Exo Terra X-Large Journal

Alright, this is my first viv so I thought I'd share what I was doing with the community.

Well after my door was smashed in, I recieved a second tank in the mail and I began work on it yesterday. My plan is to have a small pool in the tank similar to the tank in construction by Tookay as well as the pretty normal stuff...false bottom, GS background, water feature, driftwood, etc.

Heres the empty tank on my deck...


After one coat of silicon it looked like this (I forgot to buy something to spread the silicon with, so I used my hands, nothing a little turpintine won't cure)


The final coat with the false bottom and PVC supports installed. You can't see it in this picture, but the pipes have been drilled with many holes to allow water flow (white stuff on the silicon is GS).


In the morning I used GS to attach drift wood to the edge of the false bottom, you can kinda see it but, I will get better pictures later.


And, while the background was allowed to cure



Right after this uploads, I'll be back outside carving and applying the cocco bedding/moss background. Leave me any ideas or suggestions.

[MikeL]

Should the mesh have gone on the egg crate and the pond opening prior to appying the wood and GS on the edge of the water feature?

Also, I'm looking forward to see how you fruit fly proof the doors and glass in the top.

Keep the pics coming. I was sitting in front of this exact tank at the store today money in hand. I didnt buy it because I had too many questions about how to set it up so im looking forward to the pics.

Good Luck,

Mike

[Frogtofall]

Its coming along nicely. Keep the pics comin'!

Mike, yea the mesh should have gone on before the GS, etc. However, I have a limited amount of time to do this, and I couldn't find suitable mesh locally. I ordered some, and will have the mesh in before any substrate. This'll probably be after the 21st, which is when I am moving into an apartment.

As for fruit fly proofing, you can pop the front grill off, and I'm planning to silicone mesh in there. I read on several other threads that you can just stuff cotton balls where the tabs and the wire holes in the back are. On my tank , I left the right side open for the pump wires/tubing, and the left side has been filled in with silicone. The doors look really tight, but I might put some electrical tape on the hinges of the doors... if you search the forum you'll see how. I'll post pictures too.

[Tookay]

Looking good Chris!

Are you going to leave the entire area under the false bottom open?

Holes in the pvc supports... yeah I forgot about that until just before I siliconed in my false bottom. Heh, heh. Drilled a couple of holes in each, I hope that is enough to keep the water from stagnating in there.

Box of latex gloves from costco comes in handy for smearing the silicone around, and applying the coco fiber to it.

Keep the pics coming. I'll post some new pics of mine early next week. Just got the broms!

[r90s]

I don't know if you have seen this link, but here it is if it will help.

"FF proofing your Exo-Terra"

http://www.dendroboard.com/phpBB2/viewt ... =exo+terra

I've been quite busy! I carved out the GS background, creating hiding holes and rain catchers. I also carved all of the roundness that the GS creates, and made the wall look more like a rock face. However, when Iapplied cocco-bedding/ spagum moss, it lost most of the detail, but still looks pretty good. And I also trimmed the silicon back.

Heres a couple close-ups of the tank before the silicon was trimmed...






After the trimming...



Final shot of the tank. The waterfall is running :smile:, the mesh has been put down, a couple of extra pieces of drift wood have been placed, and its starting to come together. The bottom of the tank is closed off using GS and rocks (once its in its final spot).


Now I need a little advice on what plants to put in there. I've done a lot of research but everytime I look I change my mind! So if anyone has any suggestions, I would appreciate that.

I hope you like it so far!

[Frogtofall]

Chris,

Do you have a brighter version of the last pic? Its kinda hard to see. It looks like a pretty sweet setup though.

The picture was taken outside close to midnight, so I guess its a little dark without the flash :roll: anyway, I brightened it up a little, and I'll post a new picture later on.

[dragonfrog]

What are the two round, shiny things on the back wall?

Is the pond open to the underside of the false bottom?