Giant DIY 600 Gallon Jungle Vivarium

[Music] yo what's going on serpa squad tanner here and it's finally time to set up my 600 gallon vivarium it's been in the works for at least a year and i'm so excited to finally see it come to fruition the enclosure itself is a custom-built piece that measures 72 inches wide 24 inches deep and 87 inches tall i'll link up a tutorial i did a few months back if you want to see how i built it anyway i'm tired of seeing an empty tank let's go i'll start with the backgrounds i'm using xps insulation foam as the base material i mostly have scrap pieces to work with so i have to piece it together i also had to account for the side ventilation holes which you'll see on the side pieces i marked along the front for an area i'll taper toward the back of the enclosure i used a hot wire carving tool to easily cut this out i went on to attach the foam to the sides of the tank with silicone i applied a generous amount to each piece i secured the side panels first then i put the back pieces in place doing it this way allows the boards to lock each other in place i left it all to cure for a few days let's get to escaping my vision is to create something that resembles the look of trees i figure that's the best type of escape for this enclosure since it's so tall for that i'll use these large cork round tubes i got from my friends over at josh's frogs getting pieces like this is always a process but they are kind enough to provide them for the build anyway i have to bring them together to create a cohesive look i stacked up some of the largest pieces to get an idea of how they could fit together i drilled holes near where they meet up and lock them together with zip ties i'll hide these later so it's no issue that they're visible now i situated this newly created piece in the tank i worked in more large pieces to really bring home that tree look i mentioned before i went back with smaller pieces to create the branches i had to wire a few of them up to ensure i like the placement of everything this also secures it all in place while i lock it together with expanding foam the foam will stick to the surfaces but it helps to rough up the insulation board i drilled holes in it to create more surface area for the foam to adhere to i applied the expanding foam along all the contact points between the wood and the insulation i also put it between the larger branches for more stability i let the foam cure overnight the scape looked good and secure which meant it was time to carve i'll use a wire brush drill bit for the bulk of the work it adds texture but i'm primarily using it to get good shape i would have used the hot wire tool from before but i couldn't because of the fumes the texture from the brush could work but it starts to look like a pattern if you really look so i went back with a kitchen knife and scraped the surface to create irregularities i also went over it with a wire brush to blend the various textures together for a really cohesive look i vacuumed up the debris since i combined several pieces of foam together there are noticeable lines all over the background if i were to cover the background as is you'd see them so i mixed up grout and sand with water i painted it onto the background accordingly and let it dry at this point the background is completely carved and i have the base scape in place next i'll paint over the foam which will really bring it together i'm going with the dry lock method for this one i got white tintable dry lock and mixed it with charcoal pigments to create a black base coat as always i think this is the most important layer it will establish all of the detail by filling in the cracks and crevices i painted two coats of black over all of the foam i also painted the foamed areas on the hardscape i let each layer dry overnight then i went back with drylock i tinted brown using a dry brush technique the bristles are lightly coated with paint which allows just the raised areas to pick up the paint this keeps the recessed areas a darker color which helps make the piece look really detailed if this was any other tank i likely would have added more highlights but this is going to look like a jungle at the end plants will cover almost everything and very little background will show through so two colors should suffice i went on to embellish the hardscape with branches of manzanita wood which were also provided by josh's frogs my idea here was to make these look like branches from a dead tree or branches from the same trees where bark fell off i integrated them into the scape in a way i felt complemented everything else i secured them with expanding foam which i processed like the rest of the background i also wanted to include jungle vines i've shown how to make these before with cotton rope however after years of use i've determined they don't hold up long term the rope degrades and only silicone and cocoa fiber remain which causes them to break so for this one i'll use ropes made with synthetic materials which should hold up indefinitely i put the ropes in the tank to get an idea of how long they should be i cut them down accordingly i applied a generous amount of silicone to the rope i dropped it into cocoa fiber that i squeezed into the silicone this process is time consuming but it's a cheap way to create great looking vines this will only work with cocoa fiber that's bone dry though otherwise the moisture causes the silicone to cure prematurely and the fiber wanted here properly i let the vine sit outside for a few days to cure i went on to add them to the tank i wrapped various sized vines together over areas where they're secure without any adhesives my idea was to make it look like a bunch of gnarly vines working their way up to the canopy of the forest i also had all the vines returned to a central location on the right side of the tank i wanted it to look like they'd branch out from a single plant after that i had to wash everything off i put the jet nozzle on the hose and sprayed it down for at least 20 minutes at first you'll notice a lot of suds are created in the process this isn't a problem but apparently whatever it is keeps plants from growing up the background i spray it down until the water runs clean and from what i've seen this makes it work well now i'll add the false bottom for the drainage element i'll go with the tried and true lika i've tried countless materials and methods over the years but i feel like i tend to have the best results with my vivariums that i use these in i poured them into a bucket and filled it with water this clears away debris and gives the pellets time to absorb water which will aid in humidity retention i let them soak for a few hours i put a piece of geotextile fabric over the bulkhead drain in the bottom then i built up a layer of leeca in the bottom of the tank since there's a drain this layer doesn't need to be very deep i built up around an inch and a half worth of material i covered all of this with the drainage barrier which is more geotextile fabric this is the best option because it keeps all debris out of the false bottom while other materials like screen allow smaller particles to sneak through [Music] i cut the fabric to fit around the branches i also curled it up on the sides of the tank this creates a bowl of sorts for