Pro construction-55 lgal palu

Biology · #1 08-31-2009, 06:17 PM

Hello all, this is my first time posting on this site though Ive been on it from time to time. I thought I would post my latest palu. I love them and would like to share some of my experiences with them. Ill be doing a 55 gal long, false bottom, with a top down 7 or so gallon side tank.

MY BACKGROUND: Well I'm new here so I guess I'll introduce myself. I work as an aquarist and diver at a major aquarium in the Midwest USA. Ive done a number of display fabrications and large scale set ups and some really nice smaller ones. I got into vivs and palus zookeeping and doing some grant work I've done in the past. Ive done research and published on sealed aquatic ecosystems & nutrient cycling for NASA (tanks hermetically sealed with no incoming nutrients or even air, a bitch to set up but amazing if they work; imagine never feeding or opening a tank for years, my longest is about 5 years with shrimp un-opened

). I do a lot of chemistry too so let me know if you have any questions.

DISCLAIMER
Not everything in here you might agree with or may even be right. Many of you have lots of experiences so please help me out, and I want to know what you think! Also please dont get mad if my idea or tips dont work to well. And, If something I say (god forbid) kills all your livestock let me know ! But hopefully this will all work. If you have questions let me know!

SOME INITIAL THOUGHTS ON PALU CONSTRUCTION
There are some truly great builds made by many s there are some very common mistakes made by many. Ill list a few of my biggest pet peeves:

1.They should be natural looking. Nature is inherently chaotic and a good viv or palu should have a bit of that. When using stones use a variety of sizes, streams are not straight pvc pipes, and ponds are not glass boxes. Make things off center never make then “square” with the lines of the tank. The set up of a beautiful tank is like a good painting pay attention to the lines balance of the make up of the tank. Im NOT the best at this by any means, but I have been fortunate to have worked with some people with a true artists eye for exhibit construction.

2.A palu needs a water feature right? Many that I see the water is very shallow or extremely small. A indentation in your clayballs as a substrate is NOT a good water feature. A 2 inch deep little “pond” can actually be very nice but I rarely see water features that are substantial. My favorite style, which I dont think I have every really seen online, is a top-down water feature where the water level is the highest point of the “Land”. This requires some type separation but I think it really opens up the possibilities for a larger water feature with room for (dry or marginal plants especially in a long tank like the 55 im using for this build. Instead of pumping water UP then have it flow back down to the main body of water, why not have the large water separated and have it flow DOWN then pump it back up? You will see what I mean.

3.Shorelines suck. The separation between water and land is probably the hardest part of any palu. Dont you agree?? Leaking, materials, they are ugly, stuff falls in and drowns, ahh the list goes ON and ON. I'll give you tip* In professional construction we almost always use decorative concrete. In my opinion, it looks the best (with a few exceptions), gives a solid separation, can look anyway you want, is really durable. The problem for most people is that it is difficult to work with, lack of knowledge on how to cure it, mold it, getting the right color and making it not toxic. Not to mention its really heavy and can break your glass on installation.

Now on the palu im building I WONT be using concrete so its going to be tricky and im not totally sure how it will flesh out as far as looks, but ive got some ideas...

4. Take a WALK and SAVE SOME MONEY!! I love going outside. I find a i can put together a really good tank for very little money. Alot of the materials i use I find outside. I go walk around the lake find some drift wood, some good rocks ect. Bark of a tree is free. Why buy super overpriced stuff when its in the woods near your house.

THE GOALS FOR THIS TANK
When planning a tank i always start with Goals this should always be the first step. So ill give you the ones i had for this tank. This is a personal tank, not for work and has much different goals and construction methods then one at a public institution.

1. As natural and pro-looking as possible. With a large dominant water feature.
2. Use only the usual hobbiest construction materials (no custom fab stuff not easily obtainable)
3. CHEAP cost is a huge concern for most people so i wanted to REALLY go on the cheap, it may not be as good as it could be, but i think i can put together a really good tank for very little money.

Biology · #2 08-31-2009, 06:33 PM

Heres a few Pictures from the start. The rough plan You can see standard Egg crate used for background and false bottom. The piece of acrylic isnt siliconed in yet.Basically just sizing all the pieces so they fit right. Notice my water bottle

floor. This is the best way to start make nothing final but make sure everything fits really well to plan it all out.

Oh and then i used GS foam to make the background, notice i used some nice aged drift wood embedded directly in the background. Drift wood is great, resists rot really well and looks great. Plus its free assuming u have some lakes or ocean near by. I also in the GS i put a few plasic cups, cut in half or whole for planters in the background.

PS This Palu is actually pretty much done. But ill walk you through the build to tease u a bit

before i show u the final product. actually its looking WAY better than i originally thought!

brp4e. · #3 08-31-2009, 06:44 PM

wow, i cant wait to see it finished. What do you mean by decorative concrete?

zach2011 · #4 08-31-2009, 07:50 PM

Do me a favor, check out my tank and tell me what you think please. sorry for the crappy film job

YouTube - My Vivarium

froggsong · #5 08-31-2009, 08:36 PM

Hey zach, can you post a new thread next time please? I am going to copy your post to a new thread, anyone wanting to comment on Zach's video should post there, not here.

zach2011 · #6 08-31-2009, 10:00 PM

Ok thanks FrogSong

Biology · #7 09-10-2009, 01:41 AM

Ok ive been uber busy lately so ill drop in a few more pics etc.
I think ill elaborate on the background.

