[Neontra]

Hey everyone, been nagging the mods to destroy the 20H thread, as i'm doing a 29g and am changing a lot. So i've ordered the tank online from a custom tank builder (20$ + 20$ shipping for a regular 29g, cheaper than my LFS) and will come in very early September. So i'm starting to gather supplies, starting with this beautiful piece of Mopani driftwood I got from my LFS for 7$. I'm currently boiling it in my 15 gallon bucket for turkeys. I'll boil it for a good 3-4 hours to kill anything and get rid of tannins, even thoughi t's been heat treated already.

It's approx. 13 inches long, and there's many spots of some bromeliads, orchids, and tilladanasias. Tomorrow or the day after tomorrow I will go to my hardware store and purchase the blue can of great stuff and 3 tubes of GE II black silicone. Then i'll spread 1 tube of silicone along the back and place my wood onto it so it doesn't move during foaming. A local board member has offered me a bag of free ficus pumila from his awesome vivarium, and I will use this in this tank. I will get more plants soon also. Tell me what you think and if mods could delete that other thread, it would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Neontra]

Hey guys. Looks like the tank's coming really early, like maybe tomorrow early! I am trying to build a stand for it but need some 2x4s and plywood...

 

[Azurel]

Thats a nice piece of drift wood.....

 

[DragonSpirit1185]

Mopani is pretty heavy so be sure to silicone that peice of wood straight to the glass thn spraying your GS after it cures if you plan on hanging it on the background.
If you're planning on leaning it up against your background or just laying it on the floor then you don't have to secure it.
The reason this is done is cause the weight of the wood could rip your entire background down...

 

[Neontra]

Mopani is pretty heavy so be sure to silicone that peice of wood straight to the glass thn spraying your GS after it cures if you plan on hanging it on the background.
If you're planning on leaning it up against your background or just laying it on the floor then you don't have to secure it.
The reason this is done is cause the weight of the wood could rip your entire background down...

Thanks. I know it's heavy! This chunk weighs 12 pounds o.o
I will carefully silicone it to the back, let that cure, spray foam around it, let that cure, then spray foam on the entire background.

 

[Neontra]

Hey guys. I'm currently building the stand for the tank, and might I add, it is a pain in the arse! I have to cut little notches and stuff VERY carefully and exact. I'll post pics in a few. I also think I really overbuilt the stand . Need to sand it down and stain it, let alone put it all together.....

 

[fieldnstream]

Are you sure thats mopani? Looks like grapevine to me. Its not as dense as mopani so it can rot a little in the viv, but its lighter so better for bgs. It will almost certainly mold, but if you seed the tank it should clear up. I had a bunch in an old treefrog viv that I didn't seed and the mold cleared up on its own (there were a few "volunteer" springs and isos, which may have helped some). The only rotting I experienced was on pieces that were partially buried in the substrate directly next to a water feature. Also, termites love it so be aware of that (I fed too many termites one day and they made a nice little home in my viv). Good luck with your build and keep us all updated.

 

[Golden State Mantellas]

...
It's approx. 13 inches long...

Thanks. I know it's heavy! This chunk weighs 12 pounds...

Are you sure thats mopani? Looks like grapevine to me....

At 13 in. and 12 lbs., it doesn't sound like grapevine.

 

[Neontra]

I was thinking it *might* be grapewood, but after trying to drill a hole for a bromeliad, it almost ruined the drill (no pun intended!) and I put it in a shoebox for a week and it didn't mold. Now for an update! I'm getting the tank tomorrow if I can get out of the house to pick it up at the post office. Here's a stand I had one hell of a time making, and it still needs a little work. Also my living hinge for the top came today. I now know why aquarium stands are so expensive, they're hard to make!!!!

Thanks to the people on aquarium forums for teaching me how to do this. This stand is for a design for a 400g aquarium, so wayyyyyyyy overkill for what I need, but i'm a bit concerned at times about my tanks structure. Next before I can put the tank on it is adding a few more nail gun staples and staining.

