# 10g vert



## Okapi (Oct 12, 2007)

Hi everyone. Its been too long since my last vivarium, and all this recent talk of clay inspired me to try it out for myself. GRIMM's 20 gallons on youtube and here are what finally convinced me to give it a try. I decided to start small, so I turned a 10 gallon I had laying around into a vert. Sorry, I didnt take too many pictures until I was pretty far along. And I lost my camera, so all of these were taken with my phone.

I used a mixture of the special kitty (walmart brand) litter with peat and ground up sphagnum for the clay. I used a piece of cork bark to make a narrow ledge across the back for planting epiphytes as well as making ledges in the clay.









I pressed java moss strands into the clay all over the background. This picture is over a month old, and the java moss pretty much looks the same now as it did then. In other vivariums It had explosive growth, so im kinda scratching my head over this one.









Heres how it looked a couple of days after my initial planting. I put some normal creeping fig on a ledge on the right side of the vivarium, a pup from a walmart brom on the cork ledge, a cutting of 'snowflake' creeping fig on the left side, a Syngonium cutting under the brom (which was later moved), a small cutting of Philodendron on the bottem left ledge, a cutting of anthurium on the bottem right ledge, cuttings of Dischidia ovata on the ledge near the brom, and cuttings of selaginella willdenowii all over. Even after all that planting, it looked too barren for me... So I put on an plant order at Junglebox.net.









I had some clay left over and some round rocks from an aquarium so I decided to do a nice shoreline. I didnt want to give up too much space so I ended up shrinking my shoreline to half its original size. Sorry, no pictures of my first version.









Here is a frontal view of the vivarium with water section. BTW, can anyone ID the little plant in the left corner of the water section? It is a cutting of an "assorted aquatic" that I bought a while back that seems to like growing out of the water as well.









And an above view of the water section.









I added a patch of java moss that I had been trying to grow on a bed of sphagnum. I was planning on doing leaf litter for the floor of the cage, but still wanted a nice mossy section. So I decided to let the shore be mossy, and the back section would be leaf litter.









I added a cutting of Peperomia 'Isabella' that I took off of a hanging basket that I got from lowes. That cutting, and the mother plant, both melted away in a matter of days. I didnt do anything else until my plant pack from Junglebox arrived.









I ordered 1 potted Pellionia repens and 1 Monstera freidrichsthalii cuttings, and he threw in alot of extras. He shipped me three cuttings of monstera, 1 pot of pellionia, three cuttings of hoya, and two cryptanthus pups. I guess he threw in the extras because I emailed him so many times asking questions. Top notch customer service, especially considering how little I actually spent on his site. First two pics are of monstera, then two of the hoyas with cryptanthus pups, then one of the cryptanthus pups.

































I planted the tank, moving the Syngonium to the shoreline, put the smallest monstera cutting in the center of the tank, put a cryptanthus pup next to the syngonium, put a hoya cutting where the syngonium was, and I put cuttings of pellionia along the back and sides. Then I added leaf litter.









I got a nice vine from the bird section of petsmart and added a cutting of strawberry begonia, some Scindapsus pictus, a second hoya cutting, a few aquatic plant cuttings, and the last couple cuttings I could save off of my dying Peperomia. 

















I think im done tinkering with this vivarium now. Im just gonna let it grow in and mature. 

















By the way, check out how much color that cryptanthus pup gained, compared to its first picture. Also the hens and chickens and the unknown name plant in the lower right section of moss bed are just in there until they start rooting.


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## Philsuma (Jul 18, 2006)

Be careful with that kind of light - especially that dome reflector....it's one that tends to overheat easily.

I see your temp says 77F......at the mid to bottom. I'll bet the temp up top near the light is at least 80F. Dangerous....


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## Okapi (Oct 12, 2007)

Thanks, ive been keeping an eye on that. Its in an upstairs game room that gets pretty warm in the evenings. Ill most likely relocate it, I just wanted it to be in an area where the roomates could appreciate the final product after raising their eyebrows at the tub of soaking kitty litter.


