# Tropical River and Pond, Major Project



## acromyrmexbob

Hi, Guys. Bit of a newbie poster but here goes. Spent most of my time building zoo exhibits for clients around the world (www.tropicalhouse.co.uk) and decided to do one for myself. I have an old greenhouse in the garden which is wooden framed on a brick base, approx 6mx6m. It is planted with tropical plants from Central America and currently has around 100 accidental subadult green Mantis running amok on the foliage. I recently decided to form a very deep river and pond together with a viewing window so the fish in the pond could be seen. This river is to run through the rainforest set up, eventually planted so heavily that you will not be able to see the sides of the greenhouse. The most important factor here is to be that I can get into the water and swim down the river into the large pond. So the river must be dug deep, very deep.









This is a shot of the river (up ahead) through some of the plants.









This is a shot of what will eventually be the waterfall. Its a bit of a mess just now. The white pipes are full of hot water which is how the tropical house is heated. These travel under the soil throughout the greenhouse.









This is a shot from a portion of the dug out river towards the waterfall. You can see how deep the river will be to allow for a bridge over the water and for me to swim under. The ladder is the only way out now.









This is me digging more of the river. Approx 1500 buckets of soil up the ladder and dumped outside. 









A view of the river looking downstream around the bend to show how much still is to be dug out!









Tricks of the trade......when there's the chance of getting dirty, send the kids in to bail the water, that saves you from getting dirty. This is the lower pond getting emptied of water prior to having the mesh re-bar fitted and the cement poured. Over the coming weeks I will post updates of this project and show step by step photos of creating an underwater viewing panel and all the steps necessary to have a waterfall, filtered river and pond and stocking with various fish and reptiles / amphibians.


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## JPalmer

Looks amazing! Will be watching this thread to see how it turns out!


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## JonnyFrilledDragonLawson

yeah me too


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## mike mc

Will be watching this with interest


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## wezza309

Me too:whistling2:


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## jacko1

what an idea


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## tomcannon

Where's the viv?! :whistling2:

*subscribed!*


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## IceBloodExotics

This is gonna be amazing


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## ukball

Subscribed! This looks like its going to be amazing.


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## Far2lively

Subscribed


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## s6t6nic6l

a walk-in viv, brill. thanks for sharing this build with us. 
will be keeping a keen eye on this meself too.
oh yeah, and keep it *central* american themed :whistling2:
good luck with the project.


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## rexob

this is a very interesting build, i will be watching and waiting for you're updates , oh and good luck.


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## AraCyanea




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## acromyrmexbob

The timetable of this project is as follows. Christmas Day: me floating down the river, by extremeties nibbled by various exotic creatures which have recently been introduced to a finished river / pond system. This is a bit optimistic but thats my target. So I managed to do some more work on the river dig tonight. Took some piccies but they were really rubbish because it was dark when I finished. Planning to finish all digging by weekend and then build back of waterfall and rest of side wall for river over weekend. Then I will make the waterfall out of fake rock similar to the ones we supply for zoos etc. The pump arrives this week (£150 off ebay), its a belter, big external however many thousand gallons per hour. 2" outlet will give the top header pond some real kick, should be white water. (This is my Jacuzzi!)
Here's some really bad pictures, I will take all the future pictures during daylight!









The picture is horrible, I know. But you can see things from inside the pond. The square hole is the viewing window which will shortly be fitted with a steel frame and 19mm glass. This hole is 900mm x 600mm. It will be possible to sit on the steps outside the window and watch things going on inside as if this were a huge fish tank. You can probably make out, also, that the rive dig (the dark soil) has nearly reached the pond. This momentous breakthrough will occur tomorrow, I think. This its clearing the water, laying polystyrene sheets on walls, fitting mesh re-bar and attaching hot water pipes to the metal mesh, laying the pump intake and pouring concrete over everything!








More of a full on photo of things. So I thought I would set down a schedule of events over the coming 6 weeks. There are many issues which are brought up by setting up such a large habitat. I will deal with many over the coming weeks, show how to make concrete rock work, how to fit a viewing window, discuss very large scale heating and filtration of water in this setting and try to develop a commercial approach to these jobs which is definately the way to go when dealing with such a large project.


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## almond1998

subscribed looks amazing! :2thumb:


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## MartinMc

Nice!


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## Paul112

Fantastic project! What type of plant is the big one in the first picture? It looks like an _Alocasia_ or _Philodendron_, but it's really impressive!

Best,
Paul


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## bigd_1

:gasp:all i can say is wow :gasp:


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## ronnyjodes

This thread has the potential to be a classic. Tell me you're heating the thing so you can keep frogs in there


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## acromyrmexbob

The Greenhouse is heated to tropical temperatures. Frogs to be kept in the greenhouse will be pipa pipa, Pseudis paradoxica, Physalaemus pustulosus, Phyllomedusa trinitatus and possibly some Hyla crepitans.


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## YOGI BEAR

This looks awesome is it just frogs you plan to keep in thier? And if not what else will you keep?


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## bothrops

Looks amazing!



You did say _swim_ under the bridge didn't you?! :gasp:


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## isowill

Looking v. nice, cant wait to see what it will look like finished


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## fatlad69

acromyrmexbob said:


> The Greenhouse is heated to tropical temperatures. Frogs to be kept in the greenhouse will be pipa pipa, Pseudis paradoxica, Physalaemus pustulosus, Phyllomedusa trinitatus and possibly some Hyla crepitans.


Awesome!


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## acromyrmexbob

The big plant in the first picture is, I think, *Colocasia esculenta *which I did not import but bought from a garden centre around 6 months ago as a 30cm pot plant! It has, unfortunately, reached the top of the greenhouse now and the new leaves are hitting the glass and bending over. Not good planning but its a really impressive border filler and the leaf cutting ants that are loose in the greenhouse do not eat it! There are several species of plant in the greenhouse which may or may not fit the Central American theme. It is my intention to have only plants here that I have sourced from this area as well as species of reptiles such as colonies of the ground dwelling geckos, Gonatodes ceciliae and Gonatodes vitattus which have to be amoung the more attractive lizards around. I can get these species easily enough because I spend a lot of time in the tropics filming and working.
The bridge will cross the river just before the pond. Its really a bridge to nowhere because at the other side of the bridge is a border and the edge of the greenhouse but the reason I wanted a bridge is to sit on. In Trinidad there is a bridge and under this a huge shoal of what looks like Buenos Aires Tetras. They stay in the shade of the bridge and drift out to feed. I am trying to recreate this so I will possibly stock the river with a few hundred of a tetra of some sorts and a box of some sort of L-number Plecs which should dart from rock formation to rock formation across the sand based substrate. So swimming under the bridge will be part of the plan, complicated by the possible addition of a nest of one of the social hornet species nesting there (the bridge in Trinidad attracts hornets underneath it because they like very dry conditions for their nests which can be complicated in a Rain Forest).


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## fatlad69

Hornets, really! I have to say you wouldn't get me going in there!:lol2:


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## acromyrmexbob

They are not difficult to work with as long as you don't head butt the nest or act like an :censor: around them. Floating past and watching them from below up is a really nice way to see them and hopefully completely unthreatening. Anyway its worth try. If they kill a guest I will move them!


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## fatlad69

acromyrmexbob said:


> They are not difficult to work with as long as you don't head butt the nest or act like an :censor: around them. Floating past and watching them from below up is a really nice way to see them and hopefully completely unthreatening. Anyway its worth try. If they kill a guest I will move them!


:lol2::lol2::lol2:


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## acromyrmexbob

*Forget the Panama Canal, Forget the Chanel Tunnel!*

Breakthrough! I have braved swamp and mosquito infested, nighttime digs and have managed to reach the pond with the river. The two are now connected! There was no ceremony like when they met in the middle of the Channel Tunnel, granted noone has died of malaria or been lost to mud slides but never the less I am, tonight, a satisfied man.








The step you can see on the left side is actually the footing (foundations) of the wall and tomorrow, with a large drill, I will remove all of this (hopefully whilst leaving the wall standing) so I can cast this and all the other sides with cement.
Still have to remove a fair amount from the pond. All of my daughters efforts the other day to remove the water were in vain. I thought the water was filling the pond from a leak in the roof but actually it is ground water from outside. I have dug the pond about 900mm below the external wall foundations so water is ingressing from all sides! I will pump this out prior to casting.
















So the bend in the river is shaping up nicely.

Also today I cleaned up the top of the river, where the waterfall will be sited. I hope to brick up the back of the waterfall this weekend and then make the actual waterfall in artificial cement rock, possibly next week. I received the pump this week and will photograph it next time. I can now drill through the wall behind the waterfall and lay the pipes leading to the pump. Once all the concrete is poured all of these pipes will be hidden.








The white pipes you can see are some of the hot water pipes heading under the soil of one of the borders. The plants go crazy with the warm soil.
I have put a few better pictures of the rest of the setup for you to see.








Path leading towards the river. This wall will have a swimming pool ladder fitted and will be the point of access to the river. Also it will have artificial rockwork placed onto it.








Another path heading in a different direction. Planting even a small greenhouse in the correct way can create the illusion of huge space. Line of sight is the key. I always plant in order that when you look down a path you never see the end of the building, just plants. You reach a bend and you are into the next area. You can make even a small greenhouse appear much bigger just by this technique and there are elements which can be applied to smaller tanks and their layout which are taken from this approach.








Looking back up a path towards the way in. At the very bottom of this picture is the top of a set of steps, waiting to be poured with cement.








And finally thats a proper version of the horrible photo I posted the other night, again, sorry about that. So next post, on Sunday, I am hoping to have the rear of the waterfall done and the sides of the river drilled away.


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## SeanEK4

That's truely awesome! What country do you live in? Trinidad?

Keep it up, can't wait to see more!

And what a cool job you have!

Sean


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## acromyrmexbob

The greenhouse is in Central Scotland. I spend most of the year here but have a house in Trinidad also and spend time there when I can.


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## ronnyjodes

acromyrmexbob said:


> The greenhouse is in Central Scotland. I spend most of the year here but have a house in Trinidad also and spend time there when I can.


The real question here is: when can we all come and visit?


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## curleywhirly

This is FANTABULOUS! I can't wait to see it completed!
Good luck my friend :notworthy:


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## SeanEK4

thanks for the reply. really cant wait to see more of this build! look forward to the next update.


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## davidfitch

I'm in Glasgow and an electrician with over 10 years experience and I enjoy a bit of manual labour if you want any help with any aspect of your build drop me a pm, looking great subscribed to thread.

Sent from my HTC Wildfire using Tapatalk 2


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## rexob

awesome build :2thumb:


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## acromyrmexbob

*Waterfall back and other stuff*

Some pictures to follow of todays efforts. Firstly I removed the sticky out bits of the wall foundations so the river walls will be exactly vertical. This lets the soil that is underneath the foundation be removed. So this section is close to the next stage which is lining the walls with polystyrene.








The external wall running up the other side also had the excess foundation removed.








The waterfall area was prepared for the wall which will hold the artificial rock work and act as a support.








I built the wall from building blocks, quite roughly since all of this will hold the wire frame for the rockwork.
























The hole at the top where the outflow from the pump will come was cut in the glass.








Finally here is a picture of the pump which will be plumbed into the waterfall shortly.








I scored it on ebay, its supposed to be new and working perfectly. Have not tested it yet so here's hoping.


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## fatlad69

Looking good!


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## SeanEK4

nice.

got any pics from quite far out? im trying to imagine the size of this build, but cant.

keep it going!

Sean


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## rexob

nice update pics  yeah would be nice to see a wider view pic.

hope the pump's all working for you.


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## acromyrmexbob

*Starting Waterfall*

Been a really busy week, because this is the dead season for zoos and other animal based displays we are always busy at this time of year. As a result I have not been able to get anywhere near the job this week. This weekend I will do the wirenetting and rubble fill for the waterfall and start to line the river for casting. Sorry I never posted anything this week, that was not the plan! So looking to post pictures tomorrow and Sunday.


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## Goobs

acromyrmexbob said:


> As a result I have not been able to get anywhere near the job this week.


slacker!!! :whip:


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## acromyrmexbob

:banghead: :surrender:
It'll be worth it!


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## SkinsNScales

:gasp: holly crap i was worried about my viv build under the stairs but looking at yours i fell glad that all i have to do :blush:

cant wait to see it finnished and pop round for a swim :whistling2:


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## acromyrmexbob

You will all be welcome to visit once its finished.


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## the_viper

wow amazing project, subscribed, can't wait to see it finished


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## Shisui uchiha

How did you get a job doing this it is awesome I can't wait to see this finished man.


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## acromyrmexbob

*Wire Mesh on Waterfall*

Got a little bit of time in tonight. Firstly I fitted a pile of screws into the mortar between the blocks of the waterfall. These will act as anchor points for the mesh.
























I think I may have just won the award for the most boring pictures ever posted on this forum.:no1:
Next I stripped out a length of electrical wire to use as ties for the wire mesh. These were cut into smaller lengths and attached to the screws.
















Then I attached the first piece of wire mesh to the bottom of the waterfall so I can work upwards, shaping the rock.
















Tomorrow I will start to fill the mesh with rubble or soil and bits of rock and shape the wire mesh into roughly how I want the rocks to look.


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## LiamAndKec

Looking really good bud, keep up the good work


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## the_viper

eagerly awaiting more, hope you have been a busy bunny today lol


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## acromyrmexbob

This is a picture of the heating arrangement I made for the greenhouse. To be honest I used bits and pieces that I had left over from jobs I have worked on over the years so it looks a bit Heath Robinson. 








Once everything is finished I will box this in because the pump and the big fibreglass trickle filter for the pond will sit infront of this. 








Here you can see through the glass from the utility building attached to the greenhouse and into the planted area. On the other side of the glass is the back of the waterfall.
I have today drilled the hole from the utility area, through the wall to the waterfall pond. This hole is quite large and will take the pipe which will bring the water to the filter from the pond, around 30 feet away.








This pipe will travel underneath the concrete, so it will be out of sight until it comes up through the base of the pond and up to surface level where it will act as an overflow.








This is the pipe from the waterfall side.








I have started to line the side of the river with polystyrene. I think it is best to do this on all outside walls since the heating pipes will be laid against this and I don't want any heat going in the wrong direction. I think this volume of water will act as a huge storage heater for the greenhouse so my temperature should be more stable when it is up to temperature.
I was asked, earlier, if there were any pictures from a distance to show the size of the project. Its very difficult because the greenhouse is actually not that big so taking pictures from a distance is very difficult unless you go outside. The next picture is taken from the bend in the river upwards towards the waterfall. You can see, in the distance, the black pipe coming through the wall which might give some impression of the distance this part of the river covers.








Finally, for today, I mentioned there were around 100 subadult mantids dodging around the greenhouse. Don't know what they are, I'm sure they are very common and probably not of interest. There are some adults which seem to be breeding and some like this:
























Will do the waterfall mesh and rubble tomorrow morning.


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## acromyrmexbob

*Wire mesh and rubble on Waterfall support*

I decided to remove the wire mesh I had on during the last set of pictures. It was some stuff I had lying around and I thought I could save some money by not using the mesh we normally use. But it was too rigid and difficult to work with so I changed to the chicken wire type mesh. 








The wire is attached as before along the bottom edge as an anchour. The mesh is now back filled with some rubbish (soil and rubble) to form a base which will be underwater when the waterfall is on. The sides of the mesh are attached to the end of the blockwork by the protruding screws and stripped out wire previously fitted. 
















On either side of the waterfall I have started to build up the rocks. The key in building a good waterfall is to think about what is going to happen when it is filled with water and running. The splash effect from this could be significant and cause the waterfall to be switched off for long periods to avoid flooding etc. Because the filter is running on the same system I do not want to have to do this so the sides of the waterfall will extend outwards some way to catch the excess water.









As the rockwork continues upwards the wire is continually anchoured to the screws and the wire to provide support.










until the whole of one side has been completed up to the top.


















The other side is completed in the same way.


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## acromyrmexbob

So the overall shapes is as follows










Remember that the waterfall surface will be in artificial rock so the actual shape of each rock face will be different. This is only a skeleton onto which the material to form the rock will be applied.










The centre area will also be artificial rock and prior to adding this I will place a piece of mesh here but there will be little sculpturing of this because I do not want to bring this part out too far. The water will fall in this enclosed area.










At the base of this central area is a small pond. The water will initially fall into this and then overspill into the larger pond forming the head of the river.










The base of the waterfall will be poured with concrete up to the lowest point of artificial rock forming a seal. Once the waterfall is complete I will paint it with a clear pond paint, again to seal it. 










So next step is the actual rockwork!


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## em_40

Looking good, will be watching this thread.


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## Paul112

Loving the updates, keep them coming!

Best,
Paul


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## Hamish198

This is ACE...you're a genius !!! :2thumb::2thumb: Consider me subscribed !!! 

Hamish.


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## Reed Meredith

Very nice :2thumb: : victory: :2thumb:


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## acromyrmexbob

Thanks very much Guys, it looks a little rubbish just now as it always does before the finished layer is applied. The secret of this technique is the speed it is done, we can cover a large area of rockwork in a single shift. The entire waterfall will take around 4 hours to complete from this point. This weeks schedule includes the viewing window being fitted in the pond, the waterfall completed, the shuttering of the top pond and, hopefully, the fitting of the reinforcing mesh on the bottom and sides of the river. Thats a lot by this time next week and a lot of things have to fall into place in the correct order but time is running out for my Christmas Day swim!


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## Terrarium Supplies

This is going to be epic!


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## rexob

cracking job,


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## acromyrmexbob

Just a quick update. I measured the window into the pond










The size is 90cm x 60.5cm. I have some 15mm glass left over from a big Build On Site Aquarium so I will use this for the viewing panel. The steel frame will be galvanised and should be ready for Friday so I am looking at fitting the window on Saturday morning, all being well. I am hoping to cement the rocks on Friday, possibly before if I have the time. The rebar mesh for the base and sides will be here on Thursday also. I am buying 150m of Plastic 15mm barrier pipe to bury in the concrete to heat the water. So things are about to speed up, I hope!


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## GeckoD

acromyrmexbob said:


> Just a quick update. I measured the window into the pond
> 
> image
> 
> The size is 90cm x 60.5cm. I have some 15mm glass left over from a big Build On Site Aquarium so I will use this for the viewing panel. The steel frame will be galvanised and should be ready for Friday so I am looking at fitting the window on Saturday morning, all being well. I am hoping to cement the rocks on Friday, possibly before if I have the time. The rebar mesh for the base and sides will be here on Thursday also. I am buying 150m of Plastic 15mm barrier pipe to bury in the concrete to heat the water. So things are about to speed up, I hope!


Im actually astounded!:gasp: 
This is the most ambitious and professional build Ive seen to date, its awesome!...and I have every confidence in your ability to achieve your target in time for your Christmas day swim! lol


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## acromyrmexbob

Very real chance the water will be in but not up to temperature yet by Christmas Day. Still, a target is a target. Trust me, I will freeze me b****cks off if necessary just to fulfill my schedule! We breed them hard as nails in Scotland. Trouble is, though, I am not sure how pictures of me skinnydipping in freezing water will affect peoples ability to hold down their turkey when I post them. Good thing is, though, if its cold enough there won't be much to see!


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## SeanEK4

great progress. really interesting for me to watch the different stages coming together, and the techniques used.

look forward to the next update.


