1st Viv - 18" Exoterra Cube

Hello all -

Just wanted to post some pictures of my completed viv. I did tons of reading and got tons of great advice from the members of this forum. Thanks!!

I'm really happy with the way it turned out. I am waiting to get some glass cut for the top and have a few additional minor mods to do, but this will allow the plants to settle in over the next few weeks before this becomes home to a mated pair of Azureus.

The waterfall is powered by a Zoo Med 501 Turtle Canister filter. The intake and return run behind the cork curl. I played around with the water feature for weeks before deciding upon the Zoo Med filter. So far, it is working out great and I love the fact that I don't have to dig up the substrate to access a pump.

Hope you like the pictures. I am very happy with the way it's turned out so far...







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Nice VIV it looks great! the stream looks great as well I bet that the Azureus will love that!


Brian Bannon

Thats cool! How did you create the river without the water leaking and soaking the soil?? Also, can you tell me more about the Zoo-med filter you use? How does it work? Does it take water through a flexible tube or something, and then bring it back through a similar but separate tube?

The waterfeature was definitely the most difficult part of my viv. After reading tons of different posts for methods of making water features, I put the knowledge together and came up with something that worked for me...

I started by running a strip of pond liner down the length of what would be the "river". I siliconed this pond liner to the screen on top of my false bottom. I then used Beckett's Black Pond Foam to build the banks of the river and the corner where the filters output hose is located. The foam really expanded more than I thought it would, so I had to sculpt it with a razor blade once dry. Everything worked out on the first try for me, so I then used brown silicone to cover the bank of the river and covered it with coco bedding. From there I just put in the river rocks (had to silicone a few of the larger ones) and then filled the pond with rocks.

The Zoo Med 501 Turtle Canister filter is a dream for small waterfeatures in my opinion. It's fairly small and I mounted it to the back of my viv so it is out of sight. The intake is like any normal hard plastic tube intake on a canister filter, and it is hidden behind the cork curl. The output line is simply 1/2" plastic tubing that also runs behind the cork curl and then under my false bottom to the corner where it powers the stream. As I mentioned, I just used the Pond Foam around the output hose and then cut it so it could be hidden behind the rocks.

It worked out pretty well for me... Let me know if there are any other questions about the setup.

It REALLY looks terriffic! That's like what I wish I could have done, lol. It's really great. I'm sure the frogs will love it! =)

That is one of the prettiest Exoterra cubes I've seen!! Just one small suggestion..the white rocks in the river are a bit distracting. I think if you found similar color rocks to the ones in the river it might look even better. I'd also try to find some smaller gravel to fill in a few spots in your river area. The different size rocks have a natural look.

Great job!!
Brooke

[Nuggular]

That is a great lookin viv! The best Exoterra Viv I have seen posted! Does your stream have a pump running it?

Hi! I was planning on getting one of these too, and just had a few question for you. Are the gaps between the doors small enough to keep FF in? And also your idea for the turtle filter is great! and i think i might try to use one too. How do you get access to it for maintenance? can you remove the cork? or just slide the filter out ?

The Zoo Med 501 Turtle filter is an outside-of-the-tank canister style filter. It is pretty small for a canister filter, and I purchased the optional "filter hanger" which is just a little device that allows you to hang the filter from the rim of an aquarium. Mine is hanging from a rod I mounted on the back of my viv though so it is completely out of sight.

The intake and output hoses run behind the cork curl.

I don't have any frogs yet so I haven't had any experiences with them escaping, but I do believe I will have to mod the cracks in the doors to prevent them from escaping. I haven't decided how I am going to accomplish that just yet, but I have plenty of time while I let the viv grow in.