Large Vivarium Construction Thread 50"W x 22"D x 56"H

[RarePlantBroker]

I was going to wait until completion to start a construction thread, but questions from my door poll thread pushed me to post this now.

To start, I wanted to recess the cabinet (my Vivarium is the center section) into the wall--this way I minimized the amount of floor space I lost in my foyer.

The sides of the vivarium, cabinets, and shelves are 3/4" furniture grade oak plywood.

The bottom support for the vivarium is 2"x4", and the inside (mechanicals cabinet) is lined with 1/4" oak plywood. The bottom support is then topped with two pieces of 1/2" CDX plywood that I cross-laminated

I wired and plumbed to allow for mechanicals and misting prior to installing the back of the vivarium.

The back of the vivarium won't be seen, so I used some spare 1/2" CDX plywood I had in my garage.

[jubjub47]

Looks like a fun project. What are you going to light this beast with?

[RarePlantBroker]

Next, I lined the sides and back of the vivarium with 1/4" concrete backer board, and the bottom of the vivarium with 1/2" concrete backer board.

I then drilled a 3" hole in the bottom of the vivarium to allow for the installation of a shower drain (to drain the tank).

[RarePlantBroker]

I then installed a bed of mortar in the base of the cabinet, this created a slope for the drain.

I then painted the mortar and the bottom 12" of the vivarium with Dry-Lok masonry waterproofing paint.

Then, I installed a shower pan liner into the bottom of the vivarium, as well as the front lower bulkhead (1"x8" Oak board, with 1/2" Concrete backer board on the inside).

I then coated the entire shower pan liner with a coat of mortar. I use a product called Versabond (available in the tile department at Home Depot). It has a wonderful polymer bonding agent, and won't crack when curing--even in a thick bed.

[RarePlantBroker]

I then painted the entire interior of the vivarium with Dry-Lok. After the first coat, I decided that the stark white just wasn't going to cut it.

I went back to Home Depot, and had them tint the Dry-Lok green. I was trying to decide on a color, and since the light under deep canopy is usually just residual green wavelength not absorped by the plants--it seemed like the logical choice.

I had originally intended to construct an artificial, butressed-root tree on one side of the vivarium and a terrace moving to the left, away from the tree. Then, my wife found a couple of really nice pieces of driftwood for sale at the Tampa reptile show last fall. The "tree" on the right is a Cypress stump (with nice developing buttress roots). I spliced in some oak driftwood branches.

[RarePlantBroker]

I used eggcrate to make a false bottom, leaving an area for exposed water around the base of the cypress stump.

I then covered the eggcrate with a geotext underlayment used for pond construction.

I then used my other piece of driftwood (a partial stump) at the top of the terrace to the top and left of the vivarium. I was overzealous one weekend, and created all of the false rock wall terrace without taking any photos. I used an open cell foam--gorilla glued together, and covered it with a product called Marbleflex (sold at Lowe's--its a cementitious mortar designed for marble/granite, and is very fine/smooth).

I painted the false rock with dry-lok (in white), then painted and clear-coated all of the rock work. The center section is a piece of real limestone that is hollowed out and plumbed as a low-volume waterfall.

[RarePlantBroker]

I painted a rough background on the remaining exposed dry-lok.

I then planted the majority of plants in the vivarium. I still need to install some more cork (this will look like more terraced ledges in areas of the vivarium.

I'm still working out the final design on the doors (see my other thread/poll).

[RarePlantBroker]

Okay, I'll try and get some pics up this weekend of the lighting. I've had 3x 2-bulb T-8's--but had a problem with one fixture.

The new set-up is two 2-bulb T-8's directly above the vivarium. One fixture is 6500k bulbs, the other is one 6500k UV 5.0 and one 10000k ocean bulb. I've replaced the third fixture (which mounts on the valance at the top front of the vivarium--not in the pictures) with a 2-bulb T-5 with 5000k bulbs.

The T-5's come on about 7every morning, and run until 8 at night. I have the pair of 6500k bulbs running from 8 to 7. The third fixture runs from 9 in the morning until 5 in the evening. This provides for a simulated sunrise/sunset. The timing is controlled by a single analog timer for one light, and the other two are controlled by a Zilla multi-timer.

I have two small vents plumbed through the back of the vivarium and are piped to an ultrasonic fogger. Once the vivarium doors are on, this will run every morning and every evening to create a fog bank in the vivarium.

I'm planning to install 6 mist-king nozzles, and using their new multi-timer, create a short misting cycle mid morning, and a significant rain event in the mid-afternoon.

I'm also going to install 4 80mm case fans in the top for circulation. The intake fans are going to attach to 3" aluminum ducts that run through the top of the vivarium and pull air other than from near the lighting.

[NathanB]

are you going to put critters in there or just plants?

[RarePlantBroker]

This is going to be a home for PDF's.

I'm planning on letting my Phyllobates vittatus have the run of the lower end, and also keep some imitators with all of the arboreal/upper tier areas in this tank.