Viviariums Using Old Tanks?

[Beverly]

We're upgrading our three tanks over the next month or so and will have tanks left over that we will either sell or set up vivariums. Anybody here have vivariums setup? If so, do you have pics?

[Dale D]

I have a 30 gallon set up. :biggrin: But, no pictures of it.

[kuatto]

Bev
What tanks are you selling????

Jim

[Beverly]

Jim, not sure which tanks I will be using for vivariums. Probably the 28g and 72g bowfronts. Will then have the 42g hex for sale. Tank, cherry stained oak stand, glass top. You've seen it right? It won't be available for another month or so.

Dale,

Tell me about how you constructed your vivarium, if you would. I'd love to hear about lighting, plants you keep, if you have a water feature and how you get to the pump for cleaning it. Anything else you can think of that could make my possible 28g and 72g vivariums easier to put together would be greatly appreciated :smile:

[kuatto]

Bev
I used a fluval 1 in mine(when I had such).Using a piece of plexi to section off an area for water(neons,firebelly toads,etc)I then used a layer of small gravel,layer of charcoal,then good potting soil(no styrofaom bits),this helped with any exsess water draining.The plants you use are up to you(personal pref).Just pick up a plant light for the top and and your critters and presto!!

[Skimmerking]

bev if you decide in seling the bow front for some reason can ya let me know

mike

[Beverly]

Just pick up a plant light for the top and and your critters and presto!!

Jim,

How big was your tank? What kind of plants did you grow? What kind of plant light did you use, how many watts, Kelvin value? Inquiring minds want to know :smile:

Michael,

If I don't use the 72g for a vivarium, I have two parties sort of interested in it right now. Problem with the 72g is that a PC light melted the front part of the cross brace where it meets the trim, so anybody wanting to use that tank for a reef would need to get new top trim. Shouldn't be hard to order the part because it's an Oceanic tank.

[kuatto]

It was the 54 gal I'm using as my reef tank.There were dual 18in canopies with fluorescent bulbs used to grow plants(cant remember the name,picked up at walmart).There were ferns,and smaller plants that spread like moss and small violet type plants which grew very well.
The water end had been set up to look like a jungle pond,had a dark ting to it because of some drift wood.I also kept some small green and brown anoles(which laid eggs all the time).
You can do so much to make it look real if you just sit back and think about what you want.Small fish and crayfish look nice also.

Jim

[Skimmerking]

BEV i cant believe you called me michael, :mrgreen:

havent heard that for a long time. my mom always called me michael

thanks lol

:smile:

[Quinn]

Bev why are you breaking down your reefs? :neutral:

[Beverly]

Michael,

At the Edmonton meeting, I told you I'd be calling you Michael from now on, Michael :mrgreen:

Quinn,

Not breaking down, but upgrading :eek: :biggrin: :cool:

[Dale D]

Bev.

My tank is set up with pea gravel on the bottom, then a layer of screen, then 4 or 5 inches of potting soil. The only water in the tank is in a water dish that looks like a tree stump.

If I do another tank it will have a false bottom, a waterfall and a pool.

I keep tree frogs in it, so, it has lots of branches in it for them to sit on.

There are 2 18 Watt NO fluorescent power glo's and 2 blue 15 Watt incandescent (sp) bulbs for night lighting.

I DIYed an ultrasonic humidifier to provide fog for moisture.

The plants are 2 types of creeping fig and an Ivy.

The back and sides are covered with cork bark.

[Delphinus]

I DIYed an ultrasonic humidifier to provide fog for moisture.


I'd be interested to hear more about this?

[StirCrazy]

I DIYed an ultrasonic humidifier to provide fog for moisture.


I'd be interested to hear more about this?

go to a fancy guarden store and look in the decoration area, they have little ultrasonic foggers (some have led lights some don't) for 40 to 60 bucks. just put it in clean water and plug it in and it makes a fog.

Steve

[Dale D]

I don't use one of the in tank foggers.

I use a cool mist ultrasonic house humidifier plumbed into the tank. They cost about $60- $80 and can be plumbed into more than one tank at a time. They have there own water tank and eliminate one more wire from having to be hidden in the tank.

[Delphinus]

go to a fancy guarden store and look in the decoration area, they have little ultrasonic foggers (some have led lights some don't) for 40 to 60 bucks. just put it in clean water and plug it in and it makes a fog.


Those things are really cool, but the problem I have with those things is they don't last very long. Drives me nuts. Plus, they create a lot of splash if the water level isn't exactly right or you don't have something over top of it.

As an alternative I tried a cool mist humidifier plumbed into a 10g tank once ... but the thing worked like crap. I eventually gave up on it. So would be more interested in hearing about setups that actually work well enough.. but it's no biggie, it was more for interest's sake.

[Dale D]

As an alternative I tried a cool mist humidifier plumbed into a 10g tank once ... but the thing worked like crap. I eventually gave up on it. So would be more interested in hearing about setups that actually work well enough...

Mine works great on my 30 g. :mrgreen:

[Beverly]

I don't use one of the in tank foggers.

Don't know if I will use one or not. I don't see a problem putting one in the tank as long as the wire is hidden behind the background. Do you have anything to move the air around in your viv? Would a computer fan work, or is the humidity to high for one?

[Delphinus]

Mine works great on my 30 g. :mrgreen:

So do you think you could share some details? :razz: What unit did you use? How did you plumb it into the tank, etc. ? Where was the humidifier in relation to the tank, above it, below it, beside it? Do you have any pictures maybe? I'd love to see this.

Would a computer fan work, or is the humidity to high for one?

When I used the in-tank foggers the little computer fans worked great, but only for a short while (only a couple of months). Definitely couldn't handle the humidity for the long-term. The external humidifiers should theoretically work better because they have their own ability to move air. For whatever reason, I didn't set it up right when I tried it though.

[Beverly]

When I used the in-tank foggers the little computer fans worked great, but only for a short while (only a couple of months). [/quote]

Tony,

Don't know if I'm going to use a fogger or not in the viv, and am unsure yet how high the humidity needs to be. Actually, am planning on a computer fan in our ball python terrarium. We're in the process of getting his house up to about 60% relative humidity in about 80-90 F by covering most of the screen top with glass. What signs did you look for that told you when the computer fan was beginning to fail, short of sparks or a breaker shutting down, or something even worse :eek:

[Delphinus]

They basically just stopped turning on, no sparks or anything like that.

[Beverly]

Whew! Good to know, Tony.

Sounds like you have a vivarium too? If so, share some details and pics, please :smile:

[Dale D]

I don't use any fans on the tank. There is a 1" wide screen covered opening running full length of the tank at the back. Seems to work fine. Before I had the opening I had too much humidity and a small mushroom problem. :eek:

The humidifier I use is made by Holmes. It had a round vent on top that the fog came out of. I removed the vent and replaced it with a 2" PVC slip coupler. Then used differ fittings to reduce that down to a 1" piece of flex tubing. The tubing enters the top of the tank and hangs off the side by a U shaped piece of PVC. Much like you would use for a sump return on a fish tank. The humidifier sits below the tank. Sorry don't have any pictures, but, I might be able to find ones of simular units on some of the Frog forums I go on.