bbehring's EXO TERRA (24x12x24) Crested Gecko Build

[bbehring]

Ok, so I'm in the throws of building my new EXO TERRA (24x12x24) Crested Gecko Terrarium for my son. I posted a new build thread months back, under the vivarium construction area, but since, due mostly to lack of time, decided against the aquarium or water feature part of the tank. Also, had some early input from some members here suggesting not to do the water with the crested. I simply decided to put in an EXO-TERRA medium waterfall pre-fab feature.

So, my son started bugging me something fierce and said, all I want for Christmas is my crested gecko, we went down to our local pet store and put a male crested on lay-away (hold)!

I began the build back about 6 days ago. Here's a list of the equipment/parts:

Exo Terra 24"l x 12"w x 24"h
4 x 6500k T5 Light Hood w/ 2 x moonlights
Exo-Terra Medium waterfall
Exo-Terra mini fogger (for the waterfall)
waterproof LED strip for the waterfall
Exo-TerraRepti fogger
Zoo-Med Hygro Therm (used to controll the foggers)
15# of clay hydro balls
2 large bags of zilla lizzard litter
1 large bag of eco earth coco fiber
12" x 24" black screen mesh
3/4" pcv piping and varius fittings (for my fogger routing)
2 x 21"l 1.25" dia flex tubing (used for cord consealing)
3 x great stuff foam
4 x black GE silicone
1 gallon of tilebond III glue
Manzanita branches

[bbehring]

Ok so here goes the write up for the build.

I began by applying black silicone to the back and roughly a 1/3 of each side panel. Once this dried, about 30 hours, I began the rigid PVC routing for the fogger and the tubing for the cord consealment at each side. I used 2 x 1.25" vinyl tubing at each side and siliconed them into place. I then cut the top screen out with my dremel tool to allow the PVC to come out and up and over the back. I painted the top up and over PVC and fittings black with flat black krylon fusion paint.

[bbehring]

I forgot to mention that a ran a 1/4" vinyl tube down to the bottom in case I ever need to suck any built up water out. Probably won't ever have to, but wanted this just in case.

You will also notice in the pics, that I placed some black screen material over the 45 angled PCV ends where the fog will exit. This is at two locations at each side.

After all the PVC and tubing routing was complete. I began the Great Stuff foam build up process. I have some good experience with GS as I built my own planted waterfall tank (pic attached)

I also planned to have 2 pots housing creeping fig plants or an ivy on the background. I used 3" plastic slit type planters I bought from a local hydro store. I ran 1/4" vinyl tubing from each plater to the bottom for drainage. I angled the planters out slightly and built up the GS around them.

[bbehring]

The initial foam background actually turned out quite well. I made a few trims of the foam, mostly at the top and around the planters. After the foam had dried, about 15 hours, I began to apply my tilebond III/Peat moss blend to my GS foam background. I mixed the two to create a goopy, almost runny mixture in a large plastic bowl. This coating process took two full coats, with a third for touch up and to make sure all the foam was covered. Between coats, I was able to save my extra by using the press and seal plastic wrap over the bowl!

So here's where I ran into my first problem and design flaw. After the first coat of glue/coco fiber, I noticed a huge pull away of the foam from the back, in the center where the rigid PVC pipe was. When I GS'd the rigid PVC piping in, the GS expanded and lifted the vertical piece of pipe up about an inch and a quarter out of place. So, I had to operate a bit. I cut out quite a bit of the foam, out of and around, the vertical pipe, all the way back to the "T" and then pushed the pipe down into place. I had to use a large paving brick to hold it in place while I re-foamed it. Ok, so double failure! The new location of the pipe with the heavy brick on it, ended up being too close to the back rim. So, after that new foam dried, I had to re-operate to raise the pipe up about 3/8 of an inch off the back rim to match up with the hole I cut in the screen. I finally was able to get it nuts on! Not sure if the use of vinyl tubing in lieu of rigid PVC would have negated this problem? Guess I'll never know!