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## jacko1

iv always wanted some thing like this and to have a pair of caiman 

there is a place near us called butterfly world it has some stunning streams in it and fake rocks and a big waterfall you walk under just needs all the butterflies kicking out and some propper animals roaming the place


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## acromyrmexbob

I worked in a zoo in Sweden and they had an enclosure with 4 6ft crocs in it. We had to run an ant walkway across the pond so we had waders on and were waist deep in the water reaching up over our heads to attach the rope. One of the people from the zoo stood with a big stick and pushed the crocs away from us when they swam too close. That was quite an experience but actually having Caiman in the river / pond would not be a problem other than the fact that they would eat all the rare frogs and fish I am wanting to keep. I don't think they would pose a problem for swimming beside once they were accustomed to the presence of people, especially in the water where they feel naturally secure.


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## the_viper

Coming along nicely, do you think the water will warm enough off that one pipe ?


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## Goobs

Its only 1 pipe but its 150m long!! :2thumb:


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## acromyrmexbob

It is a 150m pipe but its cut into three lengths. One length is coiled inside the cement on the base of the pond and the other two are inside the cement on each side of the river and pond. Also the air temperature in the greenhouse is a balmy 24C so the heating of the water comes from all directions with no possibility of cooling down. If I didn't heat it I think it would rise to temperature over a period of time anyway. Just to note, I am doing the waterfall tomorrow and will try to post tomorrow night and fitting the pond window on Saturday morning.


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## rexob

acromyrmexbob said:


> Very real chance the water will be in but not up to temperature yet by Christmas Day. Still, a target is a target. Trust me, I will freeze me b****cks off if necessary just to fulfill my schedule! We breed them hard as nails in Scotland. Trouble is, though, I am not sure how pictures of me skinnydipping in freezing water will affect peoples ability to hold down their turkey when I post them. Good thing is, though, if its cold enough there won't be much to see!


AWESOME Cant wait to see the finished product, it's great to see the step by step build, scotland we love it in scotland come up their on our motorbikes touring.: victory:


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## acromyrmexbob

Ran out of light today. It seems its dark before 4pm now. Thats ridiculous. Anyway.....
Started the next big batch of work. Got the metal frame from my welder, the steel for casting the river / pond and all of the stuff for the waterfall. Because I started late I decided to start the window today, finish it tomorrow and do the waterfall tomorrow. 
We made the metal frame for the window in two parts, the outer, larger frame and the inner, holding frame.


















These are heavy chunks of metal!

First of all, in order to use what was left of the light outside, I decided to cut the window. The frame is around 900mm x600mm. The inside size was very accurately measured..










The glass I am using is a piece of 19mm float glass left over from a very big build on site project we did last year. This offcut is a 2 man lift and is very heavy.










Everything in the above picture is wrong for cutting this glass, which can be very dangerous. For instance its not recommended to cut it on an old pallet and outside when there is frost is also not recommended but, needs must. One of the advantages is I have all of the proper equipment for cutting heavy glass.....










From left to right, Glass Oil, Heavy duty glass cutter, we call the silver tool the Chapper, its for opening up a glass score on heavy glass, a tape measure and finally a cut runner. All very specialised and very expensive. There's about £1200 worth of tools in that picture. Without them and a lot of practice you wouldn't try this!










Size is measured and a 'set square' positioned for the cut.










Here I am cleaning and lubricating where I will cut with the Glass Oil.










The heavy duty cutter makes a wide score which requires a great deal of pressure to work.










Having used the Chapper (see later) I run the cut across the glass to break it.



















The first cut is the deepest!
The other cut proceeds the same.



















The next picture shows the chapper in action. When you have scored the cut this tool starts a crack at one end of the score. You can see the crack starting.










Then the crack is run across the glass again..










and the final cut is finished.


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## acromyrmexbob

Heres a couple of pictures of the metal frame in place.



















This is the window I'll be waving out of on Christmas Day, all being well. If alls not well I'll still wave out of this window, I might just not be wet when I'm doing it!
Before I can get into the pond to fit the glass, tomorrow morning, I had to pump an enormous amount of water out of the mud in the bottom since I havent worked at this end of the project for a couple of weeks and its filled with runoff from outside. Its a horrible mess. Any women who want some mud for a face mask, PM me, I'll be happy to send some.










So its fit glass and onto waterfall tomorrow!


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## Smigsy

sounding slightly wrong now but I hope to be able to glimpse you through your window sopping wet Xmas day. 

great progress so far and a real interesting read, fingers crossed.


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## acromyrmexbob

:gasp: Smigsy, honestly! I think that sort of comment should come through a PM!!! oo:


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## the_viper

Were you a bit worried cutting the glass ?

I would have been so nervous


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## acromyrmexbob

Been cutting glass for 20 years. Got the equipment and got used to cutting glass on site during builds so the actual cutting is the easy bit.


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## benjaybo

been folowing this for a few days had a browse through im impressed this is similar to plans i have for the future for a massive enclosure for some green tree monitors and also have it as a place i can chill out too haha.

great job im looking forward to seeing the end result :2thumb:


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## rexob

i really like following this threat, you're doing an epic job mate, cant wait for the next bunch of pics. :2thumb:


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## acromyrmexbob

*Waterfall*

There's loads of pictures here. Going to have to post 3-4 times. Hoping this is Okay, don't want to jam up the server.
First of all, the mix for the fake rock is a cement mix, 3 parts sand, a little gravel, one part cement and a little water. Its best to have it quite dry. You are looking to be able to form a tennis ball in your hand and it keeps its shape.










Let it mix for ages. If your doing this by hand, good luck!
I put sheeting around the waterfall for reasons which will be clear later.










and I laid a row of stones along the base of the waterfall, just to save on mix.










Now its just a case of flinging on the mix to the mesh framework. The golden rule here is 'work fast'. This is not because the mixture will dry too quickly. Its because at this stage you do not want to get caught up trying to make everything look good. Separating the stages is the secret to effective results so stick the cement on and don't worry how it looks.










Once its on you can trowel it a little, mainly to ensure that the mixture has pushed through the mesh and so will stay put. A wet mix will drip off and a too dry mix will crumble off so you will know at this stage whether you've got it right.











Don't worry too much about wire mesh showing through. You can spend ages trying to make it perfect. Its easier patching when the surface is a bit drier.
Now we can start at the other side.










and very quickly we have the main bits covered with cement mix.










Now I applied a layer of cement mix to the back corner of the waterfall to make the appearance more uniform. 










The next step is to start to colour the rockwork. I use a cement dye, NOT PAINT. Applying the powdered cement colouring at this stage and working it into the wet cement means the actual cement is coloured, not just the surface. So firstly I dust some red and yellow powder onto the surface. I am experimenting at the base of the waterfall firstly because this will be under water so it doesn't matter how it looks.


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## acromyrmexbob

*Waterfall Part 2*

You then get an old paint brush, best one thats had it, and start working the powder into the mixture. As you do this, several things start to happen. The powder mixes with the surface of the cement mix which becomes much wetter. This has the effect of blending the powder and turning it into almost a liquid. Also the brush causes the surface of the mix to become dappled and look uncannily like rock face.



















Once its all been worked into the surface you get a red finish which makes a good base.










Nest I add some Black powder to darken and build the colour.










Keep working with the brush after each addition of colour.










Now its time to colour the top part of the waterfall. Choosing the left side first I add red all over and start to work with the brush again.










Moving quickly around the 'rockwork' I am starting to think how it will look, both in terms of colour and texture and also it has to look like rock shapes. So, with the brush I am also shaping the edges and working into the 'ledges' and 'cracks'. Theres no hard and fast rule here. You just work with the shapes as they form in front of you.





































Now add yellow










Some Black










And thats pretty much the left side close to how I want it to look at this stage.


----------



## the_viper

That looks fantastic, keep it up !!


----------



## Hamish198

I wish I'd seen this part before I started (badly) painting my Bosc Viv.....Again, you're a genius :2thumb: it's looking great !!!

Hamish.


----------



## rexob

acromyrmexbob said:


> You then get an old paint brush, best one thats had it, and start working the powder into the mixture. As you do this, several things start to happen. The powder mixes with the surface of the cement mix which becomes much wetter. This has the effect of blending the powder and turning it into almost a liquid. Also the brush causes the surface of the mix to become dappled and look uncannily like rock face.
> 
> image
> 
> image
> 
> Once its all been worked into the surface you get a red finish which makes a good base.
> 
> image
> 
> Nest I add some Black powder to darken and build the colour.
> 
> image
> 
> Keep working with the brush after each addition of colour.
> 
> image
> 
> Now its time to colour the top part of the waterfall. Choosing the left side first I add red all over and start to work with the brush again.
> 
> image
> 
> Moving quickly around the 'rockwork' I am starting to think how it will look, both in terms of colour and texture and also it has to look like rock shapes. So, with the brush I am also shaping the edges and working into the 'ledges' and 'cracks'. Theres no hard and fast rule here. You just work with the shapes as they form in front of you.
> 
> image
> 
> image
> 
> image
> 
> image
> 
> Now add yellow
> 
> image
> 
> Some Black
> 
> image
> 
> And thats pretty much the left side close to how I want it to look at this stage.
> 
> image


AWESOME : victory:


----------



## Annihilation

Amazing :gasp:


----------



## acromyrmexbob

*Waterfall part 3*

Now I start on the other side by dusting dry cement powder and working this with the brush. This is to dry the surface since this side was too soft.










Now its basically the same again. Dusting the area with red / brown powder and working with the brush.



















Now yellow




























and black.....





















Until finally, after several more dustings and brush sessions the finished rock is done. It is a little bright just now. Once the rock has set I will wash it which will remove a lot of excess powder and when it is dry the colours will dull down.


----------



## s6t6nic6l

i wonder how we are going to start doing our viv backgrounds now :whistling2:

inspiring build thread this :2thumb:


----------



## tomcannon

That really is impressive work. Do you think this method would be possible on a smaller scale in a viv? What if any issues do you think may arise? How heavy would it be do you think? Sorry for all the questions, never worked with a cement mix. 

Again, lovely work there, really hope you get it done for Xmas!


----------



## s6t6nic6l

tomcannon said:


> That really is impressive work. *Do you think this method would be possible on a smaller scale in a viv?* What if any issues do you think may arise? How heavy would it be do you think? Sorry for all the questions, never worked with a cement mix.
> 
> Again, lovely work there, really hope you get it done for Xmas!


on my firebelly abode i should have used cement as the layer over the P I R(celotex, etc) instead of grout as i used pond paint for the coat which is ideally used for painting over cement. the weight should not be a factor as you are still only coating the background. i like having found the method of colouring the cement for the rock effect now :2thumb:. watching Mr bob's method we will discover how we seal the end product too methinks.


----------



## OrigamiB

Personally I don't think I'd use this method for smaller scale vivariums, larger always seems more forgiving with mistakes, especially when being viewed from as distance as is normally the case (not saying yours has mistakes or anything  )
Where as with a small scale design it needs to be perfect since you'll always be viewing it from only a few feet away


----------



## acromyrmexbob

The cement technique does not naturally suit a smaller vivarium for a number of reasons. Actually the way it looks is not one of them. You could, on a smaller project, spend more time sculpting the rock and end up with a finish that would be hard to distinguish from the real thing. Working on a larger scale which will be viewed from a distance is actually why you do not need to be so careful but this technique, with smaller brushes, could easily produce very good results in a small viv. But I think weight could be a factor. Using wire mesh to shape the back requires a thicker layer of material to hide the mesh. Other materials may not be so easy to build up the cement on, so the finished product will tend to be heavier. In a vivarium that is made of wood and that will not be moved then I would not use any other technique. For large snakes and monitors this is the only way to go. They will tend to destroy foam based backgrounds and can dislodge boulders. The cement rock gives you all advantages in this setting. But in a glass tank or a small wooden one where there is a chance of having to move it around I would not use this method. We could always throw it out there and look at a lighter material, possibly plaster, as an alternative and see if we can get similar results without the weight. Another benefit of this technique is the speed of doing it. That waterfall took around 5 hours from start to finish, including the mesh and rubble. It cost about £40 in materials. This way of working is very cheap and quick for good results. If we could find a way to adapt it to smaller vivs then I think this would be a good step forward. When finished it has the feel and durability of real rock. I could climb on the waterfall. Just some thoughts, maybe worth discussing more.


----------



## GeckoD

acromyrmexbob said:


> The cement technique does not naturally suit a smaller vivarium for a number of reasons. Actually the way it looks is not one of them. You could, on a smaller project, spend more time sculpting the rock and end up with a finish that would be hard to distinguish from the real thing. Working on a larger scale which will be viewed from a distance is actually why you do not need to be so careful but this technique, with smaller brushes, could easily produce very good results in a small viv. But I think weight could be a factor. Using wire mesh to shape the back requires a thicker layer of material to hide the mesh. Other materials may not be so easy to build up the cement on, so the finished product will tend to be heavier. In a vivarium that is made of wood and that will not be moved then I would not use any other technique. For large snakes and monitors this is the only way to go. They will tend to destroy foam based backgrounds and can dislodge boulders. The cement rock gives you all advantages in this setting. But in a glass tank or a small wooden one where there is a chance of having to move it around I would not use this method. We could always throw it out there and look at a lighter material, possibly plaster, as an alternative and see if we can get similar results without the weight. Another benefit of this technique is the speed of doing it. That waterfall took around 5 hours from start to finish, including the mesh and rubble. It cost about £40 in materials. This way of working is very cheap and quick for good results. If we could find a way to adapt it to smaller vivs then I think this would be a good step forward. When finished it has the feel and durability of real rock. I could climb on the waterfall. Just some thoughts, maybe worth discussing more.


Another question about the technique youve used for the rockfall...If you dont mind.
Does the cement with the cement paint change or affect the water chemistry if done in say an aquatic setup or an area an animal will regularly drink from? 
Even once fully cured and set will it leech chemicals into the water? 
Thanks in advance for any reply and :victory:
well done! Its coming along nicely!


----------



## tomcannon

acromyrmexbob said:


> The cement technique does not naturally suit a smaller vivarium for a number of reasons. Actually the way it looks is not one of them. You could, on a smaller project, spend more time sculpting the rock and end up with a finish that would be hard to distinguish from the real thing. Working on a larger scale which will be viewed from a distance is actually why you do not need to be so careful but this technique, with smaller brushes, could easily produce very good results in a small viv. But I think weight could be a factor. Using wire mesh to shape the back requires a thicker layer of material to hide the mesh. Other materials may not be so easy to build up the cement on, so the finished product will tend to be heavier. In a vivarium that is made of wood and that will not be moved then I would not use any other technique. For large snakes and monitors this is the only way to go. They will tend to destroy foam based backgrounds and can dislodge boulders. The cement rock gives you all advantages in this setting. But in a glass tank or a small wooden one where there is a chance of having to move it around I would not use this method. We could always throw it out there and look at a lighter material, possibly plaster, as an alternative and see if we can get similar results without the weight. Another benefit of this technique is the speed of doing it. That waterfall took around 5 hours from start to finish, including the mesh and rubble. It cost about £40 in materials. This way of working is very cheap and quick for good results. If we could find a way to adapt it to smaller vivs then I think this would be a good step forward. When finished it has the feel and durability of real rock. I could climb on the waterfall. Just some thoughts, maybe worth discussing more.


I may have to give it a go!


----------



## acromyrmexbob

The coloured concrete rocks have to be treated in exactly the same way as normal concrete used in ponds and water receptacles accessed by animals. You would need to coat with a good quality pond sealer to prevent leaching. I do not think that the powder is particularly toxic to non amphibians and after a really good scrub with a brush and a hose there is no noticable loss of pigment or material from the surface of the stone. Having worked with this stuff for a long time I actually think it is very similar to Photocopier toner. I wouldn't be surprised if it was the same. Whereas paint is always adhered to the surface, the powder becomes part of the surface so it makes sense that it will stay. I have never tried to leave the finished rock untreated in situations where tank occupants can come into contact with it. Also its best not to use a gloss finish, matt is best.

That would be a good post, tomcannon, it would be interesting to see how plaster works. I think it would be fine. You should try it.


----------



## tomcannon

Do you think the cement powder colouring would work with plaster in the same way then?


----------



## acromyrmexbob

Yes it will. One factor though is that plaster sets an awful lot quicker than cement. So applying the powder to the surface may be more of a problem. So we need a suggestion for something that is lighter than cement and sets slowly like cement. Anyone got any ideas?


----------



## fatlad69

I don't know whether it would work as its like grout but you could try rockoflex. You can add dye to it but not sure if it would dry too quickly. You mix it into a paste about the consistency of peanut butter.


----------



## acromyrmexbob

Sounds like someones going to have to experiment with different products. There's another mix I have used which gives a good cave effect. You mix one part matt varnish, one part peat, half of one part cement, one part soil (going from memory) and then apply that to the background. It gives you instant realistic background. Don't shoot me on the proportions, I can look back if anyones interested. That would be an alternative to the heavy cement option.


----------



## my_shed

acromyrmexbob said:


> Sounds like someones going to have to experiment with different products. There's another mix I have used which gives a good cave effect. You mix one part matt varnish, one part peat, half of one part cement, one part soil (going from memory) and then apply that to the background. It gives you instant realistic background. Don't shoot me on the proportions, I can look back if anyones interested. That would be an alternative to the heavy cement option.


This sounds rather like something i'd like to try, any pics of the end result? Absolutely loving the build, I have an 8x6 greenhouse...........I keep eyeballing it and every time I come to the same conclusion........It's nowhere near big enough!!! :lol2:

Dave


----------



## Antherina

An amazing project.:2thumb: Now I know the work that went into producing that waterfall. Your greenhouse has changed a bit since I last visited it! Interested to know where the mantids came from. I suspect not the two species I have wild in my garden? You got three weeks to finish it!:whip:


----------



## acromyrmexbob

my_shed said:


> This sounds rather like something i'd like to try, any pics of the end result? Absolutely loving the build, I have an 8x6 greenhouse...........I keep eyeballing it and every time I come to the same conclusion........It's nowhere near big enough!!! :lol2:
> 
> Dave


I think you can do a lot with that size. I posted earlier in this thread about planting to disrupt eyeline. You should think along the lines of very narrow borders (deep for roots) around the outside of the greenhouse, maybe only 15cm wide. Then plant vines like passiflora around the edge. When these have grown they will take little space but will start to blur the impression of how big the greenhouse is. Then the centrepiece should be a waterfall, right up to the top of the greenhouse with a narrow path around ti. This stops you seeing to the end of the greehouse when you first come in. At the far end put a seat of some kind facing back towards the entrance but, of course, you cannot see the entrance because of the waterfall which has feature plants growing in borders all over it, enhancing the effect. Then you will have your own little piece of paradise to escape to.


----------



## acromyrmexbob

Antherina said:


> An amazing project.:2thumb: Now I know the work that went into producing that waterfall. Your greenhouse has changed a bit since I last visited it! Interested to know where the mantids came from. I suspect not the two species I have wild in my garden? You got three weeks to finish it!:whip:


I don't know the species, they were left over from a BBC documentary I made and, for want of anything to do with them I released 6 adults into the greenhouse. They have done very well.


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## snakefreak007

WOW! What a project! I wish I had started following this thread sooner! Your waterfall look phenomenal!  Cant wait to tune in on xmas day! What a christmas present it will be! Good luck fella! 
best, SnakeFreak007


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## rhysishere

acromyrmexbob said:


> Yes it will. One factor though is that plaster sets an awful lot quicker than cement. So applying the powder to the surface may be more of a problem. So we need a suggestion for something that is lighter than cement and sets slowly like cement. Anyone got any ideas?


ive seen carlite browning or bonding used with cement, gives a 'rough rocky' finish. just a couple of handle fulls of cement in a bucket of browning/bonding but beware it goes off quick!


