Unfortunately, this vivarium is no longer around. I got 4 more frogs and had to move them to a larger tank viewable here. A lot of people have been emailing me to ask how the concrete primer/coco fiber mix is holding up, and all I can say is that it showed no signs of deterioration over the year it was in the tank. I did use a small amount of the concrete primer/coco fiber mix in the new vivarium, and it is also doing well. Ive also been getting many other general questions about the mix, so I will add an FAQ to this gallery.
This is my first experience with the Dutch method of vivarium construction using "flevopol". It is an acrilate copolymer used as an additave in concrete to make it adhere better. But not in this case obviously. Flevopol is not avaliable in the USA, but I found a good substitute at my local ACE hardware. Its called Concrete primer & bonding additave and its made of Water and Acitate copolymer. When completely dried, it is rock hard and non-toxic. I mixed 4 parts sphagnum peat moss, 4 parts coco-fiber (bed a beast, eco earth ect) and 2-3 parts Concrete primer & bonding additave untill it was nice and tacky. Before hand, I had covered the 3 back pannels of glass with a good layer of expanding foam. Then I just covered the foam with the paste. I dried in about 5 days but it could take up to a week or more. I had warm dry weather on my side. Cracking occured naturaly as I expected it to from reading articles at UK vivarium websites. So I just made up another small batch of the slurry and patched them up. If you want more info on how I did this, email me at audiotaylor@sbcglobal.net.
Date(s): August 16, 2003. Album by David Taylor. 1 - 32 of 32 Total. 16350 Visits.
I have come back to this site over and over getting new ideas. I actually just aquired a 40 gal hex and plan to start a new vivarium with it. Believe me, I will be back several times to use your valuable pointers. Thank you! - Corry, Fri, 11 Aug 2006 3:43PM
David, I was wondering what you did about the the little pond at the bottom. Is it free sitting or do you have some sort of filtering system going on. I have the same aqauriem I'm working on but I haven't gotten all the plumbing figured out. Any suggestions? Thanks, Daren - Daren , Tue, 19 Apr 2005 6:34PM
Could you, if you have time email me some more details on the ventelation system, and overflow systems? Thanks. - Ryan , Mon, 12 Jul 2004 2:13PM
Thanks for this fantastic site. I have been searching all day long, then I came upon the European site that referred readers to this site. I was wondering about the concrete bonder, peat mix, which having done much work with hypertufa, I might add a bit of sand to mine, for my purposes, but your photos show how great the end product looks. Once I tackle that, I will start to tackle the mist functions, which is overwhelming to me at this time. Thanks again for taking the time to illustrate your project. PS. After reading much at different sites, and growing moss myself - an aside, I had tried various found mosses, and the one which grew and has been thriving on a small piece of wood in a terrarium now for about 5 years is moss I found in a crack on the side walks of NYC! - at any rate, on various boards (Garden Website perhaps) it was mentioned that for wet environments the Java moss most often used under water in aquariums did especially well in wet - mistly, or 'rainy' environments - spreading out from the water, or waterfall feature, to other areas not underwater. That's something I plan to try when all is done. Thanks again Sherry - Sherry Mickelson, Thu, 1 Jul 2004 12:36PM
Hey, I'm setting up a 20gal upright using your background method. I was wondering if you new the brand name of the concreate primer? Does Loews or the home depot carry it? and how has it held up against moisture/water... thanks. Cant find your email. - Chris, Sun, 23 May 2004 10:32AM
Very nice system! I also have a rainmaker Jr misting system. I wondering what RV pump you use now? Thanks - Chris, Sun, 7 Mar 2004 6:19PM
great photos, but i have a few questions. how long does this product take to dry? how safe is it, did you do a pH test and what about leeching? any toxins present while it's drying? why are you using expandable foam instead of wire mesh cloth? also, how long did it need to set, both the foam and the cement stuff? - Deven, Thu, 15 Jan 2004 11:08PM
I was hoping you could tell me more about your substitute for "flevopol" Once the substitute is completely dried can you run water over it for say a water fall? - Nick , Fri, 7 Nov 2003 5:52PM
Bob; sounds like you're using too much primer. There should only be enough to make the peat stick together when you squeeze it, then break appart when you poke it. I applied mine immediatly after I mixed it and it was completly dry in less than a week. Make sure you have good air circulation and some heat wouldnt hurt either. Good luck! - David, Thu, 30 Oct 2003 12:43AM
David,really liked the 40gal.hex.have tried the mix you spoke of,but only the surface seems to harden,did u let the mixture soak for some period of time before applyingif so,how long,am really trying to get this work for me,it looks great,thanks. - bob, Wed, 29 Oct 2003 9:32AM
1 Dsc01252 After some rearanging and a few more plants, its just about done. I added some resurection fern, 2 neoregelia red birds, java moss, anubias frazeri, vriesea christiane, tillandsia ionantha, and tillandsia loliacea. After a couple days, I put the frogs in.
2 Dsc01324 It has now been established for aproximately 1 month. One of the orchids is shriveling and I may remove it in an attempt to revive it. The other plants are doing great, growing new roots and sprouting new leaves. The tillandsias are getting a red blush to the leaves and the red color of the neo's is getting much stronger. I took out the resurection fern and replaced it with a heart-leafed philodendron. The fern simply required too much moisture for its placement in the vivarium and was alwyas dry and shriveled.
