Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have recently planted my terrium. I have no clue what will be housed in it, if there even will be. I can probably convince my parents into a fish or two.

It is a gravel bottom, which, contrairy to popular belief, is easy to do. I have set up a waterfall and a nice stream that leads to a pond (maybe fishies in there. Its fresh water, about 4x5 inches indiameter, and 1.5 inches deep. Any fish ideas?) I will soon put down a layer of moss to make it look purdy, too.

To the point, I currently have a bromliad and a low plant shrub-like plant (tropical, of course) planted in there. If you know anything about gravel bottoms, you will know the water level is the same all around the gravel. Since the plants are buried, I am worried about them drowning. They are all still in their origional plastic pots. I was thinking of silicone or hot glueing the holes in the bottom shut, and occasionally watering them. It this a good idea? The silicone has been used throught the terrium, and is 100% silicone with no mildew stopper thingies. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

There's a little trick that you can do. make sure that your gravel is perfectly level, then add some soil above that. Now all you have to do is ensure that the water level does not reach the height of the top of the gravel, (I've done this before with 1/4 inch difference), and the water cannot 'wick' up the rest of the gravel, so cannot saturate your planting medium. Your plants can be planted directly in that medium without being subjected to too much water.

Another note, plants will rarely die if they get too much water as long as there's oxygen in that water. Since you have circulation of the water, there's oxygen in it. Even if the plant roots tap down into the gravel, they should be alright. Bromeliads take most of their moisture out of the air anyways, so the conditions 'below the waist' are not so much of a factor as you might think. I've planted Bromeliads in wet gavel, and they can be glued to stuff, either way they do well. Let me know what plants you decide to go with and I might be able to throw you some more tips.

Hope this was some help.

The problem is, it is really hard to level out the gravel.I have a big stream running through the tank, and no matter how hard I try, the gravel slides towards the stream. I have to say I like the appearance of the sloping grave, it looks natural. But it is a pain, since the plants are planted in their pots. I am eventually going to add a top layer of moss over the gravel because it is a fast grower, and will eventually cover the lip of the pots, and the container the pump is in. I am working with very little ground space. I got the tank from a garage sale for $5 canadian, so I odnt know the size, but I am thinking a 20-25 gallon. It is a very tall tank, and that gives me even less space. I am also looking for a vine that requires little root space, and can handle a lot of water. Couls you provide me with a full picture of your tank, marty? Thanks for your help.

First of all, we are probably shouldn't be talking about vivariums in the tree frog section, but anyway, since I assume you will be putting frogs in your vivarium like me, I suppose it's alright! hehe.
You need something to bank the gravel. I use larger river stones. Arrange river stones (probably in your case about the size of golf balls or a bit bigger) where you want your water to be divided from the gravel. So, for example, if you wanted to create a round pool, you could arrange the larger stones in a circle. Then add gravel on the bottom everywhere except for inside the circle. The bigger rocks will bank the gravel so it won't slide into the water as you've mentioned. The bigger rocks won't slide around like the smaller stuff. After you've arranged these, you can level the gravel around the bigger stones. This is easy to do with water. Just add water to the tank and you'll see the high and low spots clearly since water never lies anything but level. Figure out where you want your water level to sit in the water features and make sure that the gravel around is a bit higher (probably an inch for you wouldn't hurt since you said your tank was high). That's about it! Add some planting medium above the gravel and away you go.
After all this, you now have dry and wet sections without the ugliness of dividers and such. Now you can use your creativity and arrange stuff to look natural. I don't really have many pictures of any entire vivariums, just some close ups of stuff. Here is a picture I posted a little while ago. This little frog hut is built directly over the water pump to conceal it. Good luck and let me know how it goes! Post pics.

Thank you so much! I think I will take your advice and do this. I'll post picts once I have it up and running!

to find out the size of that tank just do length x width x height and divide that by 231. make sure you measure the inside dimensions for accuracy.

Wow...

first if you have gravel as your substrate below your growing medium, it will still hold water, and the roots will rot.

two options, build a false bottom, or section your pond off
with a membrane like pvc.

i am sure someone mentioned this stuff already but there is some
wrong guidance here.

if your tank doesn't have any holes for a sump tank and you still want a water feature, then use a plastic bowl, clean it good and then get your self some vivarium mortar and make it into a pond-looking shape with stones and such. if you are having useing a pump, with a stream and want the water to return to your "pump" area, them use pvc platforms and egg crate to reaise your soil levels above the water by an inch or two at best.
if you keep water in contant with your soil, you will get rot, increase in algea, and worse yet, big increase in bad bacteria which will kill most things that are good for plants. also, introduce some pill bugs to churn the waste over to good use.

let me know what you're planning, either a false bottom or just a plain waterfeature with a burried pump.

deven
my water feature - pond