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## acromyrmexbob

rhysishere said:


> ive seen carlite browning or bonding used with cement, gives a 'rough rocky' finish. just a couple of handle fulls of cement in a bucket of browning/bonding but beware it goes off quick!


Thats the problem. This technique is best appied when the cement is turning. The surface is firm and the powder is pushed into it. If this process happens too quickly it could set hard half way through the job. Perhaps in very small applications it may be worth a try. We could try other mixes such as peat with cement, 3:1, which would be light.


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## acromyrmexbob

*Bad News and Good News*

Hi, been entirely out of commission this week. A very large contract to install an entire Reptile / Amphib / Invert department at a zoo in UK has started quicker than I thought and so I have not got anywhere near the Tropical House this week. Today was the first time I have been able to get into the work again. The down side of this development is that this job will be solid from now until March so I will only be able to work on my own project at weekends. Christmas Day now looks impossible as a target to finish the River / Pond. My intention is to carry out the casting and completion of the river / pond prior to Christmas, as planned, but I cannot see any way that I can set the cement, dry the sealer, fill with water and bring up to temperature by Christmas, my original target. So I will keep posting developments as they happen, nothing changes other than the expected completion date.
The good news is that the project I am starting is a very exciting one and I was thinking of starting a new thread for that as well as this one. There are 36 separate displays and each one will incorporate a unique design and hopefully show the animals in a way they have not been seen before. The species list is shown below.
Horned Frog Marine Toad Poison Arrow Frogs Mannophrynne trinitatus (Trinidad Stream Frog) Leaf Cutting Ants Communual Tarantulas (Avicularia) Ball Termites Forest Scorpions Orb Spider Preying Mantis Chameleons False Water Cobra Red Footed Tortoise Land Crabs Stick Insects Green Tree Python Iguanas Large Snake Retic / Anaconda Dwarf Crocodiles Turtles / Terrapins Mangrove Snake Archer Fish Water Dragon Pipa Pipa Mudskippers Communual Tank Electric Catfish Moray Eel Piranha Leopard Gecko Monitor Desert Kingsnake Locusts Mexican Red Legged Tarantula Desert Horned Lizards Bearded Dragons.
I would very much appreciate input from members on this forum with ideas and suggestions as I develop each exhibit. Rather than start a new post for each of the 36 displays I will run one post and upload pictures, from Monday pm, of each area that is being worked on. I will call the new post 'New Zoo Displays, Commercial Project' and will start it Monday pm.
In the mean time I will upload some pictures of this weekends activity in the Greenhouse here.


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## Hamish198

Oh really....that old chestnut eh ??? lmao 
We'll let you off this time :lol2:

Hamish.


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## the_viper

lots of rubs and racking then ? lol, can't wait to see what they are going to be and now we have the bonus of 2 threads to watch


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## ronnyjodes

That sounds really interesting, especially the phib stuff but making a horned frog look remotely interesting is going to be an interesting challenge :lol2:.
What zoo is this for?


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## acromyrmexbob

Can't really reveal the name of the zoo until the project is finished but I suspect that when the pictures are online it won't be rocket science for someone to work it out.

Here's a picture of the greenhouse and some work I did a couple of weeks ago in an area away from the pond. In the centre of the greenhouse was a very large border. I dug down around 7 feet and created a path. This path leads to the window in the pond as you can see.










The reason I wanted to do this was as follows. I was able to place some heated water pipes under the gravel path. When the greenhouse is watered the gravel actually steams which causes a cloud across the greenhouse so the plants are effectively sitting in cloud like humidity for a part of the day. Also you can see the soil banks on either side. I will release some ground spiders, perhaps Inceii from Trinidad or maybe Chevrons. They will occupy burrows in these banks. I also plan on having a couple of colonies of Acromyrmex leaf cutters living in these banks. They offer a niche for a lot of the animals I plan to have loose around the garden. 










Obviously they will be planted. I intend to take a typical central american bank and sample all of the plants I find there, bring back representatives and plant them together here. I think there will be many interactions that we are unaware of and this will be a good opportunity to see if that is the case. BTW I have lots of species of Trinidad plants spare if anyone is interested, pm me. One final plan for these banks is to dig a chamber with a narrow entrance and populate this 'cave' with Blabberus giganticus, the very large cockroach found in bat caves in Central American tropics.


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## zekee

Will you be monitoring the numbers you release in here? As would be interesting how this mini eco system progresses, whether certain populations explode or some suffer a decline?


----------



## acromyrmexbob

I think, for certain, the population of predators will need to be watched carefully. I can set up nice food pyramids, for example Tarantulas preying on Cockroaches, but if the spiders also start eating my prize frogs and toads there days will be numbered. I will have two populations of Gonatodes lizards, ceciliae and vitatus. They are small enough that spiders, mantids, land crabs and even frogs could take them. So I will monitor very carefully what is going on.


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## zekee

Very interesting concept. I am really enjoying this thread


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## SeanEK4

look forward to the new project


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## acromyrmexbob

Spent ages and ages this weekend drilling the footing away from the high wall that houses the viewing window. Because I was working in the pond I had to run the drainage pump because the mud here is ankle deep. The picture below shows the wall now dug down to its proper depth with the foundations trimmed flush. 



















Its now a case of lining the sides of the pond and river with rebar mesh, attaching the hot water pipes and the pump pipe and casting the cement.


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## rexob

its looking very good.


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## vukic

Awesome build... Shame about your xmas swim though.. :-(

Sent from my LT18i using Tapatalk 2


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## nathans

this is such an immense project you may have the best job in the world! I'm so jealous :2thumb:


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## acromyrmexbob

This weekend will see the Steel and hotwater pipes installed into the river and pond. That will only leave the cement. As I said I think the project will be finished at Christmas, just not filled and running. I am working in Trinidad for two weeks in January so will probably aim to have everything done by then.


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## rexob

acromyrmexbob said:


> I am working in Trinidad for two weeks in January so will probably aim to have everything done by then.


Trinidad.......lucky thing.... well cant wait to see the cement work finished :2thumb:


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## Kreations

This is awesome!


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## Kreations

Oh man what a set up!! Great job

*edit ahh bugger wrong thread, already posted on this one lol


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## JohansonLeos

Cool :2thumb: .


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## Janine00

acromyrmexbob said:


> The cement technique does not naturally suit a smaller vivarium for a number of reasons. Actually the way it looks is not one of them. You could, on a smaller project, spend more time sculpting the rock and end up with a finish that would be hard to distinguish from the real thing. Working on a larger scale which will be viewed from a distance is actually why you do not need to be so careful but this technique, with smaller brushes, could easily produce very good results in a small viv. But I think weight could be a factor. Using wire mesh to shape the back requires a thicker layer of material to hide the mesh. Other materials may not be so easy to build up the cement on, so the finished product will tend to be heavier. In a vivarium that is made of wood and that will not be moved then I would not use any other technique. For large snakes and monitors this is the only way to go. They will tend to destroy foam based backgrounds and can dislodge boulders. The cement rock gives you all advantages in this setting. But in a glass tank or a small wooden one where there is a chance of having to move it around I would not use this method. We could always throw it out there and look at a lighter material, possibly plaster, as an alternative and see if we can get similar results without the weight. Another benefit of this technique is the speed of doing it. That waterfall took around 5 hours from start to finish, including the mesh and rubble. It cost about £40 in materials. This way of working is very cheap and quick for good results. If we could find a way to adapt it to smaller vivs then I think this would be a good step forward. When finished it has the feel and durability of real rock. I could climb on the waterfall. Just some thoughts, maybe worth discussing more.


I'm presently using micafil and concrete to sculpt and fill around the back of a cast iron fire and grate that I am installing... did think I may give this a go as part of a background rock display for some of my larger snakes using pond sealer coated hardboard as backing so it is removable and as other methods don't work with heavy bodied snakes.... mmmmm... so many idea's coming from this thread it's unbelievable.... including wishing I had used wire mesh to 'sculp' the back of my blooming fireplace and rough fill first!! Thanks aBob!! : victory:


----------



## medusa0373

acromyrmexbob said:


> image


This is an amazing project, but is it just me or can anyone else see a TEDDY BEAR on the right-hand side of the waterfall if you click on this picture??? He's looking at the other side of the waterfall and he's kind of got his arms tucked just under his chin.... :blush:

Epic build though, it will be stunning when it's finished.


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## my_shed

medusa0373 said:


> This is an amazing project, but is it just me or can anyone else see a TEDDY BEAR on the right-hand side of the waterfall if you click on this picture??? He's looking at the other side of the waterfall and he's kind of got his arms tucked just under his chin.... :blush:
> 
> Epic build though, it will be stunning when it's finished.


Lol Yeah, I see it too, that is awesome!!

:lol2:


----------



## markhill

medusa0373 said:


> This is an amazing project, but is it just me or can anyone else see a TEDDY BEAR on the right-hand side of the waterfall if you click on this picture??? He's looking at the other side of the waterfall and he's kind of got his arms tucked just under his chin.... :blush:
> 
> Epic build though, it will be stunning when it's finished.


looks like a Koala tree hugging :2thumb:


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## Meko

if you mean right down at the bottom on the right, he's also got a massive boner.


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## markhill

Meko said:


> if you mean right down at the bottom on the right, he's also got a massive boner.


:lol2:


----------



## acromyrmexbob

Meko said:


> if you mean right down at the bottom on the right, he's also got a massive boner.


Do you mean me or the Waterfall Bear?


----------



## rexob

medusa0373 said:


> This is an amazing project, but is it just me or can anyone else see a TEDDY BEAR on the right-hand side of the waterfall if you click on this picture??? He's looking at the other side of the waterfall and he's kind of got his arms tucked just under his chin.... :blush:
> 
> Epic build though, it will be stunning when it's finished.


 
yeah i can see the bear.


----------



## medusa0373

Meko said:


> if you mean right down at the bottom on the right, he's also got a massive boner.





acromyrmexbob said:


> Do you mean me or the Waterfall Bear?


:lol2: :lol2:


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## Antherina

*Trinidad*

Enjoy your trip. You can send me some spicy sauce mix.


----------



## acromyrmexbob

Just had a delivery of sheets of steel for the reinforcing of the pond and river. This is great because I can now move forward on this. Been stuck for a while due to lack of time and wrong product being delivered but I am planning to spend some time this week installing the steel and the hot water pipes. I have time off next week so its casting time!


----------



## acromyrmexbob

Just on account of the fact that I am feeling guilty about the lack of updates on this thread and because I don't want anyone to think this project is losing momentum, the following pics are of another enclosure we are working on just now (hence the lack of free time) which probably has little or no relevance on this forum other than the fact that I am about to build a large waterfall out of artificial rock. The enclosure is for Asian Short Clawed Otters and the exhibit is being entirely refurbished as you can see. Like I say, the only reason I am posting this is because this work is the reason I am not getting anywhere near the river / pond project just now.


















That pile of rubble in the picture above is what will be come a very large waterfall. Not large in height but covering around 25 sq meters. I think we are building the waterfall on Monday (and if anyones interested I can post pictures) but I should be able to do the metal reinforcing work in my own pond and river project this weekend.


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## vukic

Cool project.. Looks good as well.. Lol.. 

Sent from my LT18i using Tapatalk 2


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## acromyrmexbob

*Progress!!!!!*

Well I finally compromised my morals and decided to call one of my guys in from the zoo project to help me for a few days. What a progress I have made today! 
Firstly I thought I had only a few buckets of soil still to remove. We must have dug out around 250 buckets of dirt today. Must be a few tons of dirt. That took a good part of the day but the whole project looks transformed. No more dirt to dig out! Thats around 5 months of digging finished. To be honest over the past few weeks the thought of going out to dig on my own after a shift at the zoo has been a real dread. Getting my guy to help was a real boost.

Once the soil was removed from the pond area and the depth was right we fitted 3" polystyrene sheets against the external wall, both for insulation and to reduce the amount of cement we will have to use.




























Then we started to fit the rebar mesh which will reinforce the cement and provide the strength against the water pressure. (Hopefully!)





































Tomorrow the mesh rebar will be complete!


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## Jono2411

Great progress!
This is such a wonderful project, its been a pleasure to read and I can't wait to see the finished product!

I hope you had a merry Christmas.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2


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## nathans

really starting to take shape looking immense :2thumb:


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## daniel4united

Really talented guy! Amazing!


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## acromyrmexbob

More metal fitted now.

The large bore hose which will run from the pond to the pump is laid down so the metalwork and the cement can cover it.










It reaches a little way down the river and will need a pipe joined to it to make it to the pond.










Below you can see where it passes through the wall of the pond into the prep room where all the filtration stuff will sit.










So now we continued fitting the metal mesh.......










There is a telephone pole right at the side of the pond. When the greenhouse was originally built we built it around the telephone pole in the garden. Apparently we should actually have gotten it moved because when BT came to check it they condemned it saying none of their engineers would climb it now there was glass all around the base. So if we get a fault in our telephone at any time in the future we will have to pay to get a new telephone pole fitted and divert our telephone line away from the greenhouse! Anyway this pole moves in the wind so instead of cementing tightly around it (risk of cracking the pond when the pole shakes) I fitted some padding around it first to allow movement.










I think the shot below is a really good view of the river with the mesh fitted.










And looking back up the river......










Then coming round the bend towards the pond.....










And into the pond, or mud wallow!.......










Tomorrow we will fit the mesh onto the bottom and, if time permits, fit the hot water pipes too.


----------



## the_viper

Coming along great now and can really see the shape


----------



## SeanEK4

amazing work as ever! really starting to take shape now!


----------



## machine66

ive just cleaned out and redesigned my crested gecko tank and was feeling really happy and impressed with it until i seen this now im just going to bow my head in shame and wimper in a corner :lol2: but great work and cant wait to see the final out come :2thumb:


----------



## benjaybo

very nice is coming along nicely done a great job there
:2thumb:


----------



## rexob

its looking awesome now matey :2thumb:


----------



## acromyrmexbob

machine66 said:


> ive just cleaned out and redesigned my crested gecko tank and was feeling really happy and impressed with it until i seen this now im just going to bow my head in shame and wimper in a corner :lol2: but great work and cant wait to see the final out come :2thumb:


Actually its swings and roundabouts. The effort and commitment of doing such a big project as this almost becomes the hobby and it is easy to lose sight of the whole point of why you are doing it in the first place. I have been digging for months now, even although digging is not my hobby! When its finally finished and running it will be really nice to relax in the middle of it but the cost in terms of manhours and materials is considerable. I think there is much to be said about small enclosures which can be changed and modified in a few hours unless you are absolutely certain that the end product you acheive after months of work is what you want and you are unlikely to change your mind after its finished. I can't tell you how many times I wished it was a 4 foot tank I was working on rather than this big area. Thats not to say I am anything other than really excited to get it done, just trying to balance the arguement..... big is not always best!


----------



## acromyrmexbob

Fitted the heating pipes to half the pond / river today. 
I found the centre of a 50m roll of barrier pipe, the kind used in underfloor heating. I attached this to the furthest away point using cable ties and then worked my way round the pond and then river wall.




























and then up near the waterfall the pipe crosses over and runs along with the large water return pipe into the prep room where the heating plant is situated.



















Then its down to work with the scissors to trim up the long ends and neaten up the job.




























Just out of interest, can't remember if I mentioned it before but there is a rain system controlled by water computers. This rains in the greenhouse twice per day. At this time of year, the greenhouse is just coming out of the dry season and into the wet season. The rain has been on for 5 minutes twice a day but last week I increased it to 75 minutes twice per day. All of the plants are responding very well having died back a lot during my dry season. This morrors what is happening over in Trinidad where most of the animals that I will put into the greenhouse are coming from. The rain was on when I went out earlier and I tried to take a picture but unfortunately you can't make out the rain.


----------



## CameronJames

Looking forward to seeing this progress


----------



## rexob

it's coming along nicely.


----------



## SeanEK4

such a mad build!

what heats the heat pipes?


----------



## Iguanaquinn

Wow. Hope yo live close to EK lol.


----------



## Nel5on

SeanEK4 said:


> such a mad build!
> 
> what heats the heat pipes?


im assuming hot water pumps through them? i may be wrong though? the build looks amazing.


----------



## acromyrmexbob

SeanEK4 said:


> such a mad build!
> 
> what heats the heat pipes?


Its a central heating boiler which heats the water and pumps it through 3 greenhouses. This system is superb, cheap and really effective. I had a big greenhouse set up years ago and space heated it, like the way they space heat tropical houses with big oil fired hot air blowers. The trouble is at head height you cook but at ground level the cold in winter is dramatic! This means any ground living species can go into hibernation whilst the arboreal ones are stewing. Its a disaster for plants whos roots sit in cold soil whilst the growing tops are tropical. Everything dies. Undersoil heating ensures that any heat in the top layer of the greenhouse has travelled there through the traditional cold layers of the soil and ground levels. Plants will grow year round and any pools of water that form when you are watering are quickly turned into water vapour. In my greenhouse after watering there is a layer of mist sitting in amoung the plants. I will be bringing frogs over from Central America later in the year and they will do well in this set up. I will use this method of heating in every set up I do where I can. I would even recommend that you look at using a variation of this to heat smaller tanks. Using a 300w aquarium heater in a tank situated alongside a viarium and an aquarium pump to send the water through pipes positioned around the vivarium would provide a good background heat. Aquarium heaters will happily take water up to 32C which will translate to a vivarium temperature of around 23C, ideal as a background temperature for my subjects. Just an idea.


----------



## vukic

acromyrmexbob said:


> . I would even recommend that you look at using a variation of this to heat smaller tanks. Using a 300w aquarium heater in a tank situated alongside a viarium and an aquarium pump to send the water through pipes positioned around the vivarium would provide a good background heat. Aquarium heaters will happily take water up to 32C which will translate to a vivarium temperature of around 23C, ideal as a background temperature for my subjects. Just an idea.


Now that my friend is a marvelous idea!!!

Sent from my LT18i using Tapatalk 2


----------



## mooielawson

This is one truly stunning thread and cant wait for the next installment of pictures. I felt proud when i set up my 4ft viv with LED's - i'm now ashamed of myself and questionning my masculinity. :notworthy:


----------



## Spuddy

mooielawson said:


> i'm now ashamed of myself and questionning my masculinity. :notworthy:



Sounds like you have some more pressing, underlying issues here haha.


----------



## fatlad69

acromyrmexbob said:


> Its a central heating boiler which heats the water and pumps it through 3 greenhouses. This system is superb, cheap and really effective. I had a big greenhouse set up years ago and space heated it, like the way they space heat tropical houses with big oil fired hot air blowers. The trouble is at head height you cook but at ground level the cold in winter is dramatic! This means any ground living species can go into hibernation whilst the arboreal ones are stewing. Its a disaster for plants whos roots sit in cold soil whilst the growing tops are tropical. Everything dies. Undersoil heating ensures that any heat in the top layer of the greenhouse has travelled there through the traditional cold layers of the soil and ground levels. Plants will grow year round and any pools of water that form when you are watering are quickly turned into water vapour. In my greenhouse after watering there is a layer of mist sitting in amoung the plants. I will be bringing frogs over from Central America later in the year and they will do well in this set up. I will use this method of heating in every set up I do where I can. I would even recommend that you look at using a variation of this to heat smaller tanks. Using a 300w aquarium heater in a tank situated alongside a viarium and an aquarium pump to send the water through pipes positioned around the vivarium would provide a good background heat. Aquarium heaters will happily take water up to 32C which will translate to a vivarium temperature of around 23C, ideal as a background temperature for my subjects. Just an idea.


