29G Tall Tank: Build Log with Pics.

[froggsong]

Sticky? Did I hear someone say sticky??? No, wait... That was just me, lol... Good thing I can do that, huh???

Very very good read, I think the log was just as good as the build! Perhaps you would like to write an article? Great job...

I do have one thing to say though, you CAN mold the GS after the outside cures, while the inside is still sticky, you just have to be VERY careful, and it isn't really good to do if you DIDN'T work in small layers, lol... I'm guessing that's why it didn't work for you, rofl...

[stevespo]

Hello. Im Steve from New York. ive had pdf in the past I loved them. I had a small tank that I bought at the show I bought the frogs from and whatnot. joined this forum to get ideas and past exsperances on to build a new tank. I love everyones style and there hard work. Every set up is very unique and great in there own way with the skill of its creator. My self being a carpenter and very good with my hands still needs some tricks of trade with using some of these materials ie, coco hairs, moss, ect. . However, for the materials I do know , such as gs, and silicone. I dont think I laughed so much reading any forum before. I really enjoyed reading this forum alot. I like how you didnt say it was easy and anyone can do it and you said that its going to be 3x the money, and time. Ill remember that. There is a trick with gs. you can slow it down or mold it using water. I forget excatly how but try it. Thanks for the ideas and your final product came out beautiful. Im going to try something like yours, just a wider tank if i can find one.

[TimrekWTF]

Wow, I said wow. A sticky....I am honored! I'm really glad this was so well recieved. My work and family has taken me away from the board for a while but I am going to take a few more pictures soon and post an update. Tim the WTF is still in his holding tank (laziest frog I have ever met) while I tinker with the new one. I'm loosing a bit of patience waiting for the air ferns to decide that they want to permanently attach themselves to the background (laziest plants I've ever met) so I think I'm going persuade them with a dab of silicon trying not to cover the roots completely. And I'm still waiting for my creeping fig to......creep. Its just not taking off the way I anticipated. I don't think it liked the careful handeling of the United stated postal service. Also decided to remove most the sphagnum moss from the bottom and place some of it on the background where it wont be ingested by mistake. To the tadpole question...I searched high and low for a place to find White's Tree Frog tadpoles to no avail. It seems that Leopord frogs are quite common to buy as tads but not the more exotics. At least not that I have found. Perhaps someone else would have more info on this subject. I'm back up and posting now so feel free to ask any questions you may have. Pics to come in a few days perhaps.

[seritchey]

I'm confused on what to use for lighting, the hood you have seems good though, how do you like the hood and your light choice so far?

[froggsong]

I hate it when that happens... I get everything typed, and then the palm of my hand touches the touch pad on the corner that loads the previous page... Total pain in the butt!

Anyway! I hope I can remember it all...

You are very welcome for the sticky, Tim. You absolutely deserve it, this is a wonderful build. I can't wait to see more pics.

Be cautious using silicone to attach your plants to the BG. A better way might be to wrap the roots in some of your sphagnum, tie it up by wrapping some fishing line around it, and then either use a bit of hot glue or "staple" it to the BG using some thick wire (or even an unbent paper clip) bent into a rounded staple shape. You have to be sure that they are really secure and can't wiggle at all in order to get them to root into the BG, so make sure you get it stable.

[TimrekWTF]

Originally Posted by seritchey

I'm confused on what to use for lighting, the hood you have seems good though, how do you like the hood and your light choice so far?

As far as light output this hood is great. I'm using one of the Exo-terra dayglow coil flourescents and a normal blacklight coil flourescent for day and night light. On this particular hood there are 3 light sockets...the one in the middle is on a seperate switch from the two on the outside. Here's the downside. On the open socket I wanted a little bit more heat so I went with an incandecent bulb but this hood, I believe, is really made for flourescents. It has such a low wattage restrictions (26watt if I'm not mistaken) that it really doesn't generate much heat at all. Now I've read of all the dangers of incandescnet lighting so perhaps this is a good thing. I'm going to fool around with a small submersable aquarium heater to heat the water. Perhaps with the waterfall flowing through the background as it does it may rais the ambient temperature a few degrees. I've also seen the larger, sticky, under-tank heaters that I've been considering attaching to the back of the glass behind the background. Don't know how this will affect the GS foam. Don't know if the heat will get through since GS is an insulator. Dont know if its reccomended by the manufacturer. I'm starting to notice a theme here. Perhaps someone who does know can give me a bit more feedback on that. I'm really trying to stay away from the "light tree" with tangles of chords going everywhere and light fixtures on stands. Part of the reason I chose this hood. Nice black color and seems to fit rather well on top of standard aquarium sizes. It also comes in 1, 2 and 4 socket sizes. Plants seem to be doing very well. No yellowing or burning that I can see. The wandering Jew is already making its bid to be king of the tank. May have to cut him down to size....little botany joke there.

[seritchey]

Wow thanks for the thorough review. My options right now is a hood like yours, or using two of the little dome things, one with a light for UVA/UVB and one that is a black/red heat light. The only problem with that being that the daylight would be on one side of the tank and the heat on the other. Would that cause any problems?

[froggsong]

If the hood has ceramic sockets, it can support more than 26w (I don't know what kind of sockets this type has). My hood says about the same thing for the max wattage per socket, but I have used up to 150w in a single socket with no problem. The ceramic sockets can take much higher wattage than metal or plastic sockets. Of course, if the hood itself is plastic, I wouldn't go above a 60 or 75w bulb (mine is made of metal, so there is no risk of melting the fixture). You should definitely put the incandescent in the middle socket to disperse the heat well. If the socket is plastic or metal, you can probably get away with up to a 40w bulb, which should get you a few more degrees than a 25w.

The manufacturers of the heat mats actually recommend that it be mounted to the side or back wall of the terrarium. I'm not sure what the effect would be if mounted to the back behind a GS BG though. Also, you have to be sure that you are not mounting it in an area that will have water contacting the glass, as it can cause the glass to crack.

Seritchey, the light and heat being on opposite ends of the tank shouldn't be a problem unless your tank is very long or you are housing a reptile that needs to bask in UV and heat. I was going to advise you to stay away from compact UV fluorescent bulbs, because they have shown in the past to emit UV in a harmful wavelength, but it appears that the manufacturers may have fixed the problem. I will have to do more research on this.

[seritchey]

My tank is only 24 inches, so it's not super long, thinking if I put the heat bulb in the middle and daylight bulbs on the outsides it will be fine.


So much to learn still

[froggsong]

That should work perfectly.

Don't worry, there's ALWAYS so much to learn. Just make sure you never stop.