120 Gal Bubinga Plywood Vivarium build for DART FROGS, with waterfall (SLOW BUILD)

[xTimx]

Update:

Backwall and side walls are done for substrate... just gotta wait for it to dry
see if there's any cracks and fix em.
my back is done...... i need a hot bath with some epsom salts lol

next up...... Making of the vents, buying the glass and installing them.

 

[Wikiman12]

This is all very interesting... Will definitely be following this post! Good luck.

 

[xTimx]

Sherman Vent system installed used aluminum i also put the sliding glass track on the vent as well too!
so far so good...its coming along.
tomorrow i get my panes of glass. i'll make the top vent along with installing the glass.

 

[xTimx]

Glass came in. unwrapped it and dry fit it. lets just say my tank is out of alignment haha. trimmed off some wood with a razor knife and it all fits now. another issue is the top glass track is 1/4" short at the top. so it doesnt fit all the way across. another thing is they cut my glass 1/8" too long so i cant get my glass in and out of the tracks. but thats fine thats a simple solution. a few tweaks here and there, all will be fine. (also dont mind the reflections in the glass, the apt is a messy place from building the tank)









Here's a pic with the aluminum bars that i'm going to use for the vent up top.



next up.... tweaking the fitment, siliconing the glass in, making of the canopy and skirting the stand.

 

[JZC]

I am way too excited to see the outcome of this monster lol!

 

[Pandinus97]

Very interesting! ive never heard of using plywood for a dart frog enclosure Im on frog forum under the name Bombina Bob

 

[xTimx]

Guys help me out here....

how can i fab up something so that i can tell how tall my water level is at? i really dont want it to flood my substrate and such.

 

[The Snark]

Guys help me out here....

how can i fab up something so that i can tell how tall my water level is at? i really dont want it to flood my substrate and such.

Insert a see through plastic tube and bring it out the side of the enclosure through a hole and have it stick up a ways. A liquid level sight tube??
Do you by chance know what the common bromeliad we have here? The edges of their leaves are like serrated knife blades that can easily give really nasty cuts. I mean just one careless motion and your finger is sliced to the bone.

 

[xTimx]

just a few pics of the tank lit up with ONE Grow and Glow light. keep in mind this is only one and i have 4 that are going to be lighting up the tank!
i love the light on them! they look great!










hopefully going to be making the canopy skeleton tonight. then i cant do much till this next friday as i have to wait for a paycheque to buy my bubinga plywood to wrap the canopy and tank stand.

 

[xTimx]

Small Update:

my Cryptanthus Volcano came in from Florida! she's a beauty!







I'm just currently working on the canopy and skirting of the stand. i'm in the last few phases of the build. more updates soon!

Cheers

 

[josh_r]

Looks awesome Tim This is going to be a screamer when it is done.

 

[xTimx]

UPDATE:

well....not much of an update really, i got stuff done....but not as much as i would of liked to of. so over the weekend, i made the skeleton of the canopy, then skinned it and hmmm and hawed over how i was going to make the lid so then i just decided to make the whole canopy a big ass lid on a hinge.
had a buddy come over on sunday and got the top vent made, along with the holes drilled for the nozzles. also had to go out and buy some stain for the plywood that i am using for skinning the tank stand and canopy. took a few tries to match up the actual tank color, but i got it.
another thing we did was we wired all 4 Grow and Glows up and are ready for them to be installed. i would of liked to of gotten more stuff done but i just didnt have the time to do it in. anyways... here's pics.


Here's the mock up of the skeleton for the canopy with 1 grow and glow lit.



perimeter of the canopy skinned, you can definitely notice the difference in color between the 3/4" plywood used on the tank and the 1/4" plywood used for the canopy.


pics of 1 G&G lit up with the canopy over top of it.





here is the color matching, i had to wet down the tank in the front to mock up what the poly is gonna look like when its layed on. needless to say i didnt match it. but whats not pictured is the sample that i did manage to get to match up the tank.




ALL 4 GROW AND GLOWS LIT UP!












here's pics of the glass installed, along with the vent and nozzles mounted up. (sorry for the blotchy glass)










thats all for now.

this sat i'll be picking up my frogs (providing the roads are good to drive on)

 

[Akai]

This is coming along nicely. That Cryptanthus Volcano is gorgeous and those serrated edges look nasty!

 

[xTimx]

UPDATE:

frogs are in!! so happy! here's some crappy pics taken from my phone hahaha.

they are thrown into a temp 10 gal tank till i get my main tank done.






I should note that some pics are doubles, cuz i took one with a flash and one with out.
















included in the deal, are 10 cultures of a mix of springtails, and 3 species of FF's. 4 tadpoles (of the same species), along with lots of plants. I definitely gotta get my tank up and going now cuz i seriously need to get this tank planted!

---------- Post added 11-09-2013 at 07:25 PM ----------

more pics here of the 4 tads and the plants

 

[JZC]

Awesome. Gorgeous frogs.

 

[xTimx]

lol thanx
so last night before bed, i caught all 6 super blues out and about.


and also last night, i decided to plant my tank. NOTE this is NOT the final form of it, i WILL be putting leaf litter in, i just dont have enough of it to cover the whole floor. i am also ordering in some moss as well too. also the floor substrate is temporary, i will also be adding in some ABG mix sorta (cant find a few of the ingredients here in the city).


so here i started planting the begonias.......i hate them....they are soooo floppy hahaha. but i'm greatful of them. i need to put them in water to root them.



First couple of Broms being planted in

here's the final product... (FOR NOW)




i will be adding more plants in slowly and letting them grow out. for the time being this is the set up.

 

[JZC]

My super blues have more bronze/brown. I like yours better. Me likey blue

 

[Ambly]

great choice in frogs, your auratus will love it

 

[Scolopendras]

That is truly an art... just amazing! That's all I can say

 

[xTimx]

Update:
since the viv is out of square, the glass doors arent fully closing on the sides of the tank. so i went out and bought some foam tape thats really thick. stuck it to the sides of the tank, made a couple of slits on the foam so the glass slides into place when its closed all the way. i also bought some handles to put on the glass doors to slide the glass open more easily.
I also made some home made ABG mix, i didnt have the proper ingredients but with the help of Joshsdragonz, him and I made it work out!


(sorry for the smudged up glass doors)



Gonna work on the canopy today. next week i get my ac/dc inverter. i got my fans in this last week so i'm gonna cut the holes for the air flow as well as drill holes for the water lines and put the trim on. (well thats the plan, i've been procrastinating like crazy though lolol)
also....here's more pics of the frogs and the way i was going to mount my lights to the canopy















---------- Post added 11-16-2013 at 02:36 PM ----------

FROG BELLY PICS!!!!