[Youngherp420]

Hello fellow frogger

All advice and tips welcomed

This is going to be my last tank i will build till I am finished with college.(For now).This will hold a pair of pumilo, most likely some basti's. I hope this build will be inspirational to others and a place to of discussion and help for new members/long term members. I hope you all will enjoy this build and follow because I have some questions along the way.

Design: This will have a center piece of a tree trunk with branches going into the ground. The tree will go from the top of the tank all the way to the bottom. I want this tank to be seen from all angles to view the frogs and this masterpiece. I will have a small Conner piece deposit area for natural affect and from depositing tads( I hope). The tree trunk and branches will be piping that are bent to match the shape I wish to project.. Then covered with Eco web to promote moss growth and have a realistic look. I plan on having a false bottom that is 1inch or two high.

Tank: Going with a 15 gallon column with custom canopy for the top to hid all the equipment and a bottom covering to make it look nice

Lighting: I plan on getting either a double hood with two 6500k bulbs or A round dome with LED lights. Or even something completely different, Not sure how I’m going to light this tank. Only for now

Misting: I will Have the Mistking system with maybe 4 nozzles to cover ever side of the tree. Not sure if that’s too much or not. I wanted to do the double nozzle one in the front aimed at the tree and the one in the back.

Circulation: I want to get a small fan or too for recirculation in the tank, My plan is to get 2 curved pipes and middle piece. Then put the fan in the middle piece and have the pvc pipe go into the tank. Will explain later.

Plants: Not too sure on the type of plants or how many plants, All I know is a lot of bromeliads.

Temperature: I plan on getting a monitoring system to make sure them temperature and the humidity is absolutely perfect.

Finally I hope you enjoy and stay put. I will be going out for the tank tomorrow.

-Matthew-

 

[Youngherp420]

Got the tank today, had to do some negotiation with the people at petsmart ro get the price down to match the online price. well here we go,

And here we go with the build

The tank is 13-3/5L x 13-3/8W x 25H

the box

After opening it :

The top

Debating if i want to make this a vent or just cover it and use the fans instead:

The bottom which i feel like i could use for something

This weekend will be the weekend to start working on it . But I am going to take my time to perfect this which I learned with making vivs slow is better

Enjoy everyone. feel free to comment

 

[ClintonJ]

Cool tank! Good luck with the build. Subscribed!

 

[Youngherp420]

I posting pictures as I go even though i know how to make a false bottom i just want to make sure i dont do soemthing wrong

Didnt get far today just used what i had left of the egg crate to start.

just to show the hieght of the false bottom. (ran out)

made it bigger than i intended but I will fix it .

the real work starts this weekend

 

[Brian317]

Nice tank ! Looking forward to the build

 

[WeeNe858]

I've had my eye on that tank ever since it came into Petco's assortment (I work there.) The top is surprisingly compatible with a conversion and the light/ hood itself is a great way to light the tank. I suggest you use the light the tank came with as it isn't all that bad. Good luck with the build!

 

[Youngherp420]

Cool tank! Good luck with the build. Subscribed!

thankyou, Ill need it

 

[Youngherp420]

Nice tank ! Looking forward to the build

thankyou

 

[Youngherp420]

I've had my eye on that tank ever since it came into Petco's assortment (I work there.) The top is surprisingly compatible with a conversion and the light/ hood itself is a great way to light the tank. I suggest you use the light the tank came with as it isn't all that bad. Good luck with the build!

See I was debating on using that light. Because i want to get a custom glass top and drill for misting nozzels and for a fan, And i dont think the light will work with a tree in the middle with all plants.

I was thinking for along the line of a circular to cover all sides on the tree


BTW great tank

 

[B-NICE]

I like that tank, just hate the top, its just a little irregular.

 

[Youngherp420]

I like that tank, just hate the top, its just a little irregular.

tell me about it , I might just remove that Black piece down the middle of that. My glass top wont fit because its just above the trim. If that makes sense

 

[DragonSpirit1185]

tell me about it , I might just remove that Black piece down the middle of that. My glass top wont fit because its just above the trim. If that makes sense

I got some great ideas for your lighting, circulation system and glass top and still keep your sleek look....
So for your air circulation I have pretty much laid it out int he pic. You will want to mount your fans underneath the rim to keep the channel inside open.
So then you put a pane of glass in the top of the glass sitting on the lip and silicone the glass in place and to the fans.
You face one fan up and one fan down. A fan pointing up on the right side will suck air in and push it through that channel or fan box.
The fan on the left side will pull the air out of the channel and back into the tank. Then you place a pane of glass on top of that and you silicone it in place and you have a sealed fan box.
If the fans fail at any time you can cut the silicon and remove the fans.
Drill small holes in the plastic top for your wires to come out or drill a hole in the back piece of the glass top to run your wires out.

For lighting you are definitely gonna wanna go with LED bulbs.
If you place hinges on the side and put fixtures on it then the fixtures can be flipped out of the way to access the viv.
You could also mount the fixtures to the top of the canopy lid.
There should be a fan or two place on that back corners to keep the top cool so your temps don't get raised.

The plug idea would be best for you to dump flies and springtails so you don't have to open the top and reduce escapees as well. what would be best to use is a PVC coupler with screw plug(pic below).
Also get you a hole saw, stick the screw plug in a vise and cut a hole in the screw plug and stick you a small piece of glass on(or inside) top so you can make sure there is not frogs in the plug before you open so you have no escapees.

