# 83gallon tower tank



## Giga

I'm not new here but this is my first vivarium. I come from a reef background since 07 and have a reef tank currently but have always loved vivariums. I finally decided to take the jump. I really have no experience with vivariums but kinda learning as I go, so ill have lots a questions.I never like the standard sizes of tank so I've always built my own tanks to fit what goes on in my head  I just finished the stand(well kinda)and the tank is 20x20x48, with the stand it stands just over 6 feet tall. Not really sure what lighting ill have as not sure how much light ill need. I'm leaning tward a high powered led system but not sure.

Pardon the cellphone pic


More pics tonight after I get home from work and the weekend plan is to finish the stand and start to silicone the tank together


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## Giga

so little update as the stand is done and stained and is outside to cure(no pics sorry) and tomorrow I'll be picking up the scs1200 silicone and the glass. I also just placed A HUGE order from josh's frogs-and got a couple plants at the local nursery to get started

Korean rock fern










Unknown orchid-labled twinkle red fire








Flowers










Unknown orchid








Flowers








Shot at 2012-04-01


Pleurothallis Micrphylla "mark"










And my giant Fireball brom. I've grown from a single pup








Shot at 2012-04-01


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## Froggyplush

whats the plan for frogs


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## Giga

Dendrobates ventrimaculatus is what I'm leaning to as i want a arboreal species as this tank is more up then long, and I like thumbnails, and these are the easiest of thumbnails. Im a long way off though as I still need to put the tank together


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## skanderson

first unknown, twinkle, is an oncidium hybrid. the next is a tolumnea. they used to be called equitant oncidiums. they both will do best if you let them dry between waterings. also the tolumnea needs alot of light. looks good keep us posted.


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## Rusty_Shackleford

This is going to be an interestin build. Good choice of frog for this viv! How many are you thinking of putting in there? I'll be subscribed and following this one.


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## Giga

skanderson said:


> first unknown, twinkle, is an oncidium hybrid. the next is a tolumnea. they used to be called equitant oncidiums. they both will do best if you let them dry between waterings. also the tolumnea needs alot of light. looks good keep us posted.


thanks and that's good to know


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## Giga

Rusty_Shackleford said:


> This is going to be an interestin build. Good choice of frog for this viv! How many are you thinking of putting in there? I'll be subscribed and following this one.


I thought so too! I'm not sure how many frogs- a small group for sure-the exact number i'm still not sure


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## cschub13

Definately looking forward to this build! Btw that fireball cluster probably doesn't have enough broms to fill up the viv  haha.


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## Giga

cschub13 said:


> Definately looking forward to this build! Btw that fireball cluster probably doesn't have enough broms to fill up the viv  haha.


Lol I'm just gonna cut off a couple of the pups and use those-gonna mount one up high so it turns red then one lower so it stays green. Also ordered 5 more different broms from Josh's frogs should be here tomorrow


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## Giga

So one my way to work today I stoped to get the glass at the glass cutters and silicone from a local store, and online they had scs1200 and they said had it in stock at their store. When I got there they had no idea what I was talking about so I was little upset, but much to my surprise/delight they had the RTV100 series of silicone which is WAY better then the scs1200. It has a higher tensile strenght and bonding, and is fda aproved for food contact. I got rtv103(clear) and rtv108(black) is what i've been useing for years to build aquariums.




Just for kicks this is my current marine aquarium that I built in 2010 with rtv103


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## bobrez

Nice score on the silicone, looks like the good stuff 
What store carries it, quick search showed graingers had it 
any others?


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## Giga

nailed that on the head-I had to drive almost a hour to the store(didn't know the existed locally) so thats why I was so perturbed. I wanted to start my tank as soon as I could so I didn't want to order the silicone and have to wait a week or whatever the shipping would be.

On that note I've been reading about false bottom and I'm gonna use leca and then ABG with a eggcrate barrier. Would it be cool to have a 1/2" bulk head in the bottom to drain the excess water. I would have the drain sit 1 inche higher then bottom glass so there will be standing water but anything higher then that would be automactically drained away. I have the ultimate mistking system system on the way and I most likly gonna use a fogger as well so I don't want to have to manually drain excess water away. I'm still debating if I want to install a water feature.


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## mcaiger53

I would skip the leca (I think its the same as hydroton?), as I don't see a need if you are using egg crate. They both serve the same purpose of keeping the substrate out of standing water. Leca and hydroton will also absorb a lot of water and become very heavy which isn't a big deal until you have to move it. I had to move all my tanks last fall and haven't used hydroton since. 
Mike


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## Giga

Oh I was under the impression that you use hydroton then the eggcrate with some sort of fine mesh, then the abg?


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## goof901

hydroton AND egg crate is redundant. go with one or the other


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## parkanz2

Giga said:


> Oh I was under the impression that you use hydroton then the eggcrate with some sort of fine mesh, then the abg?


Leca or egg crate is just to provide structural support with minimal water holding properties for your actual substrate layer. Many of us use egg crate propped up on supports like short pieces of PVC. I like this a little better than LECA personally. I always thought leca was more work and more expensive.


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## jacobi

Giga said:


> Oh I was under the impression that you use hydroton then the eggcrate with some sort of fine mesh, then the abg?


