# mascencerro 75 gallon



## mascencerro (Jan 17, 2007)

I didn't do a journal for my 10 gallon, but I'm going to try one for my 'upgrade' to a 75 gallon.

I just got this in the house, and thought to myself 'where in the heck will this go?'










wish me luck.


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## Yidso (Mar 16, 2007)

Good luck finding a place to put it. lol :lol: 

-Yidso


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

what ever you do, don't get rid of it, that will make an awsome vivarium!!


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## mascencerro (Jan 17, 2007)

Julio said:


> what ever you do, don't get rid of it, that will make an awsome vivarium!!


thats exactly what I got it for. 

of course, the friend that helped haul it said 'upgrade your saltwater tank', but I think my 30 gal works just fine for that and I really don't want to disturb an established system that is doing so well, or burn my pockets out with the expenses.


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## mascencerro (Jan 17, 2007)

I was planning on just moving my 2 G&B auratus to the 75, and getting some more G&B. But, as I start to plan/build, I also start consider either:

A) trying a different species for this tank

B) moving the 2 G&B and trying a different species with it.

I know that mixing species is frowned upon by some with smaller tanks, but what about with a 75?

Also, what would go good with the Costa Rican G&B auratus, in what numbers, and what types of plants/landscaping should I prepare for them?

hmm...


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## MJ (Jun 16, 2005)

Nice project man!

How about either getting more g&b auratus or some larger Phyllobates 8) I wouldn't bother mixing anything.


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## mascencerro (Jan 17, 2007)

i've got a background carved, and took some pics along the way, and got some mortar mix and pigment today, so hopefully i'll have some pics to post of that tomorrow or the next day.


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## mascencerro (Jan 17, 2007)

I cant find my memory card that has the progress pics, so here is a crappy one I took with my phone just after setting the background in place. The pic is bad I know, whitewashed out in spots, but you get the point.

I carved it from polystyrene foam and ran a propane torch across all of it for texture and to remove any loose foam.

For the rock I applied mortar mixed with acrylic fortifier and charcoal pigment in different shades, and applied a couple layers of the fortifier on top after it had all cured.

The tree is coco brick applied with brown silicone, tree bark, coco fiber, and sphagnum moss.
I scored a 2 free bricks of coco brick at my LFS for free because someone that worked there had used 1 of them for a chameleon tank at home and didnt need the rest.

I didn't mind much attention to the bottom areas because they'll be covered with substrate anyway.

So, how's it looking so far?


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## Abbathx (Aug 15, 2007)

very nice  you make any decision on the frogs yet?


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## MJ (Jun 16, 2005)

Looks awesome man well done 8)


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## MattySF (May 25, 2005)

That is sweet. What tree is the bark from? Did you have to do anything to neutalize the mortor or is it good to go?


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## mascencerro (Jan 17, 2007)

Abbathx said:


> very nice  you make any decision on the frogs yet?


not yet, but I'm leaning towards just moving the 2 G&B auratus and maybe getting 3 or so more. Of course, depends on $$ when everything is ready.


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## MissEry (May 29, 2007)

That looks amazing, I wish you had shown how you did that rock background. I would love to try something like that on my next tank. How long did it take to get the background to look like that?


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## mascencerro (Jan 17, 2007)

MissEry said:


> That looks amazing, I wish you had shown how you did that rock background. I would love to try something like that on my next tank. How long did it take to get the background to look like that?


I've got pics somewhere on one of my memory cards if I can ever find it.

Basically, I started with polystyrene foam, about 2" thick sheets, glued 4 of them together with gorilla glue and applied weight for 24 hours to keep them together tight. Then I started carving with a serrated steak knife and a wire brush. I didn't mess with details too much at first, just went for a basic form. Then I broke out the benz-o-matic and applied some heat, moving the torch around constantly to make sure not to actually catch the foam on fire (that would be bad). I did some detailing with the torch, making depressions, etc. I then went back to the knife and brush, and then the torch, and back and forth until I had the main structures how I wanted them. 

I had to cut it between the tree and rock because my tank has a glass support in the middle, and that seemed the best place to separate it.

For the rock, I mixed my mortar with acrylic fortifier and some of the pigment, just for a lighter layer, coated the entire surface well, brushed it around with a 1" paint brush, and let it set for about 5 hours. I kept the mortar stirred while I waited and did other things. I mixed a little more pigment in, to darken a little, and went for another coat, but not on the entire surface, leaving bare spots for the lighter coat to show through. I let this set for another 5 hours or so, and did some more with even darker pigment. I let this set for 4 days, sprayed with some vinegar and rinsed a couple times just in case. I then applied 2 coats of the fortifier to seal the deal.

For the tree I applied brown silicone and coco brick, and some bark, and coco fiber, and sphagnum moss.

