G
Guest
·hello all,
****************3.25.05*******************
*****scroll down for the updated progress******
*****************************************
well, i'm working on my first viv, and decided to document the process, as this sort of thing really helped me out when i was figuring out what to do.
i'm working with a 20 Gal high that i'll probably be housing 2-3 d. azureus in. stylistically, i've decided to go with a 'rock' background, which i made out of styrofoam, and will be coating with marine epoxy.
i'm pretty pleased with progress so far. next up... coat the wall with marine epoxy...
-sam
here it is so far (3/17/05)... i'll be updating it as we progress:
this is the unfinished rock wall that i'll be using as a backdrop. i used thick sheet of pink styrofoam i got from home depot, and carved away with a serrated knife. to create depth, i siliconed pieces on with GE II Door and Window silicone.
back view of my unfinished 'rock' backdrop. the long notch carved out of the back is sized such that i can pull the pump out if maintenance is needed. Notice the channel along the top ridge. the pump flows water into it and it fills up this channel that runs along the whole top ridge. there are notches in the channel that guide the water out of the channel to create what should be a pretty cool drip wall effect from multiple locations along the backdrop. i'll try and get pics of this in action when it's coated with epoxy.. i recently tried it out and it looks pretty nice.
side view of my false bottom made of egg crate and fiberglass mesh... it's secured together with GE II silicone. notice the notch in the upper right hand corner... it matches up with the notch running along the back of the styrofoam so i can pull the pump out easily. For aesthetic reasons, the dimensions are slightly smaller than the floor of the tank, thus allowing substrate in front of the thing -concealing it. The fiberglass mesh is attached via nylon fishing line i just tied onto the eggcrate structure.
put together so far.
...the mess my roommates have to put up with.
**************************************
*********updated 3.25.05****************
**************************************
alrighty... here we go. it's almost there..
ok, so i got some black and gray acrylic paint, and some foam brushes and painted it. as i was doing this i started sprinkling a mixture of white and black sand onto the paint to give it a texture and to speckle it to look something like granite. now it starts looking like rock....
ok.. so after the acrylic dried, i whipped out the west system marine epoxy, and covered the whole thing (including the back) with the stuff., being careful to get all the nooks. i think i put about 4 coats of epoxy on it. after this i let it cure a few days before working with it anymore..
before placing the wall in, i put silicone on the inside of the tank where the rock would be. i could have just ran a bead of silicone along the edge of where the rock touches the wall, but that'd be ugly it would have been abead of silicone running along the contour.
next i dropped it in... the epoxy makes the rock look a bit glossy, which at first i objected to, but realized that it should look fine given that it's going to be covered with moisture from the drip wall anyways... i suppose if i had wanted a matte look i could have sanded down a loyer of the epoxy
top view of rock in tank sitting on false bottom.
i bought one of the glass covers they sell for my tank. fortunately, the come shorter than the actual depth of the tank and give you an extra plastic attachment that i think is intended for cutting holes in. i threw that piece away, but the extra room let me make a screen vent for the front of the tank. i used fiberglass screening and the screen siding they sell for making screen windows. sawed it down to size, and made a little screen window. next i epoxied the screen to the glass top. perfect fit.
i got an extra long piece of driftwood from black jungle, giving me more to work with. then after figuring out how i wanted it to be set in i whipped out a hacksaw and cut away. to fix it to the tank, i siliconed it to the side glass. the tape it to hold it up while the silicone sets.
well that's it so far... got a misting system in today, and am going to get holes drilled in the glass soon. then it's just plants, frogs and i'm good to go.
-sam
****************3.25.05*******************
*****scroll down for the updated progress******
*****************************************
well, i'm working on my first viv, and decided to document the process, as this sort of thing really helped me out when i was figuring out what to do.
i'm working with a 20 Gal high that i'll probably be housing 2-3 d. azureus in. stylistically, i've decided to go with a 'rock' background, which i made out of styrofoam, and will be coating with marine epoxy.
i'm pretty pleased with progress so far. next up... coat the wall with marine epoxy...
-sam
here it is so far (3/17/05)... i'll be updating it as we progress:
this is the unfinished rock wall that i'll be using as a backdrop. i used thick sheet of pink styrofoam i got from home depot, and carved away with a serrated knife. to create depth, i siliconed pieces on with GE II Door and Window silicone.
back view of my unfinished 'rock' backdrop. the long notch carved out of the back is sized such that i can pull the pump out if maintenance is needed. Notice the channel along the top ridge. the pump flows water into it and it fills up this channel that runs along the whole top ridge. there are notches in the channel that guide the water out of the channel to create what should be a pretty cool drip wall effect from multiple locations along the backdrop. i'll try and get pics of this in action when it's coated with epoxy.. i recently tried it out and it looks pretty nice.
side view of my false bottom made of egg crate and fiberglass mesh... it's secured together with GE II silicone. notice the notch in the upper right hand corner... it matches up with the notch running along the back of the styrofoam so i can pull the pump out easily. For aesthetic reasons, the dimensions are slightly smaller than the floor of the tank, thus allowing substrate in front of the thing -concealing it. The fiberglass mesh is attached via nylon fishing line i just tied onto the eggcrate structure.
put together so far.
...the mess my roommates have to put up with.
**************************************
*********updated 3.25.05****************
**************************************
alrighty... here we go. it's almost there..

ok, so i got some black and gray acrylic paint, and some foam brushes and painted it. as i was doing this i started sprinkling a mixture of white and black sand onto the paint to give it a texture and to speckle it to look something like granite. now it starts looking like rock....

ok.. so after the acrylic dried, i whipped out the west system marine epoxy, and covered the whole thing (including the back) with the stuff., being careful to get all the nooks. i think i put about 4 coats of epoxy on it. after this i let it cure a few days before working with it anymore..

before placing the wall in, i put silicone on the inside of the tank where the rock would be. i could have just ran a bead of silicone along the edge of where the rock touches the wall, but that'd be ugly it would have been abead of silicone running along the contour.

next i dropped it in... the epoxy makes the rock look a bit glossy, which at first i objected to, but realized that it should look fine given that it's going to be covered with moisture from the drip wall anyways... i suppose if i had wanted a matte look i could have sanded down a loyer of the epoxy

top view of rock in tank sitting on false bottom.

i bought one of the glass covers they sell for my tank. fortunately, the come shorter than the actual depth of the tank and give you an extra plastic attachment that i think is intended for cutting holes in. i threw that piece away, but the extra room let me make a screen vent for the front of the tank. i used fiberglass screening and the screen siding they sell for making screen windows. sawed it down to size, and made a little screen window. next i epoxied the screen to the glass top. perfect fit.

i got an extra long piece of driftwood from black jungle, giving me more to work with. then after figuring out how i wanted it to be set in i whipped out a hacksaw and cut away. to fix it to the tank, i siliconed it to the side glass. the tape it to hold it up while the silicone sets.
well that's it so far... got a misting system in today, and am going to get holes drilled in the glass soon. then it's just plants, frogs and i'm good to go.
-sam