Dart Den

Full Version: How are all the power cords and pump tubes ect, hidden ?
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sharkey

Hello. I'm neew to the form here, but have been in and out of the dart frog world for about two years now. I started out as fostering, then growing attached, birthday presents, moving...etc etc etc. anyway, here i am again putting together yet another tank. my past tanks have been okay. they worked, somewhat pretty to look at, and kept the li'l' guys in. my only complaint was the constant cleaning. despite being out of direct light algee would grow berzerk in my last set up.
so this time around, in a different house with different temps and all, i will be including a false bottom/filter. not going all out for a huge whopper of a set-up. something simple, 'round 20 gallons give or take. i have been reading lots of advise how to install, maintain and recommended brands, but the thing i still remain unclear about is how are all those cords and tubes contained? how do they exit the tank without a "hey look, i'm a random cord in a nature set up!" thing happening? hiding them behind plants is easy enough, do we cut the lids of the tank and use sealant around to keep it fit? i would really appreciate some photos or even etch-a-sketch doodles in paint would be marvelous. visual learner here.
Thank you in advance.
-julie

DartFrog

Julie,

Welcom to DartDen. I bring my cord up along the back wall of the tank, you can put a big plant in front of it to kind of hide it. I have a vine growing on one of mine that hides it well.

Mike

cbreon

Julie, I have a few ideas to hide the cord all depending on how complex you want your vivarium to be. The easiest way would be to use a plant or a piece of driftwood. You could attach the cords to an appropriately sized piece of cypress or other wood tolerant of moist environments. Another way would be to use the foam backround method described on black jungle's website: http://www.blackjungle.com/gallery/talltank/page1.html
I recently used this method for the first time and found it to be somewhat time consuming, but generally fun and easy, producing great results. However, I should mention that black jungle recommends some methods that I would never employ. There is a lot of information on this foam method available on both the dartden and dendroboard. Many people use this method and it does create the dutch vivarium look of a plant covered, realistic jungle background. If you are interested I would be happy to help you more and I'm sure there are plenty of other people who could offer their expertise on this technique. BTW the best place that I have found the foam is Home Depot or Lowes, as for the silicon Home Depot or Lowes both carry suitable types, a dark color like brown, grey, or black is ideal. Good Luck!

sharkey

thank you for the info & link. that's pretty impressive.
i am still however unclear how the cords/tubes exist the tank and maintaining a semi-sealed top. no one seems to show much of the hood other then a knob or handle.
-julie

stitches

I run a 4inch pvc pipe down the back of my tank.This comes out into the hood. The bottom ends up in a small space i have in the peat bricks.