# Exo Terra 24X18X24



## scrubbydan (Jan 31, 2012)

Hey I'm Dan, I just thought i'd throw up my progress on the viv so far. New to the hobby and this is the first one, but I've been doing tons of research and reading all the forums for a while now.

I used the GS pond foam and various driftwoods to sculpt the background. I did the back first and then the sides one at a time. I want to create terraces everywhere on the background to utilize the space well. I am pretty set on getting a pair of Leucs.
























The lights are 2 24" 24 watt T5's. I added some flat aggots to the terraces to give them a little zest!

I had read about Grapewood constantly molding and decomposing quick so I tore that out (which was on the left side) and replaced it with some Malaysian Driftwood (pics of this soon to come). The bottom will be Hydroton and ABG mix with Magnolia and Sea Grape leaf litter. I just need to buy a glass drill bit and put a few holes in for vents on the glass top. I will be covering the front vent and the top vents with noseeum screen. Plants and Springtails should be shipping soon with luck!


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## c81kennedy (Dec 24, 2010)

Looking good so far keep up the good work.


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## scrubbydan (Jan 31, 2012)

Okay here are some of the updated pics! I got all the coco-fiber/silicone done and also swapped out the old Grapewood with some Malaysian Driftwood. Love the new look and got a cool little bridge and some more terraces out of it. I also added the Hydroton and ABG.


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## scrubbydan (Jan 31, 2012)

I threw a few types of Selaginella until my big order of plants arrives tomorrow! I made the top into a little section of screen and frame because I failed at drilling glass  (think I will try a diamond blade in the near future because I like the looks of the hole vents!) I also added a bunch of aggots in the ABG and in the front of the Hydroton to spice it up. The Springtails are coming with my big plant order, so i'm waiting to throw all my leaflitter in till I mix them in with my ABG and finish all the planting! Lemme know what ya think.


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## bratyboy2 (Jan 29, 2010)

Looking real good


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## MKammerer (Apr 21, 2008)

That's good to look really nice when planted, I like the way you positioned the wood.


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## Brian317 (Feb 11, 2011)

I really like it ! Looks great !


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## scrubbydan (Jan 31, 2012)

Here it is all planted with the leaf litter added. I ordered the plants from NE Herp and they all arrived looking beautiful. Turned out real nice and feels good to just look at it now!


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## bratyboy2 (Jan 29, 2010)

Wow! Total difference! Looks great.


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## Thomas01 (Jan 13, 2012)

scrubbydan said:


> Hey I'm Dan, I just thought i'd throw up my progress on the viv so far. New to the hobby and this is the first one, but I've been doing tons of research and reading all the forums for a while now.
> 
> I used the GS pond foam and various driftwoods to sculpt the background. I did the back first and then the sides one at a time. I want to create terraces everywhere on the background to utilize the space well. I am pretty set on getting a pair of Leucs.
> 
> ...






Where did you get the glass lid for the Exo? If you made it can you tell me how? Thanks.

Tom


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## scrubbydan (Jan 31, 2012)

I just measured what I would need to cover the whole top with glass (so it sits nice on that plastic lip) and then made it like 1 1/2" shorter, so I would have room to put in the screen above the front door. The screen frame kit you have to cut to size and it can be found at Menards and Home Depot. I used my no seeum screen for this as well for this. I also drilled a little hole in the screen frame on one side so I could put my thermo/hygrometer inside. The only thing I am not sure of is how to seal this good where the screen meets the glass so I can still remove both pieces. I was thinking of finding some sort of t support beam to go between the two pieces. Any thoughts would be helpful!


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## scrubbydan (Jan 31, 2012)

Here are some more recent pic's after another plant order and a few other goodies. I added more moss, more columnea carnival, ficus pumilia in the corners, and another Ionantha. I also broke down and had to order a MistKing system. I love the fine mist it produces and it's nice to be able to leave the viv alone for longer periods. I saw these little R2 moonlight led strips too and it turned out to be the perfect size for the tank. I think there are still enough completely dark spots for the frogs?


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## crested (May 15, 2011)

Looking great, like the plant selection, that should fill in very nicely!

I'm in the initial plant stages of a 36x18x36 exo, couple questions for you.
Doesn't look like you've sealed the front door edges, front ventilation strip... what sort of humidity are you able to maintain and what misting schedule are you using?

