Progress of my Vivarium project!

[TipStylez]

From a dirty abused cracked 20gal, to a half water, half land Vivarium im making for my girlfriend.

This is the 5th day of work on the project. Sorry if i didnt keep you guys updated in the begining but the site was down when i started.

Its a styrofoam background design i made to work like a Vivarium design.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v355/TipStylez/STA70389.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v355/TipStylez/STA70391.jpg

Being filtered by a Wardley - The Sandman (MS) Filter

Whats left to do:
-Will be painting the styrofoam with Quickrete Cement somtime this weekend.
-Sillicone some plastic plants and real rocks to the bottom and land area (going for the low mainance design)
-Fill with water, add some salt and run the filter without Sand, or filter sponge for about 1month to cycle and wait for the pH rise cause by the cement buffering the water to settle.
-Add guppies and ottos, and a firebelly newt? not really shure what to add for the land/water critter yet. Any ideas?

Thanks
-Q

P.S. this is where i got my instructions form to make the styrofoam background.
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/diy_aquarium_background3.php

[Lobo.]

id say go for a frog... but considering the setup and the idea of low maintenence that might not be a good idea...
a newt or firebellied toad might be neet, or you could adapt the tank for an archerfish and keep insects on the land side :P
(just kidding, as i think they require more water and are a lil sensitive, correct me if im wrong, my source is about 50 years old (book))

if you want to gross her out, then get a terantula for the land side and add a spot for it to make a burrow! terantulas are relitively low maintenance and would do great with a constant supply of water (depending on the species) they only need crickets or other insects once a week at most from what i hear! :joke:

[Emg]

OOOOO...Tip, I'm interested in seeing how your's goes. I just got a viverium tank today from a lady I know. I'm not sure how large the tank is as far as gallons...it's sitting in the back seat of my car right now and I haven't yet measured the dimensions. I'm thinking that it's at least a 20 or 30 gallon size, not sure though. I can't use it for an aquarium, it's not made for that, but I was thinking of a viverium for some dart frogs. I've got all sorts of ideas about how to do the water part...lol...thanks for posting that link on the background...I have lots of styrofoam in the basement...hhmmmmmm.......

Now...if I could just find a place to put this tank in my house, I'll be all set !! :eek:

I also picked up an antique 4 gallon by the looks of it...and a couple of 2 1/2 tanks. All of them plus a pump for the waterfall in my viverium :D ....20$

[TipStylez]

Yeah i was thinking to adding a waterfall, got the powerhead and the rubber hoses and everything. But i decided it would be too much and just made a lil river stream from my filter outlet.

I was thinking of adding one more land platform...dont you think the single one looks a lil lonely?

Any ideas on what i should do/add?
---
And i am hopeing alge will grow on the cement, since thats what been happening to alot of ppl with these kinda backgrounds. So the dry area will look nice and grey rock, where the water part will look greenish =]

Thanks
-Q

[TipStylez]

id say go for a frog... but considering the setup and the idea of low maintenence that might not be a good idea...
a newt or firebellied toad might be neet, or you could adapt the tank for an archerfish and keep insects on the land side :P
(just kidding, as i think they require more water and are a lil sensitive, correct me if im wrong, my source is about 50 years old (book))

if you want to gross her out, then get a terantula for the land side and add a spot for it to make a burrow! terantulas are relitively low maintenance and would do great with a constant supply of water (depending on the species) they only need crickets or other insects once a week at most from what i hear! :joke:

Haha, im not a spiderman myself...the lil things give me the shivers thinking there everywhere... :idea2:

I want a green tree frog tho, i use to have one when i was little and i would feed him bugs i catch outside. So fun watching him use his long tounge to catch em. But theres no where i know of to get one...

[Emg]

Tips, I've been blessed to have a supplier of dart frogs only about an hours drive from me. With gas prices as they are lately, I don't run up there too often, but it's nice to know they're there. It's where I picked up the 3 darts I have now.

You do have to be careful with darts and water though, they can drown if they fall in and can't get out.

I guess newts would be the best choice if you can get some. I would also add a larger land area on the other side I think....and along the back...so that the water area is in the foreground, with land sort of semicircled around it....does that make sense ??

[TipStylez]

yeah i know what your talking about...humm i might look into it. The fish wont need a large open water top anyways...

