[gosaspursm]

I came across this cabinet at a yard sale and thought it would be a great display case. It amounted to about 45 gallons in the upper portion and 30 in the lower.

Prior to this cabinet I had never ventured into building a faux rock wall or having all live plants within a terrarium. That said, I made a good number of mistakes. However, I figured some readers may find my struggles helpful/interesting.

This is the cabinet after the lower portion was turned into a desert terrarium for geckos.

Beginning the process of turning the top into a terrarium. The styrofoam was gathered from packaging at work. I also used some gs.

Covering the background in sanded tile grout

 

[shibbyplustax]

Looks awesome man, furniture made terrariums are great.

 

[gosaspursm]

Applying the non toxic paint and then sealing

Here is where the mistakes began. After sealing with a non toxic grout sealer I felt compeled to seal again with modpodge. While modpodge worked well in the desert terrarium where it was dry, it failed terribly in the moist conditions of a dendro habitat. It initially turned white (visible later) and then began to peel.

Second mistake, make sure your water pump is strong enough to send water up two feet before covering the lines (including electrical cord) with foam and grout. I had initially planned on having a water feature in the cage, but the pump was not up to it. If I had not sealed it in I could have merely replaced it. Now I have a pump hidden deep within the roots of a plant.

 

[gosaspursm]

Third mistake....tillandsia did not do well with the lack of air cirulation.

This is what the viv looked like after the first planting. I have subsequently killed the plants and replanted.....twice. That said, the leucs love it. lol

In this pic (with the leuc) you can see how the modgpodge has started to turn white

 

[gosaspursm]

While not dendro related, for those curious, this is what the bottom half looks like. It turned out much better than the top.