Its mostly a matter of preference. One isn't really better than the other, and people sometimes get hung up on one over the other. The hydroton is simpler, put down layer of hydroton, put down screening, put down substrate. The false bottom method is more time consuming, since you have to measure, cut, carve, and attach everything. There may be a weight difference, but that's not something I generally take into consideration, partly because its a matter of only several pounds, and partly because it is inconsequential in my opinion. Once you have a tank that size, its already going to be too heavy to be casually moving around, and it isn't going to be heavy enough to require any structural considerations regarding your floor. Personally, I prefer the false bottoms. I find it easier to drain standing water, it allows for easier landscaping, and of course, its something to actually build, which is fun 

Jake


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## Giga

The stand alone is pretty heavy, and it's not gonna move from where it is untill I move(that will be fun day) I already ordered the hydroton so I'll just use that and see how it goes.

also and another not I just silicone the the glass together so once that cures in a day or so I'ma start working on the design!!


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## Giga

Siliconed and cureing


didn't silicone the rest of the glass on just yet as I want to have ez acces when I put then the background together as the back and side is where I'll create my background. Also don't know if I said this but this will be going in the corner of my livering room hence the to larger pieces of wood on the back of the stand.


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## Giga

so now that everything has cured i'm wondering what method I want to use to cover the faom- I'm leaning tward Ultimate wood glue mixed with the peat and coco-as to the silicone/touline-I'd rather not use any harsh chemicals as this will be done inside-I really won't have a water feature but will have the mistking setup, does the ultimate 3 last long term?


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## parkanz2

I'm pretty sure that titebond III is considered a completely water proof and inert when cured.


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## Giga

Finished my diy Led driver-pain to solder surface mount by hand









My order came in-also got some mosses and 5 different broms but don't have a pic till later

















Started working things together








another shot


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## Giga

So almost finished Foaming and putting and the wood up- The design I ended up useing is a tree top kinda theme-Had a small bit of TitebondIII so gave that a little test as well. I'm still debateing how to make the internal circulation and my lighting- I want really strong lighting becuase I want the brom's to have amazeing color and they only do that with strong light-so we'll see and more pic later tonight


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## Giga

Forgot to take a picture of the tank but I did take the pic of the broms I got,There's a couple more I want to get but this is a good start








Shot at 2012-04-11








Shot at 2012-04-11








Shot at 2012-04-11








Shot at 2012-04-11








Shot at 2012-04-11


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## Giga

kinda bad/dark photos as all the light were almost off

















ground lvl








treetop









I'll try and get some better pics when the lights are on


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## Giga

progress-will be getting the last of the glass this week and hooking up the misting system



























picked up some mosses outside to try them in the viv once done


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## Rusty_Shackleford

So no background in this viv? If not you're really limiting the amount of useable space and the number of frogs this viv can sustain. Looking at it there really isn't a lot of liveable space for the frogs.


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## Giga

There is a 20x20" floor space which is a lot bigger then most tanks in racks. Plus the tree top will be covered in orchids and brom n such. This tank is more about the plants and the frogs a plus. So not many frogs will be in here


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## goof901

make sure you bleach and quarantine that moss before you put it in!!!! if the wood is like packed with broms that would be great for thumbs.


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## Rusty_Shackleford

Giga said:


> There is a 20x20" floor space which is a lot bigger then most tanks in racks. Plus the tree top will be covered in orchids and brom n such. This tank is more about the plants and the frogs a plus. So not many frogs will be in here


I understand, my mistake. I thought you were planning a big group of thumbs, my mistake. 

I love that big branch and it's gonna look great covered broms and orchids. How long is that branch? 3 feet long?


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## stevenhman

Looks good. Nice idea on the silicone - I had no idea such a brand existed, I'll be ordering some soon. Any suggestions for a good place online?


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## Giga

Rusty_Shackleford said:


> I understand, my mistake. I thought you were planning a big group of thumbs, my mistake.
> 
> I love that big branch and it's gonna look great covered broms and orchids. How long is that branch? 3 feet long?



It's about 3.5 feet about 18" wide at the top, and in time it will be totally covered in moss,broms,mini orchids and maybe small fern. I've been looking hundreds of rainforest pictures of tree tops . Gonna try make it look Like the organized chaos 



stevenhman said:


> Looks good. Nice idea on the silicone - I had no idea such a brand existed, I'll be ordering some soon. Any suggestions for a good place online?


,


No idea really I always got it at grainger.Just Google it I guess


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## Giga

goof901 said:


> make sure you bleach and quarantine that moss before you put it in!!!! if the wood is like packed with broms that would be great for thumbs.



Wont be bleaching the moss as I have a different method for cleaning moss. Bleaching moss makes the moss brown or tan/very light green and looks bad. I have about 6 different type of moss including a couple tropical. gonna try just mounting the moss and blending it up and painting it on the back ground and see what takes off.


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## goof901

how do you plan on treating it then?


