Vivarium Construction Progress/Log

[Soopaman]

I am currently building an 18"x18"x24" vivarium for highland nepenthes and related climate plants and CPs. I'll be posting on here pictures of the build process, which should, for the most part, be completed tomorrow after my order of plants arrives. Hopefully this build log/process will inspire others or be a good reference to folks in the future.

Anyhow, thanks to the fellows CP'ers on here for the previous experience with building these that has helps me decide how/what I wanted to do.

Initially I wanted to do the entire background via the living clay method that Swords used for one of his vivariums. After debating on it, I decided that my waterflow process I had planned would not be good with the clay, and erosion would likely occur. Therefore, I thought it more appropriate to use the Great Stuff expander foam and black silicone to form my water flow/waterfall area, which is what I did today. Tomorrow I will be doing the living clay for the rest of the background and adding the plants.

Starting off

Added rock and reshaped

Added peat/sand/dry LFS soil mix

More to come tomorrow!

 

[swords]

It will be nice to watch this take shape.

I too am considering my options for a waterfall tank design that I want to do for the crabs made with foam "rocks" covered in a thin skin of sculpted portland cement. The mud will go in between the rocks for lithophytes and mosses to get started on but I too felt water running directly over the mud itself would surely erode over time and discolor the pooling water and possibly play havoc with the PH.

 

[mass]

Uh oh Swords.. some competition!

 

[Kyle]

Now that you've got a place to keep the water where you want it, you could still do the living clay around it, couldn't you? I'll be watching this closely because I, too, want to do a viv with a living wall but also want a water feature. To me, this looks pretty promising. Subscribed.

 

[seedjar]

Ditto. I'm about to start on my own projects so I'm very curious.
~Joe

 

[Soopaman]

Thanks for the replies, folks.

I ran into a few issues today, chiefly that the accessories I ordered with my plants were shipped seperately, and won't arrive until next Wednesday. I had to order a pump and the hydroton clay balls off of Amazon and get it overnighted so I can finish working on it tomorrow before the plants start to suffer. Anyhow, here is what I was able to complete today. The clay is very workable/shapeable, surprisingly.

 

[dionae]

Looks good. Can't wait to see your finished product.

 

[uphwiz]

very cool looking forward to seeing the completed project , keep us up to date

 

[Soopaman]

Okay, I got most of it done today. I have some Ghost Wood branches that will be coming in next Wednesday, so I will be adding those and the white rabbit foot ferns, as well as another planters bowl for my N. Truncata (Paisan Highland) that I didn't have room for.

Here was the original clay design before adding anything else. I have the clay wall supported by some concrete bricks, approximately 2"x4"x8". It kept sliding down on me, so I had to put something under it to support it. The clay substrate is Zoo Med Hydro balls. If anyone decides to use this, I highly recomend soaking them first, as when I added water, it immediately turned brown. The motor for the water feature is held in the small cave down to the left:

Here I have the ground level area done, and a beautiful brown waterfall flowing
The substrate on the bottom is 1 part peat, 1.5 parts peat, 1 part perlite, and 1 part vermiculite. Eventually I plan to have some drosera down there.

Everything planted. The two CPs in here currently are N. Lowii (Trusmadi) on the left (he's about to take a tumble, I had to reshape the bowl, it was unstable) and then N. Spectalabis x Ventricosa on the upper right. If you want to know what the other plants in there are, let me know and I will post a labeled picture.

And here I have turned on the fogger. N. Truncata happens to be squatting on the mainland for now, he'll be moved next week when the rest of the stuff comes:

And the beautiful rig for my fogger (hidden discreetly behind the vivarium):

---------- Post added at 11:06 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:28 PM ----------

It will be nice to watch this take shape.

I too am considering my options for a waterfall tank design that I want to do for the crabs made with foam "rocks" covered in a thin skin of sculpted portland cement. The mud will go in between the rocks for lithophytes and mosses to get started on but I too felt water running directly over the mud itself would surely erode over time and discolor the pooling water and possibly play havoc with the PH.

The waterfall initially sort of dribbled down and immediately and rapidly started to erode the clay. I think the stuff is okay slightly wet, but soaked or having running water over it is no good, it's just too maleable for that. I'm really glad now that I decided to go with spray foam instead of trying to do the waterfall with the clay. And yes, the pooling was discolored pretty quick, but I've got it settled out fairly well now.

 

[RSS]

Looking good so far. I love watching vivarium's develope, they start to get a mind of there own and plants grow in ways you never wanted them too.

I would be careful about adding a rabbit's foot fern in there, they get pretty large with good care.

 

[Soopaman]

Looking good so far. I love watching vivarium's develope, they start to get a mind of there own and plants grow in ways you never wanted them too.

I would be careful about adding a rabbit's foot fern in there, they get pretty large with good care.

Thanks for the info on the rabbits foot fern. I know they're pretty easy to grow, so I'll make sure I keep it trimmed back how I want it.