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## frogface (Feb 20, 2010)

That turned out really nice! I especially like the way the shoreline area looks.


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## Judy S (Aug 29, 2010)

I've been reading on various forums about people making their own conversions with aquarium tanks and am interested in just how they have done theirs...how have you done it??? Glass front, two or three pieces, securing into the front--things of that sort.


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## Okapi (Oct 12, 2007)

Judy S said:


> I've been reading on various forums about people making their own conversions with aquarium tanks and am interested in just how they have done theirs...how have you done it??? Glass front, two or three pieces, securing into the front--things of that sort.


I copied this guy's build, except I did the bottom section differently. Instead of a 5 inch barrier I only used a 3 inch barrier at the bottom, then a 1 inch Aluminium screen vent, then a 1inch strip of glass with the door track mounted on that. But the door and the top vent are identical.
NEW DESIGN: 10 gallon vertical vivariums - Terra Forums Carnivorous Plant Discussions
I would explain exactly how I did everything, except this guy's build is super detailed and easy to follow


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## Okapi (Oct 12, 2007)

Finally found my real camera 
Monstera leaves are gorgeous.








Tank shot








pellionia leaves start lime green, then turn red, then turn dark green.








If you look closely, you can see white mites I recruited from my compost pile to inhabit my leaf litter.









and a teaser of my next 10g vert...


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## fleshfrombone (Jun 15, 2008)

I like this vert man. Can't wait to see the new one!


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## dom (Sep 23, 2007)

Okapi said:


> and a teaser of my next 10g vert...



you should do that in like a 20L or 40


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## crank68516 (Aug 30, 2010)

What are you planning on putting it it? I've been thinking of a 10G vert with a clay background since i finished my 20H but not sure what kind of frog to put in it.


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## andry (Jun 15, 2010)

Can't wait to see that tree trunk viv. Looks cool! Subscribed!


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## oneshot (Mar 5, 2010)

Looks great! Quick question, how FF proof is that sliding door?


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## Okapi (Oct 12, 2007)

The link that I based my design off of would be fruit fly proof if the track was spaced right so that the glass was against the tanks trim. Mine is not, because I was trying to be cheap. But my tank is for a green tree frog, so it doesnt matter. For the track I used parts from a winter window energy saver kit. I cut the track-like part down then trimmed it and notched it to fit in the front of the tank. When I siliconed the top and bottom tracks in place I laid the tank horizontal with the glass door in them, expecting the weight of the glass to hold it at the right angle to keep the sliding door flush with the tanks trim. It didnt work out, the plastic is too flexible and the weight of the glass door pushing down on it creates a gap along the sides. 

Here is what I used:
Amazon.com: Duck Brand 1301808 Snap On Window Kit: Home Improvement: Reviews, Prices & more


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## Okapi (Oct 12, 2007)

crank68516 said:


> What are you planning on putting it it? I've been thinking of a 10G vert with a clay background since i finished my 20H but not sure what kind of frog to put in it.


It was a test to see how the clay method works, so I wasnt really planing for any particular frog. I did end up getting a green tree frog and putting him in there. He calls ALL the time. If he hears someone laugh, he calls. If the neighbors dog barks, he calls. If I play Marilyn Manson's cover for "This is Halloween" while carving a dart frog jack-o-lantern, he calls. Its pretty funny the first time people hear it though XD


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## Okapi (Oct 12, 2007)

I just finished my latest vertical using the experience that I gained from making this one and ordered a sexed pair of Imitators:
http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/parts-construction/60747-imitator-viv.html



dom said:


> you should do that in like a 20L or 40


I actually put that project on hold. I think id rather do a bigger tree in a larger vivarium like you suggested.


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## fleshfrombone (Jun 15, 2008)

Update that tree!


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## Okapi (Oct 12, 2007)

fleshfrombone said:


> Update that tree!


I decided to wait and do a bigger one at a later time. In the mean time, check out my newest vert: http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/parts-construction/60747-imitator-viv.html


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