Hello, Firstly let me tell you what the structure is like . I have what you would call a 150 gallon high aquarium 48" X 24" x 30". Then i added an addition to going upward and sort of like a hutch like structure on top lined with 1/4" metal machine cloth. ( i used to have a veiled chameleon in the upper part), that i plan on attaching plexi glass over the machine cloth to help keep humidity in. the "hutch like structure is almost the same dimensions as the aquarium under it it sits on top of. It has no bottom , so things can go between both spaces. the hutch is like is 48" x 20 " X 30", and a very large door in the front that extends out the front another 2" making the width actually 22". The door is most of the front of the "hutch". I made it like that so i can get the glass panels for the aquarium in and they are placed in at a 45 degree angle and can't just push the glass panels up and get out. So roughly the interior is 48" x 24" x 60" What i am thinking to put in there is peacock cichlids at the bottom, and either pygmy chameleons up top ( anyone know how high they will climb) , or tree frogs like red eye tree frogs , tiger legged tree frogs, stuff like that. i am going for look of a coastal prehistoric forest.
Ok i am thinking below will be water upto about 17" or 18" making the water space 48" x 24" x 17 3/4". for the island chain i was thinking food safe 12 gal buckets that are 15 " diameter x and 18" tall. I am going to use them as planters then hide them with the 500 lbs of base rock i have in a bin from past setups, and try to make it look like a mountain chain under water. I want to plant a bunch of tropical water lilies in there too. But the island chain will consist of 3 islands, and will use the base rock to change how they look so they don't look like cylinders in water. In 2 of the buckets i am thinking like dwarf tree ferns like silver leaf which get 3 1/2 ft tall, and i have a dracaena "corn plant " where i cut the cane short enough it also will stay short. how i have it groomed it almost looks like a couple of palm trees. I also will put in some small cycads, I know they can get 3 to 5 ft, but they are also very slow growers. if i have to if it becomes a problem i can take them out and keep them as a potted house plant. croton might look nice also. what i want though is some stuff that stays lower ( like grows 1 or 2 ft) and stuff that grows most of the 5 ft up, but without growing so tall its pushing on the roof of the enclosure. In the very right corner of the enclosure i also have a waterfall that falls from the very top. in the background i am just gonna use a universal rock background. for the water pump and intake for the FX 4 canister filter i will use some of the rock to make a small sectioned off spot in the back right corner to try to keep things from getting back in there and then put a cap stone on it. in the buckets and in the planter up top ( more on that below) i want to add some isopods and spring tails.
In the "hutch " like upper area it also has a stone like background hiding the metal machine cloth behind it. from it i have branches and stuff coming out of it like trees that have grown into a rock wall, and plant it as a tropical arboreal terrarium, birds nest ferns , orchids , rattlesnake plants, orchids, bromeliads., and i forget what they are called but commonly just called air plants. One of the branches is so wide that i could even plant some moss on it, its like 4" or 5" wide. the water fall i will put java moss in it. I also thought of how to do a DIY auto mister using a smaller water pump, put a replacement garden hose end on it for a connection then run it to a couple of splitters that each go out to 4 wide shower heads, then plug it in with a digital light timer set for 1 min. i want the water to come out with less pressure then a typical shower, but not so low it doesn't have enough pressure to take use of the entire surface of the shower head. There is one optical illusion in there , between the top of the aquarium and bottom of the hutch is structural supports for the hutch that goes between 2 2 x4s ( you can't see them due to the space between aquarium glass panels and under the "hutch door" is what is the bottom of the "hutch is a 2" x 4'), but between those 2 x4s is some plexi glass below and above it to make a " box", in the box is some LED bulbs , so more light for the aquarium section and so canopy doesn't shade the water too much for the aquatic plants below. on top of that "light box" i have low profile 20" ceramic pot, at the drainage holes on the bottom i sacrificed a media bag and glued it to the bottom as a strainer so water can get out, but not soil media, as a barrier before the drainage holes i have some crushed coral gravel also as a filter layer in the pot. I am thinking to put the hot spot ( do tree frogs need a hot spot ) above the waterfall sitting on the metal mesh. I at one time was thinking a water dragon, but i was a afraid of it eating the plants and the fish. If i did another chameleon again i would do a smaller one maybe from pygmys to as big as maybe a dwarf jackson. instead of the frogs chameleon, and even then with a dwarf jackson i still almost see it going for peacock cichlids even though they are like 5" to 8" fish. I know from experience chameleons can swim ( more floating then swimming but they can slowly), but they are not the strongest swimmers , so my other fear with chameleons is them falling into the water.
