58G tall Grecco-Roman themed RETF tank build (w/pics)

[darksolace66]

Hey guys! So since the weather got nicer I started my 58g viv build. I have a few pictures for now and will continue to put more up as the build progresses. I am a Classical Civilizations minor, especially Greek philosophy so I am theming my tank to look like an ancient Greek city-state taken over by the jungle. I got the tank from Glasscages.com (thanks again guys!) and it wasn't made waterproof so first, i re-siliconed the sides using black DAP. I did 2 coats of this and it looks like this: . i extended up the sides so u cant see the FB. I also made an aquaduct/ wall to hide the FB in the front. it looks like this:.U can see in this pic how i did the FB with 3in PVC pipes and zip ties. I drilled 2 holes into the pvc, put them thru the FB and tied them tight. I did this after i covered the FB in window screen, to keep the hydroton from falling thru. I'll show a better pic of it tonight. I plan on covering the collums with tile grout. I recently put in some malaysian driftwood into the background with GS, i'll post those pics tonight. DONT UNDER ESTIMATE the expansion power of GS! they weren't kidding when they said it expands 5x! Its a slow start but you know what they say: Rome wasnt build in a day!

[Epiphile]

Waiting for the links to the photos... sounds neat.

[Grimm]

Lets see if I can help make the pics show up...





Nope....Hmm is that not the correct IMG code???

[darksolace66]

ok i put them up using photobucket this time so they should be there... i hope =)

[beckdg]

looks like a great start.

[darksolace66]

So I GS'ed the wood into the background and made the "column wall" to hide the FB from the front. Sorry about the lighting im working on my back patio at night (after work). Here's the background: . see the little greek decor? i hollowed that out and am going to run some wires through it. I also hollowed out some of the background near the wood to put Neoreglias in. I GS'ed tubing through the bends in the wood for drainage, since they are prone to root rot in wet conditions. In retrospect i should have included some PVC pipes up the sides to run the wires through, but i will come up with something creative to hide them with. Here's a better view of my FB . I covered it with window screen mesh. Here's an aerial view of my FB. the tank is on its "back" . for the "wall" i hollowed out the top so i can plant it. here's what it looks like: . and the hollowed part: . i will either get a pump to run water through it or just plant it or both. i could separate the plants with mesh and have the water run through, i'm not sure its worth the extra wires. what do u guys think?

[beckdg]

sounds like a neat idea. personally i think it's somewhat indicative of early civilizations such as greece or rome. kinda like the old roman aqueducts. i think if you can get ahold of some mini pellia aka coral moss aka riccardia chamedryfolia it would look great along the walls of your aqueducts.

whether it would be worth the extra effort, wiring, planning, etc. would be up to you though.

[eos]

This has great potential! Looking good so far... Let me know if you need any supplies, I have a decent connection with the owner of dartfrogmegastore.com (he's based out of Central NJ). What are you putting in there?

[darksolace66]

EOS thank you! i just ordered my plants but im still looking for oak leaf creeping fig. I would like to put Red eyes and super tiger monkey frogs in there, but i only know 1 person (rainforest junky) who has the supers. and if i can not pay shipping for all the frogs that would be excellent! I wanna come visit your store. I work in Princeton at the university so if you guys are open past 5 let me no and i'll come visit!

i also have made more progress on the tank. I grouted the columns and coco fibered the background

[eos]

It's not my store, but I'm friends with the owner.... He's based out of Flemington, NJ... I think that's about 30-40 minutes away from you. Check your PM's for more info.

And post more pics of your tank