125 Gallon Terraium with 10 gallon aquarium

[wespastor]

Hello

It was suggested that I post in this section from over in the introduction section were my thread there began to describe my plan. In fact I have already started and will be a slow process for me so be patient as the build may take several months to complete.

Description:

125 Gallon Terrarium with a 10 Gallon aquarium Enclosure

5 - 7 varieties of plants

The construction will be similar to that of the one fully described on Black Jungle, except that I will use fine black aquarium gravel instead of the coco bedding and will carry that theme throughout.

The only place the perlite will be is directly under the 10 gallon aquarium to offset some of the weight and to act as a cushion for the glass directly beneath it. The perlite other wise will be enclosed by the pea gravel or sides of the tank. As far as it coming up it will also be covered by the fiberglass screen and non-biodegradable foam. (Sourcing yet to be determined)

My reasons for choosing the smoother pea gravel over LECA were for appearance and because I was concerned how permeable of the material would be to water absorption adding weight and causing stagnant water and fouling the under-works of the terrarium. There would be now flow through over or around the gravel necessarily. And the reason for the tube and screen in the bottom back corner is to allow for the siphoning off of any accidental over-watering.

As for the plumbing ... The Aquarium will be filtered and aerated as if a stand-alone tank. The filter and such will be hidden by plantings. And yes there will also be aquatic plants.

I hope the attached picture and drawing will help.

[Epiphile]

Interesting choice of background- it should look very sharp when it's planted. Were you planning on hydrating the back wall in some way? You could probably grow plants on it if you had a good supply of water. What plants are you considering?

If I could make a suggestion as far as placing the 10G inside- perhaps you might consider a sheet of high-density foam cut to size. I'm just worried that trying to work with perlite for that purpose might be a mess and a pain. It may not hold the weight of 10G of water too well, either- it tends to crush under pressure.

And as per usual, I'd advocate a false bottom as opposed to either LECA or pea gravel- it's lighter, cleaner, and can hold more water.

[wespastor]

Originally Posted by Epiphile

Interesting choice of background- it should look very sharp when it's planted. Were you planning on hydrating the back wall in some way? You could probably grow plants on it if you had a good supply of water. What plants are you considering?

If I could make a suggestion as far as placing the 10G inside- perhaps you might consider a sheet of high-density foam cut to size. I'm just worried that trying to work with perlite for that purpose might be a mess and a pain. It may not hold the weight of 10G of water too well, either- it tends to crush under pressure.

And as per usual, I'd advocate a false bottom as opposed to either LECA or pea gravel- it's lighter, cleaner, and can hold more water.

Thank you for the kind and encouraging words.

On Hydrating the background I had not planned on directly and purposely hydrating the background per se but was hoping that the high humidity levels of the terrarium would be sufficient enough that the Ivy and mosses might grow there.

These are the list of plants that I have investigated and are still under consideration for planting in the end I would only want to keep 5 – 7 varieties
The one that are BOLD are Highest on my "in" list
Aluminum plant (Pilea cadierii), Arrowhead vine Nephthytis (Syngonium podophyllum), Artillery plant (Pilea microphylla), Baby tears (Helxine soleirolii), Belgian evergreen (Dracaena sanderana), Boston fern (Nephrolepis exaltata cvs.), Brake or table ferns (Pteris spp.), Chinese evergreen (Aglaonema commutatum), Club moss (Lycopodium spp.), Creeping club moss (Selaginella kraussiana), Earth star (Cryptanthus bromelioides), English ivy (Hedera helix), Heart-leaved philodendron (Philodendron scandens), Irish moss (Selaginella spp.), Maidenhair fern (Adiantum cuneatum), Maidenhead spleenwort (Asplenium trichomanes), Miniature African violets (Saintpaulia cvs.), Miniature Begonia rex (Begonia rex-cultorum), Miniature begonias (Begonia boweri), Miniature gloxinias (Sinningia pusilla (and other miniature cvs.)), Miniature peperomia (Pilea depressa), Nerve plant (Fittonia verschaffeltii), Parlor palm (Chamaedorea elegans), Partridge berry (Michella repens), Prayer plant (Maranta leucoreura ), Aluminum plant (Pilea cadierii), Venus Fly Trap (Dionaea muscipula), Mini Kalanchoe (Kalanchoe blossfeldiana spp), Gold Fish Plants (Nematanthus wettsteinii), Wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens), Watermelon peporomia (Peperomia sandersii), Strawberry begonia (Saxifraga sarmentosa).
There is a moss that escapes me just now that I would like to have growing as well. One usually sees it growing around sandstone walks.

As for the Aquatic Plants these are a few under consideration:

Cryptocoryne
Riccia
Hemianthus callitrichoides
Vesicularia dubyana

For the underside of the 10 Gallon Aquarium. I am Aware that the perlite will crush under pressure. But only to a point. And the drawing is incomplete in that it does not show the expanded styrene sheet between the perlite and the 10g tank which will disburse the weight of the tank across all of the perlite area evenly. The other thing that concerns me about using high-density foam alone is that the water below will have nowhere to flow and become stagnant there fouling the under-works. As for being a mess it will be encapsulated under the gravel and a layer of fiberglass screen.

