Talvari
Aquarium Advice FINatic
- Joined
- Sep 7, 2011
- Messages
- 732
So I figured I'd catalog my first ever attempt at building a vivarium for a leopard frog that I "rescued" from being a feeder at work. I received a free 20 gallon high aquarium and was originally going to use it as a fish tank, but after cleaning it, I found a rather large crack in the upper portion of the tank. Oh well.
I scrubbed the tank really well with a mild vinegar/warm water mixture to get the mud and hard water stains off of it. After rinsing repeatedly to get the horrid smell of vinegar out of it, I dried it off. I taped a bit of tracing paper on it and began to sketch out about how I want it to look, height, length, etc of the false bottom.
I went out to home depot last night and purchased (or, rather, conned my hubby into purchasing since I didn't get paid until this morning) some basic supplies.
-6 pieces of PVC connectors
-"Weed Block" mesh
-Egg Crate, also known as a light diffuser
-Zip ties
In addition, I needed a few tools lying around the house.
-Wire snips: they seem to work best to 'cut' the egg crate. When I say cut, I really mean shatter, break, and generally cause a mess.
-Scissors to cut the zip ties/weed block
-Dremel tool to drill drainage holes in the PVC pipe
-Aquarium sealant to adhere décor/ etc, though that will come a little later.
My next step was to painstakingly drill the drainage holes in the PVC "legs". They are not symmetrical by any means, but it doesn't really matter too much since you wont be seeing them in the final product. There are six holes, two on either side towards the middle, and one on each side of the bottom.
I laid out all of the PVC about where I wanted it. Since I've never done this sort of setup before, I want everything to be a removable fixture just in case something goes wrong. Hopefully, I will not have to adhere the PVC to the tank and the simple weight of all the soil and stuff will keep it in place.
The next step was to measure and cut the Egg Crate. I caution you to wear some sort of eye protection... Those little plastic pieces really get some air on them when you snip them off. I also suggest NOT doing it in a carpeted area... Those little pieces are also masters of disguise. You WILL step on a piece, and you will get a piece of acrylic lodged in the bottom of your foot... But I digress.
The egg crate is pretty delicate, too, so you have to work slowly and carefully so you don't break off any corners like I did. That's ok... I'll just cut another small piece and fit it later. This piece is just about 10 inches long, and it is a snug twelve inches across.
I scrubbed the tank really well with a mild vinegar/warm water mixture to get the mud and hard water stains off of it. After rinsing repeatedly to get the horrid smell of vinegar out of it, I dried it off. I taped a bit of tracing paper on it and began to sketch out about how I want it to look, height, length, etc of the false bottom.
I went out to home depot last night and purchased (or, rather, conned my hubby into purchasing since I didn't get paid until this morning) some basic supplies.
-6 pieces of PVC connectors
-"Weed Block" mesh
-Egg Crate, also known as a light diffuser
-Zip ties
In addition, I needed a few tools lying around the house.
-Wire snips: they seem to work best to 'cut' the egg crate. When I say cut, I really mean shatter, break, and generally cause a mess.
-Scissors to cut the zip ties/weed block
-Dremel tool to drill drainage holes in the PVC pipe
-Aquarium sealant to adhere décor/ etc, though that will come a little later.
My next step was to painstakingly drill the drainage holes in the PVC "legs". They are not symmetrical by any means, but it doesn't really matter too much since you wont be seeing them in the final product. There are six holes, two on either side towards the middle, and one on each side of the bottom.
I laid out all of the PVC about where I wanted it. Since I've never done this sort of setup before, I want everything to be a removable fixture just in case something goes wrong. Hopefully, I will not have to adhere the PVC to the tank and the simple weight of all the soil and stuff will keep it in place.
The next step was to measure and cut the Egg Crate. I caution you to wear some sort of eye protection... Those little plastic pieces really get some air on them when you snip them off. I also suggest NOT doing it in a carpeted area... Those little pieces are also masters of disguise. You WILL step on a piece, and you will get a piece of acrylic lodged in the bottom of your foot... But I digress.
The egg crate is pretty delicate, too, so you have to work slowly and carefully so you don't break off any corners like I did. That's ok... I'll just cut another small piece and fit it later. This piece is just about 10 inches long, and it is a snug twelve inches across.