The start of a 20g terrarium bulid

[BreezeRuehls]

I emptied it all out and started over with what I had already at home.

I used aqua-tech aquarium sealant, and half of the top of a 10g glass hood to separate the pond from the dry. And catty cornered the glass slab (they best way it would fit.)

Then I used the sealant to make a rock "stair way" I plan on adding to it when I get more smooth river rocks.

I used rocks from my yard, and sealant to hold them against the glass hood piece. large to cover the space, and then alot of smaller rocks to fill in the gaps.

Then the gravel on both sides of the glass divider, and coconut husk on the dry side.

I used a larger branch to separate the husk from the water (dont want it tracked into the pond, and grass to fill in, and soon river rocks to add to the stairs......

I haven't started the back or sides yet, thinking of the spray foam, but I like the look of a wood back, so may collect large hunks of bark, and fill in the gaps with moss and maybe coco?


Ideas are more than welcomed.....

Oh, what are good plants to use in a wetter, humid setting?

P.S, be gentle, its my first try at this...

[cam191919]

not bad, definitly needs a 3d backround tho

oh and whats going in it lol

[BreezeRuehls]

I am nut sure, most likely frogs or toads. I am a little scared to to the spray foam, but I really want to do it!

[Ozymandias]

it really isn't all that bad to work with but can be a pain when you silicone on stuff like eco-earth. personally i would look into some thing that is already pre-existing like cork bark or something else (i know there is something just cant remember what it is).

[mellowvision]

looks like a good start.

I think cork is cooler than spray foam, and easier to play with placements before committing.

[Ozymandias]

mellow i know there is another material that can be used similarly but i cant remember it's name i want to say palm something or ferns something. garr i hate having terrible memory i'm too young for this

[BreezeRuehls]

I have been looking into it. but how do you attach it?


looks like a good start.

I think cork is cooler than spray foam, and easier to play with placements before committing.

[Ozymandias]

silicone would work probably or some other adhesive. could also just weg it in

[mellowvision]

you can easily attach it with silicone, or you can silicone it to a glass or plexi plate and just place it in. it's so easy to cut and sand it, so making flat edges and getting pieces to fit is a piece of cake. the hard part is really deciding where you want the pieces. I prefer the full round tubes to start with, they have a more natural feel, and make it easier to match pieces next to each other once you break it apart. you can break it with your hands, and it forms really natural break lines.

[calivivarium1]

You are probably thinking of fern tree panels...

[Ozymandias]

You are probably thinking of fern tree panels...

YES!!! thats it's thanks it was really bugging me

[Vicious_Fish]

Looks great so far. So what's going in it?

[BreezeRuehls]

I want frogs, still researching the right kind...

[BreezeRuehls]

Where do you get the round tubes? And is there one brand thats better than another?

Thanks everyone for the good info, keep it coming






you can easily attach it with silicone, or you can silicone it to a glass or plexi plate and just place it in. it's so easy to cut and sand it, so making flat edges and getting pieces to fit is a piece of cake. the hard part is really deciding where you want the pieces. I prefer the full round tubes to start with, they have a more natural feel, and make it easier to match pieces next to each other once you break it apart. you can break it with your hands, and it forms really natural break lines.

[Vicious_Fish]

Where do you get the round tubes? And is there one brand thats better than another?

Thanks everyone for the good info, keep it coming

Do you mean round tubes of cork bark? Some pet stores that carry reptile supplies usually have them. I've bought all mine from reptile shows.

[BreezeRuehls]

Yeah, I want it to look like the base of a tree, Like cork to make the tree, (hollow for a fog hidey house, but natural looking, like a small split in the wood as the entrance not a carved hole.) and I would use frog moss and coco bedding to fill in. And from the top, I want to have the harder vines hanging down, dipping into the water and ground. I'd have to glue them from the hood or something? I Dunno, but I will use any suggestions, and thank you for the ones I have gotten.....

[Inka4040]

Tank is looking sweet! Love the rockwork in the front.

If you use cork bark for the backing, plants can just be pinned in or stuck into crevices. Is the water gonna be confined to the front area, or will it be flowing through the coconut chips? A lot of the aquatic plants grow well emergently and would be good choices for a wet/very moist tank. Bacopa, anubias, and crypts are 3 that immediately come to mind.

[mellowvision]

I get all my cork bark from herpsupplies.com. it's also available on ebay. I usually get the larger, full round pieces, but if you just want a flat back, a panel might work out nicely. if you want to create the base of a tree, you might need a smaller one for that tank. you could mock it up by folding some card board to see how big a tube you really want. the nice thing with the larger tubes is they give you some hidden space to install hardware if needed.

tree fern fiber panels also look cool. and there is a product called epiweb that is a plastic fern panel, which supposedly grows plants and moss well, and acts a bit like a biofilter.