Great idea, especially for a larger viv. i suppose with the right plumbing you may be able to heat multiple vivs in this way.

Adam


----------



## acromyrmexbob

You could heat a whole collection of animals this way. Its the most effective method, in my opinion, of transferring heat into multiple units. A variation I use is to link tanks to each other and pump heated water from a resevoir at the bottom to the top tank and let it cascade down through channels in each tank until it reaches the base tank. This heats and humidifies each tank and is ideal for Rainforest amphibians and those creatures that need close to 100% humidity like Leaf Cutting Ants. I will photograph the next time I build one which should be in the next few weeks.


----------



## fatlad69

acromyrmexbob said:


> You could heat a whole collection of animals this way. Its the most effective method, in my opinion, of transferring heat into multiple units. A variation I use is to link tanks to each other and pump heated water from a resevoir at the bottom to the top tank and let it cascade down through channels in each tank until it reaches the base tank. This heats and humidifies each tank and is ideal for Rainforest amphibians and those creatures that need close to 100% humidity like Leaf Cutting Ants. I will photograph the next time I build one which should be in the next few weeks.


I will look forward to seeing that.

Adam


----------



## lungz

! just found this thread and I'm astounded. From the greenhouse project, the ongoing zoo work and the humble 'oh it's the best way..... In fact I'll post a few pics when I next do xyz which should be on a few weeks." 

You sir are a legend and should be interviewed for numerous hobby magazines of varying types if not featured in a tv documentary of some description. I tip my cap on your direction most respectfully and full of awe.


----------



## switchback

Wow what a great read!

Really cant wait for some more pics.....

Gona go look at the zoo thread now lol.....

Need or want an apprentice? :2thumb:


----------



## acromyrmexbob

*Plants*

Hi, start of the year. I am planning to run the story of this rainforest habitat through the years cycle so I thought it might be interesting, in between developments in the main greenhouse, to post some information from behind the scenes. I run a backup greenhouse which is a nursery for the plants I bring back from the rainforest or buy cheap because they are nearly dead from the garden centres. It is heated by the same underground pipe system supplemented by two small radiators which are linked to the underground heating so the hot pipes run through them before returning to the boiler.










The automatic rain system is on just now in these pics.










It looks misty because of the rain and also because it is very very humid in here, close to 100%.



















Because I bring plants back from the rainforest (around 200-300 at a time) and grow them on to plant in the bigger greenhouse, there are some very unusual plants. I do not think there are any of the plant below in the UK, its called Poke Weed, you can buy seeds and there is a variagated version around but this one is beautiful.










All I can say is that after it flowers it looks like something out of Dr Who!

My absolute favourite thing is to visit B&Q's, Garden Centres, Homebases, anywhere they sell house plants. They get a batch in and 3 weeks later those that have not sold are nearly dead. I buy these plants between 10p and £2 depending on how dead they are and how big. Two weeks in the hot house and they are amazing, regardless of how bad they were. For instance the two orchids below were bought for £1 each, they were basically ready for the bin, about 8 weeks ago. This is how they look now......










Just bought 4 venus fly traps last week, reduced from £4.99 to 50p. Within a couple of weeks they will be prefect.










This hibiscus was reduced from £4.99 to 39p and then, when they though it was dead, down to 15p! Its looking great now.

A previously 'dead' banana from B&Q.....










As soon as the heat, the rain and the humidity gets them, they are happy as pigs in the proverbial stuff!

Another bush plant which I can't find elsewhere in the UK......










And this Ficus benjamina was 15p from Homebase, had no leaves and looked like a twig until the greenhouse got it 3 months ago....










If anyone would like any cuttings or plants from overseas please pm me, I often have spare. As long as you cover postage, you would be welcome to some.


----------



## yuesaur

i wish i could grow plants for my cresties exo.

i can't even grow weeds. *sobs*


----------



## bobo1

fantastic read


----------



## acromyrmexbob

Some updates.
Planning to send some plants out to those who want them early next week.
Will do somemore to the greenhouse pond and river this weekend and will post. Time is very tight just now with the zoo work.
Just been commissioned to work with Natural History Unit of BBC in Bristol to make an Ant programme. Don't know if I mentioned earlier but I made a documentary with BBC earlier this year entitled Planet Ants. This will be aired in March or April, I think. You'll get to see me crawling around in Trinidad digging sh*t up!
Just released crickets into greenhouse to hopefully start breeding prior to introduction of specimens in a couple of months.
Trinidad trip looks likely to be 3rd week in Febuary, can sometimes get hold of unusual stuff. A few years ago I brought back some Megalobuliminus, Central American Land Snail. They are, for a snail, quite spectacular.
As I have offered plants to anyone who would like some, so I would be interested in any South American plants, especially vines, if you have any around. Thanks.


----------



## rexob

amazing photo's and story behind them just amazing wish i had green fingers, love the fly traps and the wife has always liked orchids. :2thumb:






acromyrmexbob said:


> Hi, start of the year. I am planning to run the story of this rainforest habitat through the years cycle so I thought it might be interesting, in between developments in the main greenhouse, to post some information from behind the scenes. I run a backup greenhouse which is a nursery for the plants I bring back from the rainforest or buy cheap because they are nearly dead from the garden centres. It is heated by the same underground pipe system supplemented by two small radiators which are linked to the underground heating so the hot pipes run through them before returning to the boiler.
> 
> image
> 
> The automatic rain system is on just now in these pics.
> 
> image
> 
> It looks misty because of the rain and also because it is very very humid in here, close to 100%.
> 
> image
> 
> image
> 
> Because I bring plants back from the rainforest (around 200-300 at a time) and grow them on to plant in the bigger greenhouse, there are some very unusual plants. I do not think there are any of the plant below in the UK, its called Poke Weed, you can buy seeds and there is a variagated version around but this one is beautiful.
> 
> image
> 
> All I can say is that after it flowers it looks like something out of Dr Who!
> 
> My absolute favourite thing is to visit B&Q's, Garden Centres, Homebases, anywhere they sell house plants. They get a batch in and 3 weeks later those that have not sold are nearly dead. I buy these plants between 10p and £2 depending on how dead they are and how big. Two weeks in the hot house and they are amazing, regardless of how bad they were. For instance the two orchids below were bought for £1 each, they were basically ready for the bin, about 8 weeks ago. This is how they look now......
> 
> image
> 
> Just bought 4 venus fly traps last week, reduced from £4.99 to 50p. Within a couple of weeks they will be prefect.
> 
> image
> 
> This hibiscus was reduced from £4.99 to 39p and then, when they though it was dead, down to 15p! Its looking great now.
> 
> A previously 'dead' banana from B&Q.....
> 
> image
> 
> As soon as the heat, the rain and the humidity gets them, they are happy as pigs in the proverbial stuff!
> 
> Another bush plant which I can't find elsewhere in the UK......
> 
> image
> 
> And this Ficus benjamina was 15p from Homebase, had no leaves and looked like a twig until the greenhouse got it 3 months ago....
> 
> image
> 
> If anyone would like any cuttings or plants from overseas please pm me, I often have spare. As long as you cover postage, you would be welcome to some.


----------



## SkinsNScales

i would love to see the brochure if you sell the house *comes with off road parking, double glazing and tropical river :lol2:*


----------



## yuesaur

acromyrmexbob said:


> Some updates.
> Planning to send some plants out to those who want them early next week.
> Will do somemore to the greenhouse pond and river this weekend and will post. Time is very tight just now with the zoo work.
> Just been commissioned to work with Natural History Unit of BBC in Bristol to make an Ant programme. Don't know if I mentioned earlier but I made a documentary with BBC earlier this year entitled Planet Ants. This will be aired in March or April, I think. You'll get to see me crawling around in Trinidad digging sh*t up!
> Just released crickets into greenhouse to hopefully start breeding prior to introduction of specimens in a couple of months.
> Trinidad trip looks likely to be 3rd week in Febuary, can sometimes get hold of unusual stuff. A few years ago I brought back some Megalobuliminus, Central American Land Snail. They are, for a snail, quite spectacular.
> As I have offered plants to anyone who would like some, so I would be interested in any South American plants, especially vines, if you have any around. Thanks.


i have an exoterra vine if you want one? :whistling2:


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## pussmunky

having sat and read for around an hour ill definately be subscribing, great work! cant wait to see it finished :2thumb:


----------



## Xelazander

Looks incredible, can't wait to see the next update! Very jealous.


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## acromyrmexbob

Guys, sorry for the lack of progress updates. We are behind schedule due to weather up at the Zoo so we are all hands on deck. I will be completing the river / pond soon and will post updates when I get a chance. Sorry again.


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## luna

wow, amazing! just amazing


----------



## djgbkr92

This is brilliant mate.


----------



## acromyrmexbob

Just a quick update. Very frustrated that I cannot get to this, work at the zoo is very time consuming and I am about to add to this with several other jobs prior to easter. Hoping to free a day soon to start the casting but its difficult. My initial plan to finish for Christmas seems like a distant memory now. Easter might be unreasonable also but I am dreaming of the time when all the zoos open and none of them want to see me for 6 months! I will update when there are more developments.


----------



## joshhammond

acromyrmexbob said:


> Just a quick update. Very frustrated that I cannot get to this, work at the zoo is very time consuming and I am about to add to this with several other jobs prior to easter. Hoping to free a day soon to start the casting but its difficult. My initial plan to finish for Christmas seems like a distant memory now. Easter might be unreasonable also but I am dreaming of the time when all the zoos open and none of them want to see me for 6 months! I will update when there are more developments.


hope you can get back to working on this soon mate. just been through this entire thread and am absolutely gobsmacked!

amazing work

cant wait to see your next progress update 

keep up the incredible work!


----------



## switchback

acromyrmexbob said:


> Just a quick update. Very frustrated that I cannot get to this, work at the zoo is very time consuming and I am about to add to this with several other jobs prior to easter. Hoping to free a day soon to start the casting but its difficult. My initial plan to finish for Christmas seems like a distant memory now. Easter might be unreasonable also but I am dreaming of the time when all the zoos open and none of them want to see me for 6 months! I will update when there are more developments.


It must be very frustrating for you but as you say hopefully the zoo's will leave you alone in a couple months 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk and technology


----------



## mitsi

just found this thread, looks amazing, cant wait to see the finished thing.


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## popeye92

again wow ur work is excellent


----------



## acromyrmexbob

:2thumb:
Really chuffed with things!!
Got a team of builders starting on a zoo project but decided to get them in early and finish my pond / river project!
Today we got loads of materials, cement, gravel, granite dust, pipe, plastic sheet etc. 
This evening they started by laying polythene sheet down on the base of the pond and overlaying this with steel mesh. The heating pipe was placed ontop of this also.










where the pipe to the pump ended we attached a new pipe to go down to the pond where this will form the overflow to feed the pump.










you can see the route of the pipe here.










the pipe then heads round the bend










and into the pond area where the cement is being poured for the floor










the first job is to create a lower 'sump' chamber in the floor of the pond so a pump can be placed into this for the purpose of draining the water from the pond, should this ever prove necessary










the sump area is formed with wooden shutters.

The return pipe travels up the inside of the far end wall and comes out into the pond just below the surface. Here is will eventually form an overflow point.










Photographed from above, the wooden shuttering of the sump area can be seen.










Tomorrow the guys are going to completely finish the river and pond floor. Monday they will fit the window and polish the base, Tuesday they will fix the shuttering for the sides etc. I hope to report real progress to you over the next week! Really happy to get going on this again.


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## kitschyduck

Joined the party late, but now I've subscribed :2thumb:


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## pirez

Awesome, can't wait to see more!:2thumb:


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## acromyrmexbob

We laid the floor of the river and pond today!
The pond area with its drain sump was done first.










The wooden battons are around a foot above the cement to allow the workers to reach the cement without standing in it.










once the cement dries for a few hours we will polish it with a float to remove all the trowel marks and provide a good siurface for the pond paint to adhere to.

When the following picture was taken we had reach the bend in the river with the cement.










One of the workers pours cement in to the river from the path. Its this point where we will get into the water when its finished.



















and then we basically balance on the wooden beams to work the surface of the cement.










and then we need to wait until the cement is firmer until we can work it and remove the trowel marks.





































tomorrow the floor needs to be left until its hard enough to walk on. In the mean time there are a few bits and pieces we can do like wall building and patching. Happy days!


----------



## Envy

Looks great! Are you going to put stones or pebbles ontop of the cement?


----------



## acromyrmexbob

Neither. This will be based on a river in Central American rainforest. The ones I've studied have rocky outcrops and then large stretches of sand between them. The fish congregate around the rocks and then dart to another outcrop across the open space between. So the substrate will be sand.


----------



## Envy

I see. Sounds great. Actually cannot wait to see the final product!


----------



## RW97herps

This is incredible: victory:can't wait to see more


----------



## acromyrmexbob

Spent a little time today polishing the surface of the pond and river base. Its very difficult to take pictures of this process, its quite subtle, but the surface is now very smooth.










there are more hot water pipes going through the wall now. I can't turn these on until the pond is finished, they would dry the cement too quickly and it would crack.










the base is now holding the steel cage in place so when we cast the sides they should form a tight bond with the ground.










We were only in working for an hour today because the floor is too soft to stand on. We can move forward again when it is dry.


----------



## Rammy

Only just found this thread tonight, but it has led to a couple of hours interesting read. Another fantastic project by you which leaves me wanting more updates.
Absolutely outstanding work and I thank you for sharing it with us.

Dave


----------



## rexob

fantastic to see you have found some time away from the zoo to have a go at you're river/pond, it is looking awesome cant wait for some more updates :2thumb:


----------



## acromyrmexbob

Today we fitted the last heating coil to the pond / river.

The 50m coil is laid out ready to be attached to the river / pond side.










It is clipped with wire along the underside of the viewing window










and up the left side of the river










so with the heating coil now buried in the cement on the floor, all sides of the pond are now fitted with hot water heating pipes ready to be connected once the cement has cured.


----------



## targonne

its coming out awesome 

Did you make a budget for this project? can you share it?


----------



## acromyrmexbob

The spend on this is quite large when everything is taken into account. Because I have done the work myself it has been less expensive but if I was to cost it for a customer, including the greenhouse build, it would be around £30000.00. The river and pond on its own has cost me around £3000 so far, in materials and help. When you look at it all like that I think I need help, professional help!:surrender:


----------



## targonne

Ahahah,
I can provide help services, for around 30k + a hand building if you would like, come on down to sunny Portugal 

and we can fix you!!

All in all, its a massive build, but i believe you and your family will enjoy it for years to come, so it is worth it, to have a slice of paradise in your own backward.


----------



## vukic

Just imagine when you come to sell the property.. Lol.. 

Sent from my LT18i using Tapatalk 2


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## kitschyduck

vukic said:


> Just imagine when you come to sell the property.. Lol..
> 
> Sent from my LT18i using Tapatalk 2


I'd buy it!!!
The people that owned my house before me used to have a pigeon avery at the bottom of the garden, but they got rid of it and landscaped the garden so they could put the house on sale without it putting off any buyers. 

I really wish they left it in - I could have had kinkajous in there, or some other exotic!


----------



## iLoveFish

Omg this looks great will be watching this come togher 


/Neil


----------



## targonne

How are you planning to heat all those pipes? it seems like a lot of heating to be done with electricity, or gas?


----------



## acromyrmexbob

Sorry guys, having problems with Photobucket, waiting for a server error to be fixed, got an update to post, soon as problem fixed.


----------



## fatlad69

acromyrmexbob said:


> Sorry guys, having problems with Photobucket, waiting for a server error to be fixed, got an update to post, soon as problem fixed.


:bash:


----------



## acromyrmexbob

> How are you planning to heat all those pipes? it seems like a lot of heating to be done with electricity, or gas?


The pipes are filled with hot water heated by a central heating gas boiler. Will work out at around £40 per week.

Photobucket is playing up so not sure if all my images will work. 

We started to shutter the sides of the river and pond prior to pouring the cement.










Round the bend










you can see the increase in the level of the water from the way the board height drops round the bend. We will pour cement up to the level of the board and then, when the cement is firm enough we will move the boards up to their finished height and pour final amount.


----------



## Luke

I always look forward to updates on this, am I the only one that wishes there was a video of its build, like grand designs but on a much more interesting scale. 
One question: Whats the admission fees when its finished?? :lol2:


----------



## rexob

coming on very nicely :no1:


----------



## acromyrmexbob

> am I the only one that wishes there was a video of its build, like grand designs but on a much more interesting scale.
> One question: Whats the admission fees when its finished??


The video would have too many blanked out swear words to be shown at a decent time of night. And anyone who wants to would be more than welcome to come see it when its finished. Bring your trunks (or preferrably, your bikinni) and swim with the fishes!


----------



## acromyrmexbob

Working on pouring the sides today!!!!!!:2thumb:

Lots more bracers fitted to the shuttering to support the concrete



















and now the cement is poured into the narrow gap at the top. Its messy work










I'll worry about the plants after the concrete is in. Lots of overspill and mess. I will hose the concrete off the plants after we have finished.










the area around the waterfall is now able to be poured....




























now the waterfall area is vibrated to bring the water to the surface and it looks smooth and sexy!



















we are still working on this tonight so more updates tomorrow.


----------



## mingcho02

Wow, man this is the most amazing thing i have ever seen. This guy is my hero and i am his biggest ever fan yeah baby yeah.


----------



## Jb1432

mingcho02 said:


> Wow, man this is the most amazing thing i have ever seen. This guy is my hero and i am his biggest ever fan yeah baby yeah.


:lol2:


----------



## 39761

looking pukka m8


----------



## lew924

Subbed looks awesome


----------



## acromyrmexbob

Some more work on concreting of pond and river. The shuttering is removed form the first portion which is not yet full height.










and the concrete is poured into the shuttering round the corner and into the pond



















just a short one tonight.


----------



## Deviant

Can't wait to see the finished result


----------



## debsandpets

Absolutely awesome build. Loing forward to seeing it completed


----------



## pirez

Hi Andy!:2thumb:


----------



## Paul112

For anyone wanting the ant program on BBC that was mentioned:
Planet Ant: life inside the colony

Very cool stuff, must have been amazing to work on! I loved the digging bit, finding the queen looked like a heck of a job!

Best,
Paul


----------



## rexob

Deviant said:


> Can't wait to see the finished result


yeah same hear


----------



## acromyrmexbob

Concreting goes on apace!

Full height is not reached which can be seen in the picture below with a brush for scale










That position is some way up the river where the finished water level will be around 150cm. In the pond the depth will be closer to 180cm which will be good for snorkeling.

The poured wall continues at full height around the bend










Further up the river the shuttering is fitted to the other side. This is great news because now we are on the home stretch!










and viewed from the other side...










The wooden border edging has been replaced with the cement so the plants are now able to grow over this to create a good bank effect at either side of the river when we are swimming up and down it, watching the fish.










Meanwhile I have been stocking the other greenhouse with fresh plants so when the river and pond are fully poured and ready I can replant all of the borders and fill up any spaces.


