My First Vertical Tanks: Build Log with Pics.

[Tindomul1of9]

Here are some of the supplies I bought for the vertical tank. I made the screen frame for the ventilation part. It was easier than I ever imagined, though it took about an hour to make two of them.



Thats the kit I got at Home Depot, and the spline tool I got so I could put the spline in once I get the no see-um mosquito mesh netting.



And here is the name of the kit incase anyone ever wants to find one.
My biggest problem was knowing what to look for.

Ok, I pretty much want to follow the intructions given in Josh's Frogs's website on how to construct a vertical tank. However I want a bottom piece, the piece that opens, and then a third piece at the top that will be a ventilation screen. Then attach a small fan to suck out stagnant air, maybe I haven't decided yet.

And here are the tools I used, the hammer, the hack saw, the ruler, the china pencil (wax pencil), and the window frame itself. Also the kit comes with corners.

I cut the frame with the hack saw, and used the hammer to push in the corner pieces. I also used a file to smooth out the rough edges after cutting the frame.
I was pretty proud of myself for being so handy all of a sudden.
Here is what it will look like once I silicone it in place, again, imagine it with the screen on it.


I've also bought some latches and hinges so I can open the front without having to remove the glass evertime.
I went to a glass cutter and he will supply me with 4 pieces of glass, each 1/4" inch thick, 11 1/2" wide, 2 will be 6 inches tall(long), and 2 will be 19 1/4". The reason I chose 1/4" thick glass was so that it matches up to the thickness of the screen frames. Other wise you can easily use 1/8" thick, as this is the same thickness they use for standard glass tops. Maybe he will have them ready by today, maybe mondays. I hope measured everything right, wish me luck!

P.S., I'll be housing one green tree frog in one tank, and the other tank, hopefully some pumilio!!!!! Im still searching for some.

[Tindomul1of9]

Ok, I got the glass cut. It fits extremely tightly. I should have gotten one of the pieces cut about 1/16" shorter than my measurements. Well as long as it actually closes.
None of the pieces in the pics have been siliconed in place yet. The reason is cuase Im not sure what my next step is.


And here are the hinges and the latch that I bought for the door.




All I need now is a pull so I can open the door with ease. Home Depot has a ton of variety, lets hope I find one stylish enough.
So, I want to use handi foam(which I already have two cans of) to create a background. I also bought some malaysian drift wood at a local petstore.
Should I smear silicone throughout the back of panels, then the handi foam, then more silicone on which I put bed-a-beast substrate??? And then silicone the door and screen in place???
Thanks.

[Tindomul1of9]

Ok, I siliconed the first piece of glass, the bottom glass, to the tank. I also felt I needed to add some silicone to the inside of the black rim to avoid possible leaks. I know these are made to prevent leaks, but I have seen enough of the rims fall off old vivariums to take the extra precuation.



I used black silicone to attach the glass to the black rim of the tank.



I used clear silicone and a spatula pictured above to reinforce the silicone seal on the inside of the black rim to avoid leaks. I know, Im paranoid, .


A closer look.

[Jezza]

hey, thats a really cool tank you got there!
it's always good to be on the safe side so i would probably use silicon too. How much would this have cost you? Was it very difficult?
i'm thinking i might build one myself with my own design...

[Tindomul1of9]

The tank cost me $28 and the glass and the cutting of the glass cost me about $15(for one tank that is, $30 for two tanks), and the screen cost me $8.00. It wasn't difficult at all, I'm am the least handy person you could come across and I did it.

I'll post another update soon.

[Jezza]

thanks, i am pretty confident that i could build it, because i am a bit of a handyman and i like to build stuff like this (but usually out of wood).
the relative cheapness of the project makes it very attractive and i don't expect it to take too long...now i just need to find the time to do it

[nikon]

rockon, I'll be building one here shortly. I'm moving my basilisk to a 35g tank and then I'll take the 25g and make it a vertical setup like this here...

[Tindomul1of9]

Hi all,

Here is an update. I put up the background "infrastructure". Its Handi Foam, a black version of Great Stuff. The plan is to silicone some coco fiber to this to make it look appealing and make it moisture retentive for epiphytic plants.
I tried siliconing some of this coco fiber (bed-a-beast) and found that in a few small spots it was sucking up the silicone and not sticking to the background. Hopefully this is just in a few small spots.

[Tindomul1of9]

Time for some updates. I apologize for the quality of the pictures, I lent my digi cam out for the week so these were taken with my cell phone.

I added coco fiber to the background using silicone. I used both black and clear silicone. It doesn't seem to make a bit of difference. Once its all done, all you see is coco fiber, not silicone color .



Next step, clean the sides a little, plant the background, add the door and screen, or maybe that first then plant . Then add the substrate, I will be using leca balls for drainage, and a few large rocks to section of a corner for a pond feature. Wish me luck!

[Jezza]

hey that looks really awesome!!!
It's looks real too which is important (in my veiw)
well ,the bottom pic does
keep up the good work!