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## Giga

let it completely dry out for a few weeks(this will kill 90% of all the baddies)
then co2 bomb it
place it in one of those large ziplock bags and mist it to rehydrate it
watch it to see if anything come back
co2 bomb again then in the tank it goes

this is kinda lengthy but I started this a week ago and my tank isn't done yet so by the time it is it should be ready to go, and will still be lush green


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## Giga

so my wife voiced some concernse to me about the frogs and there toxicity. With haveing kids around the corner(this year) and the chance of the frogs getting out and my dogs eating one n such. Made me think too soo not sure what to put in this tank now.


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## stevenhman

The frogs are not toxic. I've heard that freshly WC frogs can be to an extent, but I have no firsthand experience with that.


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## goof901

cb ones are NOT toxic. if they were, most of us froggers would be dead.


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## carola1155

goof901 said:


> cb ones are NOT toxic. if they were, most of us froggers would be dead.


haha thats a bit of an overstatement... I bet not a lot of us are letting our frogs come in contact with open wounds or anything. Also, if I remember correctly the only ones that would really do quick damage would be terribilis. 

Giga, (sorry I didnt see your name anywhere) you can tell your wife there is nothing to worry about. Frogs receive their toxicity from the food that they eat. Fruit flies do not provide them with the alkaloids required to produce their toxin. If you want to play it completely safe just make sure to purchase captive bred frogs. However, WC frogs will lose their toxicity with time as well.

Keep up the great work on the tank!


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## Giga

So I have so good news and some horrific news.

Good news is I got the other side and top pieces of glass for my tank and mounting the misting system as well-tested it out and it's really awesome-sorry for the dirty glass



Then i was drilling some hole in the wood for mounting broms. when this happened I dropped the drill and it went crashing through the bottom!!!!!!! So now I have to rip things out cut all the silicone out and put in a new bottom pane. Then re foam anad then titebond/peat again-here I was getting ready to plant this thing


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## jbherpin

Dang! That is just bad luck... I hope for a smooth time of repairing it... Best of luck, and thanks for keeping the updates coming, even if they are bad news... 

JBear


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## Venutus1

Don't get discouraged... these things happen.
sometimes it is 10 steps forward  and then a few steps back.
I must say, I am planning a tall tank and yours is an inspiration to me... so press on and keep up the good work!
Cheers,
Todd
[email protected] 



Giga said:


> So I have so good news and some horrific news.
> 
> Good news is I got the other side and top pieces of glass for my tank and mounting the misting system as well-tested it out and it's really awesome-sorry for the dirty glass
> 
> 
> 
> Then i was drilling some hole in the wood for mounting broms. when this happened I dropped the drill and it went crashing through the bottom!!!!!!! So now I have to rip things out cut all the silicone out and put in a new bottom pane. Then re foam anad then titebond/peat again-here I was getting ready to plant this thing


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## Giga

some plants-planted them on the tree to see what it would look like. 

Neo. fireball-this guy will turn completely red now that it's in light-all these guys have been sitting in front of a window lol


Neo. "Mo pepper"- most bromileads have funny names


Neo. Ampullacea-not sure what color pattern this will take on as it still needs to color up


Neo. "Not domino" -yellowish spiky leaves and pink tips


Neo. maculata-tall skinny and darker color but still need to color up



I just ordered 6 other micro bromileads-one only gets 2"! I can't wait. I'm completely taken with this vivarium thing and have been buying up plants left and right with my tank not even done :lol:


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## Giga

check what I just got!

Java Plum









Neoregelia Dungsiana-this guy is tiny that's my fingertip in the pic









Neoregelia Babe









Neoregelia Chiquita Linda and Domino Clone









Neoregelia ********


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## Dartolution

I know where you got those from!
Awesome!


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## Giga

Dartolution said:


> I know where you got those from!
> Awesome!


Lol tropical plants and they are in great shape. I'm pretty sure I'm done with bromileads as I have 10 different one in there now. I'll try and take a pic because it looks really cool


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## Dartolution

Yes indeed! 
Jason has got some awesome plants! 
I've gotten 6 from him, they are all absolutely awesome


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## Giga

SO I GOT MORE GLASS AND SOME JERK PULLED OUT IN FRONT OF ME AND I HAD TO BRAKE HARD AND ALL THE GLASS FELL FORWARD AND BROKE!!!!!  So unless someone want to donate to the Giga fund this thing is on stand still yet again till the next month. I'm so pissed off as I could of had this thing running by now.

to cheer my self up I took a couple fts of the tree top-the only thing in the tank :lol: 
one side


Other side


Top down


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## Devo

Hopefully you've had all the bad luck you're gonna get with glass on this build!

You've got a great collection of mini broms, and they're looking good on the driftwood. What method are you using to attach them?

Cheers, Andrew.


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## Giga

Update time:

So I'm re-finishing the bottom and got the door installed minus the door catch. I'm also leaving for vacation for ten day and have to leave things to run by themselves. Everything is automated by i'm still gonna be freaking out. lol

On with the pics
Neoregelia Chiquita is putting out a pup-hard to see but if you look close you can see the spike



Fireball getting more and more red by the day and is also putting out a pup



Neo. Ampullacea coloring up and putting out a pup and has grown roots like mad-don't mind the glue this is still a work in progress


unknown orchid putting out new growth


Another unknown orchid growing



Front shot-can see the new foam and wood work that need to be carved then covered-and my temp door hidge


Side shot


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## Giga

Other side



from the bottom


Finally the mess that is my tanks right now


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## Giga

Just so you guys know this is all growing under LEDs


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## carola1155

I'm just waiting to see how the frogs behave on their little brom canopy... probably going to be pretty cool to watch. Keep it up!


