[Airedale]

This thread will detail my 75 vert build. I will make a complete thread when I finish, but this one is so I can get feedback, criticism, comments, and suggestions. So here goes. So far, my brother and I have removed the top panel of glass and replaced it with a screen/light hood.


This is an overall view


This shows the screen and hood from above. It is sealed with silicone, and is currently curing. My brother got a little over zealous with the silicone.


The previous owner broke the panel we replaced, so there is some leftover silicone that he smeared on the glass, but most of that mess will be covered by the great stuff background.

[Airedale]

I forgot to say. Originally, I wanted the screen hood to slide over the top of the tank, but my brother mis measured (he was working on it while I was at work), so we just rested the thing on top and attached it in place. I think it will also be nice like this because now I can hide the light fixtures, to some degree. And the screen is 1/4 inch hardware cloth, nice I doubt I will keep anything small in this tank. Mostly larger geckos or reptiles, at this point in time.

Personally, I don't think we have one too badly for a 15 and a 17 year old.

[Riverside Reptiles]

Good start Jim. Take your time and don't get in a rush. Do things right the first time and you'll save yourself a lot of trouble. Remember the old saying, "Measure twice, cut once"!

[Airedale]

That's part of why I am not letting my brother work on it by himself anymore. Lol. He is a good helper, but he likes to go off on his own tangent. Our next job is waiting for our pump to arrive from joshs frogs so we can install a waterfall behind the great stuff.

[Airedale]

We have added the pump, and driftwood, and have begun using great stuff to make the background. We ran out, but that was kinda part of the plan, since I was unsure of the expansion rate. I still have two cans of stone and pond great stuff, but it is low expansion, so I am saving it for the pond area. We are letting it cure overnight, and then I will get more foam to finish up. It is turning out pretty well so far, at least I think so.







We left about a foot of tubing for the waterfall, since we are unsure of where we want it to flow, and we left space on the top and bottom so we have some room for adjusting.

[ajb28221]

Real cool, any progress? What is going in here?

[thebluejackal]

It's looking awesome! Can't wait to see more on this.

[Airedale]

Sorry, it's been a while. Mostly, I have been covering the foam with silicon and coco fiber, and every time I clean up the excess, I find a spot I missed. I also found some spots with cavities from the foam expansion, which I filled with great stuff pond and stone. Those are the black bubbles. I think I am not going to trim them, because I think they kind of look like rocks. Along the waterfall flow, I put a little wall of the same foam to help contain some of the splash and flow.

The is second picture shows the pond experiment. I made a wall from the can of pond and stone great stuff, and it serves as the reservoir for the pump. Just so you know, the sponge and bowl are just there for when I have tested the waterfall.

Sorry about the quality. The camera on my iPad is not the best. To answer questions, I am thinking of having a larger Phelsuma species, tokays, or a larger Uroplatus species. Leaning more towards phelsuma or tokays though.

Next step is getting glass and plexiglass for the front panels, then plants (fake and real ones), and letting it grow in.

[Airedale]

I am also considering putting some kind of frog or salamander for the lower area. Obviously, that wouldn't work with tokays. And I'm not sure if dart frogs would do well with phelsuma.

[Airedale]

Just added some fake plants and vines to get a good look at it like it will be when I am done. Again, picture quality isn't the best, but cest la vie.