As to the false bottom I have some issues where I live –I am not allowed to have an aquarium which hold more than 10 gallons of water – I am pushing the envelope here. As long as I stay away from the word aquarium in my description it is a terrarium. Therefore the false bottom albeit a great thing to have would be my nightmare. As for lighter – I am not sold. The mere porosity of LECA inclines me to believe that it can hold water and water has weight. The weight of the water it holds could be very heavy as well.

The total weight of the gravel I intend to put in the bottom of the terrarium is about 60 pounds. The terrarium itself weighs more than that at about 200 pounds empty.

There will be not flowing water in the under-works and for all intent and purposes the 125 gallon tank is an oversized flower pot without a hole.

[Epiphile]

Good plant selections- many of these are readily available, and most if not all should be well suited to this project. I would imagine that good humidity will be enough to allow many of the vining plants to move upward on your background. I have to say again that I really like the black background, and it's giving me all sorts of ideas- I've done tanks without backgrounds but with the back glass blacked out and really liked the effect. This technique might give the best of both worlds.

Originally Posted by wespastor

For the underside of the 10 Gallon Aquarium. I am Aware that the perlite will crush under pressure. But only to a point. And the drawing is incomplete in that it does not show the expanded styrene sheet between the perlite and the 10g tank which will disburse the weight of the tank across all of the perlite area evenly. The other thing that concerns me about using high-density foam alone is that the water below will have nowhere to flow and become stagnant there fouling the under-works. As for being a mess it will be encapsulated under the gravel and a layer of fiberglass screen.

Well, it wouldn't have anywhere to flow, true, but it wouldn't really permeate the foam itself much, I wouldn't think. If circulation was a really big issue I guess you could cut channels or something on the underside. You seem to have thought this through, though, and I'm sure you'll get it to work your way.

Originally Posted by wespastor

As to the false bottom I have some issues where I live –I am not allowed to have an aquarium which hold more than 10 gallons of water – I am pushing the envelope here. As long as I stay away from the word aquarium in my description it is a terrarium. Therefore the false bottom albeit a great thing to have would be my nightmare. As for lighter – I am not sold. The mere porosity of LECA inclines me to believe that it can hold water and water has weight. The weight of the water it holds could be very heavy as well.

My reasoning was that air was lighter than LECA- if it's just empty space beneath the substrate it'd be lighter than if you used either material. I guess you'll need to cover the front of the false bottom so that prying eyes might not be able to see the water that might collect below.

I can't wait to see this build underway. Keep us posted.

[wespastor]

There is no such thing as a stupid question. Because it is easier to deal with stupid questions than the catastrophy created by the qustion not asked.

having said that ...

I have a stupid question ....

Does anyone now what would happen if I wanted to coat Great Stuff foam with polyurethane paint and, wilst it was wet cover it with black sand? ... What would happen to the foam? Would it melt?

[wespastor]

Originally Posted by Epiphile

I have to say again that I really like the black background, and it's giving me all sorts of ideas- I've done tanks without backgrounds but with the back glass blacked out and really liked the effect. This technique might give the best of both worlds.

I can't wait to see this build underway. Keep us posted.

Thanks again for the kind words and encouragment.

I have done planted aquaria with painted black backgrounds before and they are great looking. I thought this too might be a good experiment for the best of both worlds.

I will keep you posted as I progress. I greatest herdle now is obtaining the 125 tank. they keep slipping through my fingers.

[froggsong]

Since the terrarium part won't be holding water (other than the water that drains through the substrate), have you thought of constructing that part out of something other than glass, rather than having to buy a heavy glass tank? There are lots of materials that you can waterproof, and some that are already waterproof. One thing I've done a bit of research on is foam core board... I'm really quite interested in this as it can get wet without problems (depending on the outside material), is quite light, and durable to boot.

I've even built a tank out of a very old pressboard bookcase. You know, those cheap ones that swell if you breath on them? (lol) It's held up perfectly for two years or so now, even with water in the bottom.

[wespastor]

Originally Posted by froggsong

Since the terrarium part won't be holding water (other than the water that drains through the substrate), have you thought of constructing that part out of something other than glass, rather than having to buy a heavy glass tank? There are lots of materials that you can waterproof, and some that are already waterproof. One thing I've done a bit of research on is foam core board... I'm really quite interested in this as it can get wet without problems (depending on the outside material), is quite light, and durable to boot.

I've even built a tank out of a very old pressboard bookcase. You know, those cheap ones that swell if you breath on them? (lol) It's held up perfectly for two years or so now, even with water in the bottom.

I haven't given any other method of construction much thought at all. And I want to ba able to view it from at least three sides as it displays in my living room.

The main reason for this method is that in the future as my living arraigements change I may want or be able to do a full paludarium or other type of aquarium ... say even a reef system which is out of the scope of this site.

[froggsong]

Sounds like a plan then.

[wespastor]

Posting this again it got lost in the chatter.

There is no such thing as a stupid question. Because it is easier to deal with stupid questions than the catastrophy created by the qustion not asked.

having said that ...

I have a stupid question ....

Does anyone now what would happen if I wanted to coat Great Stuff foam with polyurethane paint and, wilst it was wet cover it with black sand? ... What would happen to the foam? Would it melt?