----------



## fatlad69

Looks fantastic, can't wait to see it finished. Nice work!


----------



## rexob

Paul112 said:


> For anyone wanting the ant program on BBC that was mentioned:
> Planet Ant: life inside the colony
> 
> Very cool stuff, must have been amazing to work on! I loved the digging bit, finding the queen looked like a heck of a job!
> 
> Best,
> Paul


yes i really enjoyed watching this great job andy


----------



## my_shed

acromyrmexbob said:


> Concreting goes on apace!
> 
> Full height is not reached which can be seen in the picture below with a brush for scale
> 
> image
> 
> That position is some way up the river where the finished water level will be around 150cm. In the pond the depth will be closer to 180cm which will be good for snorkeling.
> 
> The poured wall continues at full height around the bend
> 
> image
> 
> Further up the river the shuttering is fitted to the other side. This is great news because now we are on the home stretch!
> 
> image
> 
> and viewed from the other side...
> 
> image
> 
> The wooden border edging has been replaced with the cement so the plants are now able to grow over this to create a good bank effect at either side of the river when we are swimming up and down it, watching the fish.
> 
> image
> 
> Meanwhile I have been stocking the other greenhouse with fresh plants so when the river and pond are fully poured and ready I can replant all of the borders and fill up any spaces.
> 
> image


The other _greenhouse*s*?! _How many do you have?! It's coming along great, and you have no idea of the envy I feel at seeing your greenhouse (the one with the plants in.......I think everybody knows how jealous I am of the river one)

Great job on the documentary too, I'm guessing they glossed over how much work it was digging out the entire colony!

Dave


----------



## acromyrmexbob

my_shed said:


> Great job on the documentary too, I'm guessing they glossed over how much work it was digging out the entire colony!
> 
> Dave


Took 2 days to dig. The main thing though was the pressure. Programme cost 100's of thousands to make, I spent 3 months beforehand building the set up, there were a full team of BBC people in preproduction and if I had not found that queen, all of this and the entire summer of filming would not have happened. If the ants had died in transit or any number of other problems this programme would have stopped and it would have been my fault. When I was first approached about this programme and told what they wanted I remember saying 'no problem' in order to get the job!In the end it worked out great but luck was a close friend thoughout!


----------



## acromyrmexbob

In order to shutter the window we must first fit the glass so I got Darth Vader to weld and secure the frame.





































whilst the rest of the ewoks poured more concrete. More concrete! Seeing the stuff in my dreams. And shortly we will be pouring the croc pond at the zoo also!


----------



## 39761

pukka:2thumb:


----------



## acromyrmexbob

Although it might be tricky to see, the glass is now in the window!










The height of the wall on both sides has been raised to allow more depth of water so you can see here that there is shuttering on both sides. This is the start of the high wall on the other side of that which is already poured.










now the sides further away from the waterfall end are poured










down to the main bend towards the pond










a view up the river shows the extent of the shuttering










we managed to bend a quite thick board around the curve by leaving it outside in the rain for a few days until it became soft.










more news tomorrow!


----------



## Wolflore

Clever little touches like leaving the board outside in the rain are what make me smile. :no1:


----------



## acromyrmexbob

Nearly there!

This is the new wall section near the waterfall. It is here we will climb over to get into the water.










Here the shuttering has just come off, the concrete is still to be polished










Looking up towards the waterfall, you can see the surface is very rough. But now two sides are poured to the correct height.










On the right of this next picture is the surface that was poured a week or so ago, on the right the shutter has just been taken off the new surface. Again, the river is now at the correct height all the way around the bend!










This next picture shows the top of the wall above the window. Again, poured to the full height.










and now there is only one wall to go, the end wall which is now shuttered for the first time and poured to half way. Tomorrow the board will be lifted up to full height and the concrete will be poured to correct height.


----------



## switchback

Wow wow wow


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk and technology


----------



## cavan

build me one.....please


----------



## acromyrmexbob

Never did I think that pictures of concrete could be so sexy but we are just about there!










the wall is finished (apart from some polishing once its a little harder)










looking back up the river










still some trowelling marks where the cement is still soft










this is the window just after the shuttering is taken off, before the cement is tidied up.....



















the end wall of the pond is finally poured up to full height










this is the view from above showing some plants to give an idea of how the river will look.










I am going to connect up the heating pipes now, turn the pond and river heating on for a few days to thoroughly dry the concrete and then paint the entire thing with pond paint. Meanwhile I also need to form the filter and plumb the whole thing for water. Finally the tops of the walls will be shaped with artificial rockwork. Just really exciting to be at this stage now.


----------



## plasma234

I have just finished reading this thread and i am amazed to say the least. this is something i dreamed of if i ever won the lottery..looking at the est cost, probably more the euro millions. Just brilliant. I can't wait to see if finished.

Do you have a set-in-stone animal list? and have you introduced any micro-fauna i.e tropical woodlice and spring tails to supplement the food chain? 


I am in the beginning stages of a dart frog build, so without being rude, you may get a pm from me asking about region appropriate plants and if you have any 


..and on another note, i watched the documentary about ants and found it fascinating. mega props for a successful harvest.


----------



## Jb1432

Nice to see you're coming to the end of the build now, i'd imagine the most exciting part will be buying and releasing it's inhabitants!


----------



## rexob

Epic build Andy, it is looking fantastic I'm getting exited myself now :2thumb:


----------



## Antherina

You'll need some pump to be able to get a good flow of water!:hmm:


----------



## ChelsNLuke

Wow, have been following this thread, what a fantastic read and a fantastic build! You have me in awe!!!!!!!! :mf_dribble::mf_dribble::mf_dribble:

-Luke


----------



## BornSlippy

Looking amazing. Don't suppose you want 2 pairs of Hoplo catfish to live in that beast?


----------



## midnite3006

wow wow and wow, can i be first to snorkle in your pond, pretty please:flrt::flrt::flrt:


----------



## acromyrmexbob

'BornSlippy' wrote



> Looking amazing. Don't suppose you want 2 pairs of Hoplo catfish to live in that beast?


They are from the correct locale I think, the river will be stocked with Central American species. So yes, they would be amazing.

'Jb1432' wrote



> i'd imagine the most exciting part will be buying and releasing it's inhabitants!


Quite a lot of the species I plan to introduce will be from Trinidad. I will collect breeding pairs and set up colonies of several species of frog and lizard. 

'midnite3006' wrote



> wow wow and wow, can i be first to snorkle in your pond, pretty please


As already said, you are welcome to come along once the project is finished. I would love to show you the set up. Bit of a trek from Isle of Man though!

'Plasma234' wrote



> I have just finished reading this thread and i am amazed to say the least. this is something i dreamed of if i ever won the lottery..looking at the est cost, probably more the euro millions. Just brilliant. I can't wait to see if finished.
> 
> Do you have a set-in-stone animal list? and have you introduced any micro-fauna i.e tropical woodlice and spring tails to supplement the food chain?


Actually I said £30000 but that was if I had to build the greenhouse and pay for everything. The greenhouse was there and I have used surplus stock from jobs for most of the project. I would estimate the real cost, once finished, would be around £4000-£5000.


----------



## plasma234

acromyrmexbob said:


> Quite a lot of the species I plan to introduce will be from Trinidad. I will collect breeding pairs and set up colonies of several species of frog and lizard.



I am going to ask a boring question. How will you be providing UV for the lizards?


----------



## Wolflore

acromyrmexbob said:


> Quite a lot of the species I plan to introduce will be from Trinidad. I will collect breeding pairs and set up colonies of several species of frog and lizard.


Do you ever import snakes or is it just frogs, lizards and inverts?


----------



## acromyrmexbob

Wolflore said:


> Do you ever import snakes or is it just frogs, lizards and inverts?


The only livestock I ever import commercially are Leaf Cutting Ants which I sell all over the world. (www.leafcuttingant.com) Trinidad is a closed market, there is nothing ever exported from Trinidad. I have built up a good relationship, however, with the Wildlife Authority (my company is about to sponsor a programme out there for the reintroduction of Blue and Gold Macaws into an area called Nariva Swamp, full of Manatee and Mata mata) and as a result I can bring out small numbers of any species provided it is for a bona fide non commercial breeding programme with some form of publication likely during the work. This normally restricts itself to zoos and the like but if anyone can demonstrate a serious interest with a particular Trinidadian species otherwise unobtainable I would be happy to organise some individuals. Any cost involved would be related to the shipping.


----------



## kitschyduck

acromyrmexbob said:


> The only livestock I ever import commercially are Leaf Cutting Ants which I sell all over the world. (www.leafcuttingant.com) Trinidad is a closed market, there is nothing ever exported from Trinidad. I have built up a good relationship, however, with the Wildlife Authority (my company is about to sponsor a programme out there for the reintroduction of Blue and Gold Macaws into an area called Nariva Swamp, full of Manatee and Mata mata) and as a result I can bring out small numbers of any species provided it is for a bona fide non commercial breeding programme with some form of publication likely during the work. This normally restricts itself to zoos and the like but if anyone can demonstrate a serious interest with a particular Trinidadian species otherwise unobtainable I would be happy to organise some individuals. Any cost involved would be related to the shipping.


I would be very interested in some snails from Trinidad if possible...


----------



## acromyrmexbob

kitschyduck said:


> I would be very interested in some snails from Trinidad if possible...


Are you talking about Megalobuliminus or other species. There are a great many species. If you go sweep netting after a days rain the net can be full of many many different types, all colours!

'plasma234' wrote



> I am going to ask a boring question. How will you be providing UV for the lizards?


Of the 100 or so glass panels in the roof of the greenhouse around 10 are Optiwhite, Pilkingtons version of the Low E glass which allows a proportion of UV light through. Given the supplementation of some growing lights for dull days to ensure the plants keep growing and the butterflies which will be free flying are able to feed, I think UV levels will be fine.


----------



## tomcannon

Wicked to see it starting to finally take shape. Spot on work Andy, you should be very proud! Can't wait to see it finished. 

Tom.


----------



## kitschyduck

acromyrmexbob said:


> Are you talking about Megalobuliminus or other species. There are a great many species. If you go sweep netting after a days rain the net can be full of many many different types, all colours!


I only know of Megas, but I'm not fussy really - I love all of them and the most unusual the better. I'm serious - I have three empty Exo terra vivs waiting!


----------



## Marwolaeth

It's amazing what you've done :notworthy:

This thread has really made me want to build outdoor enclosures for a few _Thamnophis_,_Nerodia_ and _Natrix_!

I'm thinking of mesh topped glass terrariums or orchid cabinet with a flowerbed type bases. 

Do you think that would work or would it be best if I used a heated green house?


----------



## acromyrmexbob

kitschyduck said:


> I only know of Megas, but I'm not fussy really - I love all of them and the most unusual the better. I'm serious - I have three empty Exo terra vivs waiting!


Sorry, I put a post up explaining the criteria that would be needed to get animals from Trinidad. Here it is again.....

'The only livestock I ever import commercially are Leaf Cutting Ants which I sell all over the world. (www.leafcuttingant.com) Trinidad is a closed market, there is nothing ever exported from Trinidad. I have built up a good relationship, however, with the Wildlife Authority (my company is about to sponsor a programme out there for the reintroduction of Blue and Gold Macaws into an area called Nariva Swamp, full of Manatee and Mata mata) and as a result I can bring out small numbers of any species provided it is for a bona fide non commercial breeding programme with some form of publication likely during the work. This normally restricts itself to zoos and the like but if anyone can demonstrate a serious interest with a particular Trinidadian species otherwise unobtainable I would be happy to organise some individuals. Any cost involved would be related to the shipping.'

You would need to have a much more specific interest and already be part of a breeding programme. There is no charge for these animals other than shipping so I can be very fussy. Its a lot of hassle with paperwork etc but it is worth it if a species is bred and its numbers increase.


----------



## kitschyduck

Oh I completely see what you mean! I'm sorry if I came across as fickle in any way - I'm just very excited by new snails in the pet trade in general. I used to breed albino Archachatina marginata v. ovum and sutralis, and although they only tend to have a 10% hatch rate, I was pretty successful with them. I know megas are slow breeding, but I would love to try my hand at getting them more established in UK collections. I don't know of any other particular species in the wild over there aside from Megalobulimus oblongus haemastomus/albilabiatus/elongatus but I'd be very willing to work with different species nonetheless.


----------



## BornSlippy

acromyrmexbob said:


> 'BornSlippy' wrote
> 
> 
> 
> They are from the correct locale I think, the river will be stocked with Central American species. So yes, they would be amazing.


Excellent well I'm in Glasgow so I'm guessing not too far away from you. They are yours whenever you want  I'm betting they would breed readily in such a natural setup. One pair has attempted it just in my tank a few times.


----------



## Antherina

You'll need to get the TV cameras in.


----------



## acromyrmexbob

We poured the last of the cement today.

Up by the waterfall.....










and down at the deepest part of the pond. Thats a brush to show you how deep it is, around 7ft...



















I made the first component, a valve head and distributor



















This is where the pipes come through the wall from the pond










The picture below shows the current heating system without the additions










and then with the added pond heater system










All of the pipes are left loose to run at full temperature to check for leaks before being fixed to the wall and neatened up.










The whole system now is complete and the heating is turned on. Its impossible to take a picture of the heat generated by this but within an hour the pond walls were hot!


----------



## Wolflore

Wow, you don't really get the size perspective in some of the other photos but with that broom you can see its huge!


----------



## Antherina

Cool!


----------



## acromyrmexbob

The river is pretty much finished. We have removed all of the shuttering and polished most of the surfaces. The heating is on and the walls are warm to the touch. 

Here my partner, Asha, shows the depth at the shallow end, where the river starts










The far end of the pond, newly finished.










The overflow pipe which leads to the filter on the prep room.










The window is still being finished but has got the proper shape. Here the bend is shown with the window.










The window.










The grey bits in the following photo are where the hot pipes are starting, already, to dry the cement! Thats after about an hour of being switched on.










The section up at the waterfall is now polished and finished apart from some protruding metal.










All in all, looking good and ready to paint on Wednesday I think. When it is painted black I think all perspective of depth and size will go. Lots happening just now. Might have a go at the filter tomorrow, I am off from the zoo so its an extra day! Also got to start filling the borders to make room in the other greenhouse for the stuff coming back from Trinidad.


----------



## Meefloaf

this looks amazing, cannot wait to see this when its fully finished, hats off to you sir


----------



## skilzo

I can't believe how great this is looks amazing looking forward to seeing it finished


----------



## joemeatsix

cheesy but this thread has inspired me so much! would love to do something like this one day :whistling2: can i ask how you got into doing stuff like this? i'd love to do it :mf_dribble:


----------



## rexob

looking very well indeed, it really is coming allong well done m8


----------



## acromyrmexbob

'joemeatsix' wrote



> can i ask how you got into doing stuff like this? i'd love to do it


 
CV.

Kept lots of exotic pets in my bedroom zoo when a boy. Including two 14 foot Burmese Pythons when I was 15 years old. One of them got out one night, my mother stood on it when she got up in the morning, it attacked her and I woke up to her screaming, covered in blood and the snake ready to strike at her again out of fright. It was in all of the papers!:bash:

Worked at a pet shop through school and uni at weekends, one of the good old fashioned pet shops you don't get nowadays that stocked everything, monkeys, reps and loads of other exotics. Gained so much experience handling dangerous animals and forming ideas through this time.

Zoology at Glasgow Uni (waste of time. Here's some serious advice for anyone thinking of going to Uni nowadays (or anytime!)....A degree is only of any use if there is a reason to get it, ie the job you want to do needs one such as medicine or vet. Otherwise you'll waste 3-4 years of your life getting a bit of paper which, at best, will be an entry on your CV. Every man and his dog has a degree nowadays. The days of getting a degree for a degrees sake have gone. Hundreds of colleges have changed to Unis and so loads and loads of people have degrees. The cost and time to get one doesn't equate to the benefits, in my opinion. In my company I have around 60 employees and when we advertise a job the degree, years of that persons life, gets only a passing note. Also, I went to uni to do Zoology because I love animals. We spent three years studying microscopic life, Planarians, protozoa etc, and cutting sh*t up. Only when I got to Honours and decided to do a project on shoaling corydoras catfish did I actually see a real animal. Very disappointing! As I said, do a degree for enjoyment, because you can afford it, or because you want another few years off before you start actually living but not because you think it will do you any good. I would have been 4 years further on if I had gone straight into business.):jump:

Postgrad in Business.

Years building Aquariums and Aquatic furniture, supplying public and trade. Started to build bigger and bigger Aquariums on site in Zoos etc.
Opened several Aquatic shops. At one point supplied Pets at Home with their fish. 
Hobby: Ants, went to Trinidad, brought back Leaf Cutting Ants which paid for trip. Started to go several times per year. Only serious supplier of Leaf Cutting Ants in Europe. Started being contacted by TV and film for Ants. Managed to combine Building Glass displays for Leaf Cutting Ants to do complete set ups in Zoos, Museums and Butterfly houses. Contacted from all over world for set ups of Leaf Cuttng Ants. We installed the only live exhibit in the Millenium Dome. Also now doing presenting and project management work in Natural History documentaries for TV.
Started Tropical House, a zoo installation business. Major response, offering a unique service whereby we design, build, set up, theme and populate zoo enclosures. Up until now this process involved several different parties in the process, now we are offering this as a single service. I think successful business involves finding something new and taking it to the market before anyone else. 

Hope this is of interest.


----------



## the_viper

Looking good mate, when do you think you will be having that swim you were hoping for ?


----------



## acromyrmexbob

the_viper said:


> Looking good mate, when do you think you will be having that swim you were hoping for ?


If I get it filled this weekend, off to Trinidad following Wednesday for 2 weeks, water should be toasty warm by the time I get back, will jump in then, I think.


----------



## SkinsNScales

this is an epic build cant wait to see the water and fish in it


----------



## yuesaur

acromyrmexbob said:


> 'joemeatsix' wrote
> 
> 
> 
> 
> CV.
> 
> Kept lots of exotic pets in my bedroom zoo when a boy. Including two 14 foot Burmese Pythons when I was 15 years old. One of them got out one night, my mother stood on it when she got up in the morning, it attacked her and I woke up to her screaming, covered in blood and the snake ready to strike at her again out of fright. It was in all of the papers!:bash:
> 
> Worked at a pet shop through school and uni at weekends, one of the good old fashioned pet shops you don't get nowadays that stocked everything, monkeys, reps and loads of other exotics. Gained so much experience handling dangerous animals and forming ideas through this time.
> 
> Zoology at Glasgow Uni (waste of time. Here's some serious advice for anyone thinking of going to Uni nowadays (or anytime!)....A degree is only of any use if there is a reason to get it, ie the job you want to do needs one such as medicine or vet. Otherwise you'll waste 3-4 years of your life getting a bit of paper which, at best, will be an entry on your CV. Every man and his dog has a degree nowadays. The days of getting a degree for a degrees sake have gone. Hundreds of colleges have changed to Unis and so loads and loads of people have degrees. The cost and time to get one doesn't equate to the benefits, in my opinion. In my company I have around 60 employees and when we advertise a job the degree, years of that persons life, gets only a passing note. Also, I went to uni to do Zoology because I love animals. We spent three years studying microscopic life, Planarians, protozoa etc, and cutting sh*t up. Only when I got to Honours and decided to do a project on shoaling corydoras catfish did I actually see a real animal. Very disappointing! As I said, do a degree for enjoyment, because you can afford it, or because you want another few years off before you start actually living but not because you think it will do you any good. I would have been 4 years further on if I had gone straight into business.):jump:
> 
> Postgrad in Business.
> 
> Years building Aquariums and Aquatic furniture, supplying public and trade. Started to build bigger and bigger Aquariums on site in Zoos etc.
> Opened several Aquatic shops. At one point supplied Pets at Home with their fish.
> Hobby: Ants, went to Trinidad, brought back Leaf Cutting Ants which paid for trip. Started to go several times per year. Only serious supplier of Leaf Cutting Ants in Europe. Started being contacted by TV and film for Ants. Managed to combine Building Glass displays for Leaf Cutting Ants to do complete set ups in Zoos, Museums and Butterfly houses. Contacted from all over world for set ups of Leaf Cuttng Ants. We installed the only live exhibit in the Millenium Dome. Also now doing presenting and project management work in Natural History documentaries for TV.
> Started Tropical House, a zoo installation business. Major response, offering a unique service whereby we design, build, set up, theme and populate zoo enclosures. Up until now this process involved several different parties in the process, now we are offering this as a single service. I think successful business involves finding something new and taking it to the market before anyone else.
> 
> Hope this is of interest.



need an assistant at all?