the substrate and keeps it from going down into the false bottom i went back and applied expanding foam around the branches to seal off the cracks then i went on to mix up the substrate i'm throwing everything in the kitchen sink at this one because i want to ensure longevity i started with the materials that need to expand cocoa fiber and cocoa chips i added those to a mixing tub along with the other components including horticultural charcoal orchid bark aqua soil sphagnum moss and tree fern fibers i thoroughly mixed them all together then i added black sand the result is a really fluffy mix which is ideal for a setup like this it allows for proper soil aeration even in humid conditions which is crucial for a lot of tropical plants such as ferns i cleaned up the foam from before and added the substrate i built up a substantial layer that's around 3 inches deep in the front and 12 inches deep in the back the upward slope to the back creates a nice sense of depth which makes the enclosure look more dynamic now i can finally bring it to life with the plants everything i'm using has been processed and taken down to the bare roots i didn't want to outline that in this video but if you want to learn more i'll link up a video i did a while back on the process anyway since this is a canopy heavy tank i wanted to include a lot of bromeliads in fact i went through later and counted upwards of 60 bromeliads i placed these larger neo agility as first these are some beautiful looking plants that will add pops of color to the setup i put them in first to create the base layout it looked good so i went on to mount them with stainless steel wire this is a great solution because it can be left in the tank without issue i gently wrap the wire around the base of the bromeliads and then around a branch or nearby surface long term they'll root onto the hard scape with those anchoring roots so this is really only needed at the start i added an awesome nepenthes pitcher plant as well then i added more bromeliads these all stay smaller than the previous ones in some cases i was able to plant them by sticking the stolen into the foam i placed others throughout in appropriate locations i went back and put sphagnum moss near the base of each bromeliad to hide the wires i'll use this as a growing medium for other plants as well i went on to add various epiphytic ferns or ferns that can adapt to growing in sphagnum moss i put it around the roots and wired them to the branches i added other plants like this pailia to the patches of moss i really want some awesome vines throughout the canopy so it made sense to start with the cebu blue pothos from there i did work on the bottom i added an established piece of cork bark to build up the land and create more depth i worked in various ground plants to fill out the forest floor i also added a vinyl for phytophora i pinned that and other vining plants to the sides of the background such as this hoya for other plants i wrapped their roots in sphagnum moss like this and mounted them to areas with an escape the icing on the cake were the air plants i attached them to the hardscape with super glue with all of the plants situated i can add the leaf litter for this one i'm using oak leaves i also have a selection of peruvian leaves including azara guava and topa leaves these were provided by my friends over at glassbox tropicals i boiled them like i've shown before to ensure they're clean and safe for use i place them throughout as a top dressing sure they add to the natural aesthetic but as they break down they also fertilize the plants by releasing nutrients into the substrate i added a few pieces of manzanita wood to the forest floor to mimic the look of fallen branches i also added various seed pods which really bring the natural look full circle they provide the same function as the leaves but they take significantly longer to break down they also create hiding places for livestock no tank is complete without moss right i put mini christmas moss all along the forest floor although it needs to perk up a little this really gives the tank a seasoned look i also added java moss in the canopy i used it to cover most of the sphagnum moss and its accents on the branches to finish it off i'll add the cleanup crew first they're the springtails they'll eat mold and break down various organics i also included a variety of isopods they'll break down organics as well and will make quick work of animal waste they're also a great source of calcium if the inhabitants manage to track some down [Music] yes [Music] there it is my own personal jungle the new 600 gallon bavarian something of this caliber has been a dream of mine for as long as i can remember and it's the largest enclosure i've set up to date we're talking about a living piece of art here sure i could have painted something and put it on the wall but how could it compare to something like this not only does it look awesome but it will be ever changing at some point it will also be inhabited by various animals till then i want to let it establish and do its thing i'll likely make some minor tweaks during that time as well additionally i have to add circulation fans and plum for a misting system i'll do that in a few days also in case you're wondering i have this lit up with three high output led shop lights i think they do a great job creating dramatic shadows on the forest floor while lighting everything in the canopy a few other details about the enclosure worth mentioning first i opted out of putting hardware on the glass i just used my hands or a suction cup to slide it open i didn't want to ruin the view or lose the ability to move them freely from side to side i also have ventilation built in on every side except the bottom this allows the tank to stay nice and humid without creating condensation as far as the plants go i put everything in locations that should allow them to flourish i'm sure some won't make it but that's to be expected there'll also be acclimation die off like in the case of the pitcher plant most of the pitchers it came with are dying back but new ones have started to form i can't wait to see it fill in and be a star of this tank i had to go hard when it came to planting this i went to the jungle look right away and wouldn't have it otherwise i was going to list off all the names but as i went through i realized there are over 60 variety of plants here if you want me to go in detail maybe i can do that on the second channel i think that about sums it up for now as always i really hope you all enjoyed the video and learned something new i realized that most of you won't make something like this but i hope it serves as an inspiration to what's possible in this incredible hobby i've been at it for over 22 years at this point and i can only imagine what my younger self would think of stuff like this thank you so much for your continued support and for making it possible for me to make stuff like this until next time surprise squad much love take care and peace [Music] you

Channel: SerpaDesign

Views: 540,550

Rating: 4.9666567 out of 5

Keywords: vivarium, terrarium, jungle, plants, jungle vivarium, house plants, tropical plants, diy, do it youself, plant art, living art

Id: RI7G8LydRn8

Length: 17min 3sec (1023 seconds)

Published: Sat Jul 24 2021