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## cschub13

Wow man this build is awesome, I take a real fancy to wood features that hold tons of broms like this!! The tank next to your viv is that a saltwater setup!? It looks amazing!! Btw I'm sure I missed it but what is going in the viv when done??


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## Giga

carola1155 said:


> I'm just waiting to see how the frogs behave on their little brom canopy... probably going to be pretty cool to watch. Keep it up!


Thank you, I hope they use it too.





> . cschub13
> Re: 83gallon tower tank
> Wow man this build is awesome, I take a real fancy to wood features that hold tons of broms like this!! The tank next to your viv is that a saltwater setup!? It looks amazing!! Btw I'm sure I missed it but what is going in the viv when done??


This is still up for debate as I was gonna have Dend. ventrimaculatus but I really like lamasai as well. I want a thumbnail speicies and considering this is my first viv. and frogs I don't want a super hard species. I was gonna put mantis in here but frog seem to be cooler and live a lot longer. Yeah that my saltwater tank and is being broke down to a smaller tank and that tank is gonna be a planted aquarium. That will be a little bit as I'm moving in six months so I'm just gonna have the viv for now. I really have a great wife for understanding all my aquariums lol


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## danny8524ever

Wow, I love this tank.


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## froggies3

When I first saw this I knew it was going to be great, but I did not think it would look this great! What ever frogs go in there, they will love it.
Edit: No, you should go with a big group of Bastimentos. They would love it in there!


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## barnes

The tank looks great so far, can't wait to see it finished.


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## ConFuCiuZ

The tank does look good, especially the branches with the broms. Im having trouble understanding the great stuff bottom. I know your bottom glass panel broke.


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## Giga

ConFuCiuZ said:


> The tank does look good, especially the branches with the broms. Im having trouble understanding the great stuff bottom. I know your bottom glass panel broke.



The foam is just on the outside as I installed a new bottom glass pane, the foam was just not carved. I just got back into the county and I'll take some pics to better understand.


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## dendrorani

Really cool and original way of putting your setup together...
Love it...

Rani

PS: what is you LED setup? Watts etc...


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## Giga

update with pic in no specific order


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## Giga

The led's consist of
2 x 50w cool white
4 x 3w deep red
5 x 1w 400nm
12 x 3w royal blue
4 x 3w blue

The growth is crazy and color is great!


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## hydrophyte

That looks great!


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## Giga

this is the guys i was talking about lol


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## Duff

Hi Giga, your set up is amazing and the layout perfect for that tank! I have a quick question, on your lighting is it 2x50w cool white or 2x5w cool white? Which LED's did you use?


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## Giga

No there are two BXRA-50C5300-H-00 that are driven at 50w each for a total of 100w. These LEDs are about 46$ each.


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## Duff

Thank you for the clarification! You tank looks amazing and I'm happy to see that you survived all the mishaps along the way!


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## Giga

Duff said:


> Thank you for the clarification! You tank looks amazing and I'm happy to see that you survived all the mishaps along the way!


Yeah I've built many aquarium before and never had any problems, weird that I had so many with this one but I really like the outcome


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## tnwalkers

great looking tank keep the updates coming


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## jlb

Beautiful!


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## Giga

I'll take a couple pics today and maybe a movie


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## Giga

PICTURE TIME!!!

My moss is exploding and woke up to find a mushroom!(focus kinda bad here)









moss on branch with orchid growth as well









more moss










New plant can you guess?









Another tropical moss the popped up









this orchid hasn't put much growth out but the roots are going crazy


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## Giga

Check this out!!! No idea the orchid but it seem to be doing well as I'm about to have my first flowers in the viv. I might put some thread around it to tie it close to the wood not sure.

















another orchid









Broms doing well as you can see


































added pilea(sp?) and it got new growth as well

















ruler of this Viv. Molted on me and doubled her size over night. gonna be getting an orchid or some ghost as soon as more are available. 

















lastly side shot


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## Giga

forgot to mention that I love vivs now so much that I'm takeing down my reef tank to build another Viv!!!


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## Giga

Had my first orchid bloom ths morning! Once I get home I'll load the pictures


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## Giga

So can anybody tell what type or orchid this is?


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## frogparty

Its a Restrepia. Looks like brachypus, or trichoglossa


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## Giga

cool it's my first orchid I've ever had bloom so I'm pretty excited. I'll look those up ans see what matches


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## Nismo95

Any more info on what moss was used? you say tropical, did you get it from sponsors? I am really trying to find a awesome moss for our next vivarium. Preferably one that doesnt have 5 inch fronds reaching for the light lol.


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## Giga

I don't know what type of moss it is but it came in a 
Planter with a plant grown In a green house. So manybe check out you local green house for mosses. I bought a couple plants just for the moss growing around the base of tropical plants.



A another issue a couple of my bromileads have white patches on them and I don't know what it's from, I'm not sure if I should be worried. I'll take a pic tonight but I'm freaking out a little.