When I put it in the tank I used some coco fiber to fill gaps and cover some of the bare spots that I'd made manhandling the pieces into the tank.

I'll see if I can find the card somewhere that has the pics, I took a bunch of em just to keep track of progress, but they do no good when missing.


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## operationbutter (Dec 24, 2007)

I love the tree!! That makes it look amazing. I would love to see the photo diary of how you made that. Where did you get the tree bark? Any old tree outside


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## mascencerro (Jan 17, 2007)

4 beers, 75 lbs of gravel, 2 1/2 bags of topsoil, some coco fiber, coco brick, sphagnum moss, window screening, more bark, and an *old* Samsung Digimax 210 later:


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## Amphiman (Nov 8, 2007)

I think it really looks nice...can't wait to see it with plants...and frogs  ....what are you going to put in it?


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## ThePetFreak (Dec 29, 2007)

looks good so far, can't wait to see the plant selection


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## pet-teez (Oct 3, 2007)

Any updates? It's been a little while 
I love the "tree" in there, that came out really nice


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## mascencerro (Jan 17, 2007)

no real updates right yet.

I was looking for premade screen inserts to fill the gaps from the glass tops, but ended up making my own, I'll get some pics when I get off work.

Other than that, I put a brom from my 10 gal in it and am just testing the environment stability for a while. I've been misting every 4 days and moving the gauge around the tank to different spots each time to see the differences in the areas of the tank to see if there are any, just for curiosity.

I also seeded with some springtails a couple times (one of those one beer, two beer, three beer, 'hey, i got an idea' nights).

I was going to order plants last week, but decided to wait a couple weeks for the weather to decide what it is going to do. Lately around here it has been around 15 degrees for a couple days, then 40. I still don't really know what plants I will get yet, but I want a couple different types of vining plants. Maybe a peperomia and oak leaf ficus. From there, I really don't know what I want.


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## operationbutter (Dec 24, 2007)

What is the tree bark made out of? How did you create it?


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## mascencerro (Jan 17, 2007)

The bark is tree bark from a big stump in my yard. 

I baked it for a while in attempt to kill off anything that might be living in it. 

I know, there are chances it will rot, but it is pretty hard stuff and I put quite a bit of silicone on and around it, and hopefully it will stand the test of time. I think it will be ok. It will be several months before the tank is inhabited by anything other than plants and some insects, and if it gives up before then, or shows bad signs, I'll move on to plan B and tear it down and start again with other ideas.

One of the fun parts and sometimes disappointing parts of this is experimentation, so I know ahead what I face.



operationbutter said:


> What is the tree bark made out of? How did you create it?


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## mascencerro (Jan 17, 2007)




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## dartboy2 (Aug 22, 2007)

Wow that is amazing what are you going to put in there.


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## NickBoudin (Nov 3, 2007)

Looks great, I love the plants..leaf litter... little ditch... did i say plants? 

Keep 'em commin' !


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## mascencerro (Jan 17, 2007)

dartboy2 said:


> Wow that is amazing what are you going to put in there.


probably just going to move my 2 D. Auratus to it. I was on the fence about getting 3 more, or making it an Azureus tank, but if I got the Az, but I'd have to get manage the male to female ratio a lot closer when getting them. 

I'm considering a group of imis too though.

I still have some more reading to go before trying a new species.





NickBoudin said:


> Looks great, I love the plants..leaf litter... little ditch... did i say plants?
> 
> Keep 'em commin' !


thanks 
I'm still looking for 1 or 2 more plants to add a subtle splash here and there. I kinda like Oxalis Silver & Gold and/or a begonia of some sort.


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

tank is looking pretty sweet! why such a big hollow trunk though?


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## Annababe (Oct 19, 2007)

mascencerro said:


> 4 beers, *75 lbs of gravel*, 2 1/2 bags of topsoil, some coco fiber, coco brick, sphagnum moss, window screening, more bark, and an *old* Samsung Digimax 210 later:
> 
> The statement 75 lbs of gravel really got me thinking................where the heck do you put such heavy tanks? And how do you move them around or clean them?
> 
> ...


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## mascencerro (Jan 17, 2007)

Annababe said:


> mascencerro said:
> 
> 
> > 4 beers, *75 lbs of gravel*, 2 1/2 bags of topsoil, some coco fiber, coco brick, sphagnum moss, window screening, more bark, and an *old* Samsung Digimax 210 later:
> ...


I've got this one sitting on what used to be a dresser that had a mirror, but the mirror is long gone, and the drawers are used for other storage of misc stuff, including fish/frog stuff, so its more like a stand.

its not near as heavy as my 30 gal full of saltwater and rock.

I don't move it around, and cleaning mostly just involves cleaning the glass.


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## Annababe (Oct 19, 2007)

Oh ok............................I got it.


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