Looks great!


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## scrubbydan (Jan 31, 2012)

I ran a bead of clear silicone around the doors and then cut it with a surgical blade so it is sealed a little more. I only coved the vent below the door with noseeum screen. I also have a 1 inch screen at the top of the doors and the rest of the top is glass. I have actually been having the same issue with humidity as you have and i'm hovering at 50% all the time even with the screen covered. I have a mistking system and my misting times are about 10-20 seconds every 3 or 4 hours in the day, none at night. I have so much condensation on my glass I think the hygrometer might be weird or something.


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## shibbyplustax (Feb 28, 2011)

scrubbydan said:


> I ran a bead of clear silicone around the doors and then cut it with a surgical blade so it is sealed a little more. I only coved the vent below the door with noseeum screen. I also have a 1 inch screen at the top of the doors and the rest of the top is glass. I have actually been having the same issue with humidity as you have and i'm hovering at 50% all the time even with the screen covered. I have a mistking system and my misting times are about 10-20 seconds every 3 or 4 hours in the day, none at night. I have so much condensation on my glass I think the hygrometer might be weird or something.


I dont think those hydrometers are that accurate. If you have condensation on the glass then you should be good as it looks like you would have good airflow and the condensation wouldnt be from stagnant air.

Sent from my DROID2 GLOBAL using Tapatalk


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## scrubbydan (Jan 31, 2012)

Thanks for the reassurance, I mean I have a MistKing with two nozzles in there going off throughout the day. Even when I seal the little screen on top the humidity guage stays the same lol. The only spot it would be losing moisture is around the edges of the glass top, which is so small even a ff would have trouble getting through. The other spot is the sceen under the doors which is next to nothing as well!


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## scrubbydan (Jan 31, 2012)

I wanted to make a sort of an old tree trunk look for something to fill all the space in the middle, so I ordered some Ghostwood. I made it out of two branches and used GS and silicone to put them together. Then I just covered the spots of GS that I could see with coco fiber. Last I siliconed the bottom to a piece of granite to help keep it stable when put it in the ground.


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## scrubbydan (Jan 31, 2012)

I also ordered some (Oak Leaf) Creeping Fig, and replaced all that big ivy I had on the left side. I ordered some Rubber plants to add a little more height to the tank. The leaves are already big enough to support frogs, and the plants are pretty small still. I also got another brom to fill a little space in the bottom left. Thinking of putting the pups I have from my other broms on the new log eventually!


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## J Teezy (Jan 25, 2012)

what kind of hygrometer are you using that you think you are getting false readings from?

Also how did you install your mist nozzles? did you put them into the screen section on the top of your tank with the screen top wedges? Can you post a pic of the top of the tank with the nozzles installed.

Where did you get the R2 moonlights.


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## scrubbydan (Jan 31, 2012)

The Hygrometer is the combo Exo-Terra one. For some reason it never gets above 40% and in previous pics you'll see I have a glass top and I also have the screen sealed up. I have about an inch of resivoir water and plenty of condensation on the sides. As for making the screen wedges, I just used some black plastic (the plastic off the cover of an old fivestar notebook) and cut out a little square of it for each nozzle head. Then I drilled the 5/8" or whatever the size was for the MistKing nozzles in the plastic. I epoxied the little squares to the bottom of the screen frame above the door and then put the mistheads in.


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## scrubbydan (Jan 31, 2012)

Ok I had to put some color in this baby so I ordered some more broms. The Galaxy is the pinkish one in the back and looks much better than anticipated! I plan on putting some more pups on the tree in the middle when they get a little bigger. Now I am just waiting to see if I can culture frut flies before I get some froggies. I'm set on 4 D. Leucomelas. I want the orange ones, and am wondering if they just look orange in the pictures because I've seen yellow ones as well? Criticism is appreciated! (Red brom look ok behind the tree slightly?)


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## jeeperrs (Jan 14, 2010)

You did an outstanding job!


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## ajb28221 (Aug 23, 2011)

Wow! Really nice! The "tree" in the middle was a great addition, you need to plant some moss on that bad boy


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## scrubbydan (Jan 31, 2012)

Here is some pics of the 5 Leuc's I now have residing in my terrarium. They are about 2-3 months old in these pictures.


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