As for the glass lid...you want to permanently silicone that back pane in place, attach the hinge first then slide your front piece in there.
You can butt the sides against the circle things and still have room for the glass to sit and not have to remove them.
The front of the tanks circle things will need to be ground down so the glass and butt up against the front part of the canopy since there is no rim on the front.

I would do all this if I had the viv except I would change your idea of visible on all sides except for the back cause you could make and awesome background and make a better circulation system that will suck the air from the bottom. That would be rather complex haha.


Pic below maps everything out.
(if image is hard to read: click to enlarge, then click the X in bottom left corner to get it full size)

I hope I gave you some ideas here
I would love to see a vid of how the canopy opens.
How much did this cost?

 

[SOswanski]

DragonSpt,

How would you recommend wiring those fans to a power supply, would you be able to run all off a single 12V wall converter? Just now getting into this type of build and I like the look of that hood, but the electrical seems like it would get messy if you don't reduce down to just a couple of plugs.

Thanks!

 

[Youngherp420]

that picture so much sense and I love that idea indeed. thank you for that drawing to map everything out and explain it in words. the only thing is i want to keep the 360 degree view because i don't want to do a back round. Also I want to use 2 double misting nozzles to cover all areas. the glass top i like that idea the only problem with that is on the tank hood the middle piece that stretches across the top of the tank as a little piece that sticks up( if this make sense), So should i do to separate hood such as one for access to the tank and another piece for the circulation.

Now the circulation system is the only thing I understand but at the same time not sure how to power that many fans?

The lighting is there any round LED lights?

The canopy i did not buy. I want to custom make it. My friend can make a nice one, with the canopy being hinged at the top to open up to the equipment. Then a hole in the back for wires to come out and a box for a fan.

I got some great ideas for your lighting, circulation system and glass top and still keep your sleek look....
So for your air circulation I have pretty much laid it out int he pic. You will want to mount your fans underneath the rim to keep the channel inside open.
So then you put a pane of glass in the top of the glass sitting on the lip and silicone the glass in place and to the fans.
You face one fan up and one fan down. A fan pointing up on the right side will suck air in and push it through that channel or fan box.
The fan on the left side will pull the air out of the channel and back into the tank. Then you place a pane of glass on top of that and you silicone it in place and you have a sealed fan box.
If the fans fail at any time you can cut the silicon and remove the fans.
Drill small holes in the plastic top for your wires to come out or drill a hole in the back piece of the glass top to run your wires out.

For lighting you are definitely gonna wanna go with LED bulbs.
If you place hinges on the side and put fixtures on it then the fixtures can be flipped out of the way to access the viv.
You could also mount the fixtures to the top of the canopy lid.
There should be a fan or two place on that back corners to keep the top cool so your temps don't get raised.

The plug idea would be best for you to dump flies and springtails so you don't have to open the top and reduce escapees as well. what would be best to use is a PVC coupler with screw plug(pic below).
Also get you a hole saw, stick the screw plug in a vise and cut a hole in the screw plug and stick you a small piece of glass on(or inside) top so you can make sure there is not frogs in the plug before you open so you have no escapees.

As for the glass lid...you want to permanently silicone that back pane in place, attach the hinge first then slide your front piece in there.
You can butt the sides against the circle things and still have room for the glass to sit and not have to remove them.
The front of the tanks circle things will need to be ground down so the glass and butt up against the front part of the canopy since there is no rim on the front.

I would do all this if I had the viv except I would change your idea of visible on all sides except for the back cause you could make and awesome background and make a better circulation system that will suck the air from the bottom. That would be rather complex haha.


Pic below maps everything out.
(if image is hard to read: click to enlarge, then click the X in bottom left corner to get it full size)

I hope I gave you some ideas here
I would love to see a vid of how the canopy opens.
How much did this cost?

 

[Youngherp420]

this is the piece that stick up

should that piece separate the two pane of glass

also for the how about a triple access door with 3 hinges
1.one open left
2.one open right
3. one open in the front

 

[jruffing46]

What is your plan for the background? I also bought one of these tanks and I am looking for ideas.

 

[Youngherp420]

What is your plan for the background? I also bought one of these tanks and I am looking for ideas.

No backround just a center piece

 

[Youngherp420]

Well I did some work to my tank in the past two weeks i thinks it has been.Nothing to special but just to get a crack at it and the basic.Bought all the basics to start the construction of this master piece thats mine So here is all the supplies

1.) 1 sheet of Egg Crate
2.) 1 hot gun
3.) 8 1''inch PVC pipe( only used 4)
4.) Blue 3/4 paint tape
5.) black silicone
6.) 40 piece white zip tie
7.) 1 3'' PVC pipes( the tree stump)
8.) 4 1'' PVC pipes( the roots)
9.) 3 1/2 PVC pipes(the roots)
10.) the tank of course ( what the hell)

sorry for poor quality photos.

now the work

Heres the mistake, siliconing the pipe before the side

now false bottom

Finally alittle sneak peak of the tree

 

[ClintonJ]

Nice tree! Going for the tropical birch look? Jk lookin good!

You doing the rope vines and stuff coming off of it? If so, I vote a smaller diameter trunk. Looks like that tank filled up quite a bit without adding any vines, roots or plants yet.

 

[Youngherp420]

Nice tree! Going for the tropical birch look? Jk lookin good!

You doing the rope vines and stuff coming off of it? If so, I vote a smaller diameter trunk. Looks like that tank filled up quite a bit without adding any vines, roots or plants yet.

hahah. No vines just smaller branches coming off of the tree but your right it may be to big and i might have to cut back the diameter of the trunk