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as it turns out, the silicone i have is completely odour free and non-toxic so i was able to continue work inside, regardless of the weather.
here are some pics of how the viv is looking so far.
it was done by smearing black silicone over the expanding foam areas and then applying 'exo-terra plantation soil'. it has a great composition, lots of dusty smaller pieces which cover the silicone aswell as fibrous pieces which add some texture.
theres a few patches which still need touching up. the larger bare patches will be under the soil once i start planting
heres a couple more pics i couldnt fit on the other post.
i wanted to show the seal for the 3/4 lenth side wall. i masked a line about 1/2 centimeter away from the edge of the background, then applied silicone and ran along with a spoon to get a consistent smooth edge into the corner of the polystyrene,
the pics will be posted in two parts.
here i have uploaded some images of the silicone and cocofibred background after touch ups, and the outside glass has been covered.
also i have taken some pics of some of the plants i have used in the viv. in addition to these i have a bunch of various other houseplants scattered in the apartment. i picked up a couple of broms in the bargain basket of the garden centre. they are past flowering and look pretty tatty but have some healthy pups which il use in the vib when they are ready.
also i brought a pump for my waterfall. its called a minijet 404 by aquarium systems. this thing is brilliant. it cost less than 15 euro (approx 15 $) and its not much bigger than a match box yet it is more than capable of serving its purpose. i have to have it on the lowest setting to stop it from flooding my planting areas!
alright, so the water is in, the pump works and is positioned in a place where i think it works nicely. not soaking the soil is an issue iv had to work around. to avoid this iv had to place some mopani wood at an angle where the water drips from one of the roots to direct it away from the planting terrace. im sure there is some seepage onto the planting area so iv made a layer of gravel about 1cm thick before the soil so as to avoid saturating the planting medium.
plants so far are ficus primula (iv seen this in many vivs so im hoping it will give a nice cover on the background), the pink plant i think is frontosa, a bromeliad of which i dont know the full name, probably some generic garden centre hybrid, and the plant on the left was given to me as a load of cuttings which i rooted in water. i dont know what it is but this one had a nice shape so its in here now.
btw, im waiting for my lights to arrive (exo terra duo top, 2 x strip fluorescent and 1 x halogen). so for now im using a desk lamp
since uploading these pics iv added some dried leaves into the substrate. i have a ficus in my bedroom which drops leaves on a regular basis so this will supply my viv with plenty of soil nutrition
after maturation, in the paludarium area i plan on getting 3 or 4 guppys to see how the water quality is. im a little cautious of the expanding foam i used. all the writing on the can was in Czechoslovakian so i have no idea what it said. if the fish do well i may consider some amphibian for the terrestrial area.
one of the plant pots i embedded in the foam is full of water as it is in the path of the watercourse, so i have filled it with gravel and i think it will make a nice home for some amazon sword or anubias.
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silicone and cocofibre background
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