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Post by amanitovirosa on Sept 15, 2015 19:40:14 GMT -5
...check out Plant World at Eglinton/Royal York (if I'm remembering correctly). I got a really large Ventricosa (I think) from them months ago. It's a big place, kind of off the map but well worth checking out.
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Post by lloyd on Sept 15, 2015 20:52:28 GMT -5
I've been there. They had some nice succulents too.
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Post by troutddicted on Sept 23, 2015 16:39:31 GMT -5
Thanks Destroying Angel and lloyd, I'll be sure to check that joint out soon. An update here. Threw together a light fixture today... yeah its outta wood but thats what I had lying around. Going to primer it and throw on some black bathroom paint. Possibly a fan in there but we'll see how this works in the field. I cut in a grove so I can shift individual fixtures which will be hung from metal rods ( the dowel in the photo will be replaced ). I'll have the ability to move the lights forwards or backwards, not sure if I'll need this but the option will be there. Here is a shot of the tank as of tonight. I put two holes ( 1 on the bottom left and 1 on the bottom right ) in the partition so water can flow in order to minimize dead spots. I hid the vinyl tubing by covering it with silicone/coco fiber ( its near the bottom right, nicely camouflaged ). Gonna do a bit more work tonight and thats that for a little while. morphman from the site is hooking me up with some sweet vivarium plants which I will hopefully get early next week. Peace out for now
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Post by morphman on Sept 24, 2015 0:25:33 GMT -5
Looks good but I would personally get rid of that entire section you built at the bottom and build a false-bottom using plastic egg-crate (light diffuser panels) and zip ties. It is a cheap and effective way to add any volume of water. Add one pump or canister filter and you're good to go. You can easily control where the water goes and get it to circulate. If you are going to add shrimp or other little animals I would suggest you cover the filter/pump intake with a fine mesh to avoid them getting sucked up.
That is just my opinion but I've built quite a few tanks and tried several methods. Yours is one of the very first techniques I experimented with. It did OK for a while but it had issues long term especially if you plan on having a decent water feature/section.
I hope I haven't discouraged you and the tank really does look good so please continue and keep us posted.
Regards
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Post by troutddicted on Sept 24, 2015 7:46:58 GMT -5
Hey morphman - thanks for the concern. This will be setup as a false bottom setup but instead of egg crate and mesh I'm using Hydrotron clay balls to lift the landmass. Will have less volume of water because of displacement but increased surface area for beneficialn bacteria - more to come soon
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Post by morphman on Sept 24, 2015 9:33:47 GMT -5
You're welcome. Just to be clear my only concern is the barrier you created using expanding foam. It is not a long term structure because the foam will begin to deteriorate.
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Post by troutddicted on Sept 30, 2015 21:11:14 GMT -5
Back at it again. Made some serious progress tonight. Spent a bunch of time researching deeper about the plants I got from morphman. Before I go on I want to thank morphman for the great plants and service, he answered my many questions ( total noob here ) and took the time giving me a run down on each plant. I will not hesitate to purchase from him again and recommend him all day long. After having water sit in the tank for 3 days to make sure there weren't any leaks I went ahead and dumped in the clay balls. Following that I added the substrate which is a mixture of a bunch of stuff ( soil from pots, moss, bark chunks, perlite, whatever else I had lying around ) and went ahead and placed the plants where I think they will grow best. This is a shot as of tonight ( the tank is dry and hasn't been watered down yet ). It is no where near finished. Needs more wood, I've got a bunch more plants waiting to be put in, the light fixture is drying as we speak ( painted tonight ), water feature needs more rocks and I'm not happy with the piece of wood in the water, the dude at the store assured me it will be dark brown so I'm hoping it just needs to water log as its extremely dense wood. Gotta get some mosses, vines, probably more plants and now I'm thinking along with a couple beater fish, a dart frog would be a cool addition but we'll see. Anyways, my eyes are blurry. Peace out folks.
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Post by lloyd on Sept 30, 2015 22:41:21 GMT -5
I want to go on vacation in your terrarium.
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Post by snowny on Oct 1, 2015 9:04:20 GMT -5
Wow! Very nice! Looking forward how it turns into even more natural looking over time
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Post by troutddicted on Oct 3, 2015 20:06:07 GMT -5
Well, a few more hours of (re)landscaping today. Still need to work on the water feature and more details with wood and moss. I know the seasoned growers could pick out what will die so if you can warn me ahead of time, please do so Front shot. Side shot - the glass is very dirty.
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Post by bcmosaic on Oct 3, 2015 21:55:34 GMT -5
Very nice. Good work
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Post by lloyd on Oct 3, 2015 21:57:45 GMT -5
Very nice.
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Post by hal on Oct 3, 2015 21:58:25 GMT -5
Looks really good. Make sure the moss under the Tillandsias is not constantly wet or they might rot. They prefer a good soak, then dryness for a while. I have a few different varieties of little vining plants and pepperomias. Happy to take some cuttings and mail them to you if you like. My biggest challenge with them is keeping them from taking over the terrarium. They need to be pruned every few months.
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Post by vraev on Oct 4, 2015 4:49:07 GMT -5
Looking good.
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Post by morphman on Oct 4, 2015 11:11:45 GMT -5
Man it looks like a jungle in there. Very nice. The most common issue that kills plants is overwatering. The ornithocephallus, tillandsias and broms I would put up higher and make sure they get a chance to dry out in between waterings.
Regards
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