How?
- Thread starter Bagshaw
- Start date
.......... mine has one of those tank toppers, but for just a 20 gallon thers still hundreds of possibilitys. im guessing that your more interested in the land aspect cus it would just be another aquarium without it. is it going to be arborial, or waterside? is the reptile or amphib going to swim in the water, or will it just be two places in one box. ther arnt too many lizards that swim and could live in a 20 gallon. FBTs like land and water, but are too mainstream for me. but thats my problem. its all about whats going in it
I would like to keep a few small fish. Maybe a school of neons if possible? However i would like to keep enough land open to possibly add a type of tree frog or FBT in the future. What i am most curious about is the types of foam to use? How to support the structure? Where can i get these products etc?
I am located in the Toronto area.
I am located in the Toronto area.
You would be surprised how many items you could pick up from your local hardware store. I recommend any of the vivarium "build" threads on this forum to see ideas/concepts. You may not be able to get too much in the way of land critters if you want most of the emphasis on the water, but this can be okay.
I would try something like this (I am at work so I am just thinking of very rough idea off the top of my head). Assuming it is a 20gal high, what if you got some sort of barrier(glass or acrylic) and siliconed it into your tank, leaving 1/3 of the tank on on one side and 2/3 on the other? The barrier would be maybe 12" tall, Then, you could use foam (like Great Stuff) on the water side to create some sort of "stream bank." You could coat the foam with sand or a dark concrete mixture. The land side would have a false bottom of a few inches using plastic eggcrate. The rest of your background(above the water) could be made with malaysian driftwood/cypress and Great stuff covered in more of that concrete mix or coconut. You could create holes where you could plant some flora.
I dunno, thats my very rough idea.
I would try something like this (I am at work so I am just thinking of very rough idea off the top of my head). Assuming it is a 20gal high, what if you got some sort of barrier(glass or acrylic) and siliconed it into your tank, leaving 1/3 of the tank on on one side and 2/3 on the other? The barrier would be maybe 12" tall, Then, you could use foam (like Great Stuff) on the water side to create some sort of "stream bank." You could coat the foam with sand or a dark concrete mixture. The land side would have a false bottom of a few inches using plastic eggcrate. The rest of your background(above the water) could be made with malaysian driftwood/cypress and Great stuff covered in more of that concrete mix or coconut. You could create holes where you could plant some flora.
I dunno, thats my very rough idea.
hmm... I'm not sure. Are you counting on the bouyancy of the styrofoam to keep the "islands" afloat? I am not sure whether or not that would work.... you could always try it out with jsut styrofoam/water first.
As for some sort of adhesive, I'm not sure. Silicone would work I would think for something small. For an island, maybe something similar to what they use for salt tanks for glueing live rock? You basically want something that once cured is water resistant and non-toxic.
As for some sort of adhesive, I'm not sure. Silicone would work I would think for something small. For an island, maybe something similar to what they use for salt tanks for glueing live rock? You basically want something that once cured is water resistant and non-toxic.