So does anyone see anything as improvements, or problems or just plain advice? Also if you see another option to occupy the upper areas with the fish below let me know. it can't ne too fast , because the hutch door is massive( it was originally for a chameleon so speedy things getting out wasn't an issue. Like day geckos would be pretty but afraid they would dash the door faster then i can close it as the door is 45" long.)
Ok i am thinking below will be water upto about 17" or 18" making the water space 48" x 24" x 17 3/4". for the island chain i was thinking food safe 12 gal buckets that are 15 " diameter x and 18" tall. I am going to use them as planters then hide them with the 500 lbs of base rock i have in a bin from past setups, and try to make it look like a mountain chain under water. I want to plant a bunch of tropical water lilies in there too. But the island chain will consist of 3 islands, and will use the base rock to change how they look so they don't look like cylinders in water. In 2 of the buckets i am thinking like dwarf tree ferns like silver leaf which get 3 1/2 ft tall, and i have a dracaena "corn plant " where i cut the cane short enough it also will stay short. how i have it groomed it almost looks like a couple of palm trees. I also will put in some small cycads, I know they can get 3 to 5 ft, but they are also very slow growers. if i have to if it becomes a problem i can take them out and keep them as a potted house plant. croton might look nice also. what i want though is some stuff that stays lower ( like grows 1 or 2 ft) and stuff that grows most of the 5 ft up, but without growing so tall its pushing on the roof of the enclosure. In the very right corner of the enclosure i also have a waterfall that falls from the very top. in the background i am just gonna use a universal rock background. for the water pump and intake for the FX 4 canister filter i will use some of the rock to make a small sectioned off spot in the back right corner to try to keep things from getting back in there and then put a cap stone on it. in the buckets and in the planter up top ( more on that below) i want to add some isopods and spring tails.
In the "hutch " like upper area it also has a stone like background hiding the metal machine cloth behind it. from it i have branches and stuff coming out of it like trees that have grown into a rock wall, and plant it as a tropical arboreal terrarium, birds nest ferns , orchids , rattlesnake plants, orchids, bromeliads., and i forget what they are called but commonly just called air plants. One of the branches is so wide that i could even plant some moss on it, its like 4" or 5" wide. the water fall i will put java moss in it. I also thought of how to do a DIY auto mister using a smaller water pump, put a replacement garden hose end on it for a connection then run it to a couple of splitters that each go out to 4 wide shower heads, then plug it in with a digital light timer set for 1 min. i want the water to come out with less pressure then a typical shower, but not so low it doesn't have enough pressure to take use of the entire surface of the shower head. There is one optical illusion in there , between the top of the aquarium and bottom of the hutch is structural supports for the hutch that goes between 2 2 x4s ( you can't see them due to the space between aquarium glass panels and under the "hutch door" is what is the bottom of the "hutch is a 2" x 4'), but between those 2 x4s is some plexi glass below and above it to make a " box", in the box is some LED bulbs , so more light for the aquarium section and so canopy doesn't shade the water too much for the aquatic plants below. on top of that "light box" i have low profile 20" ceramic pot, at the drainage holes on the bottom i sacrificed a media bag and glued it to the bottom as a strainer so water can get out, but not soil media, as a barrier before the drainage holes i have some crushed coral gravel also as a filter layer in the pot. I am thinking to put the hot spot ( do tree frogs need a hot spot ) above the waterfall sitting on the metal mesh. I at one time was thinking a water dragon, but i was a afraid of it eating the plants and the fish. If i did another chameleon again i would do a smaller one maybe from pygmys to as big as maybe a dwarf jackson. instead of the frogs chameleon, and even then with a dwarf jackson i still almost see it going for peacock cichlids even though they are like 5" to 8" fish. I know from experience chameleons can swim ( more floating then swimming but they can slowly), but they are not the strongest swimmers , so my other fear with chameleons is them falling into the water.
So does anyone see anything as improvements, or problems or just plain advice? Also if you see another option to occupy the upper areas with the fish below let me know. it can't ne too fast , because the hutch door is massive( it was originally for a chameleon so speedy things getting out wasn't an issue. Like day geckos would be pretty but afraid they would dash the door faster then i can close it as the door is 45" long.)