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## Giga

here's what I was talking about-ima post this in the plant section too. It's like completely white patch within a day or two. Anyone have an idea?


























has on fireball two and you can see how red this guys is under leds!


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## rahunt2

Those marks on the bromeliad leaves look a lot like sunburn on the leaves. This seems unlikely since they are under LED lights. I have also seen spider mites do this kind of leaf damage.


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## Ozydego

I agree, it almost looks like water sun burn, with a pool of water reflecting light just right, it burns the leaves, kinda like a magnifying glass on an ant. The light may be too much for them while they are wet...


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## Giga

so it would seem I found my problem, my Violet leds(400nm) have a 60 degree optic on them and even at 500ma they were burning the plants. I have since turned them down and no more burns are appearing.


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## diggenem

That's one lucky mantis. I didn't see it in the previous replies but type of leds are you using

Edit: just seen the answer, awesome tank

Sent from my HTC Evo 4G using Tapatalk 2


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## Giga

So I jusr ordered some ghost from frogparty-Can't wait!!


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## frogparty

ahhh yeah. They will love it in there


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## kingfisherfleshy

Love the tank. Very cool. 

What do you feed your mantis?


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## stevenhman

kingfisherfleshy said:


> Love the tank. Very cool.
> 
> What do you feed your mantis?


From what I remember, mantid keepers often buy house-fly larve to hatch out as needed. You can also probably catch moths (wax worm's are usually available locally), but take this with a grain of salt as I've had a bit to drink.


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## kingfisherfleshy

Interesting. Thank you.

Its a well known fact that after a few drinks is the best time to go forum cruising.


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## Giga

the chinese mantis in there now I just feed him bugs from outside. The ghost will be so small that i'll be getting fruit flys for them to start out then bigger bugs as the grow bigger


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## kingfisherfleshy

How in a tank that big will you present the flies to him?

Hand feeding? 

Thanks - cant get over your broms...send me those pups!


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## Giga

So little update as I haven't given one in a while but I just ordered three new orchids, computer fans, and some magnets for mounting the fans and for more door. Also my ghost mantis should be here this week as well so lots of things happening for this viv and lots of picture soon to be comming.


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## Giga

So it's update time. Got everything in the mail but my magnets for mounting the fans. On to the pics, sorry they're a little over exposed 

Orchids 

Epibator (Zootrophion) serpentinus









Pleurothallis tribuloides









masdevllia nidifica









Restrepia trichoglossa 









Pleurothallis grobyi-I thought this guy was a gonner for me as I couldn't get him to stop dropping leaves. Finally I moved him and he's now shooting 5 new leaves!









3 Unknown bulbophyllum orchids-waiting for a flower from any of these guys so they can be identified-lots of growth just no flowers.

























unknown the roots are still going crazy but no leaves forming.


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## Giga

other random pictures

This corner has been filling in well and lots of crazy growht









This fern came out of no where and I have no idea what it is but it's really tiny and cool!









Miss mantis keeping a lookout









My fireball is putting on some serious red!









another shot of my fave two broms









and my new 60mm brushless fans just got to get some pvc and the magnets in the mail now









So I was going to get ghost mantis and I bought some from frogparty two weeks ago but they never arrived after two weeks . So i guess I'll just have to replace my current Chinese mantis with some frogs lol. Also I'll have more picture coming up as I never got any type of way to close my door on my viv. I've been just using clear tape. But I'm gonna silicone a little piece of glass then use some super strong magnets to seal the door.


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## Giga

Forgot a picture


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## toksyn

I really like this approach! I also really like the DIY LED approach, definitely right up my alley. Fellow EE?


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## Giga

toksyn said:


> I really like this approach! I also really like the DIY LED approach, definitely right up my alley. Fellow EE?


EE? Not sure what that is.


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## toksyn

Electrical engineer.


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## Giga

I do I.T. Work so kinda lol


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## Nismo95

Was this just one solid piece of wood?? Where did you find that marvel. lol


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## Giga

Na just a bunch of pieces of wood tied together


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## Nismo95

Where did you find the wood? how many pieces is that if you remember?


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## Giga

the main branch is one, if that's what your asking but then there is 5 pieces holding that up for support.


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## ICS523

buitiful tank


> Neo. "Mo pepper"- most bromileads have funny names


that is because its a cultivar name, its a fancy name they give to a particular clone of a plant that cant be reproduced through seed


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## Giga

I made some major work on the viv and just ordered 2 somewhat rare orchids. Pic to come soon!


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## Giga

Update time and I'm finally able to close my vivarium  I used a thin piece of glass and silicone it to the top inside of the doorway and then glued a magnet to the center of it on the inside and then outside of the door. THe magnet I used are weather heat proof and holy crap strong. Even going through 3/8" of glass I have to give it a crazy pull. I wanted it this way so no one can open the door but me. But at 60lbs of force I think i went to much

open door









closed door









on a side note I noticed that there is a very small gap in the door that I'll have to use a small bit of silicone to make a seal.









Also started on my circulation system for this viv









Getting serious-got some viv tools









Some plant life 

my Epibator (Zootrophion) serpentinus is putting out new leaves already so that's good news









my Restrepia trichoglossa bloomed yet again over the weekend

















and what ever this is popped out of no where and has little flowers on it!