BTW, Anyone here have DUCKWEED?! i need some =]

[TipStylez]

I took up the tip EMG game me, and did a quick 2nd landpice. And decided to build a cave in it =]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v355/TipStylez/Aquarium%20Related/STA70398.jpg

Heres the steps if anyone that wants to build one.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v355/TipStylez/Aquarium%20Related/1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v355/TipStylez/Aquarium%20Related/2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v355/TipStylez/Aquarium%20Related/3.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v355/TipStylez/Aquarium%20Related/4.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v355/TipStylez/Aquarium%20Related/5.jpg

Ima sillicone it all togeather then recarve the top so it looks more natrual and smooth.

[Lobo.]

ive got plenty of duckweed, but shipping from nashville to seattle might be iffy...if you want to risk it and see if any would survive, il try to send you some, but its hard to believe that there is not any duckweed in your area, for most lfs its considered a pest (as unless you have an angel, it will take over the top of the tank)

if you want me to send you any just pm me your address...

[TipStylez]

Someone on the fourms sent me duckweed b4 wraped in soaked newspaper and they survived. But they all got sucked up by my 2 filters when i put them in my 30gal.

Since there wont be much surface water movent in my vivarium i hope they dont get pushed down and end getting sucked up. So il see what happens, you got PM

Thanks alot!
-Q

[Lobo.]

mine get sucked into the filter all the time, just check behind the filter every other day or so and scoop all of the ones you find back there and put them back into the tank.
its a lil tedious but it makes it where they reproduce faster than they die...

[meaghan9930]

Have you thought of Mudskippers? Maybe those with some Gobies??? I have always wanted to try those little guys but didnt know how hard they were to take care of.

[mduros]

From a dirty abused cracked 20gal, to a half water, half land Vivarium im making for my girlfriend.


-Add guppies and ottos, and a firebelly newt? not really shure what to add for the land/water critter yet. Any ideas?

Thanks
-Q

P.S. this is where i got my instructions form to make the styrofoam background.
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/diy_aquarium_background3.php

You may want to join www.caudata.org for critter ideas. You won't want to have any kind of fish or bottom feeders especially with a newt.

Newts are little eating machines and will eat just about everything they possibly can. Most bottom feeders have spiny fins that will very easily penetrate through the throat of your newt when he tries to eat them. More than likely, both fish and newt will perish from the incident. Also, Firebellies are a little less toxic than Oregons which I have, but still have toxins. Their toxins will be released into the water and it's likely the fish will get sick from it.

I had originally tried to have a betta in with my newt. This is before I understood about the toxin issue related to newts. And Joey was big and aggressive enough that I thought there wouldn't be a problem. Joey lasted two days in the tank before I was pulling his tail from McGloop's jaws. Joey is now in private quarters after being beaten up by his second tank mates in my 30 gallon community. Now he is happily in his own digs.

I now have two newts McGloop and McGlop and absolutely ADORE them.

http://www.maryduros.com/fish/mcgloop email.jpg
http://www.maryduros.com/fish/mcgloopmcglop.jpg
Good luck,
Mary.

[TipStylez]

theres freshwater Gobies?!
And i dont know where to get mudskippers, and wont you need mud? Or a soft land gravel? Cause its gonna be hard concrent with moss if i can find any.


And thanks alot mduros, il post a thread there when i figure out what fish to stick with.

But im thinking about one male guppy and 2 femail guppys. And a pair of Blue rams. and 3 ottos.

Is that over doing it? I guessing the tank is somewhere around 15gal of water

Thanks
-Q

[Emg]

might be overdoing it where the rams are concerned Styles.....what about endlers instead of guppies...gorgeous little fish those..and I think the smaller size will look nicer in the tank if you had a group of them.

A couple of African Dwarf Frogs in with the endlers......and perhaps a few ottos would do ok in there...but then you'd have to get a heater..lol...the ADFs and the endlers wouldn't need a heater...the newts either if you decide to get some. BTW...the newts I have are different from Mduros newts. Mine are redbellied newts and they stay mostly on the land. They're also smaller than the ones that Mduros has, and not as aggressive...here's a pic of them......very cool critters, I too just LOVE these little guys ! I bet a couple of those would do nicely on the land section you have there...nice job on that BTW !! :thm: Thanks for sharing the process..I may need that info before long..just as soon as I figure out where to put that tank...lol..