And yeah, I know its going to get a mind of its own, but hopefully I can keep it tailored to how I want it, or at least close to how I "envision" it.

As a side note, I've order some live LFS, and wiill be placing it on the ground layer in between the rocks, as well as in the pots on the walls.

Also, does anyone know of a good creeping moss or other plant that will do good on the walls? I like how the walls are sculpted, but I don't want to keep them bare, and I don't think it's going to hold up well for the long haul without some roots keeping it together.

 

[Dexenthes]

Hey your vivarium's starting to look terrific! It probably wont be too long before some of those neps get too big for the cage though. I'm especially thinking about the spectabilis x ventricosa. But You'll worry about that
when it happens. For now they will be very happy!

Love the waterfall and the ground level, it all looks very nice. Can't wait to see it all grow in!

 

[Soopaman]

Hey your vivarium's starting to look terrific! It probably wont be too long before some of those neps get too big for the cage though. I'm especially thinking about the spectabilis x ventricosa. But You'll worry about that
when it happens. For now they will be very happy!

Love the waterfall and the ground level, it all looks very nice. Can't wait to see it all grow in!

Thanks!

I've thought about that, and when it does grow too big I've got a few options:
1. Cut it and give away/trade the cuttings here.
2. Trade the whole plant for something smaller that I want (baby hamata or edwardsiana, anyone? )
3. Take it out of the terrarium and grow it in something larger, provided I am out of my parents house then.

 

[Dexenthes]

Thanks!

I've thought about that, and when it does grow too big I've got a few options:
1. Cut it and give away/trade the cuttings here.
2. Trade the whole plant for something smaller that I want (baby hamata or edwardsiana, anyone? )
3. Take it out of the terrarium and grow it in something larger, provided I am out of my parents house then.

At least you've thought it out! Those all sound like good options.

 

[RSS]

I would just let things grow a while and you will end up with moss. I would try to find some liverworts or something else to keep the mosses out, but I consider almost all mosses a pest. If the area your wanting covered if always moist you can get java moss to grow very well. Its easy to get also. If most of your plants are growing off the medium and you don't have tiny plants, live LFS would be great. It will outpace most shorter plants.

Another options would be Utric. graminifolia (it is weedy, but can make a great carpet), Plagiomnium affine works great too. Its harder to find. I have some Riccia growing now I'm trying to get an emersed carpet to grow. Its very very slow but working so far.

Just keep in mind that any of those plants are very hard to get out once they are in.

 

[Soopaman]

I would just let things grow a while and you will end up with moss. I would try to find some liverworts or something else to keep the mosses out, but I consider almost all mosses a pest. If the area your wanting covered if always moist you can get java moss to grow very well. Its easy to get also. If most of your plants are growing off the medium and you don't have tiny plants, live LFS would be great. It will outpace most shorter plants.

Another options would be Utric. graminifolia (it is weedy, but can make a great carpet), Plagiomnium affine works great too. Its harder to find. I have some Riccia growing now I'm trying to get an emersed carpet to grow. Its very very slow but working so far.

Just keep in mind that any of those plants are very hard to get out once they are in.

Thanks for the tip. Of any of those, Java moss sounds like what I will likely get for the walls. I have some Live LFS coming in tomorrow that I will be putting on the waterline and as a topdressing in the pots.



The branches came in today, and I got them set up with moderate to no trouble. I'm using one of the larger logs to shore up the top pot that holds the Ventricosa x Spectalabis. I'm afraid that after time the top section will dry out enough that it will lose grip on the glass, hopefully not. I need to get something growing in that clay to keep it held together :/

Anyhow, the current incarnation:

 

[dionae]

Looks very nice.

 

[swords]

I'm loving it!

 

[Soopaman]

Thanks!

Added the Live sphagnum along the waterline and in the pots today.

Also, swords, do you have any problem with your living clay drying out along the top? Mine has been slowly drying around the edges, and I have been misting to keep it moist, but I am afraid it is going to dry and crack away from the glass. Any suggestions or ideas on what to do about it?

 

[swords]

Does your clay run all the way to the floor of the tank (not just the soil level)? This helps the clay soak up enough water to stay well hydrated. I realized in my own designs that any clay not conneceted to the main mass will dry up even with misting, It must be a continuous mass.

But no, I don't have drying problems unless I quit watering intentionally. When I start them up I plant it heavily from the beginning with 1" clumps of moss and plant cuttings scattered about the background and I gently soak it every day with a garden sprayer until the moss & plants root and spread. I use one of those 1 gallon pump action types used for fertilizers or pesticides (make sure it's new and never been used for those) you can adjust the nozzle from a solid stream to a gentle mist and just squeeze the trigger and flip a switch to keep it on to get a good soaking "rain". This device is the best for soaking everyday, the hand mister needs a lot of pumping to achieve the same level of wetness.