After the new foam patch dried, I has some substantial foam cutting to do in order to get the level of the new foam to match the old. Was pretty easy to to. Once the foam cut back was complete, I then patched with a coat of glue/coco fiber and blended into the exiting. I then worked the second coating of glue/coco fiber on. Then after the second coat dried, I used my last saved bit to patch up here and there. I used a small fan to dry in between coats. All 3 coats were given about 12 hours plus to dry.

After the patching had dried, I then used a razor blade to cut the black silicone off the sides, back to the background. This proved to be a some-what daunting task, but finally did get it down. After I was satisfied with the cut back, I noticed that now there was really no water tight seal between the background and the silicone. So, I ran a single bead of black silicone down the joint at each side. This helped clean up the rough edge of the BG and create the seal I wanted.

[bbehring]

So with the background all dry, cured and complete, I am ready to place the manzanita branches I have collected over the past couple months. I plan to place in a sort of rooted fashion, similar to a mangrove tree root. The branches will go down into the soil/bottom.

Also attached is a pic of the tank with the moonlights and the fog coming out. Not sure if this is that good in the pic? I'll have take one of the fox with the lights on.

My lights will be on a timer and at this point, I'm not real sure of the photo period? Was thinking about 8 to 10hrs/day. Of course when we put the new crested in, we will start at an hour a day and work our way up to the longer light photo period. Any thoughts on this?

Also, I am ready to place the bottom soil material and am concrened that with the zilla lizzard litter mixed with the eco earth, that the fern and other plants planted in the bottom won't grow? Is this a valid concern? Should I mix in something else to create a soil?

[JoeG]

Looking really nice, I like the way you did the fog. I was laughing when you said you will never need the 1/4 drain hose. I said the same thing then made a mistake on my misting timer and dumped 5 gallons of water! lol It came in handy. hahaha!

You can do a much more natural soil, like Miracle Grow Organic potting soil or a mix of coco, orchid bark, and chopped leaf litter. You will want some organics in there that will give up some nutrients for the plants. I dont find coco do be the best starter...though it does ok with some plants.

I would add a lot of leaf litter, especially if you are thinking about feeding an insect diet. Cresties are not real elegant hunters, they lunge and will consume substrate while diving for crickets. I feed my guys crested gecko diet exclusively and occasionally get a dozen crickets (1-2 times every 4 months or so) so I maintain a natural substrate with leaf litter.
Some red wigglers and springtails will keep the viv nice and clean, I dump bit of the left over CGD to help boost the springtails a bit but have never needed to change substrates, just clean the glass. My guys LOVE to poop on the glass...

Cant wait to see it planted and congrats on the Crestie...they are awesome and super easy to care for with their own interesting personalities.

[bbehring]

JoeG, thanks for the reply. The build has been a blast. I've really enjoyed it. Glad I put the drain in. Heading out to grab some soil, orchid bark, charcoal and the plants now! Hope to have it all planted tonight. I'm planning to plat all the flat areas with a local moss I collected. Kindof like a carpet. I think I have enough moss to cover most of the floor. Will have a small area of just leaf litter. Plan to add springtails and red wigglers. Can I add them right away, or do I need to wait a couple weeks?

[JoeG]

Nice moss. I never could get moss to last in my crestie vivs so hope you have better luck. As for adding the springtails and worms, just get your plants in, get that moss and leaf litter in to help keep the soil damp and you should be fine.

Funny thing for me, I have never had to order springtails, my entire colony started from hitchhikers on plants with my first viv, I then seeded my current ones from that one. I think it takes a good month for them to get well established but now they are everywhere and jump all over any poo or fungus that pops up.

[bbehring]

So are the red wigglers just regular red earth worms?

[beckdg]

basically... same ones you can find at bait shops, really.
rolly polies... don't forget rolly polies, lol

nice build!