[Mitch]

Welcome!

This thread will be used as a journal for my 65 gallon Peninsula-Style Vivarium. I had been constructing the vivarium for a few months and I finally set it up last weekend on Saturday, 1/28/12. I am quite happy with the work I have done thus far. Here's some of the details about this vivarium:

Tank: All Glass Aquariums 65 Gallon Tank (36 7/8" x 19" x 24 5/8")
Lighting: Fishneedit 36" 4 bulb fixture with four 39 watt, 6,700K bulbs. The fixture is hanging from the ceiling.
Stand: Ikea bookshelf with shelving boards on top cut to the correct dimensions for the tank.
Background: The Background is made from Great Stuff foam and GEII Brown Silicone covered in Coco Fiber. The wood in the background is Manzanita wood.
Misting System: MistKing Starter System with 3 misting heads. I am still fine tuning the system but as of now I mist 5 times per day, 10 seconds each time. This will probably be changed soon, though.
Air Circulation: Internal Air Circulation is provided by two columnar ducts in each corner of the back of the tank. These pull air from the bottom of the tank and push it out at the top. The fans being used are two SilverStone Suscool 81 Fans.
Substrate: There is a 2" layer of Hydroton on bottom and a 3" layer of ABG mix above that. The two layers are separated by one sheet of window screening. On top of everything I have a 1" layer of leaf litter which consists of Oak and Willow leaves.
Plant List (As of Now, 2/4/12): Ficus radicans, Trailing Maidenhair Fern (Adiantum caudatum), "Mini Aroid Vine," Cissus discolor, Syngonium rayii, Rhaphidophora sp., Stelis sp., Philodendron wend imbe, Assorted Mosses. This list will definitely change over time. I am planning on adding Bromeliads and more Orchids soon.
Inhabitants: In 3 weeks (2/25/12) this vivarium will be home to my 3 D. leucomelas (Black Jungle Line). I believe it is a 1.2 group.

I am still fine tuning the misting system, internal air circulation, and lighting. Once the moss begins to settle in and I begin to get some plant growth I will post more pictures and a few videos. For now, here are a few quick pictures:

Side view

Corner view

Orchid - Stellis sp. I am already seeing new growth on this guy!

Thanks for looking, and feel free to comment! Any constructive criticisms or compliments would be greatly appreciated.

 

[smittydc]

Very nice tank..love the simplicity of look .I like tank's set up in this manner from a visual standpoint.I think it 's cool to be able to look all the way through while having the background on end.Maybe some vines would be cool looking?

 

[Mitch]

Very nice tank..love the simplicity of look .I like tank's set up in this manner from a visual standpoint.I think it 's cool to be able to look all the way through while having the background on end.Maybe some vines would be cool looking?

Thanks! I have a few vining species in there, but obviously they have some growing in to do. I plan on letting the Cissus discolor cover the background and allowing the Oak Leaf Creeping Fig to cover the central piece of wood, along with Mosses, Orchids, and such.

 

[steven2213]

beautiful setup nice & clean thumbs up

 

[Mitch]

beautiful setup nice & clean thumbs up

Thanks!

(10 Characters)

 

[drutt]

It looks familiar... nice build

 

[Mitch]

It looks familiar... nice build

Why do you say this? Thanks though.

 

[DCgecko]

Why do you say this? Thanks though.

I guess he was referring to this:

both are brilliant tanks!

 

[Azriel]

Yeah, the similarities can't be denied! But both are really nice tanks of course.

Can't wait to see how it looks when the plants grow in more, Mitch.

 

[Mitch]

I was certainly inspired by Grimm's Peninsula but that's not to say that he's the first one to ever create a Peninsula vivarium. His is definitely one of the nicest vivariums on the site, though.

Thanks for the compliments everyone!

 

[ckays]

Air Circulation: Internal Air Circulation is provided by two columnar ducts in each corner of the back of the tank. These pull air from the bottom of the tank and push it out at the top. The fans being used are two SilverStone Suscool 81 Fans.

Mitch can you explain this a little further?
How/where exactly the fans are setup, access to them in case of failure?

I can't tell from the pics where these are. Viv looks good. I think this is a unique look regardless of how many have been done before..

 

[Mitch]

Mitch can you explain this a little further?
How/where exactly the fans are setup, access to them in case of failure?

I can't tell from the pics where these are. Viv looks good. I think this is a unique look regardless of how many have been done before..

This will be a little hard to explain without pictures but there are two square columns on each side of the background with openings on the bottom and top. The opening on the bottom of each column is faced towards the substrate while the opening on the top of each column is faced outwards towards the tank. All openings have been covered with window screening.

The fans are positioned horizontally at the top of each column and push air upwards, but the air is deflected outwards into the tank because of the glass lid on top. The lid of the tank acts as the top of the duct, so when I remove the lid I have full access to the fans. This will give me the ability to change out the fans as needed.

I hope that made some sense. I'll definitely get some pictures up of the setup soon.

 

[ckays]

Pics of the intake/supply holes and possibly a downward shot at the fans would be much appreciated (no rush). I like this idea.

Thanks for the info.

 

[woodworker83]

nice setup. looks real good.

 

[Mitch]

Pics of the intake/supply holes and possibly a downward shot at the fans would be much appreciated (no rush). I like this idea.

Thanks for the info.

No problem. I'll get them up soon.

nice setup. looks real good.

Thanks!

 

[Mitch]

I just placed my Brom order from Tropiflora. I got:
- 3 Neoregelia 'Chiquita Linda' offsets
- 2 Neoregelia 'Red Bird' x 'Fireball' 3" pots
- 1 Neoregelia 'Shamrock' 4" pot

It should be here by the end of the week. I'll post some pictures once I get them in the tank.

 

[RedEyeTroyFrog]

looks nice man... how long has it been planted? lol i must say it does look quite similar...but then again tons of the tanks on here look similar...any who nice job bud

 

[titansfever83]

Looks good Mitch!

 

[Mitch]

looks nice man... how long has it been planted? lol i must say it does look quite similar...but then again tons of the tanks on here look similar...any who nice job bud

Thanks, it's been planted for a little over a week now.

Looks good Mitch!

Thanks!

 

[eos]

Dang, Mitch! That's a sweet looking setup man. Great job.