----------



## acromyrmexbob

Just to get back up and going I planted some more specimen plants along the banks of the river so when the water is in they form the bank and hide the concrete



















Looking to bring back a lot of plants from Trinidad so I need to move most of the plants out of the second greenhouse and plant them in their final positions in the main greenhouse. So now the borders are filling up well and look natural, like bush.

This photo starts to show the effect I am looking for.....










The path seems to disappear into the forest but actually it simply bends round a corner and the plants seem to swallow it. As I said, looking to fill pond system this weekend.


----------



## iLoveFish

Omg I can't wait to see this full well finished lol


/Neil


----------



## acromyrmexbob

Just had a thought.
If you look at the following picture, same as the last one posted in the post above......










look at the path and immediately to the right side is a water filled ditch. This is exactly that. I hollowed out a 20cm deep mud trench and have been filling it with water over the past fortnight, around twice per day. Slowly it is holding the water for longer and longer and eventually it will hold and be waterproof. The automatic rain system in the greenhouse will keep it topped up. The reason for this is that I plan to bring back 5 pairs of Engystomops pustulosus, which used to be known as Physallaemus pustulosus, a much better name. These toad like frogs are foam nest builders and they spawn in these ditches. The habitat should suit them perfectly.


----------



## JoeJ

:2thumb:looks brillant:2thumb:

what species are being housed in there?


----------



## my_shed

acromyrmexbob said:


> Just had a thought.
> If you look at the following picture, same as the last one posted in the post above......
> 
> image
> 
> look at the path and immediately to the right side is a water filled ditch. This is exactly that. I hollowed out a 20cm deep mud trench and have been filling it with water over the past fortnight, around twice per day. Slowly it is holding the water for longer and longer and eventually it will hold and be waterproof. The automatic rain system in the greenhouse will keep it topped up. The reason for this is that I plan to bring back 5 pairs of Engystomops pustulosus, which used to be known as Physallaemus pustulosus, a much better name. These toad like frogs are foam nest builders and they spawn in these ditches. The habitat should suit them perfectly.


Have to watch your step along the path once the tads are ootw, that'd be an unpleasant surprise if you stepped on one! Should be amazing though, a tropical walk followed by a dip in the river, I bet no-one else in the uk can do that in their own garden :2thumb:

Dave


----------



## bothrops

You do realise that once this is finished you're going to have a queue of RFUKers, trunks and towel in hand, ringing on your doorbell....!:2thumb:


----------



## acromyrmexbob

my_shed said:


> Have to watch your step along the path once the tads are ootw, that'd be an unpleasant surprise if you stepped on one! Should be amazing though, a tropical walk followed by a dip in the river, I bet no-one else in the uk can do that in their own garden :2thumb:
> 
> Dave


It'll be worse once they turn to froglets, they are prodigious repreducers, I am not really set up for rearing thousands of frogs so planned to leave them in the greenhouse. There is a cave in trinidad called Tamana cave. At certain times of year the Mannophrynne trinitatus (I'm not even going to check if that is still their latin name!) are so numerous down there that it is impossible to take a step without killing some. Also if they found their way to the river / pond I worry the fish would scruffle them. It might be best to distribute them around at this stage and leave only a few loose.


----------



## my_shed

acromyrmexbob said:


> It'll be worse once they turn to froglets, they are prodigious repreducers, I am not really set up for rearing thousands of frogs so planned to leave them in the greenhouse. There is a cave in trinidad called Tamana cave. At certain times of year the Mannophrynne trinitatus (I'm not even going to check if that is still their latin name!) are so numerous down there that it is impossible to take a step without killing some. Also if they found their way to the river / pond I worry the fish would scruffle them. It might be best to distribute them around at this stage and leave only a few loose.


Yeah that's what I was thinking, ootw meaning out of the water, legs grown and hopping around  I'm reminded by your description of Christmas Island where millions of red crabs migrate across it every year, getting squashed by cars and anything else around. 

Have you got zoos and dedicated breeders that you'll distribute them to, or do you mean you'll distribute them around the greenhouse?

Dave


----------



## acromyrmexbob

my_shed said:


> Yeah that's what I was thinking, ootw meaning out of the water, legs grown and hopping around  I'm reminded by your description of Christmas Island where millions of red crabs migrate across it every year, getting squashed by cars and anything else around.
> 
> Have you got zoos and dedicated breeders that you'll distribute them to, or do you mean you'll distribute them around the greenhouse?
> 
> Dave


I thought some RFUKers would help out in this way by offering to rear some. Don't think this is a common species around the hobby, might be wrong. Just realised what ootw meant after I had replied, not into the trade jargon, sorry!:bash:

'JoeJ' wrote



> what species are being housed in there?


Sorry if Latin names are out of date. I know all of the species in Trinidad by their scientific names as of 10 years ago. 

Frogs:
Mannophryne trinitatus: around 15 pairs
Phyllamedusa trinitatus: around 4 pairs
Pipa pipa: 2 pairs
Physalaemus pustulosus: around 5 pairs
Pseudis paradoxica: around 3 pairs
Hyla crepitans: 2 pairs
Hyla geographica: 2 pairs
Flectonotus fitzgeraldi: 2 pairs

Lizards:
Gonatodes ceciliae: 4 pairs
Gonatodes vittatus: 4 pairs

Inverts:
Acromyrmex octospinosis: 2 colonies
Nephila clavipes: 3 females with parasitic males
Holothele incei: 6 adults
Ball termites: 2 colonies

Birds:
possible pair of Humming Birds

Plus an assortment of fish and inverts from Trinidad, including a load of Guppies, caught from the same pond that the first ever Guppies were collected from.


----------



## Luke

looking great, just a quick one how will the wood frame of the greenhouse hold up with the humidity??


----------



## s6t6nic6l

entrée schematics plz or is it just a case of turning one handle :whistling2:

given permission i'd too would be honoured to spend some time in this micro-jungle spotting the wildlife but would be just content watchin the "hummers" now that they could be introduced :blush:, quite taken by the Gonatodes too :2thumb:

it has been and still is a very entertaining & informative read this.


----------



## my_shed

acromyrmexbob said:


> I thought some RFUKers would help out in this way by offering to rear some. Don't think this is a common species around the hobby, might be wrong. Just realised what ootw meant after I had replied, not into the trade jargon, sorry!:bash:
> 
> 'JoeJ' wrote
> 
> 
> 
> Sorry if Latin names are out of date. I know all of the species in Trinidad by their scientific names as of 10 years ago.
> 
> Frogs:
> Mannophryne trinitatus: around 15 pairs
> Phyllamedusa trinitatus: around 4 pairs
> Pipa pipa: 2 pairs
> Physalaemus pustulosus: around 5 pairs
> Pseudis paradoxica: around 3 pairs
> Hyla crepitans: 2 pairs
> Hyla geographica: 2 pairs
> Flectonotus fitzgeraldi: 2 pairs
> 
> Lizards:
> Gonatodes ceciliae: 4 pairs
> Gonatodes vittatus: 4 pairs
> 
> Inverts:
> Acromyrmex octospinosis: 2 colonies
> Nephila clavipes: 3 females with parasitic males
> Holothele incei: 6 adults
> Ball termites: 2 colonies
> 
> Birds:
> possible pair of Humming Birds
> 
> Plus an assortment of fish and inverts from Trinidad, including a load of Guppies, caught from the same pond that the first ever Guppies were collected from.


Well, at the risk of seeming (again) to be a freebie hunter, i'd gladly rear some. I wasn't sure if they were appropriate for hobbyists or not, was kind of thinking they may need a big greenhouse to live in  Coincidentally, I'm putting my greenhouse up this year......

Dave

edit: HUMMINGBIRDS!?!? that would be amazing, I've always loved hummingbirds since I was a tot


----------



## acromyrmexbob

Luke said:


> looking great, just a quick one how will the wood frame of the greenhouse hold up with the humidity??


Thats a really good question and one where, I hope, my answer will surprise you. I was aware at the start that the material I was building the greenhouse from would have a life span, given the conditions present, of around 3 years. I also knew that a lot of the plants I was planting in the greenhouse would outgrow the height very quickly and this is an ongoing problem. The solution was always going to be quite radical. I have a virtually free supply of glass and the wood used to build the greenhouse cost around £300. I plan to wait until mid summer next year and remove the entire greenhouse back to the 2ft walls built around the base and rebuild it about 4ft higher. The entire operation, including labour, will cost about £800 and will take 3 days. The most difficult part of this will be containing the livestock whilst doing this but the rebuild will be relatively simple. Nothing within, the plants, the heating, the pond etc, will be affected and in mid summer the temperatures will be fine for the time everything will be exposed.


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## plasma234

If you end up with too many Mannophryne trinitatus about, I would love some. :whistling2:


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## JoeJ

thats gonna be fantastic: victory:

pipa pipa are brillant.

are all the animals going to be wild caught or are you going to source some captive bred animals?


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## acromyrmexbob

JoeJ said:


> thats gonna be fantastic: victory:
> 
> pipa pipa are brillant.
> 
> are all the animals going to be wild caught or are you going to source some captive bred animals?


All wll be wild caught. None of these species are endangered in the wild but, I think, none of them are well represented in captivity. I will not be paying anything for them other than transport so I will not ever sell any offspring, I will give them away to anyone with a serious interest and never a reseller. There are loads and loads of foam nests of Physallaemus made in puddles and little bodies of water that dry up within a day or so of the nest being made, these are cooked in the sun. I will possibly bring a few of these foam nests back also so there will be tadpoles available if everything goes according to plan.


----------



## acromyrmexbob

Today was a big day!
Firstly some mundane house keeping, pre trinidad duties.
The top step of the right hand path has never been finished. I decided to do that today










Also I decided to pour a new piece of the pond at the base of the waterfall so the pond can be filled without worrying about leaks from here. Effectively the pond and river are now self contained.










I have actually removed this board and smoothed the face since this picture was taken so I will post a pic of that soon.

The I fitted the base of an old bridge that used to be outside. I will paint it and tart it up but for now it gives an idea of where the final position will be.



















Next job was to finally seal the window. I will watch this area with much interest when filling the pond! :crazy:










I smoothed the silicone around the cracks after this shot.

Then.....
I started to fill the river and pond...
































































I will go out later and take another couple of pictures before I turn the hose off for the night.


----------



## joemeatsix

acromyrmexbob said:


> Today was a big day!
> Firstly some mundane house keeping, pre trinidad duties.
> The top step of the right hand path has never been finished. I decided to do that today
> 
> image
> 
> Also I decided to pour a new piece of the pond at the base of the waterfall so the pond can be filled without worrying about leaks from here. Effectively the pond and river are now self contained.
> 
> image
> 
> I have actually removed this board and smoothed the face since this picture was taken so I will post a pic of that soon.
> 
> The I fitted the base of an old bridge that used to be outside. I will paint it and tart it up but for now it gives an idea of where the final position will be.
> 
> image
> 
> image
> 
> Next job was to finally seal the window. I will watch this area with much interest when filling the pond! :crazy:
> 
> image
> 
> I smoothed the silicone around the cracks after this shot.
> 
> Then.....
> I started to fill the river and pond...
> 
> image
> 
> image
> 
> image
> 
> image
> 
> image
> 
> image
> 
> image
> 
> I will go out later and take another couple of pictures before I turn the hose off for the night.


got so excited seeing that water go in then, been watching this thread for ages and waited so long to see what it's gonna look like!


----------



## plasma234

Also excited. Crossing my fingers for you.


----------



## Rammy

Great to see the water finally going in. Fantastic achievement.


----------



## JoeJ

looks great:notworthy:

how long do you think it will be before the project is finshed and the animals are in?


----------



## my_shed

Mundane house keeping? Is that trimming the plants back and so on? Ya know, like taking cuttings and stuff :whistling2:

:lol2:

It's looking great, I've been watching this from the start and have taken loads of inspiration from it (although it has been a massive battle of self control not to completely redesign the current plans for landscaping the garden) and am really excited to see it all coming together. Great work, I bet you're really happy to see it getting to this stage too.

Dave


----------



## rexob

what can i say, it is a fantastic project and its great to see the water going in at last, cant wait for some more updates....awesome :no1:


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## Loony

Wow! I really cannot wait to see this finished! I read through the entire thing and this is really incredible!! Can't believe its the first time I spotted it. Gonna keep watching.


----------



## acromyrmexbob

my_shed said:


> Mundane house keeping? Is that trimming the plants back and so on? Ya know, like taking cuttings and stuff
> 
> Dave


Owch! :whip:
Point taken. But listen, it'll be better to get a little apologetic parcel when I come back from Trinidad because there will be more apologetic items on board as a result of my trip. :flrt:


----------



## MrFerretman6

I can't wait to see how the H. incei get on. And to see if the Nephila clavipes build you a good sized web? They may even catch you a humming bird.

Edit: Also, what about small mammals like Marmosa robinsoni or Marmosops fuscatus? Maybe small bats like Furipterus horrens? Maybe even a breeding pair of Cebus albifrons, you would definitely need some feeder insects though? What about butterflies and caterpillars?


EPIC BUILD!


----------



## Luke

acromyrmexbob said:


> Thats a really good question and one where, I hope, my answer will surprise you. I was aware at the start that the material I was building the greenhouse from would have a life span, given the conditions present, of around 3 years. I also knew that a lot of the plants I was planting in the greenhouse would outgrow the height very quickly and this is an ongoing problem. The solution was always going to be quite radical. I have a virtually free supply of glass and the wood used to build the greenhouse cost around £300. I plan to wait until mid summer next year and remove the entire greenhouse back to the 2ft walls built around the base and rebuild it about 4ft higher. The entire operation, including labour, will cost about £800 and will take 3 days. The most difficult part of this will be containing the livestock whilst doing this but the rebuild will be relatively simple. Nothing within, the plants, the heating, the pond etc, will be affected and in mid summer the temperatures will be fine for the time everything will be exposed.


brilliant thinking, i suppose you could always cover over the top in clear plastic sheeting, underneath the current roof before removing it thatll stp anything getting out, then just remove it once the work is done??


----------



## acromyrmexbob

Guys, I decided to stop filling the pond and river last night because I would be leaving 6-7 foot of water depth throughout the time I was away with no way of checking everything. If the pond was to burst the Tsunami would wash the neighbours house away. We are on top of a hill surrounded by other houses and I am worried that I would come back to an empty field where the houses used to be. (Actually, now that I think on it, thats not a bad idea.) 
So later on tomorrow its off to Trinidad. I though I would post from the rainforest, I can get to an internet cafe several times during the 2 weeks, and put some pictures up of the stuff I come across. Just to keep the momentum going and show the look I am trying to acheive.
Also, I'd just like to say a big thankyou to everyone who has followed this thread and a special thanks to everyone who has posted comments and given advice. I have learned a lot by being part of this community and I appreciate the access to so much knowledge that is to be found here. 



Luke said:


> i suppose you could always cover over the top in clear plastic sheeting, underneath the current roof before removing it thatll stp anything getting out, then just remove it once the work is done??


thats a great idea, yes, I would do that, I think.

'MrFerretman6' wrote



> Also, what about small mammals like Marmosa robinsoni or Marmosops fuscatus? Maybe small bats like Furipterus horrens? Maybe even a breeding pair of Cebus albifrons, you would definitely need some feeder insects though? What about butterflies and caterpillars?


I'll look em up, sounds good though. Population dynamics will have to be watched closely in such a mixed lot. Butterflies, yes, of course I will have butterflies, I forgot to list them. I used to own a butterfly centre. Of the plants I am growing in the greenhouse there are a prodigious number of passion vines, about 6 species, and I have made an advance order for 5 species of Heliconious butterfly pupae for my return from Trinidad. These will be among the first animals released.


----------



## plasma234

Have a great time in Trinidad. 

Hope to see some cracking photos.


----------



## Wolflore

Don't forget to photograph some snail eaters for me


----------



## acromyrmexbob

Wolflore said:


> Don't forget to photograph some snail eaters for me


I am taking of the people who work in my company out to Trinidad for the first week of the fortnight. These are the top performing employees in the company and this is their reward for a great year. They are all obsessed with some form of animal or another and one of the features of the trip I am planning is to take them out at night to photograph and check out the nocturnal stuff. If your snail eaters are nocturnal and we find them we will photograph them. Last time I was out at night there were literally hundreds of Fer De Lance males everywhere and a few females. There were also hatchlings and they were sitting on leaves of Ptarrow at waist height which we were pushing through. Great fun!


----------



## Luke

Have a safe trip, we will all be waiting anxiously when you get back for more pics of both Trinidad and mini Trinidad in your garden lol


----------



## Wolflore

acromyrmexbob said:


> I am taking of the people who work in my company out to Trinidad for the first week of the fortnight. These are the top performing employees in the company and this is their reward for a great year. They are all obsessed with some form of animal or another and one of the features of the trip I am planning is to take them out at night to photograph and check out the nocturnal stuff. If your snail eaters are nocturnal and we find them we will photograph them. Last time I was out at night there were literally hundreds of Fer De Lance males everywhere and a few females. There were also hatchlings and they were sitting on leaves of Ptarrow at waist height which we were pushing through. Great fun!


What a boss! Looking at the Fer De Lance you can see why, at a glance, in the dark, most snakes, especially the trinitatis. Looking forward to the photos. Only island in the Carribean I've been to was Montserrat. Beautiful place. The iguanas used to sit watching the cricket!


----------



## my_shed

*grumble* goes off to Trinidad leaving us without the river full........teasing us with rainforest pics............no doubt going to come back with a TOWIE tan (NOT a fan of the show, but you get the idea!).............not even the possible bonus of seeing a tsunami in Glasgow on the news........*shakes head and continues mumbling incoherently*

:lol: Have a great time, after all the hard work you've put in make sure you grab a bit of R and R while you're over there! And if you fancy making all your photos available in a downloadable package.......I could use some new desktop wallpapers :whistling2:

I know, I know, it's just take, take, take! Only kidding, although I will look forward to seeing what you guys get upto. When we go on holiday anywhere we take a holiday gnome, just so when people look at the holiday photos we can laugh at their faces when they keep seeing a gnome somewhere in the pics, haven't seen a gnome in the rainforest yet though :whistling2:

Apologetic bundle sounds great, no hurry though, I was just feeling a little devilish!

