Where there’s water, there’s life. That brings us to the oasis. An area full of water in the
middle of an arid landscape where life thrives. What if I were to take the essence
of this natural occurrence, shrink it down to a tiny size, and put it into a glass box? I think that would be a fun concept to explore. That’s easier said than done, though. A piece like this would only
be possible with customization. In this instance, I had to
create an area partitioned off from the water to house the plants. The solution was with two pieces of glass. However, these would create a
better aesthetic when modified. I accounted for an angle that will make for a more dynamic scape later on. As I’ve shown before, cutting glass is easy. It’s just a matter of prepping the tool, scoring a line, and separating the glass along the fissure. Of course, it helps to sand
the sharp edges as well. The glass fits as before, but I had to account for another feature. The plants require a well-drained substrate, which would quickly become
ineffective in such a confined area. The easiest solution was to
drill holes through the glass. Simple enough. I set up a guide, filled it with water, and drilled through with
a diamond-tipped hole saw. Afterward, I cleaned the
glass with isopropyl alcohol so silicone would adhere properly. I applied a bead around
the holes for knitting mesh to retain the substrate. I did the same for the panes of glass. And to complete this step,
I let it cure for 24 hours. I also built a secondary enclosure from glass that I cut down
slightly larger than the main tank. I assembled it like any other aquarium with silicone and anchoring tank. After allowing the silicone to cure time, and removing the excess, I was left with this shallow setup. This will create a secondary reservoir. An area where water can go after it’s drained out of the holes
in the bottom of the main tank. Going slightly larger will also
make it easier to remove if needed. More on that later. For now, it’s time to scape. I”ve selected Pagoda Stone
because I think the stacked layers look like something you’d see in the desert. Before I can add them, though, I need to account for this pump. It will go in the back here, but I still want complete access to it, I’ll have to create a box around it. I cut down PVC Foam, created a pass-thru hole, glued them together, and placed a knitting mesh barrier. I siliconed this to the tank and after letting it setup for a little bit, I could finally add the rocks. Starting at the bottom, I began stacking the stones. That’s what I tried to do, at least. The pieces just weren’t coming together easily. I thought it might help to integrate Cholla Roots, and although I got some inspiration, this wasn’t working out. I just couldn’t get anything to stay. I instead placed the tank
on its side and tried again. Finally, I was able to get the pieces to link up in an appealing configuration. They were precarious, though, and I didn’t want them to move. So, I applied expanding foam behind the rocks and let it cure. I pulled off the excess and continued scaping on the other side. I fit in the rocks as before and applied more foam to
hold them and cover the back. Once cured, I used various tools to carve it. In doing so, I wanted the foam to
blend seamlessly around the stones while also sloping up toward the top
of the enclosure, creating a hill. Obviously, I won’t leave it
looking like this, though. I applied cyanoacrylate glue
over the entirety of the foam, followed by desert sand. As usual, this made it extremely easy to create
a cohesive transition between the elements. By this point, it was looking pretty good, but I had to get the wood back
in their respective locations. I mixed up an aquarium-safe epoxy, which I used to secure the wood to the background. If I hadn’t, surely it would’ve floated. Unfortunately, the anchor points were visible, so I had to hide those with glue and sand as well. And thus concludes the hardscape. It’s fairly simple, but I
really like how it turned out. I even included a spot for a waterfall, but I won’t activate that till later. I want to get the land area addressed first. I filled the partitioned areas
completely with an arid substrate mix that’s suitable for the plants I want to use. Stuff you’d expect to see in an arid place, like cacti and succulents. I wanted a proper desert look, and I can’t think of anything that
fits the criteria better than a cactus. The combination of these plants
looks great, in my opinion. I don’t think substrate alone
wouldn’t have looked right. I topped it off with sand using a
technique I shared all the way back in 2016 with the cactus terrarium. A funnel attached to a tube makes it really easy to target
where I want the sand to go without getting it all over the plants. The top dressing made all the
difference, in my opinion, and things came together well. As for the pump, I hooked
it up to a tube and elbow, dropped it into the reservoir, and filled up the basin. I let it rip, and it looked great. Back to the other tray, I made earlier. You’ll see here that I outfitted
it with a self-leveling mat so the glass doesn’t get damaged. I dropped a wooden frame over
it that I created from cedar. I sent rough boards through the planer, cut them down to size, nailed the frame together, and did a pass with the torch
to Shou-sugi-ban the wood. Inside this, I create an XPS foam base
with holes to account for drainage. Then, I dropped in the tank and self-leveling mat, which has holes in it as well. I didn’t anticipate how well this
would tie into the overall aesthetic. Down in the basin, I dispersed a
thin layer of topsoil for nutrients, followed by sand. I sprinkled gravel on top of this for texture. That meant I could finally fill it up for real and add the details. I sparsely put patches of
moss within the waterfall and other plants in the water feature. I did my best to have restraint here since this isn’t a jungle setup. Up at the top, I covered the
pump vault with sand disks, which I made by coating PVC
board with super glue and sand. You know I always want that clean look, so I installed frost film on the back. On top, I secured a light
that brought things to life. Additional pieces of cholla wood, followed by gravel in the reservoir, more or less completed the build. When I began, I had a rough idea
of how this would look in my head, but the result is much cooler than I imagined. I love the contrast between the desert area and the waters beneath. I’m really glad I integrated
the waterfall as well. Without movement, I don’t think the build
would be nearly as dynamic. The biggest challenge was devising
a method to promote dry substrate. I wasn’t sure how the reservoir would tie in, but I actually think it makes the
entire thing appear more interesting. I’m enjoying the cholla wood too. I knew it would look neat and go with the vibe, but I selected it for another reason. All of the cavernous spaces facilitate
excellent grazing surfaces for shrimp. You didn’t think I was going
to leave as is, did you? My danio tank is bursting from the
seams with Cherry Shrimp right now, and I thought they would look
awesome in such a design. That’s why I included the Süßwassertang as well. It allows the shrimp to have
vast colonies within it. Even though I liked it before, it’s even better with the shrimp and snails. Don’t you think? Fish, like Phoenix Rasbora,
would’ve looked great as well, but I think the water area is
a little too small for that. Otherwise, I love how the pieces came together. However, there is one element I wanted to
include that I, unfortunately, had to omit. Do you remember the Dinosaur
Plant I showcased back in 2018? Well, I still have it to this very day. I was curious to see if it would resurrect because I haven’t hydrated it since then. Sure enough, it opened up completely. That said, I just couldn’t find a
spot where it looked appropriate. Maybe in another build. From the cactus plants to the
waterfall, cholla wood, shrimp, and the cohesiveness of the full picture, I couldn’t be happier with this project. I had a lot of fun exploring this concept, and it gives me plenty of ideas for future builds. And I don’t know about you, but I’d be elated to encounter such
an oasis in the middle of a desert.