I've found things like bacopas and hydrocotyle do well when the humidity is high, in tanks like yours, and you can't go wrong with the ones inka suggested.

[BreezeRuehls]

Thank you for the complement!;)

I confined the water, just because I Don't know what type I am going to put in. But I can always dump water onto the side with the coconut fiber, I have gravel over there on the bottom, just in case. I didn't know about the plants, but thank you!!!! I was scared of that, I dont know much about no aquatic plants! Now I have a base to start growing on! Do you think ferns would growing a moist tank?




Tank is looking sweet! Love the rockwork in the front.

If you use cork bark for the backing, plants can just be pinned in or stuck into crevices. Is the water gonna be confined to the front area, or will it be flowing through the coconut chips? A lot of the aquatic plants grow well emergently and would be good choices for a wet/very moist tank. Bacopa, anubias, and crypts are 3 that immediately come to mind.

[BreezeRuehls]

ah! Thank you! I didn't think of that! Do you think that bamboo stumps would work out just in case I cannot get that out here? And bamboo stocks are cheep out here, This is fun....I have some more web lookins :)



I get all my cork bark from herpsupplies.com. it's also available on ebay. I usually get the larger, full round pieces, but if you just want a flat back, a panel might work out nicely. if you want to create the base of a tree, you might need a smaller one for that tank. you could mock it up by folding some card board to see how big a tube you really want. the nice thing with the larger tubes is they give you some hidden space to install hardware if needed.

tree fern fiber panels also look cool. and there is a product called epiweb that is a plastic fern panel, which supposedly grows plants and moss well, and acts a bit like a biofilter.

I've found things like bacopas and hydrocotyle do well when the humidity is high, in tanks like yours, and you can't go wrong with the ones inka suggested.

[mellowvision]

I think bamboo is likely to rot if it's just cut stocks. but I don't know for sure

[BreezeRuehls]

Ok, then I best stick to the cork, I love the way your tank looks, how did you do the cork in there?

[mellowvision]

thanks.

I put photos of all the steps... I really just broke it up and played with the pieces until I liked the arrangment, built the false bottom areas, flattened some surfaces that were to be glued, and then glued the cork in with black silicone. then I used screen where i needed it to contain gravel, and filled it with gravel. I planned out all the plumbing ahead of time, so most of it was built in when I glued everything.

[LifelessForm]

Bamboo does rot, I have had to replace several pieces in gecko tanks because of rotting.

[BreezeRuehls]

good to know. I was thinking of dipping it in sealant, but then I figured it would look like plastic. So I am going to try to make the cork look like a tree base, or what ever I can fit together. I put water in it today and it held YEAH! I was secretly scared it would not, and since I got inpatient and filled it in with rocks after it sat 24h and not the 48 (but I did not add water)

So I think I am going to order the big log, tube of cork, and place it how I want (that's gonna take me forever), Then use spray foam and coco fiber and moss to fill in the areas that are not going to be cork. And make it look like the floor of the rain forest. I think I am going to go out and take pictures in the jungle, so I have more realistic base before I put in the things I cannot move. I dunno if its a good idea, but I was thinking I could collect small seedlings from the jungle its self, so I can have plants that I know can handle the humidity, and wetness. (Ferns are also free that way) But still up in the air....

[BreezeRuehls]

The water is not holding!!!!! I give up.

[calivivarium1]

Where is it leaking from?

[BreezeRuehls]

I dont know :( I failed on sealing the pool....

[Inka4040]

So the water's leaking into the planting area? If that's the problem, all is definitely not lost. Just plant it with stuff like crypts and anubias that can grow emersed. As long as the water is not stangant, it should be fine. Plants like HC, most of the mosses, riccia, riccardia, pellia, and many many others will be perfectly happy growing like this. If the cork stays consistently moist but dry enough, you can grow all your terrestrial plants up on those surfaces.

[mellowvision]

yeah, I don't have water tight areas in any of my tanks with emergent growth, I use screen and heavier media at the bottoms to provide water an opportunity to flow, and keep the finer soils and moss above the waterline. if you plan on it being wet, it's a lot easier than trying to keep soil dry.

[mudpuppy]

I'm pretty new here and have not posted anything yet,however I must say that your set-up looks vety nice so far. I do agree that a 3 D background would really finish it off. What plans for your water feature? ie; waterfall?