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Post by prmills on Jun 6, 2008 0:08:01 GMT -5
So... until I get more plants, I had to take my bog apart I couldn't hack seeing the sarr go from nice, to blown over, to tiny pitchers any more. I took my sarr and vft's out and repotted them for the tank. Maybe when a couple get expendable, if that's possible. Anyways, I found some sphagnum moss in Edmonton at a place called Holes Greenhouses. $7 for 150g brick. Here's some pics of the new/old additions on better notes, I noticed that the ceph has divided ;D It's got tiny pitchers and 2 non-carn leaves, yay!
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Post by vraev on Jun 6, 2008 3:05:31 GMT -5
Your plants...especially the sarr and the ping look freaking amazing man. Keep up the good work.
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Post by prmills on Jun 6, 2008 13:50:07 GMT -5
Thanks vraev, much appreciated!
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Post by vraev on Jun 8, 2008 2:42:44 GMT -5
you're welcome Peter. Good luck with your terrarium.
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Post by calorchis on Jun 10, 2008 23:45:43 GMT -5
Long time no post, but I just had to comment and say thank you for posting your sequence of setup photos, and what a great system you have going there! Great job I'm just wondering - using a water reservoir underneath to keep humidity up is a fantastic idea that I may have to steal. How is the pond filter working for you in keeping the water clean? I tried using a huge rubber maid container as a humidity tray one year, and so much algae grew that I had to replace the water every 2 weeks, and hauling that thing to the toilet was a pain in the arse! Using a pump is a great idea! Secondly, would the high humidity damage your lights? I have some T5s, which I have been explicitly warned not to use over an aquarium as they will fry under high humidity...as a result, I have resorted to covering my tank with glass. Keep up the great work!
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Post by prmills on Jun 11, 2008 15:45:51 GMT -5
So far, the water is still clean and I havn't had to change it yet, no algae growing either. I liked the pump for that same reason, this tank would not be moveable, so how else was I going to get that water out?? It works anyways, plus I use the pump water to fill the trays that the plants are in As for the lights.... well, all I have is dual T12 fixture right now with alot of air flow going through it (ends arn't closed off). It hasn't damaged anything yet. My tentative plans for the light hood I'm going to make is 4 or 6 T8s in a wood frame, clear plastic screwed to the bottom (facing into tank) and slits on the top for heat escape. Something similar to this www.thekrib.com/Lights/Lobos/ but it will cover the entire tank. I havn't figured out how I'm gonna be able to move it, either with handles on th end to pick it up or set it on something to make a hindging system, or But so far, the water is still as clean as when I put it in, prob due to my lack of lighting. It's bottled, so I better not find any mineral build up in the hood itself Not sure it that answers you or not, but the hardware for the lights are looking fine right now.
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Post by calorchis on Jun 11, 2008 22:20:25 GMT -5
Sweet - that's a great idea. And thanks so much for the link for those light hood instructions - I've been looking for something like that! Good luck with your terrarium and keep us updated!
