Well, it's done. I got this old school TV a while ago at a thrift shop for free since it didn't work. Gutted it, made some cuts, lined the bottom half with pond liner, placed the wood and planting containers in, got some Great Stuff expanding large gap sealant and spread it all around, covered that in black silicone, and put the dried coconut fiber on top of the wet silicone and then planted it.
Tv: free
Drift wood: free
Soil (peat moss, coconut fiber, potting soil, leaf litter, some others): $15.00
3 and 1/2 tubes of Great Stuff 'Large Gap' sealant: $8.50each
3 and 1/2 tubes of 100% Black Silicone: $5.25 each
1 brick of expandable coconut fiber: $7.00
Pond Liner: $10
2 18" Flourecent Light Fixtures: $8.75 each at Wal-Mart (everywhere else is double)
2 pieces of glass for the door, custom cut: $30
Overall I spent about 75-90$ getting it all done.
I followed the instructions from
http://www.blackjungle.com/gallery/talltank/page1.html except I didn't put a water feature in, I'm planning on putting a removable, independent waterfall in there that I will make out of slate glued together with silicone.
First we gutted the TV, then we drilled some holes in the sides for ventilation as you can see in the picture, covered those with nylon screen, then siliconed some pond liner, let that dry for 3 applications of silicone, and then cut a rectangular hole in the top for the light fixtures, supported with mesh screening liberally stapled in for really good support---then I got to work on the Great Stuff gap sealant, first I put the wood down how I wanted it, which was actually the hardest part trying to envision what it would look like, did the left side first, left for 24 hours, then middle, 24 hours, then right side, 24 hours. Then I filled any gaps in (the Great Stuff can only be used once, so use an entire can for each application, it isn't affected by gravity very much, and expands about 1/3 of the way out, not half like it says). Then after that, I applied the black silicone with one hand (use well fitted latex gloves) and then with the other hand patted on the coconut fiber that was dried in the oven, and let that sit for 24 hours.
After that's all said and done, I put the soil in the bottom, planted it up with some extra plants I had around the house, Pothos, Ficus, Hibiscus, Christmas Cactus, and then put the cresties in, and they loved it.
What I would have done differently is put a bit more wood in the bottom to cover it up with the Great Stuff, as it doesn't go a very long way and I could have done one side and a half instead of just one side, and saved myself a can of it and 10$. I also would have been more liberal in applying the silicon, as there are a few spots where the coconut fiber didn't stick and would have if the silicone was thicker, I lathered it on sparingly instead of thickly. I would have also put a few more plant containers right in the Great Stuff (of course do this when it is just applied) so I could have a few more vines in there without having to staple or wire them in the Great Stuff, overall I used 4. And I would have practiced on a 10 or 20g first.
Tips: cut and sand as much of the Great Stuff as you can, as the black silicon lathers on the flat surface much much better than on the bumpy surface of the uncut Great Stuff, thus saving you the trouble of getting in all the nooks and crannies with it and putting more than you need on, which is more difficult than it seems. Get one can of the Great Stuff and one can of the black silicone and try it on a 10g or 20g aquarium before trying a big project like this.
It will look amazing once I make a trip to a city with a huge plant store to get some bromeliads, mosses, vines, palms, orchids and epiphytes to put in there, this is just planted with what I had around the house and in extra cages.
Here are a few pics of the cage, and the two cresties, Onyxia, and Nefarion: Sorry for the size of the last few :medclown:
-Brock
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