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y82/morroman/emgfishpics/DCP_3156.jpg

Mduros, very cool newts there ! Nice pics ! I've seen them at the LFS near here and they get pretty darn large...lol.

[TipStylez]

i would get a group of endlers but no LFS i know if have them...yeah i woudl of went with alot of diffrent fish but im just going with the common stuff cause i can get it easly. Yeah i guess im over doing it with the rams.. Il just stick with 5 guppies and 3 ottos. (i dont like a even number of fish, strange but one always dies and the number becomes odd)

And i might get the firebelly nwet...theres abunch of them at my LFS.

And a small heater of course =] but funds are low, so wont be adding fish untill next month when the tank settles and cycles.

Thanks
-Q

[Emg]

OH...just to share ideas....here's a pic of my little 5 gallon river tank....I used plexiglass and silicone for the land area...with some flourite and echocomplete substrate on the land for the plants. Just plopped them on top of the substrate and put some moss down over the top of the roots.

I have a 10gallon size sponge filter along the back wall of the tank..the bubbler end creates a nice little current coming from the back right corner. This tank has been setup for about a year and the water stays crystal clear. There is a male betta, 2 ADFs and 4 endlers in the water with the 2 newts on the land. I'm not exactly happy with the gravel I have in there...but it's doing so well I don't want to disturb it...lol..

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y82/morroman/emgfishpics/DSC02054.jpg

[TipStylez]

i was thinking of making borders for the edges of the land areas to add some kind of gravel for moss or a lil terrarium section to grow some Venus Flytraps =]

But thats a nice setup you got there.

[mduros]

Wow! Good job! Very impressive!
Mary.

[Emg]

I don't have any kind of edge on the plexiglass....I just graded it back away from the edge and layed moss over it...I bet that would work for your setup Styles...but I guess you have to be careful about wieght on that styrofoam...don't want that making a dive into the water...but I imagine the boyancy of it will help some if you have the water right up to the bottom of it.

[UncaBret]

I need to quit looking at threads like this. Puts too many ideas in my head!

Great looking tanks, tho.

[TipStylez]

i tested a single pice of styrofoam b4 with the quickete cement, man 2 layers of that stuff will make the styrofoam feel like rock! i dont think it will be breaking in half, the cement is made to stop cracked walls from leeking so its pretty strong.

[stingray4540]

Wow, you've got a pretty cool design going so far. make sure you post pics when your done.

[Gomisan]

Very nice indeed. I can see my next tank is definately going to have a DIY background etc.

[aquarob]

Haha, im not a spiderman myself...the lil things give me the shivers thinking there everywhere... :idea2:

I want a green tree frog tho, i use to have one when i was little and i would feed him bugs i catch outside. So fun watching him use his long tounge to catch em. But theres no where i know of to get one...

Well, I have about 5 stuck to my sliding glass door right now.... They are wild and VERY common in central florida. They also sell them in my hometown Petsmart for 12.50 each. Hmm... C'mere frog!.....LOL just kidding.

[aquarob]

OH...just to share ideas....here's a pic of my little 5 gallon river tank....I used plexiglass and silicone for the land area...with some flourite and echocomplete substrate on the land for the plants. Just plopped them on top of the substrate and put some moss down over the top of the roots.

I have a 10gallon size sponge filter along the back wall of the tank..the bubbler end creates a nice little current coming from the back right corner. This tank has been setup for about a year and the water stays crystal clear. There is a male betta, 2 ADFs and 4 endlers in the water with the 2 newts on the land. I'm not exactly happy with the gravel I have in there...but it's doing so well I don't want to disturb it...lol..

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y82/morroman/emgfishpics/DSC02054.jpg

If you add a small DC computer case fan to the enclosure it will get rid of most of your condensation on the glass. Just an idea.

[Emg]

Yeah...lol..I know about the condensation thing...I just leave the top open, it keeps the front fairly clear if not the sides....as far as plugging something else into an outlet......

I don't have anymore outlets LEFT !! :rolleyes:

[TipStylez]

yeah we need solarpowerd aquarium stuff...

BTW, i was thinking about painting the sidewalls with the cement alsos o it matches everything, and paint the outside of the tank (but the front glass) black.

