Planted Vivarium Build Log - Any Advice?

[BrighterDays]

Hey all!
I've done plenty of aquarium tanks, but this is my first undertaking of a vivarium project, so I'm posting my build log with pics, and hopefully I can gain some insight along the way. (Maybe even give some advice of my own )



Alright, so I started with a 40 gallon tank. I wanted to add a little pool for some fish, with a larger land mass for plenty of plants.



I didn't take too many photos of the process in between, but it's pretty basic false bottom, fashioned from a piece of egg crate, supported by PVC pipe attached with 100% Silicon Adhesive. I believe I bought all of these from Lowes. I spend the extra buck to get aquarium silicon because I know it has no mold or mildew inhibitors or anything that will contaminate the water. The PVC holds the egg crate exactly 3.5 inches over the floor. I used a piece of nylon screening sewn around the edges with nylon fishing line; again, nothing that could contaminate the water.





I put the false bottom in place, and chose a location for some drift wood. I used the same aquarium adhesive to put some rocks in place around the border to keep gravel or soil from running into the water later on.




The edge of the false bottom was made from black expanding styrophome. 'Great Stuff' makes one that's specifically for aquariums, and it's black. I couldn't find it anywhere except Ace. I used black gravel to fill the border around the rest of the platform.

Coming up next... the background.

[BrighterDays]

So my next challenge, what to do for a background?

I was originally going to go with something stone, but I decided to go with coco fiber.



Again I start with egg crate, this time I just used white Great Stuff because it was available in a larger can (and was cheaper )

I picked some nice wood (that will later serve as a waterfall spot) and I also added a pipe for wires and tubes. After laying them out on the eggcrate, time to foam away.



I bought some coco fiber from a local pet store, which breaks apart easily after soaked in water. When it dried a bit, i covered the hardened foam with silicon and spread it on top.



I had a little problem with this method as some spots didn't hold very well

I'll wait until it dries and add some silicon where the foam shows through and reapply some more coco fiber... any other suggestions out there?



All said and done, the background fit in nice (aside from the touchup work that needs to be done)

And soon the tank will be planted...

[BrighterDays]

So now time to add a few plants....



And a few more...



The heater is actually hidden under the false bottom. In the next week or so I'll add a filter and pump to get the waterfall going.

In the weeks to follow there's going to be a hood built over top with lights, fans, etc.

More to come!

[heartagramtc]

that looks awesome

as for touching up the BG im not sure what you can do. for my tank i used the black expandnig foam. and used black silicone. i had the same issue with the moss i used to cover the BG completely.

[BrighterDays]

I might as well point out the stand too, my friend and I built specifically to hold the vivarium. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of the progress of it except before it was stained and polyurethaned. It came out nice in the end though, and the hood is going to be built to match the stand.

[beckdg]

you can bore holes in your background and over fill them with silicone to cover areas that are stubborn. next time if you want to do it the same way do smaller spots or roughen up your gs for silicone to hold. if that is not the issue then maybe dry your substrate better.

you asked for suggestions that's what i got. build looks great so far... i like your approach building everything from scratch the first time. just short the tank so far. great job, keep going and keep us updated.

welcome to the forum btw.

[froggsong]

The coco fiber didn't stick because it wasn't completely dry. It has to be super dry or else it makes it fall off.

[heartagramtc]

hmm that stuff used in the background looks like the coco husk that has the chunks, not the coco fiber thats very "powdery" that may have played a part in not sticking well. again i may be wrong. i also agree with froggsong if the coco fiber wasnt COMPLETELY dry it will just fall right off.

[lowcountryfire]

Awesome viv! I really like it... Keep us updated on the build too plz..

[BrighterDays]

Originally Posted by froggsong

The coco fiber didn't stick because it wasn't completely dry. It has to be super dry or else it makes it fall off.

Yea I think it was a bit moist. I'll have to wait for the rest to dry out before I reapply it.
Thx