First Try on a Viv/Palu Biuld--29gal

[Bigdan2181]

Dry run. Had to shave some foam off to get a good fit. Still thinking about how to do the 'waterfall' or not. The pvc supports are 3/4 inch and sprayed with Krylon fusion, two coats. Each shelf will have a total of 5 legs to support it.

[Bigdan2181]

NO MORE SILICONE AND COCO FIBER!!!
The Titebond III Wood Glue and substrate method is so much easier. The mixture appears to be darkening as it dries, but I might try adding some color to the mix when I do the DIY background later. Will do another coat after Thanksgiving. Only draw back to this method that I can see is it takes a long time for the mixture to dry. I hate waiting : )

[Fishies_in_Philly]

it's getting there Dan. after you paint on the next coat , sprinkle dry peat or coc while the glue is still wet, it will give you that "fuzzy" look. and if you have enough humidity in the tank, you may get some fungal growth from the peat. some fungii are good

[Fishies_in_Philly]

btw, i would add a center support to each of those, which i am sure you already planned. and what are your plans to cover up the supports? going to plant heavily in that area?

[Bigdan2181]

Thinking plants or big rock. What do you think? Any suggestions on plants.


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[Fishies_in_Philly]

Why not both? You can tie some anubias to rocks. Just keep perspective and scale in mind.. and you can mix them up, some minima, some nana, maybe a coffeefolia. Got plans for substrate?

[Fishies_in_Philly]

How did your peat/titebond work out? Mine clumped up, as expected. But i only was doing it that way to darken my end result.

[lochaber]

If you are planning on having plants in there, I wouldn't worry too much, they will hide/obscure quite a bit.

Most of the aquatic mosses will also grow terrestrially if they can keep their feet damp.

And even algae can help with camouflage and such.

If your concerned about how that little bit of foam will look, I think sanding/cuttting/roughing it up will work better then gluing stuff on to it. The esposed pores/cavities will be more suitable for algae and moss to grow on then the current surface.

Plus, you can still do the silicone and coco fiber methods (or anything similar)

[Bigdan2181]

Any recommendations on shallow water plants. I would like something that grows out rather than up.

[Fishies_in_Philly]

dwarf hairgrass would work. anubias nana 'petite" would as well. in fact, if you plant any of the anubias close to the surface, they will eventually break the surface and start to grow semi emersed. rotala mexicana 'goias' stays small. so does staurgyne repens. then you have hc, glosso, pretty much ground cover, it really depends on what look you are going for.