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Post by prmills on Jul 4, 2008 14:42:33 GMT -5
I worked on my light hood this last week/weekend and am finished, yay With that said, this was my first attempt at staining wood and trying to make something "look good" and be usable, it partially worked Anywho... I went into Edmonton with a list of parts to get but it changed when I got there of course. I was going to get everything seperately and integrate it into the hood. I went into Rona, the ballasts themselves were $22 each and end caps were $6 a pair alone. So I kept looking at they actually had a dual T8 shop light fixture for a regular price of $18, so I got 3 instead. After getting home, I removed the reflecters, lightly sanded them down, and spray painted them crome as I heard this works better than white for reflection. So here they were... Before After My next issue was how do I make the hood itself. I bought 1x4's for the frame and placed a 1x4 in the top middle as a seperator, sunk all the screws and covered them with wood filler. I attempted to get all 3 fixtures in there, but it was impossible unless I wanted to have one raised quite a bit, oh well. After this, I put 1 coat of stain on it, ended up being a little darker then I had hoped, but still worked. I did this first to cover the inside facing edges of the hood. I then screwed the fixtures into the hood, filled the holes again and then put one more coat of stain on it. Mental note for next time though, wood filler does not stain as nice as the wood itself, so you got to make sure ANY excess is sanded off, you can really notice in the final pic on top of the terrarrium... Final product Since the stain stunk, I let it sit for a week or so and now have it on my tank I can already see the differant on the plants over a few days. My VFT's are finally getting colour again, for that matter, everything is starting to get colour again. For bulbs, I used Philips Nature Sunshine full spectrum T8's. Each bulb has 2950 lumens, CRI of 86 and colour temp of 5000k. These were only $4 each so I figured why not. Also, the hood is not enclosed, the fixtures had space between them and the wood to allow some air flow, but not as much as my last hood. I'm hoping if I keep it like this, the less electronics I'll need in the tank and more space for CPs ;D Since these pics, I've added one more layer so that my seedlings and VFTs are that much closer. Also, I've taken my cold strat seeds out and placed them under lights too. Hope some come up. It's been six weeks and I can see some drosera but that's it so far. YAY!
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Post by prmills on Jul 4, 2008 14:45:28 GMT -5
As for moving it, I forgot about that aspect until I had it fully assembled and stained... I was thinking if cutting openings in the end as handles, but alas... Anyways, with it being square and all, it works pretty good, I just stand it up on edge and don't have to worry about it falling over anymore I'll still have to move it off to get my trays in and out, if I ever want to do that. Still gives good space to move around in there though Again, yay!
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Post by prmills on Jul 4, 2008 14:48:49 GMT -5
oh, I guess I also forgot to mention... with the filter system I have, I had no where to plug the pump into and no way to get the cord out of the tank. I thought of hard wireing it with the lights, but didn't like that idea. I ended up drilling a notch along the bottom of the wood just big enough for the width of the cord to escape and for the hood to sit flush with the tank. Working good so far.
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Post by vraev on Jul 4, 2008 16:12:35 GMT -5
that looks fantastic. you could grow some stellar neps in there.
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Post by Flytrap on Jul 5, 2008 10:12:40 GMT -5
Varun! Looks like you're on the high road to another passion and joy ...one that has already struck the likes of Sib, sdeering and myself - the wonderful world of FROGS! (and CPs, which we all know you've been lovestruck). I figured this out from your new tagline: VARUN | SUPPORT THE AMPHIBIAN ARK | We all share one world, and we are only one small species on this planet. Let's see what we can all do to preserve and support all living creatures - especially the Frogs. For those who are not aware of what is going on, there is currently a terrible ravaging disease killing frogs around our planet at an alarming rate. Check out the Amphibian Ark. thanks.
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Post by vraev on Jul 5, 2008 12:23:14 GMT -5
Hi D,
I wrote a big message here but i removed it and made a new thread. lol!
You are right...I am hit with the amphibian bug. I love those cute little frogs. I have been watching the videos and feel the utmost sorrow.
yeah D! if I could..I would have had red eyed tree frogs in a terrarium right now...but I can't take another such commitment right now in this volatile stage of my life. Hence for now...I am keeping myself content with my darling cp's and just watching pics and movies of the frogs.
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Post by prmills on Jul 6, 2008 15:09:01 GMT -5
hmmm... if you do frogs with CP's I imagine you have to have a planted terrarrium right? I don't think my current set-up would be good for them would it? Maybe down the road if I can get my hands on a 120gal tank, I'll convert this one into a planted tank and get some frogs... already tempted now, but I got to go a wee bit slower in my expansion. I havn't looked, but does anyone have pics of their tanks w/frogs in them?
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Post by calorchis on Oct 26, 2008 1:39:04 GMT -5
This is a fantastic construction journal - thanks for posting it. It looks really great! Just two questions - how did you fasten the light fixtures to the hood, and how does the hood sit on the tank (does it just rest on the edge?)
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