Newbi Built Indy tank - 90x12x30

daregone · #1 08-11-2009, 07:13 PM

Here goes...

I am new to the forum and to the hobby. I am currently building a paludarium tank that is sort of themed - Raiders of the Lost Ark!

I have uploaded some picture of the set up.

Currently, I have a canister filter, water heater, light timer, air bubbler, a sump tank with pump and a fog machine.

The fogger is triggered by a humidity sensor and vents out through the snake's mouth.

I have two planting areas that have been set up with drains prevent over-saturation.

The tank is viewable on both long sides and one narrow side. All scenic elements have been carved from foam, painted and covered in epoxy. I have water flowing from behind the statue, down a few steps and into a channel that meanders through the "dry" area.

Next I plan on adding jungle sounds that time with specific events in the tank - such as lights on, lights off, feeding, and watering. Ultimately, I will have a couple of dart frogs and I want to see if I can condition them to associate the sounds with the events (sound track b = food) etc...

Anyway - let me know what you guys think!

daregone · #2 08-12-2009, 08:32 PM

Come on guys! No comments? No, "hey, that is cool!" or "what the heck where you thinking with that setup - it will never work!".

I am new to this hobby - so I am looking to bask in the glory of my work - or be humbled by the experienced judgment of the elders of this forum. But the silence is just painful!

Don't just leave me to the sounds of crickets before they are eaten by someone's frogs....

zach2011 · #3 08-12-2009, 11:39 PM

alrite ill be the first to comment

i think its pretty cool looking, um ne fish in the water area? and could u put up some pics of the dry area just curious wat that looks like up close. but yea its pretty neat. some kinda jungle snake would look rele awesome in there with the whole theme u got going

daregone · #4 08-13-2009, 03:03 AM

Yay! Got a bite!

I have just put in four black skirted tetras into the water area. As I just filled the tank over the weekend, I still need to cycle it. So the tetra's are the test fish... Once I am certain that everything is stable, I plan to add some more tetras and a couple of cory catfish.

A snake would be cool, but I plan on going with dart frogs for the dry area. I want to keep 2 azures to start.

Here are a couple of pic i took with my phone - that is why they are a bit dark... You can see a side view of the wet are with a couple of streaks on the side - (the fish...). The other two are of the dry area. You can see the two planted areas with the stream flowing between.

zach2011 · #5 08-13-2009, 10:07 AM

yea those are nice pics. yea dart frogs would look neat in there as long as they dont drown in the water.. but yea i like it its different but cool. howd u make that stream bed? i made one out of Great Stuff and pvc pipe then siliconed on pebbles and sand

daregone · #6 08-13-2009, 12:56 PM

I made the stream and idol nook from styro foam sheets. For the stream, I did a rough shape, then hit it with a heat gun to make the channel. Once it I got the slope like I wanted, I filled in any gaps with wood filler. I then painted it with spray faux stone paint - the kind of stuff that make a textures and splatters different colors. Once that dryed, I coated the whole thing with epoxy/resin to seal it all and make it a little tougher.

The planted areas are plexiglass trays I made that drop into crescent shaped areas around the stream. Since I have just planted it, it looks very precise in shape right now. I am hoping once stuff starts to really grow in, it will take on a bit more organic look.

Attached is a picture of a test fit i did with the foam for the idol. I made it so the water comes down behind the gold idol and the fog come from the mouth of the snake. I carved little relief images across the header based on some mayan glyphs.

zach2011 · #7 08-13-2009, 02:05 PM

oh ok yea that looks neat, and it will look rele nice when everything grows a little more

daregone · #8 08-13-2009, 03:31 PM

here some additional picture my girlfriend took. I think they came out very nice and describe some of the features even better.

zach2011 · #9 08-13-2009, 05:38 PM

oh yea those show off more of the details, did u say that the fog comes out of the snakes mouth?

daregone · #10 08-13-2009, 05:55 PM

HAH! Yeah, the fog comes out of the carved snakes mouth! Sort of adds a theatrical element to the whole thing. Water flows down the wall immediately behind the gold idol and around its base - then down the couple of steps and collects in the shallow pool before going down the channel and into the aquarium part.

When the fog comes out, it looks like a fire breathing dragon. It then drifts throughout the tank.