All the best

Dave


----------



## Antherina

Unlikely to come back with a tan as you tend to be under cover of trees most of the time. Must admit had to look up Ptarrow, but then realised it was Taro, which grows well here. Green with envy.:mrgreen: Are you going to try the mole crickets?


----------



## switchback

Enjoy your well deserved break


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## maarup

hello! love what your doing, and a quick question. Could you please take a few snaps of various snakes? most snake species are nocturnal, soooo....


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## dereklawler

I like your post,great information and thanks for sharing your pond pictures.


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## acromyrmexbob

Back from Trinidad. Will post pictures of the greenhouse tomorrow but, wow! the plants have doubled in size! I literally had to cut my way in. All of the automatic watering and ventillation systems performed amazingly, the greenhouse looks absolutely fabulous. 
On a negative note, the water level, left at half way, lost around 30cm of depth. I think this is too much to be evaporation so I suspect a leak. I don't know if you spotted it but I tried to cut a corner, to get it filled, by not painting it with pond paint. Mistake. So I have drained it and now to paint it. Got s few days before my next job so plenty of time. I will show you the pics tomorrow.


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## kitschyduck

Looking forward to it! And hey, on the bright side, mistakes are lessons


----------



## cjc

I have just came across this post tonight. spend the last hour or so reading and looking through it in complete amazement. can't wait to see the finished project and maybe one day will get to come have a look around it with the camera, then i can show my kids when I'm older scotland did had a tropical rainforest back in my day  .


----------



## switchback

acromyrmexbob said:


> Back from Trinidad. Will post pictures of the greenhouse tomorrow but, wow! the plants have doubled in size! I literally had to cut my way in. All of the automatic watering and ventillation systems performed amazingly, the greenhouse looks absolutely fabulous.
> On a negative note, the water level, left at half way, lost around 30cm of depth. I think this is too much to be evaporation so I suspect a leak. I don't know if you spotted it but I tried to cut a corner, to get it filled, by not painting it with pond paint. Mistake. So I have drained it and now to paint it. Got s few days before my next job so plenty of time. I will show you the pics tomorrow.


 
no update....

is there a leak or you just busy?...

hope you had a nice break


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## acromyrmexbob

Sorry guys, my Photobucket account is not linking pictures for some reason. Maybe being away has upset it because its not getting its daily upload. I am working on it and I have loads of piccies of different things. Please be patient, I will get back to normal within next couple of days. Lots of activity in greenhouse, frustrating that I can't show you. Andrew


----------



## switchback

acromyrmexbob said:


> Sorry guys, my Photobucket account is not linking pictures for some reason. Maybe being away has upset it because its not getting its daily upload. I am working on it and I have loads of piccies of different things. Please be patient, I will get back to normal within next couple of days. Lots of activity in greenhouse, frustrating that I can't show you. Andrew


 
Thanks for the update Andrew...

No worries take your time bud....as I said before i hope you had a great time away :2thumb:

Keith.


----------



## acromyrmexbob

OK, finally, things are back to normal.
Built a tent over the river and pond so I can paint it. 










The problem is that the plants need the rain system to work and this constantly makes the concrete wet which then cannot be painted. So it looks like a science fiction film set.




























The plants in the greenhouse have gone absolutely mad! The paths were so overgrown on my return that I literally had to use a machette to clear them. Amazing. All of my automatic systems, heating, cooling and watering, withstood their first test by performing perfectly whilst I was away.



















Just back from down south working for past 3 days so I will be working on pond / river tomorrow. Updates then.


----------



## PGTibs

It's hard to believe them plants are in a green house within the UK! The whole project really is inspirational. How did you end up in the job you're in now?


----------



## acromyrmexbob

PGTibs said:


> It's hard to believe them plants are in a green house within the UK! The whole project really is inspirational. How did you end up in the job you're in now?


Perseverence and good luck. Its always good to work at what you love. My unique selling point is that I know about the animals and also can build the units so the customer gets me to design and supply the display with the best interests of the animal central to the design as well as easy of maintenance. Normally the design and building processes are separated as are the stocking and training of staff. My company combines everything which makes us quite busy!


----------



## tomcannon

acromyrmexbob said:


> Perseverence and good luck. Its always good to work at what you love. My unique selling point is that I know about the animals and also can build the units so the customer gets me to design and supply the display with the best interests of the animal central to the design as well as easy of maintenance. Normally the design and building processes are separated as are the stocking and training of staff. My company combines everything which makes us quite busy!


Jealous doesn't even scratch the surface!


----------



## Ste123

wonders how long it be before you buy a goat to help with the fast growing plants lol


----------



## snakelover13

How much for you to build one for me :lol2:


----------



## acromyrmexbob

snakelover13 said:


> How much for you to build one for me :lol2:


I'll do it just for the love of it!

Today we painted the pond!














































I think the plants are going to look amazing against the black back ground.










Also there are a couple of steps that need completed. One is the bottom step down to the lower path.










which is now poured...










and I have started to work on the set of mini steps which will be used to get in and out of the pond / river.










This first step is now poured, only two to go...










Tomorrow, Monday, if the paint is dry which I think it will be, I will start to fill the river / pond again!


----------



## acromyrmexbob

Thought I would put a couple of pictures of our trip down Tamana Cave in Trinidad. Such an amazing habitat for around 12 species of bats as well as a myriad of inverts, mammals and reptiles. 

Here's me in adventure mode!










This 8 foot Pseustes sulphurensis (that name may be out of date but its the one I learned years ago and I'm not going to check, just out of principle, if its since changed!) was climbing across the roof of the cave, hunting bats and minding its own business until we came along and spoiled the party!










This is the group of employees I took to Trinidad. Here we are waiting by the entrance to the cave at dusk, just a few minutes before millions of them flew up and out of the cave.


----------



## my_shed

Ste123 said:


> wonders how long it be before you buy a goat to help with the fast growing plants lol


The goat can get in line, I'm helping clear them first :2thumb:

Great to see this coming along Andrew, and seeing you guys enjoying Trinidad, well, I'm jealous of the greenhouse but popping over there for a bit.......colour my eyes green with envy!!!

Dave


----------



## acromyrmexbob

my_shed said:


> The goat can get in line, I'm helping clear them first :2thumb:
> 
> Great to see this coming along Andrew, and seeing you guys enjoying Trinidad, well, I'm jealous of the greenhouse but popping over there for a bit.......colour my eyes green with envy!!!
> 
> Dave


In all seriousness, if there were some people wanting to go to Trinidad and see stuff, we could organise something. 7 days gets you Mangrove swamp, beer, snake catching, beer, bat caving, beer, on the beach (watching the ladies, if you are a guy), (watching the guys, if you are a lady), (watching either if you don't fit into either of the above), beer, sweep netting at night, rainforest treks, night time turtle nesting patrol with the wildlife authority, swamps, beer, carribean food, beer and all the pictures and memories you could cope with if it weren't for the bits you can't remember because of the beer. Accommodation is £15 per night in the middle of the forest in lodges, fuel is 15p per litre and I would be your guide. Costs around £600 return from Gatwick depending on the time of year. There's more but I can't remeber it just now,......oh yes, did I mention that there's beer?


----------



## Chance

acromyrmexbob said:


> In all seriousness, if there were some people wanting to go to Trinidad and see stuff, we could organise something. 7 days gets you Mangrove swamp, beer, snake catching, beer, bat caving, beer, on the beach (watching the ladies, if you are a guy), (watching the guys, if you are a lady), (watching either if you don't fit into either of the above), beer, sweep netting at night, rainforest treks, night time turtle nesting patrol with the wildlife authority, swamps, beer, carribean food, beer and all the pictures and memories you could cope with if it weren't for the bits you can't remember because of the beer. Accommodation is £15 per night in the middle of the forest in lodges, fuel is 15p per litre and I would be your guide. Costs around £600 return from Gatwick depending on the time of year. There's more but I can't remeber it just now,......oh yes, did I mention that there's beer?


OMG I would LOVE to go but its unlikely I'd ever be able to afford it on my crappy salary lol.

I'm lovin all your builds though! :2thumb:


----------



## my_shed

That cheap? To fulfil a boyhood dream of walking through rainforsets and seeing all those animals in their natural habitat! Crappy salary be damned (and it is crappy!) I'm in! 

Of course I need permission from the wife/bring her if shes sufficiently interested (don't mistake the order I wrote that as not wanting to bring her, just that I don't know if she'd fancy it. Its more _my _dream holiday than *our *dream holiday!)

Seriously though, with a couple of months to prepare, and to build up my tolerance to the aforementioned beer, this is something I would be mmensely interested in.

Dave


----------



## Antherina

You never told me about beer. Just rocket fuel!


----------



## acromyrmexbob

OK, we could organise a trip, how do we poll interest? Best time to go would be between October and December, deep in the wet season. Probably need around 5-6 people to make it feasible. Of the hundreds who visit this site, with the interest we have, there must be that number, at least, who would want to go. If someone was interested in organising this I would set it up.


----------



## acromyrmexbob

The paint is still a little soft in areas for water to go in so I will leave it until tomorrow. 

Go my cooling stuff delivered today. Because it gets very high temperatures in summer I am going to rig up some fans to a thermostat and wire this up in reverse. This means that when it gets too hot the fans will come on and pump cool air into the hot areas. I should be able to get quite good automatic temperature control using this method and possibly a series of thermostats.










Funny thing was that I bought these from a site that turned out to be a supplier for cannabis growers. So everyone was talking about their 'grow'! Hope they don't get raided and find my address as a customer!


----------



## Jimmyjayz

acromyrmexbob said:


> The paint is still a little soft in areas for water to go in so I will leave it until tomorrow.
> 
> Go my cooling stuff delivered today. Because it gets very high temperatures in summer I am going to rig up some fans to a thermostat and wire this up in reverse. This means that when it gets too hot the fans will come on and pump cool air into the hot areas. I should be able to get quite good automatic temperature control using this method and possibly a series of thermostats.
> 
> image
> 
> Funny thing was that I bought these from a site that turned out to be a supplier for cannabis growers. So everyone was talking about their 'grow'! Hope they don't get raided and find my address as a customer!


wouldn't worry perfectly legal to sell growing equipment just illegal to use it to grow illegal things lol, perfectly respectable hobby hydroponics many people grow tomatoes and chillis in such a fashion lol

just loving the progression of this thread, water for the water with bated breath lol

if your looking for another cheap cooling method you can look for a heat exchanger, and run radiators out side in the cool areas, and in full sun for heating as well, works really well and cheap to boot :2thumb:


----------



## my_shed

acromyrmexbob said:


> OK, we could organise a trip, how do we poll interest? Best time to go would be between October and December, deep in the wet season. Probably need around 5-6 people to make it feasible. Of the hundreds who visit this site, with the interest we have, there must be that number, at least, who would want to go. If someone was interested in organising this I would set it up.


Well you've got two for sure, I already checked with the missus and we're both on board  Not sure about organizing but that shouldn't be too difficult provided the interest is there (I cannot imagine it won't be!) I'm imagining the best bet is to give everyone involved the dates you plan closer to the time, and then take deposits to book the flights, that way you aren't out of pocket if people back out. 



acromyrmexbob said:


> The paint is still a little soft in areas for water to go in so I will leave it until tomorrow.
> 
> Go my cooling stuff delivered today. Because it gets very high temperatures in summer I am going to rig up some fans to a thermostat and wire this up in reverse. This means that when it gets too hot the fans will come on and pump cool air into the hot areas. I should be able to get quite good automatic temperature control using this method and possibly a series of thermostats.
> 
> image
> 
> Funny thing was that I bought these from a site that turned out to be a supplier for cannabis growers. So everyone was talking about their 'grow'! Hope they don't get raided and find my address as a customer!


Funny you should mention that, I was recently looking at T5 lighting canopies and found a certain growing supplier to be a lot cheaper than aquarium suppliers and so on, for a piece of equipment that is the same except the label 

Dave


----------



## vukic

my_shed said:


> Well you've got two for sure, I already checked with the missus and we're both on board  Not sure about organizing but that shouldn't be too difficult provided the interest is there (I cannot imagine it won't be!) I'm imagining the best bet is to give everyone involved the dates you plan closer to the time, and then take deposits to book the flights, that way you aren't out of pocket if people back out.
> 
> 
> 
> Dave


Definitely take a deposit.. My part lost hundreds cause her family backed out of a trip last minute... 


Sent from my LT18i using Tapatalk 2


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## PhillyDee

put me on the "interested as f*** list!"


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## acromyrmexbob

Tomorrow I will start a thread for this trip, so the details are up, then you can gauge whether you want to look at this further or not. Should be fun, going to Trinidad is no problem, probably cheaper than everyone thinks, its one of the best rainforests in the world.


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## SeanEK4

amazing progress!

i'd be interested in the trip too. cant be many chances to do a trip like that.

oh, and I like beer!


----------



## rexob

awesome as usual, lovon the thread and updates, you're right the plants look very good with the river painted black :2thumb:


----------



## Luke

I'd deffo be interested, whats the amphibians like out there andrew?, Ill check with my specialist to see what they say when at the hospital next. Gotta think about my new kidney and the fact im on a suppressed immune system, but if I get the all clear ill be wanting to go.


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## Wolflore

The build is looking great Andrew! Did you manage to see any of the elusive Dipsas trinitatis whilst you were away?

Out of interest, have you thought about running a heat exchanger to warm your house with residual heat in the winter?


----------



## acromyrmexbob

Wolflore said:


> The build is looking great Andrew! Did you manage to see any of the elusive Dipsas trinitatis whilst you were away?
> 
> Out of interest, have you thought about running a heat exchanger to warm your house with residual heat in the winter?


Interesting idea. I like it!

No Dipsas trinitatus, very very dry this time of year, there were bush fires. People often don't understand how dry it gets at certain times of the year, its amazing that anything survives. 

Today I started to fill the pond / river.



















Couldn't resist including another shot of the green against the black!


----------



## my_shed

Amazing, I think the black pond paint was a perfect choice given the lush green growth everywhere else, it really gives the plants something to stand out against. And when you have a few colourful fish swimming around their colours are going to really pop (hate the expression but it conveys my meaning!)

Must be exciting to get to this stage?

Dave


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## acromyrmexbob

my_shed said:


> Amazing, I think the black pond paint was a perfect choice given the lush green growth everywhere else, it really gives the plants something to stand out against. And when you have a few colourful fish swimming around their colours are going to really pop (hate the expression but it conveys my meaning!)
> 
> Must be exciting to get to this stage?
> 
> Dave


Exciting and worrying. We are on top of a hill, the neighbours aren't. We are above the water table. The neighbours aren't. We won't get wet, the neighbours will. 24 hours later, pond 1/3 full. When its full the Tsunami which would be formed were it to burst would mean that my near neighbours would end up being not so near neighbours and families would be searching for their relatives among the ruins for weeks. If only I had bought the house at the bottom of the hill, with the rain we get up here the dam thing would fill itself! (Did you like my play on words....'dam', clever, eh?)


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## SkinsNScales

Come on come on come on!!!!!! Lol


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## acromyrmexbob

Havent had much of a chance to do any work in the greenhouse this week. It is sitting half full checking for leaks. (so far so good). I am away next week and then off for a full week the following week! That's my swim time! 
Yesterday I released a colony of Acromyrmex octospinosis into the greenhouse. This is the species of Leaf Cutting Ant that does not get too big in numbers. My plan is to release 3 colonies and have them 'wild'. Hopefully they will get big enough that they will produce winged sexuals and have a nuptial flight. These species have never been bred successfully in captivity. 
Some of the jobs still to be done:
1. Lights above the river / pond from one end to the other so in the night when we are in the water we can light up the pond and everything else will be in darkness.
2. Fans and thermostat for automatic cooling.
3. Bromeliad Tree over the river. I have a load of very large bromeliads and these will be made into an overhanging branch with sphagnum moss etc.
4. Finish the borders around the pond for the bank effect of overhanging plants. I am trying to get the effect of swimming through a rainforest so the plants have to be 'out of control' to a certain extent.
5. Pond filter, UV, pump, commissioning waterfall and plumbing. This is a big job. 

Hoping these big jobs will be tackled not next week but week after. Once I know the pond is watertight I can sort everything else. Its actually exciting that there is still loads to do.


----------



## lungz

I just clapped and shouted yay like a girl at the idea of an acromyrmex nuptial flight in a Scottish greenhouse. The Mrs was most perturbed.


----------



## my_shed

lungz said:


> The Mrs was most perturbed.


This sounds so much like something I would say that I laughed and clapped! Needless to say, the Mrs was most perturbed 

Dave


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## acromyrmexbob

my_shed said:


> This sounds so much like something I would say that I laughed and clapped! Needless to say, the Mrs was most perturbed
> 
> Dave


My Missus is from Trinidad. When it comes to Rainforests she is very hard to please! Proud as I am of my own little paradise in the greenhouse, she looks at my excitment and I can see the disdain sweeping over her. Rainforest to a Trinidadian is like a patch of nettles to a scotsman. Still we get to reenact the time when she caught me in an animal trap in the jungle when we first met and...... no, maybe not.


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## jamesfox

looks great.. I mess around with ponds & streams for council so looking forward seeing pump uv filter set up working... the uv will keep free algae at bay do u ever have problems with string algae in your larger tropical set ups ?
cheers james


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## acromyrmexbob

Snails and lots of algae eating fish. Failing that its a nutrient problem, too many. I will have around 100 plecs, a shoal of 200 corys, around 200 tropical ramshorn snails and loads of aquatic plants. I would be surprised if there was any problems. However I do feed the plants a lot and this is something I need to watch. I can also introduce some of the more attractive floating plants such as water hyacinth and water chestnut if excess light gets to be a problem. And if everything fails its in with a scraper and let the filter deal with it!


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## my_shed

acromyrmexbob said:


> My Missus is from Trinidad. When it comes to Rainforests she is very hard to please! Proud as I am of my own little paradise in the greenhouse, she looks at my excitment and I can see the disdain sweeping over her. Rainforest to a Trinidadian is like a patch of nettles to a scotsman. Still we get to reenact the time when she caught me in an animal trap in the jungle when we first met and...... no, maybe not.


And there was me labouring under the impression that it rained too much up there for nettles to grow :Na_Na_Na_Na:


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## Modj

Aye dont forget the snow we had yesterday as well :-(

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2


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## my_shed

Snow?!?! I want snow in mid may! 

Dave


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## Modj

If someone went into a coma in the winter abd woke up today they woukd of just thought they have had a sleep lol

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2


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## Antherina

If it snowed here I'd be out in the drive sitting in my pyjamas :whistling2:


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## acromyrmexbob

I had the guys completely fill the pond when I was away doing the Lakes Project this week and its holding! So its drained now to allow the filter and stuff to be installed this coming week. Lots of updates over the next few days on the pond.


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## MontyPython

Post just to sub!!!


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## dylan9876

Any updates?


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## phil mellor

this is unreal ive read through this thread a couple of times now and still cant get over how good it is


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## Muddy old engineer

Love this thread some really amazing ideas, although its making my Ig viv build look a bit simplistic lol.:2thumb:


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## acromyrmexbob

dylan9876 said:


> Any updates?


OK, sorry for the lack of info on this build but, needs must, I have been away almost solid over the past 2 weeks and not had a chance to do anything.

Filling the pond up today.










The water, at time of writing, is about 450mm from top. 

