Ma77hew7's 2nd Build - Zoo Med NT-4

[Fisherman 1991]

Great looking build so far! I really like all the water features, and can't wait to see it planted.

[Ma77hew7]

Originally Posted by Fisherman 1991

Great looking build so far! I really like all the water features, and can't wait to see it planted.

Thank you Fisherman 1991! I'm excited! I hope to have a lot of help from members such as yourself during that stage,(I just started ) I'm hoping to get the post up-to my current step into the build ASAP. Thanks again!

Let me know if you or anyone has some great tropical moss hook-up's. I wanted something really dense and low profile my poor attempt at humor. Short, Tropical, Koyoto? something else? Also anyone know if any risks are presented to reptiles or amphibians by planting spores from tropical mosses? Anyone with experience in that area?

[Ma77hew7]

So I have mentioned how the coco almost immediately had some areas where it dissipated... Here are some pics of that.



Now for the record, some of these are my fault for missing some areas with silicone... Meaning that they are not all from the water itself, but the water washing away my mistakes









So to repair these "problem areas", I needed to wait for everything to completely dry obviously. I used a large high-speed fan and placed it on top of the shell. It also help knocking loose anything that was not done right.

A couple of these processes later after multiple water testings, changes, and lots of vacuum sessions, I was ready to move forward.

[boabab95]

looking good!!! can't wait to see it finished!!!

[Ma77hew7]

So after I thought I knew what I was doing for the whole build... I changed my mind,(for lack of a desire to constantly be messing w/ water changes after it was established). Meaning I now wanted to do an external filter, post background/foundational work! How much does that suck

I realized that I was going to have a lot of issues with particulate matter build up from the build alone, not even counting inhabitants. Which would drive my water to a toxic halt pretty soon I imagined. That being said... I don't recommend doing what I did, it's not impossible, just a pain in the ace.

I started by contacting guys who know what they are doing, Glass-Holes.com... I had read and seen a lot of threads about doing this, prior to background work of course. In my newbie case,(which probably wouldn't have happened if I had joined here prior to starting the build ), I had a few other issues to work with.

I ended up getting a lot of info, not just about how to grind through the glass properly. Also how to support it from ruining the other pieces, i.e. duct taping the hell out of the piece I was grinding in X patterns to stabilize the pane. Stabilizing it from the inside, and of course insulating the inside from the hole falling through. Make a template to guide you, I found it much easier.

If you have not seen the "drill video" tutorial from Glass-Holes.com I highly recommend it.



I did end up cracking the glass a tiny bit, so after a small repair job,(and 24+ hours wait time). I was water tight and ready to go.

Purchases for this addition to the build:

I bought a 1 1/8" Diamond coated hole saw from local glass supply shop, for $30! (I wish I had planned it out so I could have waited for one from Glass-holes.com AT HALF THE PRICE! 1- 1/2 bulkhead thread x thread, lps for $6). Brass fitting 1/2" thread to a 3/8" barb,wrapped w/ Teflon tape,($3 at HD). Zoo Med 501 filter($40 on sale at lps).

[Ma77hew7]

After I installed and worked out the filter addition. I automatically started an egg crate false bottom frame instinctively. Only to realize I did not want the visual impression of a even level,(bottom of the rock), water-scape area. So I scrapped that idea. Then constructed a simple egg crate box to surround my bulkhead, intake for the filter.



Here is the inside of the "filter box", I'll call it. I just drilled small holes in the base of the filter, then used scissors to open it up a little. Cut out little pillars of filter and pulled them through the holes.



I think it will do a great job of keeping the crud out. Built mostly for the rocks... I still thought it would be nice to clean up the water before it even reaches the filter itself, hence the inside filter job.

[Ma77hew7]

Another pic of the "filter box"



Pic of cave before I had more water flow issues into the pump and had to drill 8 more holes into the cave itself.



View of the pump/cave setup with filter around the holes of the cave. Bio-filtration media layer surrounding the cave and "filter box".

[Ma77hew7]

This picture includes the updated addition to the background with output attachment that connects to the top of the Plexiglas lid w/ a double 3/8" barb hose to hose. My choices were limited after the additions, I think it turned out good considering...



Here is a pic of one of the last wet tests prior to my planting stage!

[Epiphile]

Are you finding that that little canister filter is giving you a reasonable flow rate through the manifold?

[Ma77hew7]

Received one of my plant shipments. This one from Black Jungle.



I received,(in pic from back left to front middle baggie); Hoya Macgillivrayi, Cissus Amazonica, Philodendron Wend Imbe, & Salvinia Natans.

I was pretty happy with the overall quality of the plants from Black Jungle. In my opinion they were healthy.



My Hoya Macgillivrayi especially looked amazing! Its not in bloom, now. Here's a pic of one that is.