exoterra xl-tall 36x18x36 build log

shibbyplustax · #1 07-31-2011, 04:18 PM

Oops i put this in the wrong area so im reposting here:

Ok so pretty soon im going to start construction of my third and largest vivarium on an exoterra xl x-tall 36x18x36 tank. Im planning on doing a false bottom with a gs background and a waterfall/small stream. I already picked up the tank and have most of the materials i need so i will put together a mock up of my layout to try and see how it will work later this week. Ill post pictures when i do to get some feedback/advice before i start on the real build.

Anyway i figured for now id let you guys know what to expect and ask a few Qs in the mean time. I was considering getting some auratis for this tank when complete and prehaps getting a few long tailed grass lizards since it is such a tall enclosure and theyd be in a different niche in the tank. I also was considering if it would be okay to house my two anoles in it instead but dont think that would work becuase anoles are alittle more aggressive then ltgl. Maybe it would work cause the encloser will be so high and have the auratis on the bottom and the two anoles will spend most of their time on top. Any input on this?

Also my local reptile store has a display tank set up with a couple of different types of dart frogs, longtailed grass lizards and pygmy chameleons in the same tank. They said they always do fine in there and it is the smaller version of my tank(24x18x24), is this okay? I know you shouldnt mix stuff but i always see that tank there and all the animals seems to be healthy Would i be able to have a set up like this without problems?

And thats about it so ill post some pictures of my plans when i temporarily set things up and ask for some input before anything is permenant.

shibbyplustax · #2 08-01-2011, 10:53 AM

ok heres what im workin with. camera on my phone sucks sometimes i will be taking pictures of the build with my girls camera from now on.

johnyrockshell · #3 08-01-2011, 12:03 PM

Thuis looks like it's gonna be good. Can't wait wait for more!

shibbyplustax · #4 08-02-2011, 12:50 PM

I started yesterday buliding my false bottom and i like the way its comin out so far. i plan on having either two or three pumps/ filters in my tank for water features/water movement.

my plan is to have the main waterfall in the back left corner and have another drip wall type thing made with mopani wood to the right of that on the land portion goin down almost to the base of the main waterfall. i am unsure of what i am going to make the main waterfall out of at this point, i was thinking of using some of the rock background the tank came with or maybe a peice of wood or even Greatstuff or a combo of the above. any ideas on this one?

The peice of circular bark you see by the waterfall area will be used at the base of the fall to house my filter and pump discretely there but still allowing easy access. The main waterfall will be run off of a small submersible filter i have and the drip wall thing will be just a small pump that i still need to purchase. The water is pretty much going to go in a big counter clockwise circle around my whole tank. in order to have a current in the small stream going from the back waterfall to the front right of my tank i will use great stuff foam to seal on my sloped beach until i reach the far right of the tank where the false bottom has a little cut out in the beach slope. i will try to make this so the water can really get through to under the false bottom until it reaches the area to the right with the cut out. i will then have a 10 gallon stingray elite submersible hidden under the false bottom trap door to the right and have the outflow pointed towards the filter for the waterfall. this way there is a countinuous current of water going counter clockwise through the bottom of my tank. any one see any possible problems with this?

if you are having trouble picturing this in my photos let me know and i will use the paint program to try to better illistrate the water flow.

i also included some pictures of the mock up where some of the wood is going to go in the GS background. i am going to try and incorperate the styrofoam rock background the tank came with into the GS backgound to give it some more shades and dimensions.

more pictures to come tomorrow after i start working on it some more after work later tonight. i will probably get to a better mock up stage tonight so i can here some comments/critisism before the plans for this project are more concrete.

anyway let me know what you think so far and please let me know any worries you might have about my set up.feel free to comment good or bad so i can get as much input as possible so i can make the best habitat for my animals.

once again sorry for the crappy pictures my gf's camera was dead when i was ready to take pictures and the lighting in that rooms sucks. dunno why they keep comin out crappy tho i have a droid and usually pictures come out great but i have been in a rush everytime iv been taking pictures tho. Expect better pictures in the future hah.

Thanks for reading/replying

-Sean

shibbyplustax · #5 08-08-2011, 11:39 AM

Ok so i guess this is an update on the progress i did this weekend. I made a new false bottom but this time the sides of it are made of styrofoam. I found it easier to work with and got some good rock effects using drylock and paint. I then sealed the side banks with silicone and sprinkles some sand and gravel here and there. I used a piece of eggcrate and weed blocker to make the entrance for water underneath the FB and not to allow animals there. One concern with this is that it might get clogged if some algae or something grows in there what do you guys think? I was thinkin even if that happened i can rip it out and replace it with fikter sponge or something.

Another thing i got done is one of my water features. I used sprayfoam and some of the background the exo came with. I also used styrofoam to make a cave under the waterfall that can be viewed from the side of the tank. I also used styrofoam to make the pool atop the waterfall. I will be testing this tomorrow to see if the water flows where i want it to. After i got the waterfall into the shape i wanted i painted (so if i miss a spot with peat) the greatstuff and siliconed some coco/peat mix. I am going to make another water feature using the piece of mopani you see resting on the waterfall in the pictures.

After i see if the waterfeatures will work will start on the background. I plan on putting a few pots in the wall and came up with the idea of glueing some corbark on them before putting them in the GS background. I got some airline tubing and covered with silicone and peat and IMO looks more realistic the the vines you buy in pet stores. I will incorperate these into the background and also use them as drainage for background pots. I will also put a decent sized pot on top of the bark pictured in the right corner in the tank. I will be painting the outside of the tank where the FB and GS background are visable to make it more pleasent looking.

Also, I want to included a airstone to keep my water oxygenated for fish, can i put it under the false bottom? I would thing the oxygen that may come up through the substrate above would help plants planted their but thats my opinion. What do you think?

Anyway feel free to give me some suggestions or comments and let me know if you see anything that could be problematic.

im going to need a hazmat crew to clean this room after im done with it lol.

shibbyplustax · #6 08-08-2011, 11:40 AM

some more pics