Its leakproof!!!! The resin didnt leak out!!! the color looks alright so far im over the moon š¤©.
Im still going to do one big pour, and one paint on clear coating. š
We've figured out the ventilation, we're going to run 6 fans, 3 on each side on the bottom š im going to get the fans and cut the holes next š then pond epoxy the rest of the enclosure.
The mesh for the top hasn't been figured out yet, if anyone has and reccomendations/links for a mesh top please drop them in the comments š
by Condition_Alarming
7 Comments
Bro!! This is amazing!! The SPACE!!! It’s fucking huge!! What species are you thinking of using it for?!? Please keep posting so I can see the progress!!
This nerd is very happy for you and I await the after photos.
The nerd is very happy and slightly jealous š but thats soo bomb bro what ya putting in
Please keep us updated with this! Looks great and Iām excited to see how it turns out. How many other tanks have you built? Just curious how long it took you to get to this point that you wanted to go custom.
This is awesome. What are the dimensions?
Looks great!
Looks nice and I wish you luck! I personally would be careful with leaving any exposed wood because of the rot/fungus growth…but I’m overly protective.
Having build a few dozen terrarium and vivarium combined here is my suggestions”:
1. Don’t underestimate access. Make sure you can easily access EVERYTHING. Every single aspect, down to the plants should be free to remove or access you should be able to quickly change/move edit, repair every single item in that enclosure. I’ve had things I fixed permanently in place go bad and really screwed myself trying to fix and repair. All your holes in our out should be conduit only and not the actual part permanently adhered in place.
2. I prefer to keep my plants in a container (pot) but creativity hide the pot. I’ll keep an orchid or a philodendron in a pot and hot glue moss to the pot to hide the container.
This is related to access idea above. If a plant dies on a ” living wall” now you have an ugly dead plant and it’s rotting roots affecting other plants and the visual vibe of the tank. What if that plant develops scale or whatever? It’s easy to take a pot out and quarantine/rehab it when it’s potted.
3. Quarantine EVERYTHING that goes into that enclosure for roughly 1 month. I like to have at least 2 or 3 quarantine stages. Stage 1: An immediately after purchase quarantine and stage 2 or 3 is a “ready to introduce” to the enclosure location. Introduction of a bad critter/fungus/disease will ruin the enclosure rapidly. I’ve made the mistake in the past!
4. Clean up crew.
Isopods, springtails, snails, crabs, to eat the detritus of the tank. Shit goes sour/bad really fast if you do not have a cleanup crew. Part of this is also to grow all of these items yourself, so it’s best to set up a support nursery for reproduction of your clean up crew.
5. Have a really solid medical and treatments plan for the livestock (plants included) of the enclosure. Feed scheduling; who will take care of it if you go away for a week? What happens if my frog gets sick?.. just think of all that stuff and have a go to list to ensure your livestock stay alive and healthy.
Not super important but helpful to consider:
5: Dedicated tools: keep all your tools nearby. Make sure you enter and exit with cleaned (spray with rubbing alcohol) tools. I’ve seen orchid growers/nursery’ use M.A.P. gas blowtorch to clean their shears between plants to prevent cross contamination and disease spread. Carelessness leads to sickness. I started doing it when I work with my bonsai and tropical plants and have had noticeably less stress or die off.
6: Invest in better equipment IE Pumps fans lights filters etc.. There are tons of shit products you can get on Amazon but those parts tend to fail as fast as they arrive. Lights go bad, fans stop working. Get a decent uninterrupted power supply for critical life support electronics.
Humidity will be critical for plants and livestock but if you buy a shit humidity reader that dies in a few months then you are screwed.
7. Keep a good and steady maintenance schedule. You’d be surprised how fast your soil breaks down and goes sour, or your plants overgrow, or your filters clog, fans ball bearings start to make sounds and need oiled. Be ready for it by staying ahead if it. But buying better parts will help tremendously!
General note. I’d add a HEPA air filter going IN to the enclosure. That will keep our dust, polens etc that came make things go bad fast. Nothing like having a fruit/fungus fly breeding ground when one inevitably gets in because you didn’t quarantine a plant long enough to stop their growth. Watch YouTube videos. There is a TON of free and valuable information out there.fimd what suits your needs and try those ideas..
Best of luck to you.