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## Giga

I don't know why but for some resaon the site make some pictures sideways. That picture of the door closed I posted 3 times the right way then this site puts it sideways


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## toksyn

It looks correct for me...


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## HDreptiles

Very nice viv man. The more I see people building their own tanks, the more it makes me want to try one. I love the height on this one. Might have to try this in the near future for a crested gecko. What thickness did you get for the glass?

P.S. - Taking down your reef tank for another viv is blasphemy! Lol. Next time just get rid of the couch. I am sure the wife would understand.


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## skanderson

that flower looks like it could be a utricularia sp. to me. lots of small growing species that flower like that.


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## Giga

toksyn said:


> It looks correct for me...


yeah it's weird becuase it looks right on my computer but on my phone and ipad it's sideways



HDreptiles said:


> Very nice viv man. The more I see people building their own tanks, the more it makes me want to try one. I love the height on this one. Might have to try this in the near future for a crested gecko. What thickness did you get for the glass?
> 
> P.S. - Taking down your reef tank for another viv is blasphemy! Lol. Next time just get rid of the couch. I am sure the wife would understand.


The glass is 1/4" I find 1/8 way to fragile and 3/8 way to heavy. I do use 3/8 for my reef tank becuase it needs to hold water. Yeah I've had reefs for a number of years now and I was wanting to do something new and with less maintanece. I have two large tanks(including this one) and the wife is very understanding and she likes the tanks to but she put the limit on 3 tanks-I'm buying a new bigger house right now and I havn't started the 2nd viv yet(300 gallons ) just gathering supplies. So once I moved into my new house i'ma start the new viv and most likly a little 10-20 gallon reef tank.



skanderson said:


> that flower looks like it could be a utricularia sp. to me. lots of small growing species that flower like that.


cool thanks yeah it's nice to have little surprises like these!


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## Giga

Nice surprise came in the mail this morning. These weren't scheduled to arrive till Tuesday but my new orchids came in

Bulb. lasiochilum and Den. Laevifolium









in flower too!


















Mounted on the tree-it took forever to wrap the sphagnum to the tree


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## diggenem

Let's get another FTS

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk 2


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## Giga

I was gonna take some picture this weekend and a vid too


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## Giga

sorry for lack of updates guys but I've just been so busy with the new house jaz. 

Thought I'd at least give you a picture. Here's my other obsession- this is what the other viv will have-not frog related but cool none the less.


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## JoshsDragonz

Awesome crabs!


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## Leucomelas18

Gotta hand it to ya! GREAT VIV! And glad to see the LEDs are working out great. Always wanted to use them for a viv since my brother is an EE and gets them for cheap.


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## Giga

Thank you-I just bought a resurrection fern and I have some new crabs coming in from Indonesia. Should be here in like 4-5 days!

oh and this lol


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## Shinosuke

"Lets DANCE!"


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## eos

Tank looks awesome. As does the mantis


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## Giga

Thank you. Yeha the mantis is just so Ihave something in there till I move. Once I find a house(very frustrating buy a new house) and move in im gonna but some frogs!


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## Giga

So I bought a couple new air plants and I'm sure ill get some pics up( very busy uggg) but my wife's car just went ka-put. I have to replace the engine and that a pretty penny so my hobby fund just went ka-put as well so it now wait and grow out time lol


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## spyder 1.0

update? .


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## Giga

Ill post an update soon just got a lot going on right now as I'm moving but it's grown in a lot


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## Giga

So major update today~Miss mantis met the end of her life span today but she lived longer then she should have so i knew this was coming sooner or later. The good news is I got a pair of these guys Today! they were marked R. imitator 'Varadero' but I'm not to sure-What do you guys think?I'll try and get some better pictures soon for better ID.For 60$ for both the timing couldn't have been better. Also I'll have a huge photo dump soon as the tank has grown like mad, but I'm now just finishing moving in, so I can finally pay attention to my tanks!






































some minor 3d?
http://www.picasion.com/


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## frogparty

Those are an imitator all right, but appear to be hybrids. Id guess varadero/intermedius
Cool looking frogs though, and th tank looks great


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## goof901

the first one looks nothing like a varadero, the second one does, but is very skinny.


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## Giga

yeah i noticed that too so i'm gonna over feed a little bit till nice and fat again


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## Giga

pic from today-pardon the dirty glass


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## Giga

So looks like these two might be the rulers of this tank as they're kinda hybrids and I might anger the frog gods if I do lol


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## NickMan

Just read your thread and I wanted to say that I love your viv! Incredible plants and scaping. Great idea having mantids in there before the frogs, no worried about diseases etc.

I was wondering if you could give some detailed info on your lights. I just built a pretty big (92 x 3 watt chips driven between 700ma and 1100 ma) 6-color fixture for my reef so I figured i was probably thinking major overkill for a viv. However, from the looks of things you are putting out some serious light! 
What drivers/chips are you using?
What colors?
How many ma are you driving them at?
Can we see some pics of the fixture?

Thanks in advance, keep up the great work!

