noob needs help!

[ryan10517]

hey guys, as you can see, i'm new here haha but i'm very interested into getting into this hobby (not necessarily pdf's, but vivariums in general) Currently I am big into planted aquariums, but i think i need to try and do something different for a change. The other day i picked up a 10 gallon AGA hexagon tank w/ everything for an aquarium for 20 bucks. Not bad right! Well anyways, I'm wanting to do a terrarium/vivarium sorta deal with it. I will be building my own light for it consisting of cut pvc pipe with aluminum foil for a reflective surface. It will house three 13 watt 6500k daylight cfl's. Really i'm just here for advice since i'm new to this. I was thinking about a false bottom for drainage. For substrate i think it will be gravel then zilla brand fir & sphagnum peat moss jungle mix. Would this be alright for plants? As for a background, i would like to do a diy pvc and great stuff foam root kinda deal. how hard is this to do? I read somewhere that you can use an ultrasonic humidifier with an outlet into your tank for humidity. Is this correct? I really do not want to pay a bunch of money for a misting system. What are the best plants to put in there? I want to get this right the first time and have it look good too. I work at a pet store that specializes in reptiles, fish, aquatic plants, and anything exotic. I do have a good amount of knowledge and experience with this kind of stuff, just never a full blown live planted vivarium. I would appreciate any and all comments, suggestions, etc... Thanks in advance!

Ryan

[laylow]

These are all great questions and I am happy you've shown interest in such a great hobby. The one thing I'd suggest is using the search tool. There are MANY MANY great threads out there about tank setups, plants etc. Everyone here was once also a beginner and had the same questions; therefore these answers have been covered in far greater detail than a few simple posts could ever cover. I wish you the best of luck. After reading and studying, if you have a question or of things aren't clear I'd be happy to help. I just don't wanna do you the injustice of listing a few plants that are good when there are thousands available. You'll be happier if you decide what you like best!!

Shaw

[Dendro Dave]

All that is pretty much fine...though I think you'll find 1 26watt daylight cfl will be plenty of light. And you could save yourself the trouble of a diy fixture and just by a zoomed or exoterra single bulb fixture made for their vivariums. Also the fogger is a cool visual effect but the moist substrate and a mostly sealed top does most of the humidity workload...misting just replenishes that and causes a temporary humidity spike, but with the moist substrate and a mostly sealed top you will still be at 80% humidity or more most of the time anyways...which is plenty. If your tank is partially fogged up or clear but then you mist it and it stays fogged up for an hour or more then you are good to go. Basically with a moist substrate and at least 50% of the top covered it will be hard to go wrong in that tank.

For 1 10gal hex I would hand mist, if you have a rack of tanks ok get a mist system but for 1 thats a big expense and only saves you minimal effort. The fogger will raise ambient humidity but they really are not considered a replacement for misting...that mist is so fine it dissipates pretty quickly. Maybe if you ran one all day it would eventually saturate the soil but you'll burn the fogger out and constantly be replacing the water. They are best used on timers for an occasional cool effect. While yes they raise ambient humidity, in an already properly designed tank they essentially serve little purpose beyond that cool effect. May help spur breeding in animals that like humidity spikes to get in the mood though

The root background isn't hard, depends on your carving skills...once you carve it you can lather it in brown silicon and rub peat onto it to make it look more natural. Your biggest challenge may be the top. I assume the tank came with a glass lid? or a plastic canopy/hood? If it is a glass lid and has the plastic strip on the back, u can cut the center of that out and glue in some mesh to let air in the tank, if the tank still stays fogged up you can run a small computer or aquarium cooling fan (on a timer is probably best) every 15 min per hour to clear the glass, while keeping the humidity up. A fan running all the time on a tank that small may over dry it.

If it came with one of the plastic hoods you can probably find a spot to cut out a section and put in some mesh or drill tiny holes in the opening lid part. With a pic I might be able to offer more specific advice.