I am building an 18"x24"x24" tall Exo Terra Vivarium to be the future home of a Azureus dart frog couple.
Here's what I started out with:
Just to give anyone an idea on how much a build like this can cost, I'll list how much I've spent so far...
Shopping List:
1. The tank = $160
2. Exo Terra light hood = $40
3. Light bulbs = $10
4. Black GEII Silicone Tubes = (2 x $5.20)
5. Clear GEI Silicone Tubes = (9 x $4.25)
6. Great Stuff expanding foam - small cracks (3 x $3.00)
7. Great Stuff expanding foam - large openings (1 x $3.50)
8. Hydroboton - expanded clay balls = $25
9. Small poly rope = $5
10. Medium poly rope = $11
11. Large poly rope (6') = $10
12 Large bag of peat = $11
13 3-pack of coco bricks = $9.50
14. Roll of window screen = $7.50
15. Silicone solvent (2 x $8.20)
16. Sphagnum Moss brick = $3.50
17. Misc Dollar Store buckets = $3.00
18. 3 bags of Dollar Store rocks = $3.00
19. 2 x 3-pack Dollar Store paint brushes = $2.00
20. Dollar Store sifter = $1.00
21. Box of latex gloves = $6.00
22. Dollar Store spray bottle = $1.00
23. Power Strip = $4.50
24. Roll of masking tape = $1.25
25. Box of toothpicks = $1.00
26. Small bottle of Gorilla Glue = $4.00
27. Caulking Gun = $4.00
28. X-acto Knife = $3.50
29. 4" Water Pipe x 8' = $9.00
30. 1/2" Vinyl Tubing x 3' = $1.25
31. Fountain Water Pump = $20.00
32. Misc PVC parts (I'll list them later) = $3.50
33. Plant baskets = $3.00
34. PVC Pipes = $4.00
35. Small sprinkler tubing x 3' = $3.00
The Highest Level of Vivarium DIY Projects :
Step One:
Unbox the tank, inspect for damage, clean the glass, add more silicone to bottom corners to ensure no water leaks.
Step Two:
I lined the 3 walls with two coats of black silicone.
I wanted a clean look from the outside of the tank and I later learned that this made it easier to trim back the expanding foam when it came time for the final detailing.
Step Three:
I started to bend some PVC pipes and cut some rope to create a mock-up of how I wanted it to look
Step Three (explained):
I used a gas torch to heat up the PVC pipe enough so that I could bend it.
DO THIS OUTSIDE! The fumes are toxic and if you're dead, who's gonna catch all of those loose flies?
Step Four:
Figure out your water feature (if you so chose this PITA).
I chose to install a drip wall so that I could keep the water naturally filtered, promote moss growth, and to increase humidity.
I cut a 4" pipe to size and notched the bottom to allow water to flow in.
I covered the bottom with a scrap of window screen to keep the water pump clear of debris.
Step Four:
Figure out your water feature (if you so chose this PITA).
I chose to install a drip wall so that I could keep the water naturally filtered, promote moss growth, and to increase humidity.
I cut a 4" pipe to size and notched the bottom to allow water to flow in.
I covered the bottom with a scrap of window screen to keep the water pump clear of debris.
Step Five:
FOAM!
I placed the tank on it's back and applied a layer of Great Stuff expanding foam. This helped to 'glue' the bent PVC pipes in place and to keep the 4" water pipe in place.
Since I have PVC pipes on both of the sides, I waited 24 hours then placed the tank on it's side to coat that wall with foam. (repeat for the opposite side)
Step Six:
I purchased a few plants for this tank and 'borrowed' their baskets for this step.
I used a toothpick to hold the basket in place and inserted a 6" piece of 1/4" sprinkler tubing into the bottom of the basket to help facilitate drainage.
When I was happy with the location, I used more Great Stuff (large gap type this time) to build up an area around the basket to glue securely.
Step Seven:
Time to create some vines!
I used three different sizes of poly rope to create random vines.
Use your imagination or better yet, search for pictures of real jungle vines for inspiration. Take your time and mock up the vines before securing them. I used more toothpicks to secure the ropes while I trying out different layouts.
Step Eight:
Time to get the drip wall set up.
I measured the inside height of the 4" water pipe to see how tall I need to make the apparatus.
I used the following parts (purchased from a local Do-It-Center)
(1) Right Angle 1/2" tubing to 1/2" threaded connector
(1) Ball Valve
(1) 1/2" sprinkler riser pipe (12")
(1) 1/2" threaded coupler
(1) 1/2" tubing to 1/2" threaded connector
(1) 3" long 1/2" vinyl tubing
(1) fountain pump
The ball valve makes it easy for me to control the water flow without having to remove the pump. If I ever have to replace or clean the pump, all I have to do is disconnect the vinyl tubing at the top of the apparatus and pull this entire piece out.
