First viv build

[Garnek]

Ok, here we go...

I took many of the fourm posts here into consideration when I was thinking of how I wanted to build my first viv.

I started with egg crate and covered it with screen. I used 3 inch pvc under the egg crate to make the water table. I wanted an easy way to change the pump out if needed so I made a 4X4 plexiglass chute and drilled holes in the bottom 3 inches. I wrapped the bottom of the plexiglass in screen to act as a bit of a filter. I used more egg crate covered in screen to make a little pool in the front. I cut pvc in half and used black silicone to cover it with gravel to make the stream bed. I used an old broken filter that I molded and fixed up as the start of the water fall.





After I had my tank "skeleton" ready, I took everything out and cleaned it. I put a layer of black silicone on the bottom 3 inches to cover the pvc and water table. I glued the pvc under the egg crate to keep it in place and also the stream bead to the pool so I turn the tank on its side for the great stuff. The plan from this point is to carve the great stuff into two water fall pools that fall into the stream bed, then cover the pools with gravel and the rest with coco bedding.



I have a few different types of pothos that are ready plant after adding about an inch of gravel and then coco bedding(?) on top of that. Any suggestions on other plants to add to this tropical viv?

[Green Ghost]

Looks great so far and very original. My suggestion for plants would be an orchid or two.

[Garnek]

The GS is finally dry so I will be able to start carving it this weekend. I will try to remember to make more pics to post as I progress. Im not a plant person at all so I better state that im thinking of putting a set of pygmy chams in here so any suggestions on what would work well with them. I know I stated tropical setting earlier so I just wanted to clarify.

Marty: You have stated before that you use weldbond glue mixed (75% to 25%) with water plus dirt. I am assuming that the glue dries clear and would that method work with coco bedding?

[frog_dude]

That's looking great! I'm looking forward to seeing the end result!

For plants i'd use philodendron, ficus pumilio, and some bromeliads and epiphytic ferns on the rear panel.

Have you decided on inhabitants yet or will it be purely a plant terrarium?

Rich

[Garnek]

Thanks for the comments and suggestions on the plants. As I said before I am definitely not a plant person!

I am hoping to house Rhampholeon Spectrum (Spectral Pygmy Chameleon) or something from that genus.

I should be able to finish carving the GS and test the waterfall this weekend. If all goes well and I don’t have to patch anywhere, I might even be able to get it covered with coco bedding.

[Garnek]

Here goes the carving! Have to admit that I was a bit nervous about this step but everything seemed to turn out ok.



I used a standard steak knife for the rough carving and the other tool is a pottery forming tool that was suggested by an artsy friend of mine. I wanted a curved blade for rounding corners. It worked out pretty good for the fine carving.





This is how everything turned out. Even after 3 days of drying, there was still some wet GS in the back when I was carving so I have to let it dry a bit before I can test out the water fall. Something to keep in mind if you plan on carving a lot of GS.



Here is a close up of the two "pools". Sorry it’s so dark but with the flash I got so much light reflection off the GS you couldn’t see anything.

If everything is dry tomorrow, I will finish cleaning out the savings and testing the waterfall to make sure it flows the way I expect it to. If that goes well, then it’s on to applying the silicone and rocks to the water feature and coco bedding to the rest of the background.

[froggsong]

It was still wet in the back because you layered it on too thick. I did that the first time I used it myself. Unfortunately, you ARE going to get some shrinkage. IMO, it actually makes the BG look more natural, however, if there was any "wet" (read uncured or even slightly soft) GS in the area where you carved out your pools, you are probably going to have a little bit of a problem. The shape of the pools may change, quite a bit, and you may have pools quite smaller than you intended. I suggest you wait a couple of days before covering the GS to see how much everything shrinks so you can tell if you need to add more GS or do something else to get the look you desire. Of course, it may not shrink at all, but I think that is highly unlikely. Next time, unless you want the shrinkage effect (I did it that way on the BG I just made for my snake so it would shrink some), just make smaller layers and allow for at least partial curing between layers. You could also carve some polystyrene for the pools and stick it in the GS. If you did that, there would be no possibility for shrinkage, at least for the pools. Hmmmm, that's a good idea I just had, lol... I'll have to use that in my CWD vive.

Other than that, it looks great! Keep up the good work and keep us posted!

[Garnek]

Thanks for the comments froggsong. The GS was applied in two layers and left for 24 hours before the next layer was added. So far the GS has no shrinkage (crosses fingers).

I tested the water feature today and it turned out really close to what I was expecting. I am very happy with the way it has turned out so far. I have a fan blowing in it currently to dry everything out before covering the background and finishing a few details.

More pictures to come!

[froggsong]

Mine didn't show visible shrinkage for at least a week. You may find that you like how it looks if it DOES shrink though (unless it is your pools that shrink!), I thought it looked much more natural (at least the way I was using it). I'm crossing my fingers for you too!

[Garnek]

Progress!



I coated the area I was covering with black GE silicone and added the rocks to the pools. I piled on the rocks and pressed them into the silicone. After the silicone cured, I brushed off anything that was not stuck.



Next I moved on to the coco bedding and used the same technique.



After the coco bedding, I trimed the pools with moss and added rocks to the beginning of the stream.

After everything had cured it was time to test the water fall again and make sure everything came out the way I hoped it would.





A few close ups of the fall and the first pool.



The stream with water!



The viv as is. I am gonna let everything run a few days to make sure its working and looks the way I want. Im sure I will be patching a few spots because I didnt like the way they came out. Then comes planting! Will post more pics when its planted and ready for occupants.