3 Dsc01439 It's been about 3 months now. The orchids are doing great, producing lots of tangled roots and new leaves. All the bromeliads are also doing great, with roots so developed, I was able to remove the support wire that was holding them in place. I may remove the anubias as it is starting to over-grow the tank and takes away from the tropcial look. The fittonia needs pruning and the moss died so it needs to be replaced with a moss that thrives in wet soil. Despite the false bottom, the substrate is still very wet. Too wet for sphagnum moss aparently. Well, untill next time...
4 Dsc01445 I was very excited to find this tonight; a mushroom that sprouted voulintarily behind the ghostwood. It has a yellowish tint and is about 4 inches tall, and about an inch in diameter.
5 Dsc01222 The rough beginings. The "false bottom" is plastic eggcrate for difusing fluorescent lights cut to shape and rested on 1 1/2" PVC connectors (spacers in this case). I cut a portion away in the corner to make a recess for their water source.
6 Dsc01224 This is a close-up of the dried peat/cocohusk/concrete primer mix. It holds water nicely and looks very natural.
7 Dsc01250 Orchids: From left to right: Phalaenopsis Hybrid, Chondrorhyncha Amazonica, Paphiopedilum Spicerianum, and another Phalaenopsis Hybrid.
8 Dsc01247 Its starting to come together. Ive sprayed some foam in the pond area to block access to under the false bottom, added some plants; orchids, fittonia aka nerve plant, and some live sphagnum moss. This moss is great if you can get it to survive. It needs bright light and constant moisture. Shouldnt be a problem in this case. But on the other hand, no one's better at killing plants than me! "How do you prevent your soil/gravel from falling thro..." View Comments...
9 Dsc01251 Full length shot showing the stand and canopy. The canopy is wider than the stand because it had to fit the oversized power compact lighting fixture. The vivarium is basicly completed.
10 Dsc01270 The canopy. I built it with some pine 1x6, a short piece of 1x12, and a 2x3. Cutting was done with a table saw and it was guled together. Holes for the 3 fans was done with hole saws. The lid has 3 sections; one is secured to the canopy, and the other 2 are attaced to that one with hinges.
11 Dsc01271 I made it open like this so if I was doing something routine like feeding, misting, or maintinance, I could access the inside of the tank without disrupting the frogs light. Not to mention, I dont have to work with that bright light shining in my face the whole time.
12 Dsc01273 In case I needed more room to work, or if I wanted to access the light, I enabled it to open like this with a second set of hinges. The lighting is 2 36 Watt 10,000K power compact fluorescents. You can partially see the ballast inside the canopy to the left. I got that awesome reflector, ballast, and bulbs from AH Supply and It was worth every penny I spent. 9,600 pennies to be exact.
13 Dsc01274 Looking inside. There are 5 fans total, 3 are cooling the inside of the hood, and 2 are venting the vivarium itself. The PVC elbow has the fan mounted inside and is there to suck cool air from outside the canopy. The other fan is partialy visible toward the front of the shot and is used to suck air out of the vivaiurm.
14 Dsc01278 I had my local glass dealer cut these 3 pieces of glass for me. First a full hexagon was cut, then I had them slice it in half. One of these pieces was cut a second time 4" from the end. This way, I could attach it with hinges and allow it to fold up for easier access to the inside of the vivarium.
15 Dsc01279 This picture shows the front half of glass slid back and folded up. It gives a lot of working room without having to move the canopy. This picture also shows the way I mounted the exhaust fan and hinges. I had the same glass shop cut 2 3" holes in the 2 pieces of glass then I glued some screen over them to prevent escape. I tried gluing the hinges and fan too, but it didnt hold. So I moved to plan B; I used my dremel tool and a diamond bit to drill 16 small holes, 8 for the hinges, and 8 for the fan. I made sure to submerge the glass in an enchilada pan filled with water to cool things down while I was doing it. Then 4 Holes were drilled in the fan and 8 in the hinges using a standard drill bit. I used 8 small nuts and bolts to secure the hinges, and 4 small zip-ties for the fan. It was worth all the work because they are strongly fastned now.
16 Dsc01265
17 Dsc01268
18 Dsc01327 At 1 month.
19 Dsc01328 I still want to plant a creeping fig to cover up most of the background. I also want to add one or two ruby cryptanthus bromeilads at the bottom for more color contrast. Maybe by the next picture update.
20 Dsc01329 One of the tincs resting on a sturdy viresea leaf. The plant partially blocking his view is the Paphiopedilum Spicerianum orchid.
Download MPEG 21 Mov01320.mpg This is a short movie clip of all 4 frogs eating some dusted fruit flies. Its a little over 6MB and is 17 seconds long.
22 Dsc01331 I made this system out of parts I had from an old rainmaker Jr. I had to buy a new pump because the old one ran dry and busted. The pump Im using is sold for RVs. As soon as I get more nozzles from Ecological Technologies I will use the same pump to mist every vivairum in my room. "I noticed that you use PL-lighting for you vivarium, ..." View Comments...
23 Dsc01332 2 of the 4 nozzles.
24 Dsc01333 There are 2 holes drilled in the glass for the nozzles.