What you think?

[TipStylez]

^bump

[Emg]

I think that may prove interesting Stylez ! As long as you don't have any reason to be looking through the sides of the tank, why not ? !

[justintoxicated]

I have a terrarium/ aquarium (Vivarium?)

What I did was silicone one of those Fake wood walls for turtles to the sides of my tank, I filled the land portion with Gravel and petemoss, and added a fake rock cave etc tot hat side, the other side has flourite gravel and a rock for a little seperate land.

I have Newts (one firebelly one Paddletail (the paddletail is huge). The firebelly is constantly mating with the Paddletail, so one is a boy and I'm guessing the other is a girl.

I also have 2 Firebelly toads in there as well as a california toad (that thing got big fast it is nearly 4 tiems the size of the firebelly toads)

I was concerned with toxins (mainly affecting the CA toad) but All the animals seem to be doing well as I have had them all in the same tank for several months now. The firebelly toads are pretty much full grown but Mrs California toad does not try to eat them (although she has hit them with her rongue before).

I have live pants in here but I do not know what kind they are they seemt o be doing better only partialy submered than in my aquarium though. I also have some of that lucky bamboo in there.





The problems I am having is related to not having enough water I suppose. There is probably only about 3-4 gallons in there...It's hard to keep the Nitrite levels down, but the Purigen seems to be helping ALOT.

I am using baby mystery snails to keep it clean.

[justintoxicated]

I wanted to add if you get newts plan on keeping them for a long time I have had mine for about 13 years I believe, maybe longer, I was a kid when I got them. I know at some point I put them through hell they seem pretty tuff.

[TipStylez]

Ok, for the people that are waiting on the finish project, it will be held back because i dont want to finish it without my girlfriend cause she said she wants to work on it too.

But you can entertain yourself with my other project i plan on doing with the leftover styrofoam sheets.

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=71203

Thanks
-Q

[Primetime]

Any updates on this?!? Very curious to see what it looks like :D

[Lobo.]

o crap... i forgot about this... i really dont have time between school and homework to mail anything (post office is closed on sundays... the only free day i have because of chores and running on saturdays!) if i DO find time to make the treck to the post office, then i will, but it might be a few weeks... :duh: sorry about the wait!

[minnesotagal866]

One thing--you don't want/need a heater for fire belly newts, they want temperatures around 70 degrees. If you really want fish, most people in caudata.org (the best site on newts) most people suggest white cloud mountain minnows as they are not aggressive and enjoy the same water temperatures. Endler's are a great idea too, too bad you are not near me as I am SWIMMING in endler's Guppies would work as they can adapt to cooler temps but I'd watch it because a guppy tail might become a snack. My newt is pretty docile but many are not.

Newts love densely planted tanks so I'd go with a bunch of plants, real or plastic. They would also enjoy some type of cave in the water, mine hides in the back of the filter or under some driftwood. They are great animals.

The only other thing to be concerned of is competition for food. My newt is a little slow (firebelly) and you need to make sure s/he gets their fair share of food.

Good luck,
jackie

[greendeltatke]

Just curious, why do you want to add salt? The newts don't need it.

[TipStylez]

Sorry people i havent been updateing.

Been busy and all the free time i have i work on my car =]

So i will do this on a rainy day thats boring or something...but its summer here so who knows.

Il keep it updated tho.

Thanks
-Q

[Zeromason577]

I need to quit looking at threads like this. Puts too many ideas in my head!


GAH! me to, I have an extra 10 gal siting around, looks like i will be puting that extra styrofoam(SP?) to use after all, but im just not sure when :)

BTW, the tank looks wonderfull so far, good luck

[TipStylez]

Wow, i forgot all about this. Havent had time to finish it.

BUT, i did finish coating it with cement. =] Looks reall nice.

Will post pics.

[enrique4jc]

This seems like a really cool idea. Certainly keep us posted on your progress!

[WeeNe858]

yeah we need solarpowerd aquarium stuff...

BTW, i was thinking about painting the sidewalls with the cement alsos o it matches everything, and paint the outside of the tank (but the front glass) black.

What you think?



you can run styrophom aroun the outside and make it look like a littel rock capsul..

and hurry up with the end product !!! :]