My First Vivarium, 75G Tank: Build Log with Pics

[Nubster]

I am actually near the end of the build but thought I would go ahead and post the photos of the process anyways as I just discovered this board. Anyways, here it is...

The tank housed a couple bichirs and some other FW fish. After finding a new home for them came the tedious task of draining the tank and scrubbing algae.



Tank clean I started on the frame work for the Great Stuff water feature.



First can of GS.



Second can and a test fit. Needs some sculpting.



After some carving and before covering with silicon. I don't have pictures of that process but I simply covered it in brown silicon and adhered a brown sand and pebble mixture to the still wet silicon.



Another test fit and some closeups so you can see the texture of the sand/pebble covering.







Here is a full tank shot before planting.



A close up of the rock feature on the right side, also GS covered with the same sand mix.



Here are some shots of the plants that are in the tank so far. I have a couple more ordered, should be in this week.









And the final FTS. Still needs more planting and some more driftwood, but it is coming along pretty well.



I used a false bottom using egg crate and window screen and underneath is about 2 inches of water for the waterfall. I am using a Mini-Jet 404 water pump for the flow duties. I left a large opening behind the waterfall for easy access for pump maintenance. For the substrate I used a mix of Eco Earth (coco fiber), fir & sphagnum peat moss mix, and orchid bark. Leaf litter is oak leaves from my yard that have been boiled and dried in the sun. I have my FF cultures and Springtail cultures working before the frogs arrive. Frogs will be most likely a group of 5 Terribilis. So I still have some finishing touches to do but I think I am about 90% done. Please feel free to comment, good or bad.

[Nubster]

I had a bit of a hiccup with the viv. I used foam to hold up the egg crate and siliconed it to stay in place. Not sure if I did not allow enough time to cure but after adding about 5 gallons of water to get the level high enough for the water feature I guess the silicon got really nasty and slimy and fouled the water. I was also having leaking problems with the water feature also due to silicon not curing fully. So I tore the entire tank down, clean it up and used tried and true pvc sections to hold up the egg crate. I also will be using a reservoir to hold the pump and water rather than flooding the entire tank underneath the false bottom. I removed the water feature as well and did some work on it to fix the leaks so hopefully all will be better soon.

I also received my FF culture kit from Josh's Frogs. Great stuff. I ordered the kit with two cultures and went ahead and made my first two additional cultures and I am very pleased at how easy it was. I have about 15 flies escape but no biggie. I also got a tropical springtail culture which I will add part of to the tank and the other will be cultured in to more springtails.

I also installed coco panels to the upper half of the tank. Looks alright. Now I can get some stuff growing on the back and maybe I can get my humidity up which I have been having some problems with. I also need to build a light rack to get the lights off the glass as I high slightly high temps in the tank as well, around 80 on average. I think getting some space between the lights and the glass top of the tank should help. Well, that is it for now as far as an update. I will get an updated FTS up when I get the tank back together. Thanks for reading and feel free to comment on anything you see/read here.

[Nubster]

Here's the updated full tank shot after I got everything put back together.

[Nubster]

Anyone? I guess since I realize it is in the wrong section, could this be moved please.

[froggsong]

PM Athen or Marty and ask them to move it... No biggie! Looks really nice, I love how your GS silicone sand pebble mixture looks almost just like concrete... I'll be stealing that, lol... Keep up the great work!!!

[lhoy]

As I was reading the first build, I thought to myself, oh man, looks like a lot of problems. Then you listed all of them I was thinking of and a couple of more. The 2nd build is fantastic!! Very nice work. Amazing what patience and work will do!

[Nubster]

Thanks. Here is the most recent pictures. I have several more plants in the mail that should be in tomorrow. I'll get a new photo up once I get them planted.

[lhoy]

Waterfall turned out awesome!! And I like plant selection.

Lee

[Nubster]

New plants in today from Josh's Frogs. Just like last time, everything arrived in great shape. Did a little rearranging as well. Let me know what you think...

[froggsong]

That looks WONDERFUL! I absolutely LOVE it! Wanna come help me? I can't seem to get any work done on my CWD vive, and my cats are terrorizing the poor little guy... Oh well... I'm fixing to go get some work done on it right now... Maybe I'll get it BUILT at least... Again, that looks fantastic.