Building Large Terrarium/Vivarrium

16 years ago

OK I know people here have already hit the subject in regards to building large viv/ter, However I have a different challenge I have a 144Lx36Wx36H for a total of 900+ gallons. It used to be my salt water reef tank and we took it down 2 years ago since we built a slightly larger one in the rec room down stairs.

OK so the tank is made out of acrylic 1 1/2 is this going to limit me using foam? Also I would love somehow to do a double layer i.e. fish in the bottom with a lagoon on top then the plants and frogs and stuff. My question is how would I divide such a large area and can I keep my orchids in there since the should be good with humidity and not too much watering.

Please ask away I have been thinking about this for almost a year and have decided that it needs to be done next month. As far as anything that I may need just let me know I own a pet store so getting any equipment should be pretty easy.

Thanks In Advance

Miko

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Comments (2)

deadhamster
16 years ago
The size shouldn't limit you on being able to use the foam, but I would bet it will cost quite a bit. I haven't tried using foam with acrylic before, but I am sure others here have. The only problem with it I can think of would be mold releases. If the acrylic has any mold release chemicals in it, they will leach out over time and cause the foam to release. But being that it was a fish tank, I would assume they didn't use mold releases to make it because they are probably toxic to the fish. Also being acrylic, you can always anchor any heavy branches to the background just by drilling holes in it and using screws. Just make sure you drill them above your desired water level to avoid leaks. If I was building a terrarium out of a tank like that thats exactly how I would do it. Separating the sections wouldn't be any different than a small terrarium, so look at some other threads here to see how people do it. You can always caulk a piece of plexi in as a divider.

{{gwi:568366}}

-DH
keepbusy
Original Author
16 years ago
OK thats exactly what I was worried about. I didnt know if the foam would adhere to the acrylic well. Also I really dont want to drill into this tank WAY TOO EXPENSIVE to drill into. So lets say I do the foam method, which is the best foam to use? Also can it handle being submerged under water and having to hold some weight? I know that I will install pylons then spray the foam around it so that the foam is not holding up 400+ lbs.

I also understand since its fresh water stay away from any limetone type of rock that will make my H20 too hard, what I would like to know what light colored stone is out there that doesnt leech calcium?

For filtering purposes I was just going to use the 100gallon refugium that I had for the salt water set-up since I have the large sumps in the basement would those be of any use to me?

Thanks
Miko
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