Vivarium Makeover

[Bawb_b]

So I've had a 29 gal Viv (my first Viv construction) set up for a year now. I never put any frogs in it because I didn't like the way it came out. I had just discovered the world of vivariums and ended up doing almost every beginner mistake. I added a waterfall (which broke/flooded everything), I didn't know that I could carve out the GS background and left the walls about 3" thick. And my substrate had drainage problems and could only get java moss and other marginal plants to grow.

So, I finally decided to tear it down and remake it. I thought I'd be fun/interesting to share with all who are interested.

Here's the "before" tank




Now here it is after tearing down the GS walls




Here it is after scraping out the old silicone. Which was easier than I imagined. Some water/humidity accumulated in between the Silicone and glass (weird).



And now for my least favorite and most smelliest part



Rough layout of the wood placement



And now a (sloppy) layer of GS background




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[Philsuma]

Glad you scrapped the water feature. Looks better already!

[Dan1990]

I like how you did the false bottom. In mine I just used the lose featherweight stuff from joshs frogs and while I like it I have low spots that is giving me trouble with saturation. I may end up pulling it and adding a frame work like this.

Can't wait for updates! Good luck.

[Bawb_b]

Philsuma: Yeah I thought I knew what I was doing haha.

Dan1990: I've always used false bottoms, I like how they keep your soil elevated and away from water. Although if you don't add a bulkhead for drainage they can be annoying.

I'll keep you guys posted on the construction! I'm now letting the peat/silicone background dry and fully cure. I probably won't be adding plants until next week. I'll be buying most if them this weekend and the American Frog Day [GRINNING FACE WITH SMILING EYES][SMILING FACE WITH SMILING EYES]


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[Bawb_b]

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