# My First Viv-10 Gallon Vert Build



## davefan13 (Jun 14, 2007)

Hello everyone. I recently decided to take the plunge and build a vivarium. I had an extra 10 gallon tank laying around the house so I decided to use that. All of my building supplies and plants should be here in a couple days. Until then, I have the glass front and screen to work on. I will be using a 8.5" clamp lamp from my local hardware store (still have to pick it up). The glass front will be attached to the plastic frame of the tank with GE Silicone II. A 6" acrylic hinge will attach to the bottom piece of glass and the larger middle one, making a door that swings out and down. 

So far this is what I have gotten...

































































More to come!


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## tkromer (Dec 20, 2007)

You're on the right track, lots of work ahead  Keep us posted!


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## sounddrive (Jan 4, 2007)

dont know if you used that silicone yet but i recomend finding some brown silicone it covers much better.


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## Derek Benson (Feb 19, 2004)

good, make sure and do your background first before you put in the screen or bottom piece of glass. A piece of driftwood really makes a backgorund come alive too...


...oh and gloves are nice for the silicone...


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## davefan13 (Jun 14, 2007)

tkromer- Thanks, and I will definitely keep you guys posted  

Sounddrive - I picked up some "almond" colored silicone today at the hardware store. Not brown or black, but better than clear.

Derek - Thanks, I will remember that. And thanks for the gloves tip, ha.


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## davefan13 (Jun 14, 2007)

Ok, so I got a little bit more done. I purchases a clamp lamp, and it's housing a 26 watt compact flourescent bulb. Will this be ok for lighting my viv? I also had my glass cut for only $1.30. Pretty good, considering I can't even get a pop for that anymore.  . I finished up the screen, and all my supplies should be arriving really soon. 


























































Sorry if I am posting to may pictures of stuff that's not real interesting, I just know that when I'm new to a hobby and look for build threads, I like to see the stuff that's not really interesting, and lots of pictures. 

Hopefully you understood that :wink:


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## Derek Benson (Feb 19, 2004)

Good start. Another tip would be to run a bead of silicone on the outside of the tank around the "top" black rim. So when you have the tank sitting horizontally, this seals that black top rim to the glass. This way when you turn it vertical, there will be no chance of it leaking out of the bottom. 

I had a little issue where the black part sperarated a little bit and even though the bottom glass part was siliconed well to the black trim, the trim was slipping away from the main tank. Not fun to clean up....


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## davefan13 (Jun 14, 2007)

Ok, I was planning on doing that. That will be tomorrow's project, along with putting silicone on the background with the coco fiber. 

I have been thinking about my plans for the hinge on the door, and after receiving everything today I realized that having the hinge on the side would be much easier, especially if I were to drop the door on accident and break the glass :? 

So, will silicone still hold the acrylic hinge to the plastic rim, or will I just be better off using my original plan, which was using the glass/glass front opening design.

Thanks


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## sounddrive (Jan 4, 2007)

one more big deal is to silicone at least the hight of the bottom piece of glass on the inside of the black plastic that holds the tank togeather. silicone it good or about a month after you set the tank up you will have some very tiny leaks. you only need to do it at the bottom.


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## davefan13 (Jun 14, 2007)

Here are some pics. I got my box of supplies and started to unpack everything. I didn't realize that you needed to measure out the amount of water to soak coco fiber in, and I just plopped it into a big bucket. Needless to say, the brick was quite wet. I have basically spent the past day baking it, setting it out in the sun, and squeezing the excess water out of it. I would say for anyone who is going to get coco fiber brick soon, use to little water rather than to much. Add water is much easier than getting rid of it.

Now for the pics.

Coco fiber laying out. :roll: 









And the GS background. I didn't use any silicone on the background, and I'm not sure if it will be a problem or not but I never read that you should, so hopefully it will be OK.


































And I have now siliconed the inside of the plastic rim twice :wink:


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## davefan13 (Jun 14, 2007)

Got some work done today. Started off by finishing the background, putting silicone onto the Great Stuff and then patting down coco fiber onto it. When that was done, I siliconed the screen and bottom piece of glass into place. Once these are totally set I will put the hinges and clasp on. 

Pics...










































Dry fitting of the hinge and clasp.


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## Fishman (Jan 16, 2007)

I like the clear hinge and lock clasp. Where did you get those from?


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## davefan13 (Jun 14, 2007)

Thanks, 

I got them frog Josh's Frogs.


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## ian (Dec 25, 2006)

It didn't look like you siliconed your wood to the glass. When you start to mount plants and other things onto the background, you may get the GS to start pulling away from the glass. I've had this happen to me even after I siliconed the wood to the glass. Just keep an eye out for that. Keep up the good work.


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## froggiefriend (Jan 4, 2008)

do you have plans on what kinds of plants you will be using??? ALso who is moving in?
Keep us updated!  
Kristin


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## davefan13 (Jun 14, 2007)

Ok, well I have done a few more things on the viv. First off, in the last pic of the background you can see that there are lots of little white spots. I fixed most of those, and also made sure that the background was siliconed to the side of the glass really well.

