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## frogparty (Dec 27, 2007)

Dang, that looks FANTASTIC


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## goof901 (Jan 9, 2012)

Did u silicone moss to the background?? And what kind?


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## Broseph (Dec 5, 2011)

It's hard to judge texture from the photos, but if you're happy with the realism of the buttress, I really like the way it looks more "naked." It makes for a cool focal point and it shows off your work.


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## SMenigoz (Feb 17, 2004)

Knowing Mike's work well, I bet there's some really unique plants in there!
Great work...finally! How long has that buttress been sitting around your place?
Scott


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## roxrgneiss (Sep 30, 2007)

Thanks guys, glad you like the photos. 




curlykid said:


> beautiful. i love how natural your vivariums look! keep it up.


Where are you located in VA? I live in northern VA. Always good to see more locals in the hobby.



goof901 said:


> Did u silicone moss to the background?? And what kind?


No, I wedged some small pieces of tree fern fiber in the ecoweb to sort of hang the moss in place while it became established. The moss is the tropical variety sold by Black Jungle. 



Broseph said:


> It's hard to judge texture from the photos, but if you're happy with the realism of the buttress, I really like the way it looks more "naked." It makes for a cool focal point and it shows off your work.


Again, I wish I could take all the credit, but I only siliconed and planted.  I think it looks good mostly bald also, but I was hoping to display a few vines I really like on it. None of the Marcgravias I keep have taken to the epoxy well... yet.



SMenigoz said:


> Knowing Mike's work well, I bet there's some really unique plants in there!
> Great work...finally! How long has that buttress been sitting around your place?
> Scott


Thanks, Scott. You should come see it in person sometime. There are some nifty plants in there -- I broke down my plant tanks and put my favorites in this one.  Oh, I still have the old buttress sitting around.  It turned out a little too large for retail tanks, and so it will probably hang around for another few years till I figure out what to do with it.

Mike


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## curlykid (Jan 28, 2011)

hey i live in hampton roads, not many people from around here into darts yet.


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## boabab95 (Nov 5, 2009)

HOLY!!! that is a nice tank! whats the 3-leaved plant in the second last pic?


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## roxrgneiss (Sep 30, 2007)

curlykid said:


> hey i live in hampton roads, not many people from around here into darts yet.


I think I've seen couple on here from that area. I've always taken for granted how many hobbyists are local to northern VA. You'll probably find some to link up with on DB over time.



boabab95 said:


> HOLY!!! that is a nice tank! whats the 3-leaved plant in the second last pic?


Thanks.  The grayish one with heavily textured leaves is Anthurium arisaemoides. Not an easy plant to find and doesn't seem to do extremely well with tank conditions. I have it in the basement and while some lowland plants are not happy there this species and a couple other Anthuriums seem to appreciate the cooler temps. 

Mike


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## ashb (Dec 9, 2009)

Do I see a Macroclinium sp. in there? How's it doing with the humidity?


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## roxrgneiss (Sep 30, 2007)

No, all the orchids are Pluerothallis, except for the Psygmorchis. I've never grown a Macroclinium, looks like a neat genus.


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## eyeviper (May 23, 2006)

Looks awesome


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## JoshH (Feb 13, 2008)

Well done Mike, the tank looks perfect


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## roxrgneiss (Sep 30, 2007)

JoshH said:


> Well done Mike, the tank looks perfect



Thanks, Josh. I was wondering when you would see this.  Glad you like how it turned out. Let me know if there are any plants (yours, of course ) that you'd like to see in the tank. 

Mike


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## Dizzle21 (Aug 11, 2009)

Tank looks great! the buttress really sets it off.
Is that Tolumnia velutina I spot on the left vine?


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## roxrgneiss (Sep 30, 2007)

That is the Psygmorchis pusilla, I think it used to be categorized as an Oncidium, which is basically a Tolumnia. You know how some things come full circle, well that orchid in the photo is a self offspring of one of my first orchids. I pollinated a flower with its own pollen for fun and subsequently a seed pod developed, I gave it to a local orchid grower after it had been in the tank for over a year, he flasked it, and around two years later (over three years all together)... free orchids! lol Not exactly, but now he has enough to have made the efforts worthwhile. These will bloom in-flask too which is kind of neat.

Mike


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## LarryLee (Jan 15, 2012)

I really like the stump nice..... I am wanting to build something like that for my Viv....
Larry


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## JoshH (Feb 13, 2008)

Mike - you mentioned that the plants seem to have trouble rooting to the buttress, have you tried the larger Marcgravia rectiflora? Both that and the M. dubia root strongly to both high gloss epoxy paint and sometimes even glass for me....