This is a great way to cover GS foam. I really dont like placing tons of silicon done then covering it in peat moss or mulch or something. I use a nice mix of peatmoss, cocoa-fiber (from a condensed brick) and a concrete fixative. Just like mixing drinks i put it in the following ratio:

4 parts peatmoss
4 parts cocoa fiber
1-2 part concrete fixative
little sprinkle of water if needed to get it a bit damp

This gives u a nice brown sticky stuff that hardens as hard as concrete. The stuff is brilliant let me tell you. I mix it up in a plastic tube. Gets like a tacky glueish- dirt like substance. it also resists water pretty well. You basically just lay your background down flat and press the stuff on pretty hard. My background had a lot of texture so it stuck pretty good. it wont cling on vertical stuff when its drying so it needs to be laying flat, U may need to do one main application then another to fill any cracks or exposed foam.

This back ground is non-toxic holds moisture "ok" but i wouldnt soak it all the time. Actually it might be good i just havent tried. Heres a couple pics pretty easy to make and lasts a long time and looks great these pics are it half finished so looks kinda shitty.

Oh im sure someone will ask so the fixative i mix with the stuff ACE hardware makes its called: "Concrete Primer& Bonding Additive" I got a 32 once bottle for 20 bucks and i still have some left over.

I embeded some cool drift wood in the foam and worked the goop around it. As well as a couple plastic containers for planting plants.

Biology · #8 09-10-2009, 01:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brp4e.

wow, i cant wait to see it finished. What do you mean by decorative concrete?

Decorative concrete is what most zoos and aquariums use for exhibit manufacture. Ever go to a big zoo and they have crazy fake concrete trees, logs, rocks, waterfalls, and all that? Its kinda the process of coloring, texturing and shaping concrete. Some construction companies specialize in it. Allmost all the best Palus ive seen have used it. Concrete can be really great on a smaller scale, just remember that if it contacts water it has to be cured. ive used an acid such as HCl to cure it.

The reason its good is it can look like anything, its non-toxic once cured, it lasts a REALLY long time, can be seamless from water to land, and can be textured really nicely.

heres a couple pics of 2 enclosures with concrete construction, the notice the one with the knarly root structure on the left, thats all concrete.

HewesHort · #9 09-10-2009, 02:00 PM

That mixture is a great idea! welcome to the forum!

froggsong · #10 09-10-2009, 04:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Biology

Ok ive been uber busy lately so ill drop in a few more pics etc.
I think ill elaborate on the background.

This is a great way to cover GS foam. I really dont like placing tons of silicon done then covering it in peat moss or mulch or something. I use a nice mix of peatmoss, cocoa-fiber (from a condensed brick) and a concrete fixative. Just like mixing drinks i put it in the following ratio:

4 parts peatmoss
4 parts cocoa fiber
1-2 part concrete fixative
little sprinkle of water if needed to get it a bit damp

This gives u a nice brown sticky stuff that hardens as hard as concrete. The stuff is brilliant let me tell you. I mix it up in a plastic tube. Gets like a tacky glueish- dirt like substance. it also resists water pretty well. You basically just lay your background down flat and press the stuff on pretty hard. My background had a lot of texture so it stuck pretty good. it wont cling on vertical stuff when its drying so it needs to be laying flat, U may need to do one main application then another to fill any cracks or exposed foam.

This back ground is non-toxic holds moisture "ok" but i wouldnt soak it all the time. Actually it might be good i just havent tried. Heres a couple pics pretty easy to make and lasts a long time and looks great these pics are it half finished so looks kinda shitty.

Oh im sure someone will ask so the fixative i mix with the stuff ACE hardware makes its called: "Concrete Primer& Bonding Additive". I got a 32 once bottle for 20 bucks and i still have some left over.

I embeded some cool drift wood in the foam and worked the goop around it. As well as a couple plastic containers for planting plants.

Don't keep it wet, it WILL fall apart, and it WILL leach the additive back into the water (if you have it too close to the water or have a waterfall running down it, etc). It's great anywhere that will only get some misting or in a dry tank. You can also mix sand with it, either by itself or added to the peat mixture (a little goes a long way if you are adding sand in with the peat, I read that it will help it hold together better). For those that try it, placing a fan in front to blow on it overnight will dry it faster, and it is done when you knock on it and it sounds like wood.

I'd post a pic of my FB for the CWD tank that I had to pull out, but my camera has dead batteries and I have to find some that aren't dead (or the charger).

EDIT: also, you can run some dry moss with lots of spores through a blender (I use a magic bullet) and add that to the peat to encourage moss growth on the BG.