18" Cube featuring Brazilian biotope & fake rock background

[Todd S.]

Hey guys,

I thought I'd share one of my recent projects with you!

The tank is an 18" ZooMed cube.
I used 8 fake rocks for the background and filled the gaps with the standard Great Stuff/coco fiber method.
I picked a plant that I really wanted in the tank which was Selaginella SP 'Brazil'. And that lead me to the idea to only use plants native to Brazil.

So Ill start with a few of the photos of the background before I added any plants.All the wood in this tank (which is very minimal) is Manzanita.








Ill post more photos later.


Todd

[Todd S.]

A simple system for drainage.
Just a simple piece of pvc with a cap.
I drilled several small holes at the base of the pipe to allow water to enter into the pipe from the drainage layer. Siliconed the pipe in place. Now when the drainage layer gets full I just remove the pvc cap and use an aquarium siphon to remove the excess water.



The substrate is Schultz Orchid Mix. Contains fir, charcoal, and Arcilite. Drains fairly quick and still retains a healthy amount of moisture.




Todd

[joneill809]

Beautiful! The hardscaping looks great - did you carve/paint the rocks yourself? I can't wait to see the finished viv. Thanks for sharing!

[Todd S.]

Thank you.

I did not do the rocks myself. I ordered them. Im very happy with the quality of them and how easy they were to install.
I did the arrangement myself (That was a little difficult with a couple of the rocks.) And foamed them in place.
Everything between the rocks is your typical Great Stuff/Silicone/Coco fiber method.

Todd

[Todd S.]

Begin planting!

First plant in was Selaginella SP 'Brazil'.



Next, I found some Selaginella erythropus at Lowes. I didnt plan for this to one of the plants. But since it is from Brazil I decided I would add some to the tank.



Todd

[JayMillz]

That looks like its coming together very nicely for you. Do you have any particular frogs that you plan on placing in it?

[Todd S.]

This one will not have frogs at all.

It has been coming together. But I just discovered what I believe are thrips on my Ruellia! It is so frustrating. You put in so much effort and then some stupid insect messes it all up!

Todd