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## roxrgneiss (Sep 30, 2007)

JoshH said:


> Mike - you mentioned that the plants seem to have trouble rooting to the buttress, have you tried the larger Marcgravia rectiflora? Both that and the M. dubia root strongly to both high gloss epoxy paint and sometimes even glass for me....


I have tried the juvenile form of M. rectiflora and I've seen many plants root on glass also. It's not so much that plants don't appear to want to root on the epoxy, but that it is a vertical surface that may have less microscopic pores than glass. And the buttress isn't staying wet with condensation like terrarium glass [walls]; the consistent moisture compels vines to root. I'm sure it will work over time. Increasing the humidity would help too.


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## goof901 (Jan 9, 2012)

I know this is kinda an old thread but whatever. Anyways, did u have a hard time getting the ecoweb to bend around the tube? Cuz I heard ecoweb is kinda stiff


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## Dizzle21 (Aug 11, 2009)

I just got a bunch of it its stiff but I think if you heat it up it bends easier.
Mike what did you find is the easiest way to cut this?
I want to try and electric bread knife.


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## roxrgneiss (Sep 30, 2007)

goof901 said:


> I know this is kinda an old thread but whatever. Anyways, did u have a hard time getting the ecoweb to bend around the tube? Cuz I heard ecoweb is kinda stiff


Yes, ecoweb is fairly stiff and did not want to bend around the tube. I had to zip-tie it around the tube about every three inches and then pinch the ends together in order to sew it and produce a smooth shape.



Dizzle21 said:


> I just got a bunch of it its stiff but I think if you heat it up it bends easier.
> Mike what did you find is the easiest way to cut this?
> I want to try and electric bread knife.


I haven't tried heating it, but I can imagine how that would help. You nailed it; I used an electric carving knife.  I've found electric knives go through foam like butter. It was effective, but slower going through ecoweb. A heavy duty pair of shears works too.

Mike


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## roxrgneiss (Sep 30, 2007)

Just a minor update. Some growth and some anti-growth.  Moss growth isn't going to win any awards, but I haven't given it much effort for a while. Finally got M. dubia to grow up the trunk though!











And for a different perspective:












Happy Holidays,
Mike


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## frogparty (Dec 27, 2007)

just like a slice of jungle!!! Looks amazing grown in


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## goof901 (Jan 9, 2012)

can we have a plant list?


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## hydrophyte (Jun 5, 2009)

That looks awesome! It looks like you put some nice plant selections in there. I would be interested to see a list too. 

What is that blue plant in front of the trunk?


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## BlueRidge (Jun 12, 2010)

curlykid said:


> hey i live in hampton roads, not many people from around here into darts yet.


LOL, there are alot of people in Virginia Beach/chesapeake that are into darts, you just don't know it. The pet stores in the area don't sell them or support them that's why. 

Animal Jungle did but they suck and their animals typically die so people stopped buying from them. Fish Safari sold them for a few weeks but decided it wasn't profitable due to the ff's and Pet Paradise gets them occasionaly but get them for the same price you could get them for from someone but then still marks them up.


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## eos (Dec 6, 2008)

Very nice. Thumbs up


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## roxrgneiss (Sep 30, 2007)

Thanks guys! Below is the short list, mainly those you can see well in the photos.

Vriesea ospinae gruberi (small form) or something very similar, but going to have to remove it soon
Begonia glabra (Costa Rica form)
Clidemia hirta
Anthurium clidemiodes
Anthurium scandens ssp
Anthurium radicans
Monstera dubia
three small Philodendron ssp without positive IDs and a fourth sp which may also be related
Microgramma heterophylla
Microgramma vacciniifolia (two forms)
Drymonia sp
Peperomia sp (forgot its name)
Peperomia turboensis
Several Pleurothallis sp
Psygmorchis pusilla
Selaginella sp.
Selaginella serpens

There are others which are harder to spot or have been removed/replaced, but the overall look of the tank is from the plants above.




hydrophyte said:


> That looks awesome! It looks like you put some nice plant selections in there. I would be interested to see a list too.
> 
> What is that blue plant in front of the trunk?


And I think the plant (a gesneriad) in front of the buttress - if we are talking about the same one - is an Alsobia sp., but it could be a Streptocarpus for all I know. If Josh sees this he should be able to ID it.


Mike


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## roxrgneiss (Sep 30, 2007)

hydrophyte said:


> What is that blue plant in front of the trunk?




According to Josh: "...that gesneriad in your tank should be some sort of Corytoplectus sp, probably C. cutucuensis."


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## roxrgneiss (Sep 30, 2007)

Overdue update for this thread. I know there are some gaps, but this is the most recent image:








Mike


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