-Nick


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## Giga

NickMan said:


> Just read your thread and I wanted to say that I love your viv! Incredible plants and scaping. Great idea having mantids in there before the frogs, no worried about diseases etc.
> 
> I was wondering if you could give some detailed info on your lights. I just built a pretty big (92 x 3 watt chips driven between 700ma and 1100 ma) 6-color fixture for my reef so I figured i was probably thinking major overkill for a viv. However, from the looks of things you are putting out some serious light!
> What drivers/chips are you using?
> What colors?
> How many ma are you driving them at?
> Can we see some pics of the fixture?
> 
> Thanks in advance, keep up the great work!
> 
> -Nick



Yeah I can take a few pics of the light, I have the late shift this week at my job so you'll have to wait till tomorrow but th details is as follow. By the way this tank has been completely lit by LEDs since day 1

The tank is running
2 x 50w bridgelux( not the cheap Chinese ones) 
16 x xte royal blue
4 x xpe royal blue
4 x dragon deep red 
8 x 420nm violet led

Everything is powered by DIY drivers and I have the led turned down a little because at full blast ill end up burning the plants but I have some serious light going on as I wanted my brom to keep color. Much to my surprise its bright enough that the broms are haveing even more color. Yeah I'm building a reef light as well right no for my new rimless tank


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## Giga

I couldnt' get a good shot of the led's them self but this is in the hood of my viv-Basically a rats nest(havn't had time to clean thing up yet) It's just a large heatsink,3 diy led drivers,fan controller and a powersuupply-also the xpe are just blue not royal blue.










Took a couple other shot too(with cellphone )-I really need a good camera

ground lvl









upper tree lvl









Right wall









Back of tree









This is what you see when you walk in my house or sit on the couch


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## NickMan

thanks for the pics and info! 

Sorry for all the questions but id really like to stick with LEDs for my future projects now that I have all the basics of building a fixture nailed down. Im new to lighting plants with them and I cant find much info in DIY fixtures on the web. 

Do you have those drivers turned down or are you just running them all at the same power?
I went with non-dimmable and dimmable drivers on my build ( 8 of them in total, which puts your rats nest to shame  ) so i didnt cook all my corals and adjust the color temp a bit. 

I like the color temp and spread based on the pics. Do you use any optics on the smaller LEDs because of the depth of the enclosure?

-Nick


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## JoshsDragonz

Hey Giga, what is the fern in bottom left in the ground level pic?

-Josh


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## Giga

NickMan said:


> thanks for the pics and info!
> 
> Sorry for all the questions but id really like to stick with LEDs for my future projects now that I have all the basics of building a fixture nailed down. Im new to lighting plants with them and I cant find much info in DIY fixtures on the web.
> 
> Do you have those drivers turned down or are you just running them all at the same power?
> I went with non-dimmable and dimmable drivers on my build ( 8 of them in total, which puts your rats nest to shame  ) so i didnt cook all my corals and adjust the color temp a bit.
> 
> I like the color temp and spread based on the pics. Do you use any optics on the smaller LEDs because of the depth of the enclosure?
> 
> -Nick


The 2 50w led run close to full power with 40 and 80 degree optics and all the rest run at 700 am with no optics the uv run at about 450 as any higher they will burn the plants as the have 60 degree optics.



> JoshsDragonz
> Re: 83gallon tower tank
> Hey Giga, what is the fern in bottom left in the ground level pic?
> 
> -Josh


Thats a resurrection fern


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## NickMan

Im a ways off from starting my viv and until i get a better idea of the space ill be putting it in im not sure of the dimensions. I have several T5 lighting options already laying around from previous reef tanks but the heat output concerns me a bit. Unless I go really tall like you did i prob wont be looking at 50 watt emitters so as to avoid "hot spots" and cooking my plants. 
If you could have changed anything with your lighting so far what would it have been? More or less of any color LED? tighter or wider optics to enhance lighting distribution?


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## Giga

Nothing I love my lights lol


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## Giga

Found out that my veradero made his home up in the canopy of my viv-pretty cool if you ask me


































A cool-ish shot of my lights


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## Giga

So is it common to not be able to find your thumbnails? I had people over and wanted to show them my darts but I could not find them, couldn't find them this morning either.


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## itskris

Yes. Very common. Especially with certain thumbs. I saw my benedicta only once a week.


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## Giga

I guess they just like the viv now because they were out like all the time now I haven't seen them in a couple days


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## Giga

Cool shot from the top and my broms are going crazy-check out how deep red my fireball is top right-all under leds!


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## frogparty

They might be transporting tads or laying eggs. I find that thumbnails go through waves of "visibility" while they are courting, breeding and caring for tadpoles


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## Giga

I hope they are because I haven't seen them in like a week but before that they were out all the time jumping around


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## jausi

I just going to say thank you for sharing, that stunning setup


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## DragonSpirit1185

Giga said:


> Cool shot from the top and my broms are going crazy-check out how deep red my fireball is top right-all under leds!


I need to get me some LEDs. My broms have lost their color and are actually dying off, hopefully the pups will turn out fine though.
I'm just running 2 65000k CFLs which is good lighting but these LEDs seem a lot better for broms

Your viv looks awesome man nice work 
Would love more info on the lights


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## Giga

thanks, yeah cfl's don't put out much par and their spectrum is somewhat limited


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## DragonSpirit1185

Giga said:


> thanks, yeah cfl's don't put out much par and their spectrum is somewhat limited


Yeah I'm thinking about getting me some Jungle Dawns


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## Giga

so at what point should I be nervous I havn't seen them in 2.5 weeks?