Here's how it looks when it is installed in the 4" water pipe.
(I drilled a 5/8" hole through the side of the pipe for the vinyl tubing and used silicone to seal it up)
Here's how it looks when it is installed in the 4" water pipe.
(I drilled a 5/8" hole through the side of the pipe for the vinyl tubing and used silicone to seal it up)
The drip wall is just a section of 1/2" vinyl tubing that I installed after removing a section of foam off of the back wall.
Step Nine:
Peat filtering...
I used a standard drainer from the dollar store to sift through the bag of peat and separate the fine peat from the rest. I plan on using the fine stuff for the walls and the rest for the substrate.
Step Ten:
Oh what a mess!
This step will take me about 2 weeks or more to complete.
I've already burned through enough silicone to make a plastic surgeon jealous....
I used a mixture of the following:
1 Part Toluene
2 Parts Silicone
1 Part Peat
Mix it very well. It should have the consistency of brownie batter.
Too thick and it'll be hard to smash into the small crevices. Too thin will not coat the background properly.
I used a cheap paint brush (from the dollar store) to spread the mixture onto the background and ropes. Take your time and get all of the crevices. I would use an entire tube of silicone at one time and this would only cover about one square foot of background. Once you are done, take a handful of dry peat and throw it against the wet silicone areas. Allow this area to completely dry and then gently brush off the excess peat. (I used a clean paint brush for this)
Here's an example of my first coat
That's all I've got for now...
I've been spending an hour every night for the last week trying to get a good coating of peat on this tank.... Do yourself a BIG favor and make sure you have PLENTY of ventilation. The fumes of the curing silicone can be overwhelming.
Just a small update:
Installed a coco-hut even though there is already a built-in area under the 'root' system. (more hides the better I suppose)
Leaf litter, jungle pods, isopods, and springtails should arrive any moment!
I added some moss that I found at a local nursery that was growing under some large leafy 1gal plants. I have it in a small test area next to the Java moss to see if it'll survive. (yes, washed in warm water with a couple of drops of bleach)
Kyoto moss spores added in several areas. Should be about a month before I know if it'll grow.
Toluene is an industrial solvent to thin out the silicone.
I would mix 1 part toluene and 2 parts silicone for about 2 minutes until the silicone had the thickness of runny pancake batter. I then grab a handful of filtered peat and mix it in. Take a cheap 1" paint brush and start mashing this goop into all of the small crevices. I only worked in a square foot area at a time. When you think your area is well covered, grab small handfuls of peat and throw/smash/cover the wet areas with as much peat as possible.
** Spouse Warning **
This step is very messy and smelly!
Just keep repeating until the tank is done.
Make sure to vacuum out the excess peat before applying additional coats. Your final step should be to rinse the entire area and look for any areas you may have missed.
I'm not sure if this was necessary, but I applied my first layer with just pure silicone to make sure everything would be as waterproof as possible.
I did not use clay. My tank is expanding foam (Great Stuff), bent PVC pipes, ropes, and a whole bunch of silicone.
Hope this helps.
I still gave the tank a 24-hour cure time between coats.
The dry time may have been quicker but I think the smell lasts longer due to the solvent. Normally, the silicone cure smell will fade fairly quickly but the solvent smell was pretty potent for 2 weeks.
The solvent, silicone, substrate mix worked great.
I'm just hoping it lasts as I have some areas submerged and most not.
So far, I have had NO issues with the silicone not sticking to the background even after several layers. Again, I started with a base coat of pure silicone just in case. (probably not needed)
I'm glad I took my time and gave myself 6 weeks to build the tank and another 3 weeks to let the tank settle in with plants, water, substrate, etc.
I was fine-tuning the drip wall for 2 weeks and would hate to have a frog escape while adjusting things.
Tip for beginners: start bug cultures sooner so that you have plenty to seed the tank with when you're ready.
Here's a picture of what I used.
("Industrial Maintenance Coating Thinner" - in a blue metal can).
It's probably toxic as hell, it sure smells that way.
Give it PLENTY of time to clear out and keep your work area well ventilated.
1 part A plus 1 part B is the same as 50% A and 50% B.
1 part A + 1 part B + 1 part C = 33% of each etc etc...
At first I used:
1/2 a tube of silicone (call it 2 parts)
1 part solvent
1 part peat (after mixing the solvent into the silicone thoroughly)
I mixed this together in a large plastic bowl with a paint mixing stick.
I applied the goop with a cheap 1" paint brush so I could smash the goop into the small crevices. After I applied the whole batch, I grabbed handfulls of the dry peat and threw it at the wet goop then smooshed more peat to cover all areas. 24 hours later I used a clean paintbrush to dust off the area and applied more coats of goop as necessary.
When I got better, I used the whole tube of silicone with the same ratio of solvent and peat. (just doubling the size of the batch)