 

[fieldnstream]

At 13 in. and 12 lbs., it doesn't sound like grapevine.

Yep I totally mis-read that...thought it said 13 inches and 1.2 lbs...nice catch. Gotta admit it does look like grapevine though.
Mopani will hold up way better than gravevine and that piece looks awesome. The thing that keeps me from using much mopani is its two-tone look, don't see much of that on the piece...great find. Might need some chain to hold it to the bg though

 

[Neontra]

Hey guys. The stains on, and boy was it hard! It looks very nice though. So now i gotta make the tank

This will go on the bottom to act as a storage shelf.

 

[Neontra]

I hope someone can answer this... For plants, I have a nice midget in my auratus viv along with a huge neo zoe. They each have about 4 pups that are growing very fast. I was wondering, could I use those pups in this tank? It would save me from having to buy bromeliads, but i've read something like pathogens could be an issue? What if I had another auratus in this tank? I would prefer luecs or tincs but another auratus couldn't hurt...

 

[Krenshaw22]

Just use a soapy bleach solution for it and it should be fine

 

[Neontra]

So i've prepared a plant list. I will get about half my plants at my nursery , and will order some online. I am getting a ziploc bag stuffed of ficus pumila (I hope ), already have bromeliad pups, and was going to use a cool plant I have (or used to be cool) plant called pilea tiny tears (not baby tears). It gets ugly and leggy very fast.
By the way, free shipping ftw. Save me 30$!

1x Peperomia Trinervula - 2 cuttings

1x Button Fern

2x Peacock Spikemoss

1x Peperomia Glabella

1x Peperomia Green Scandens - 2 cuttings

1x Neoregelia ampullacea (My fav brom)

1x Live Mood Moss (1 gallon)

Also

1x Hydroton 10L (8/16 mm)

1x ABG mix (8 quart)

Doesn't cost me an arm and a leg, thank god.

 

[DragonSpirit1185]

So i've prepared a plant list. I will get about half my plants at my nursery , and will order some online. I am getting a ziploc bag stuffed of ficus pumila (I hope ), already have bromeliad pups, and was going to use a cool plant I have (or used to be cool) plant called pilea tiny tears (not baby tears). It gets ugly and leggy very fast.
By the way, free shipping ftw. Save me 30$!

1x Peperomia Trinervula - 2 cuttings

1x Button Fern

2x Peacock Spikemoss

1x Peperomia Glabella

1x Peperomia Green Scandens - 2 cuttings

1x Neoregelia ampullacea (My fav brom)

1x Live Mood Moss (1 gallon)

Also

1x Hydroton 10L (8/16 mm)

1x ABG mix (8 quart)

Doesn't cost me an arm and a leg, thank god.

Where you getting free shipping from or how lol

 

[Neontra]

Where you getting free shipping from or how lol

joshsfrogs has free shipping if you spend over 50$

 

[Neontra]

Update: I got the tank today. It's very nice. Still need to get GS and silicone

 

[Neontra]

Getting 2 cans of Great stuff: Window and door to foam everything (expands the least IMO) and 2 tubes of GE II black silicone. I'm looking for nice positions for the piece of wood I bought, as i'm foaming it into the background. I like this the most, as it will create a "cave" in the left corner, whichIMO, looks really natural/cool. I am using my substrate mixture (as i'm buying ABG substrate) which consists of partially dried aspen leaves, coco fibers (entire fibers), and peat. Might mix in a little something else if I can find something. I think this will come out much better than my first vivarium for my auratus, as I have more height to work with. Still not any suggestions. Anyone? The only other way that would look nice with the wood would be a stump kind of bit, with looks ok I guess. By the way, the tank is a little deeper than the stand, but i think it's ok. Sorry not much has been going on with this, just started school again.

 

[Dart66]

cant wait to see it finished

 

[dendrorani]

exited to see how you approach your project of dense forest!

Rani