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## leemoBot

Giga said:


> so at what point should I be nervous I havn't seen them in 2.5 weeks?


awesome set up BTW. I rarely see my thumbs out and about. just look through the broms. I usually see little pairs of eyeballs peeking back at me between the leaf folds. But yeah just the other day I saw mine out for the first time in a month. I assume they party when I'm at work...


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## Giga

I'll give that a go- as i still feed the same but don't see them at all anymore


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## leemoBot

You can try setting a lid or bottle cap with fruit on it so the ff congregate around it. The frogs may hang around it too if there is food.


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## Harpo

Any luck spotting the frogs?

I really like the layout of your viv. This one was definitely of some inspiration to my build. You have good use of the vertical space while using the open volume throughout the enclosure. Very cool.


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## Giga

No I haven't seen them still so i'm pretty sure they are in frog heaven-I did some trimming in there yesterday and did some snooping and couldn't find them. I'm think about ripping everything out and redoing the design of the tank and make it a more darker and full of vines and woods, almost mystical. Main reason is I'm building a 748 gallon viv and that going to use a lot of power with the 80 gallon water feature. I'm A new dad coming this summer and that gonna make money more tight. My electricity bill is pretty high as it is so I'm trying to cut down, I'm gonna change the plant list to low light plants and change my lighting from 150w of leds to about 30w. That should help cut down the cost a little.


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## Harpo

Giga said:


> No I haven't seen them still so i'm pretty sure they are in frog heaven-I did some trimming in there yesterday and did some snooping and couldn't find them. I'm think about ripping everything out and redoing the design of the tank and make it a more darker and full of vines and woods, almost mystical. Main reason is I'm building a 748 gallon viv and that going to use a lot of power with the 80 gallon water feature. I'm A new dad coming this summer and that gonna make money more tight. My electricity bill is pretty high as it is so I'm trying to cut down, I'm gonna change the plant list to low light plants and change my lighting from 150w of leds to about 30w. That should help cut down the cost a little.


That stinks about the frogs. 

I really like the design of the 83..... the use of open space with the branch is great. I am interested in seeing what you'll come up with on the redesign. Have fun with it.

Do you have a thread on the larger viv? Sounds cool.


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## Giga

http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/parts-construction/89345-748-gallon-wall-vivarium.html

been a little slow but I plan on doing some major work on it this weekend.

I think I'm gonna go with a moss n orchid deisgn useing epiweb and pvc pipes. Should be really cool and I wont need crazy bright lights


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## toaddrool

Giga said:


> This is what you see when you walk in my house or sit on the couch


Thats beautiful!! Just simple elegance, yet you have a riot of colour. Everywhere you look something interesting is happening. Thanks for sharing.


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## Giga

Thank you! I get a lot of comments on this from other people but I think it's due for a change


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## toaddrool

Why, I think its perfect. Whatever you do, I hope you post it.


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## masterkush

Great job on the layout. I like how you did not go all the way up with the foam. It would have took away from the tree top look.


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## Giga

Are there any other frogs the size of thumbnails that aren't poison dart frogs


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## YCKansas

Awesome viv, I got a lot of inspiration from it. I am doing a lot of research before I start my 40 gallon vertical conversion as I want to get it right. Is that a plastic piano hinge siliconed to the glass for your door? The magnets are a great idea I'm going to give that a shot. They aren't strong enough to brake the glass are they? Thanks a lot. I'm excited to see how your other build turns out.


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## rahunt2

Giga, there are certainly small frogs similar to thumbnails that are not poison dart frogs. However, I cannot say what kind of availability there would be on such frogs in the pet trade. What kind of frog are you thinking of?
Just off the top of my head you could try some smaller tree frogs such as clowns or glass frogs. These are not thumbnail size but they are small and I bet they would enjoy such a tall tank.


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## KRich Frogger

In love with this tank!!


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## Giga

YCKansas said:


> Awesome viv, I got a lot of inspiration from it. I am doing a lot of research before I start my 40 gallon vertical conversion as I want to get it right. Is that a plastic piano hinge siliconed to the glass for your door? The magnets are a great idea I'm going to give that a shot. They aren't strong enough to brake the glass are they? Thanks a lot. I'm excited to see how your other build turns out.


The magnets have 65lb of force so yes if I was not carefully it could break the glass stop-but I'm just super duper carefull.It's a 1/4" living hinge for the base.



> rahunt2 Re: 83gallon tower tank
> 
> Giga, there are certainly small frogs similar to thumbnails that are not poison dart frogs. However, I cannot say what kind of availability there would be on such frogs in the pet trade. What kind of frog are you thinking of?
> Just off the top of my head you could try some smaller tree frogs such as clowns or glass frogs. These are not thumbnail size but they are small and I bet they would enjoy such a tall tank.


I have a new daughter on the way so I'm getting rid of all my tank but the 750 gallon one. so I'm not gonna put anything in this anymore.



> KRich Frogger Re: 83gallon tower tank
> 
> In love with this tank!!


Thank you!


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