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Good little starter viv

This is what our member has to say: The waterfall was fairly easy. I wanted to be able to take the whole thing out of the cage for cleaning so I used a ...


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Good little starter viv



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  #11  
07-25-2007, 11:58 PM
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Gewanchuk
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Re: Good little starter viv

The waterfall was fairly easy. I wanted to be able to take the whole thing out of the cage for cleaning so I used a 1/8" plexiglass backing instead of foaming the actual walls in the cage. Two pieces siliconed together at a 90 degree angle with GE II black silicone. Then I cut a peice of plywood for the base. I cut the plywood shorter than the plexiglass (2") to allow for the foam to cover the plywood without extruding beyond the plexiglass backing. I drilled some holes in the plexiglass where I wanted the plywood and attached it using small brass screws. The base added alot of support to the flimsy plexi. After that I just applied some polyurethane foam (great stuff-red can) in layers. Let one layer dry before applying the next one or you'll end up with a useless foam block. Basically I kept tracing a square on the edge of the plywood base until I had the height I wanted. After I had the edges done I just blended the rest of it in to the backing to look more natural and not like I used a piece of plywood for a waterfall. This foam is great for carving. I carved the spout of the waterfall really easily. When the foam was set according to the directions I used a whole bunch of silicone to seal everything which was the biggest pain in the *** of the whole thing. Two tubes of black and one of white. They mix very well to get all kinds of shades of grey. After fixing numerous leaks and testing this thing in my sink, it finally held. The pump is a fluval 305 canister filter with the hoses coming in through the back of the canopy I made. Unfortunately I read the directions of the pump after I assembled everything. They tell you that the water level should not be more than 7" from the top of the aquarium so the pump doesn't have to work so hard to suck the water up. Mine's about 16" from the top. Needless to say, I have to fill the hoses with water prior to starting my pump. Another big pain. You live you learn. I hope I've explained everything. Anything else I can help with would be my pleasure.

  #12  
07-26-2007, 12:08 AM
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Re: Good little starter viv

I forgot to mention that the reason I used silicone is that for all the difficulties in spreading it and actually coating something with it, it cost me about 20 bucks as opposed to 60 for epoxy. Also you don't have to paint it or worry about the gloss. Good for small jobs like this. I worried about the toxicity but the folks at black jungle terrarium, among many others, use this stuff for frogs all the time.

  #13  
 I helped move the meter!   07-26-2007, 08:44 AM
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Re: Good little starter viv

yes, once silicone is dry, its non-toxic. I used it all over my frog vivarium.

I just aquired 4 new frogs which brings my total up to 7. I'm keeping my eyes open for a used TV cabinet with doors so I can create a new, large vivarium for all of them. I like your waterfall idea and I too would like it to be totally removable for cleaning. Thanks.
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