[skanderson]

the moss is just what was growing on the cedar when I cut it from my woods. it seems to die out over time but I am hoping to get some tropical mosses to take it over.

 

[austin]

Nice, either way, looks great! Thanks for the answer.

 

[skanderson]

a few pictures from today after I added about a dozen orchids that I picked up at the Madison orchid show today. really was hoping for more minis and species but I guess I will have to keep looking.

 

[Lake]

Wow. Just wow. It looks amazing


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[erikm]

Looks fantastic!

 

[suztor]

Would you change anything about how you did this build?

I've built a few (much) smaller tanks but am getting ready to build a large display tank for my living room, and would really appreciate any input or feedback you would have on pitfalls you encountered. (maintenance problems, leaks, keeping clean, roots destroying things? etc.)

can you share pictures of the plumbing and such?

Thanks!

 

[skanderson]

I will try to get pics of the back of the viv up that show the plumbing and all this weekend. you will then see there are a couple small leaks. I'm not sure what I will do with them but they don't seem to have compromised it yet. I do think I would change what I used to keep the substrate up off the water level that is draining. things are a bit too swampy and I think it is because the geotextile fabric is clogging up and not letting water pass through fast enough. I will be cutting some slits in the fabric to try to alleviate the problem. I do think that my venting system to the base of the glass has worked well as has my close loops for air movement. in the future I will be changing out all the t5ho lights for leds but I'm not sure if I'm going to do that next winter of another year in the future. I'm awaiting 200 lumen per watt emitters with decent CRI. I would definitely be more selective about what plants I put in there and be ruthless from the get go on removing any volunteer plants. if I was curious about what they were I would grow them out in isolation. this would have avoided the mess that huge weedy fern and some climber growth caused. just before opening dendroboard this morning I was a vitatus transporting tads down to the pond but he finished off the move before I could get a pic.

 

[skanderson]

a few quick pics to show some of the new plants picked up at the narbc show. really nice selection from glass box tropical.

 

[Lokirathehunter]

Any Updates for this beauty?

 

[czpana]

a few quick pics to show some of the new plants picked up at the narbc show. really nice selection from glass box tropical.

What's the long shaggy moss?


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[skanderson]

i need to clean out a bunch of weedy ferns and club moss and clean the glass. if I can get that done in the next couple of days I will try and get some new pics up. not sure what the moss you are talking about is. I have ordered and placed probably about 10 different mosses into here over the years. some seems to take off and others die off or slowly grow.

 

[B-Lans]

That is one amazing vivarium! Now I'm going to have to read through your build thread. How much maintenance do you do on a daily or weekly basis?

 

[skanderson]

i feed the frogs once a week. I probably pull some weedy overgrown plants once a month if I'm good. overdue on all maintenance because ive been busy with summer stuff and really stocking up my reef tank. didn't get the glass cleaned or ferns pulled yet this week but still may be able to get it done and get some updated pics up.

 

[cmk]

Ok, summers over. Let's see an update. How many extra frogs are running around and did you fix the leaks, fix the drainage issue and pull plants?

 

[wimvanvelzen]

Lots of respect for this build!
I think the addition of some vertical structures (trees or even large rocks) just behind the front windows would add some depth to the hardscape - but that is nitpicking.

Gets me in the mode of starting my new plans as well...

 

[Reefluvr]

This is a beautiful build. As I've mentioned to a few other builders in the past, your tank makes me wish I could shrink down to frog-size and spend a vacation there. Thank you for taking the time to post pics and updates. I'm basically a lurker on DB and learn a TON from posts like yours. I don't know how you find the time!

I live in Eau Claire and would seriously enjoy seeing this in person. If you're ever in need of some help, shoot me a PM. I'll trade labor for admission.

 

[taylorwebbed]

Amazing tanks! makes me want to start up a new one.

 

[skanderson]

thanks for all the kind words. I have toyed with the idea of some height at the front of the viv but I have a hard time figuring out where to put something what wont interfere with my access or the opening of the glass. I always cut my cedar to put in the viv in the winter to help minimize pests, so I may cut a few just to see if I can get a bit more in there. just pulled out 2 garbage bags of ferns, begonias, bamboo, and selaginellas. have to call out hydrophyte on the max height of the bamboo I picked up from him. it hit over 6 feet tall before I cut it all down. I think I have a few updated pics after the weed out that I can put on here. leak in the plywood seems to have stabilized, and I have pulled a ton of plants a few times now. really trying to get all the weedy ferns out before the drop spores, but it is amazing how fast that stuff grows. frog population seems quite stable except there are a few young P. vittatus running around. will be at narbc this weekend and will be looking for a couple small lizards or geckos, some broms and orchids, and maybe a small group of ameerga sp. I have one A. pepperi orange but lost its mate sometime in the last few years. I would either add more of the same or add a different species and pull the pepperi to move to another viv. I'm also considering going to an all led lighting for the tank. thinking of a combo of warm and cool leds using 30 watt efficient arrays. ok now some pics from today.
2 from the outside. from the short end of the viv I do have wood/ trunks in the front.

 

[skanderson]

a bunch of interior shots in no particular order. the only frog out and about was what I think is a A pepperi orange.

 

[skanderson]

love the foliage variation in the next 2 pics with and without a flash.


next one shows the frog.