I have also finished the front of the viv. One thing that I learned with my clasp is that you don't need a handle to open it, because the piece on the front of the glass works just as well  . Good thing it was like a $.80 acrylic knob that I ordered :lol: 

I also received my plants in the mail. I got a cryptanthus "bronze". I am not really happy with this at the moment...mostly because I thought it was a brom. But I'll throw it in the tank and see how it does. I also got a Neoregelia "Hot Pink" brom. I was really please with this, and hopefully it will color up nicely in the tank. For the tropical plant I got a pothos, but it seems really big right now. I'm not sure how well it will do in my small 10 gallon, but hopefully it's not to bad. Finally, the other plant that I am really excited about, is the Wandering Jew vine. I've heard this gives really great ground and background coverage and grows well.

I may end up ordering a fern, another brom or two, and possibly a different tropical, but I'm gonna put them in the viv and see how things are going first. 

Pics will come later tonight probably. 

Oh, and I have already started compiling a list of frogs that I want :lol: . Here they are, listed from my planned frog for this tank, the backup(s), and then my "wish list" :wink: 

D. Leucomelas - For this tank. Will do well in a vert and a good beginner frog. Easy to obtain and farily cheap.
P. Vittatus - My first choice for a backup. I've heard that it's a good climber, so will do well in a vert, and a hardy beginner frog. No local breeders have them, but they are cheap on the internet.
D. Ventrimaculatus - A more difficult frog, but not to expensive from what I have heard. Definitely utilize vertical space
D. Auratus - Beginner frog, but more suited for a horizontal tank. Not expensive, and available somewhat locally.

I may add more some other time 8)


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## davefan13 (Jun 14, 2007)

I moved everything into the viv today. I ran a ran inside the viv all night, and when I woke up I couldn't smell the silicone at all  . I also added some moss from my aquarium. I think it's Java Moss, but I'm not really sure. 

I made a little siphon thingy too. It's just two film canisters with holes cut in the bottoms to let me siphon the water out of the bottom. 

Finally, I reel like I need to mist to much. I have misted it a lot so far, but everything is staying pretty wet. The sides are wet and a little foggy, but the front is clear. I guess my question is, can I mist too much? 

Here are the pics

Brom - 








Pothos








Wandering Jew Vine 








Crypts 








Full Tank Shot








Ghetto Siphon Acceptor 

























Oh, and the (Java?) Moss









Enjoy


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## bobberly1 (Jul 16, 2008)

Wait, can you explain the film canister thing? Not catching on.


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## davefan13 (Jun 14, 2007)

Sure. 

The film canister is stuck into the LECA so that when water builds up down there, some of it will be in the film canister. I will then be able to siphon the water that's in the film canister out, and the rest of the water will fill it up again, at which point I'll be able to do the same thing.


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## davefan13 (Jun 14, 2007)

Couple updates.

Well, I am learning, slowly but surely :lol: . I lost a couple leaves on my wandering jew from rot, and my biggest pothos leave from rot. I'm sure it was because I kept the tank incredibly wet the first few days, thinking that it was the best way to keep the humidity up. The wet leaves stayed wet and pressed against the wet glass, which made them rot. 

I also lifted the light up off the glass with a couple scrap pieces of wood, and am running a fan under it to keep the heat down. It now is hottest at the very top, maxing at about 79.5.

I added leaf litter to the tank today. I like the way it looks, and it's more natural in terms of the frog's habitat, so it's a win-win there . 

I've pretty much narrowed my search down for frogs.

If I can get them locally, I hope to pick up a pair of C. Azureiventris. If I can't get those, then I hope to pick up some D. Lecomelas. If I can't get any frogs locally, and I have to order, My preferences, in order, are P. Vittatus, C. Azureiventris, and finally, D. Leucomelas. 

As soon as I figure out weather I can pick frogs up locally or not I will get going with the fruit fly cultures....and speaking of them I have a couple questions. 

I am looking to get a "starter package" for the flies, which includes D. Melanogaster flies, culturing media, coffee filters/excelsior, and some cups and lids. Additionally, I need Rep-cal and Herptivite for dusting the flies. After shopping around a little bit on the sponsors sites, I'm looking at around 50 bucks with shipping for all this stuff. 

I don't know if it's just me, but that seems a little steep just for the fruit flies and supplies for culturing them. If anyone has any suggestions on where to get this stuff fairly cheap it would be awesome!

Thanks,
Dave


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## Nubster (Jun 16, 2008)

You could probably buy the ingredients for the media and save a few bucks but you'll still have to get the fly cultures.


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## davefan13 (Jun 14, 2007)

And with the updates come some pics  

A crypt with a couple pups (i think).









A brom pup (I think, it's a shoot off the main brom)
















From the side









Pics of leaf litter. Red oak leaves









And finally, a full tank shot.


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## davefan13 (Jun 14, 2007)

Hmm....3 months later and everything is running smoothly! 2 C. Azureiventris occupy this viv now and all the plants have taken hold. I am quite pleased with my first viv, and it offers a great escape for me when schoolwork gets overwhelming . I'll try to get some pictures up soon.


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## boogsawaste (Jun 28, 2008)

Yeah, get some pics up!


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## PacMan (Oct 9, 2008)

looks good man, When/where are the plans for the next?

Keep up the good work.


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