This is a picture of the window. Admittedly is is very messy, I will clean it when I am happy it is not going to blow out with the pressure. (I hope that was a joke!)










The frame will be sanded and painted with a rust inhibitor. Then the whole area will be rock worked!

The bend of the river, water up near the top.










and looking up from the bridge (I was sitting on it taking these) you can see that the right hand bank has been newly planted.



















What you can't see very well from these photos is that I have also put in about 100kg of play sand, always the best sand to use for river substrate. 

I was offered a very large Soft Shelled Turtle the other day and for a few minutes I toyed with the notion of having this in the water. I thought this would be very cool then I imagined life without my private parts and decided it was too risky to get in the water with it.


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## snakelover13

Are you going to put fish in there? Or anything else?


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## acromyrmexbob

snakelover13 said:


> Are you going to put fish in there? Or anything else?


Yes, big list of things to go in, shoal of tetra (not sure which) but all will be Trinidad specific.
Also keen of Pipa pipa and Pseudis paradoxica frogs, fully aquatic and really interesting. That's as well as the stuff loose in the greenhouse.


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## my_shed

acromyrmexbob said:


> I thought this would be very cool then I imagined life without my private parts and decided it was too risky to get in the water with it.


Tut, where's your sense of dedication?? I mean really?! You choose your genitalia over a large turtle? 

I'm disappointed in you Andrew 




Incidentally, "You choose your genitalia over a large turtle?" is a sentence I never thought i'd say!

Dave


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## GECKO MICK

Looks awesome.:2thumb:


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## debsandpets

my_shed said:


> Tut, where's your sense of dedication?? I mean really?! You choose your genitalia over a large turtle?
> 
> I'm disappointed in you Andrew
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Incidentally, "You choose your genitalia over a large turtle?" is a sentence I never thought i'd say!
> 
> Dave



Love it !!! :lol2:


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## acromyrmexbob

Some pics of my greenhouse!














































just thought you'd like to see. Tomorrow I will start to get the stuff together for the filter and the ventilation system since I am having to leave the door open quite a lot because of the heat just now. Even on a dull day the greenhouses are heating up a lot.


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## GeckoD

acromyrmexbob said:


> Some pics of my greenhouse!
> 
> image
> 
> image
> 
> image
> 
> image
> 
> image
> 
> just thought you'd like to see. Tomorrow I will start to get the stuff together for the filter and the ventilation system since I am having to leave the door open quite a lot because of the heat just now. Even on a dull day the greenhouses are heating up a lot.


In terms of gallons do you know roughly how much water you have in there!??


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## ChelsNLuke

Christ that is one build!!!!! Loving this thread, can't wait to see when the critters are all in!! :mf_dribble:

-Luke


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## vukic

It's looking.awesome mate, you may get your Christmas swim soon. Lol

Tiger

Sent from my LT18i using Tapatalk 2


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## acromyrmexbob

GeckoD said:


> In terms of gallons do you know roughly how much water you have in there!??


I have absolutely no clue. One of the nice things about this is exactly that. When I am working for clients I have to calculate gallonage and capacity and equipment specs etc. In this one, I am the client and I really don't care what amount of water is in there. It takes a hose, full on, around 3-4 days to fill. The water depth at the pond is around 6ft and at the head of the river, 30 feet away, it is around 4 1/2 ft. I could work it out but I would prefer to go in for a swim and forget about such things. Anyway I am looking for a natural set up so it will not be heavily stocked with fish. A shoal of around 250 tetras of some description and a shoal of corys with some pairs of central American cichlids and 'bobs your dog', done!


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## my_shed

Hmmm, this is making me reconsider the suggestion that our group meet at a reptile expo.......instead perhaps we should get to know each other in an area similar to where we're going.........like this lovely slice of rainforest  It looks amazing, well done!!

Dave


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## tomcannon

Fantastic mate. Looking forward to seeing it being used as I'm sure you are too!


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## PantaRei

After reading all the progress you've made on this project so far, and seeing the different areas really come together, I can't wait to see what this will look like finished! So, so jealous of your talent!


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## acromyrmexbob

tomcannon said:


> Fantastic mate. Looking forward to seeing it being used as I'm sure you are too!


Tom, its an interesting thing. I am trying to work out exactly what it is I enjoy out of this. The process of putting it together or the finished article. I am so used to building these for other people and never really seeing them when they are running that I can't wait to get animals in and get into it myself. On the other hand I have the ventilation system to install, the filtration system, the overhead spot lights for the river, the very large bromeliad tree which will overhang the river and all of the artificial rockwork which will hide the walls. In addition there is planting of more types of vegetation and setting up of path side ditches to name a few of the jobs still to do. Once all of this is finished I honestly don't know if I'll stop and enjoy it or start something new! Oh the agonies!


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## tomcannon

acromyrmexbob said:


> Tom, its an interesting thing. I am trying to work out exactly what it is I enjoy out of this. The process of putting it together or the finished article. I am so used to building these for other people and never really seeing them when they are running that I can't wait to get animals in and get into it myself. On the other hand I have the ventilation system to install, the filtration system, the overhead spot lights for the river, the very large bromeliad tree which will overhang the river and all of the artificial rockwork which will hide the walls. In addition there is planting of more types of vegetation and setting up of path side ditches to name a few of the jobs still to do. Once all of this is finished I honestly don't know if I'll stop and enjoy it or start something new! Oh the agonies!


Haha, I know you you feel to some extent, I too really enjoy the process of my viv builds, not that they're really very similar! I think you'll love it and as you said it'll probably never be finished so to speak as it'll constantly be maintained and change, it'll be great to watch it evolve first hand.


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## Wolflore

Left this for a while and re caught up today. Looking really good. Certainly on my list of places to visit


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## acromyrmexbob

Fitted the ventilation system yesterday. So, 4 fans in total. The first one blows cool air into the shed that sits in the centre of the 4 greenhouses. 



















And the other 3 are distributed around the two main greenhouses.

Firstly the double glazing needed drilled, 4" holes.










then the 4" plastic pipe is fitted...










and then the fan is attached so it blows hot air out and wired in with the other 3










as you can see its a jungle in there now!

I used a room stat but had to change the way it is wired so that when the temperature gets too high it comes on. Normally thermostats switch off when they reach a temperature. I scratched my head for a while thinking about that one.










And amazingly it worked first time. Now when the temperature in the central hut (a good place to gauge the temperature of the greenhouses) exceeds 26C all of the fans come on. The one in the hut pumps cool air in and the 3 in the greenhouses pump hot air out, drawing cool air in from the hut. It worked today and it was hot. 

The Bromeliad Tree.

I cut a very large branch from a tree in the garden today.










nest is 2 coats of varnish on all of the surfaces.










not the best looking tree but perfect for what I want. Once this is dry tomorrow I will use cling film and create the tree garden for the bromeliads I have collected. Should be interesting, this structure will hang above the river.


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## switchback

Can't wait to see what you do with the tree...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk and technology


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## acromyrmexbob

Got some Stick Insects (24) and released them into the greenhouse yesterday. They are from as close to Trinidad as I can get (Venezuelan) so should not compromise my principles too much. When I am over I will get some Trinidad Logs and release them.










Continued with Bromeliad Log today. 
So now varnish is dry I wrapped the areas of the branch which will be in contact with the roots etc. This will prolong the time the log will last I think.










The Bromeliads are very large clusters. I am friendly with various botanic gardens so scrounged some from them.










In the wild bromeliads form large clusters. They don't spread themselves out as I've seen in a few branches on display in various places. So I plan to put the majority of them in a clump and allow them to entangle themselves to ultimately form a dense basket of foliage where hopefully various amphibians and inverts will make their home.

Starting with a few....










then adding more...










and so on.










There are still some things to add such as soil and sphagnum moss to create a basket and hide the polythene. I also have hangy down thingies which will be added when the whole structure is mounted above the river. Hopefully it should look the part when its finished.


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## lungz

'Hangy down thingies' 
One of the best descriptions of anything I have ever heard. Ever. 
This thread keeps popping up unexpected surprises (todays is the bromeliad tree) and I'm extremely glad I subscribed. 
Thank you for taking the time to share this.


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## my_shed

You do realise Andrew, that we'll have to keep the dates of the trip in October extremely secret, to avoid anyone stealing all your hard work. I'd hate for someone to get in the way of the low loader I have booked for the day after we leave.:lol2:

Dave


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## my_shed

my_shed said:


> have to keep the dates of the trip in *October* extremely secret


 
Ummmmm.........ooops!


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## acromyrmexbob

> You do realise Andrew, that we'll have to keep the dates of the trip in October extremely secret, to avoid anyone stealing all your hard work. I'd hate for someone to get in the way of the low loader I have booked for the day after we leave.:lol2:
> 
> Dave


Low loader. I'm well ahead of you there. Basically you get a big, f:censorff tanker ship, get it to reverse (carefully so as not to disturb all the nice reef life and corals, although we'd be more worried about all that nonsense if we were writing this on the fish keeping section) very close to the coast beside a really nice, pristine bit of trees and such. Then get a monster big excavator and effectively push a few acres of land onto the ship. If you do it carefully you can get an entire 3 acres of undisturbed rainforest sitting on the deck of the tanker and then you sail (as quickly as possible, because the ship is now sitting very low in the water, you are going to wreck pretty much everything you missed on the way in) back to UK and push it onto your site. Two preconditions. Firstly you need to be well armed. The Trinidad navy don't like tankers stealing rainforest, you'll need to sink a couple of gunships. And secondly (and rather obviously) you're gonna need a site right by the seaside for your rainforest. Its not easy to push 3 acres of undisturbed rainforest complete with monkeys and jaguars several miles inland, it plays havoc with the trees roots and the burrowing insects. One final thing. Sometimes (and this is a major irritation) you discover that, once you have gotten your rainforest back to UK, that you've inadvertently collected a Trinidad local who was just happening to pass or was actually living in the area you collected. The easiest way to deal with this situation is to feign ignorance, ask to see a passport and phone immigration. With luck they will remove your illegal and you might even land yourself an empty shack from which you can enjoy your new rainforest exhibit!


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## the_viper

omg thats just made me laugh so much, how much would an operation like this cost lol


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## scad2k

N

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 4 Beta


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## my_shed

acromyrmexbob said:


> Low loader. I'm well ahead of you there. Basically you get a big, f:censorff tanker ship, get it to reverse (carefully so as not to disturb all the nice reef life and corals, although we'd be more worried about all that nonsense if we were writing this on the fish keeping section) very close to the coast beside a really nice, pristine bit of trees and such. Then get a monster big excavator and effectively push a few acres of land onto the ship. If you do it carefully you can get an entire 3 acres of undisturbed rainforest sitting on the deck of the tanker and then you sail (as quickly as possible, because the ship is now sitting very low in the water, you are going to wreck pretty much everything you missed on the way in) back to UK and push it onto your site. Two preconditions. Firstly you need to be well armed. The Trinidad navy don't like tankers stealing rainforest, you'll need to sink a couple of gunships. And secondly (and rather obviously) you're gonna need a site right by the seaside for your rainforest. Its not easy to push 3 acres of undisturbed rainforest complete with monkeys and jaguars several miles inland, it plays havoc with the trees roots and the burrowing insects. One final thing. Sometimes (and this is a major irritation) you discover that, once you have gotten your rainforest back to UK, that you've inadvertently collected a Trinidad local who was just happening to pass or was actually living in the area you collected. The easiest way to deal with this situation is to feign ignorance, ask to see a passport and phone immigration. With luck they will remove your illegal and you might even land yourself an empty shack from which you can enjoy your new rainforest exhibit!


I should point out that the low loader was to put your greenhouses on, but to be honest your way sounds more fun.

A land and sea based adventure, 21st century piracy in the Caribbean, whereas my idea just seems like......well......theft.

:lol2:

Dave


----------



## Meefloaf

As for cost of the 'steal a slice of rainforest paradise', with where I work (Dave knows) about a tenner


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## Phantasmagoria

Inspirational!! You have inspired me to make one when I leave home, if I somehow become made of money..

It reminds me of the California Academy of Sciences' "Rainforest Dome" 

But more of this: Exotic Rainforest private botanical garden Rare tropical plant and aroid collection

Both are very inspirational, and this is another to my list.:whistling2:

Keep up the amazing work, and maybe you could do a tour..? Please :flrt:

I love it and I aspire to build one in the future,

Thanks for sharing this masterpiece,

Ok I'll shut up now,
Alex


----------



## wezza309

Any updates ? :whistling2::whistling2::whistling2::whistling2:


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## plasma234

I keep coming back to this thread hoping for updates. i realised that the reason i come back is to see if there is a man in swimming trunks swimming through his greenhouse...WTF!

JUST SWIM ALREADY FFS!!:lol2::lol2:


----------



## acromyrmexbob

plasma234 said:


> I keep coming back to this thread hoping for updates. i realised that the reason i come back is to see if there is a man in swimming trunks swimming through his greenhouse...WTF!
> 
> JUST SWIM ALREADY FFS!!:lol2::lol2:


That's hysterical!
Sorry everyone, I have had a couple of weeks off just before the next big jobs start. So everything has been left. I could swim in the pond just now but to be honest I always saw that as the end point. Once the filter is running and the waterfall is going I will be in and staying in. On another note, now that I have restarted the work, I got a load of butterflies delivered. These pupae were glued to sticks and hung up in the greenhouse. 










They are emerging just now. Don't know if you can see it but that's a Heliconius melpomone butterfly just emerged and still on the pupa. The butterflies I have ordered all have their food plants in the greenhouse so the idea is to have a self sustaining population of around 6 species. The Heliconious feed on the passiflora vines, I have some Caligo butterflies which are the huge pupa hanging at the top in the picture below....










They are fruit feeders and lay their eggs on Banana of which I have a prodigious amount. I glued them on but their weight kept dislodging them so I used clothes pegs to keep them in place.

One of the butterflies, a Heliconius charitonius, emerged yesterday morning and when the light started to fade it took up the characteristic roosting position from a vine, wings closed, upside down so if it rains in the night the rain will fall off it.










Haven't turned the rain back on since they arrived so I am hand watering the plants just now. Also I have already lost one butterfly to the predations of the Preying Mantis. Its a juggling act, I will keep an eye on things, hopefully enough of the butterflies will live long enough to lay eggs and start the next generation of butterflies. If not I will cull some of the Mantids, I think there is a stable population of them at around 100.


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## acromyrmexbob

By the way, just for your amusement, if you check out the telegraph pole in the last post that the butterfly pupae are attached to you will see a series of little plaques including a red 'D'. When I originally was building the greenhouse there was an annoying telephone pole right in the middle of where it was going. However prudent a move it would have been to have it moved, since that pole was carrying my telephone service into the house, I thought it would be a good idea to build the greenhouse around it so as not to disturb it!:whistling2:
About 3 months later the telephone people arrived at the house and asked to inspect the pole. They told me the pole was not serviceable now, no engineer would ever climb it because of the glass directly below, and they fitted that 'D' to it, I am told that stands for 'Derelict'!
If my telephone ever develops a fault I am going to have to pay for a new pole to be fitted elsewhere in the garden before they will fix it so fingers crossed!


----------



## kitschyduck

acromyrmexbob said:


> By the way, just for your amusement, if you check out the telegraph pole in the last post that the butterfly pupae are attached to you will see a series of little plaques including a red 'D'. When I originally was building the greenhouse there was an annoying telephone pole right in the middle of where it was going. However prudent a move it would have been to have it moved, since that pole was carrying my telephone service into the house, I thought it would be a good idea to build the greenhouse around it so as not to disturb it!:whistling2:
> About 3 months later the telephone people arrived at the house and asked to inspect the pole. They told me the pole was not serviceable now, no engineer would ever climb it because of the glass directly below, and they fitted that 'D' to it, I am told that stands for 'Derelict'!
> If my telephone ever develops a fault I am going to have to pay for a new pole to be fitted elsewhere in the garden before they will fix it so fingers crossed!


I can just imagine the telephone people being all like 'Goddamnit, this guy's gone and built a jungle around the damn telephone pole. What the heck?!'


----------



## Luke

To be fair telecoms workers don't need much of an excuse anyway these days lol great work Andrew I've been away from this forum for a few weeks, (combination of busy at work and fishing whenever I get chance lol.


----------



## andy_j

What a superb project. I was privileged to look after the palm house for Brighton parks for about 5 years and also worked for Rentokil Tropical Plants where i helped install and maintain some amaizing atriums around the south of England.

Do you have any plans for stocking the pond/river ?...fill it full of guppies maybe as they're native to the Caribbean :lol2:

Can't wait to see this develop

Andy


----------



## acromyrmexbob

andy_j said:


> What a superb project. I was privileged to look after the palm house for Brighton parks for about 5 years and also worked for Rentokil Tropical Plants where i helped install and maintain some amaizing atriums around the south of England.
> 
> Do you have any plans for stocking the pond/river ?...fill it full of guppies maybe as they're native to the Caribbean :lol2:
> 
> Can't wait to see this develop
> 
> Andy


Yes, Guppies from Trinidad will figure in a big way. They are spectacular. 

OK, you are all going to look to the sky, hold your hands up and gasp "Just get on with it for Gods sake" but I am sure this is the right thing to do. The pond has been full for around 3 weeks now. I was unsure as to the levels but suspect there was still some egress of water so I took the decision to repaint it and then fit a liner! No more messing around. If this was a customers pond I would have had no choice but I have allowed myself the luxury of leaving the pond for a period of time in the hope that any leaks will fix themselves. Because there are so many points in the pond / river where tiny gaps between pourings could allow water to escape I think a liner is the right answer. So......

I pumped all of the water out of the pond system.










The liner, which is 60ftx20ft is unrolled along the length of the river / pond.

The far end of the pond is the starting point and I have temporarily attached the end to the top of the wall with screws and strips of wood.










and then work my way around the top on the far away wall.

At this stage it is simply a matter of pulling the liner over the wall to take up the slack.










and then the liner is lifted up around the bend in the river.










Messy just now but gradually it will look neater as all the edges are tucked and trimmed.










more on this tomorrow.

The greenhouse with the butterflies is looking great now.

The Heliconius charitonius are breeding at a crazy speed, I must have around 500-600 eggs on the Passiflora!










The Caligo Owl Butterflies are huge and feed on fruit juices. They lay eggs on Bannana which I have good amounts.










Foodplants such as Lantana are essential for the butterflies to feed from.










But the plant below, which is a vine from Trinidad which is unidentified, has produced flowers which are stunning and which are supplying the needs of all the butterflies with nectar on their own. A real possible boon for Butterfly centres in the future.










The very first ever picture on this thread showed my giant elephant ear plant. Its now out, getting too big so I chopped it and the border is now planted with rainforest plants to create another haven for the creatures in the greenhouse.










The border to the left of the main door looks great, just like a rainforest. I am not a fan of manicured Botanic displays where every plant is separate from its neighbour. Let them twine and mix and do what they do. It looks much better.










and finally this is a small Heliconia type plant with a beautiful flower.


----------



## Paul112

Looks like a mammoth job fitting the new pondliner. Looking great though, the butterflies look excellent!

Best,
Paul


----------



## my_shed

Looks beautiful, I've always been captivated by butterflies, do you think a similar project could be carried out in a poly tunnel? As I happen to have access to a rather large poly tunnel 

Dave


----------



## acromyrmexbob

my_shed said:


> Looks beautiful, I've always been captivated by butterflies, do you think a similar project could be carried out in a poly tunnel? As I happen to have access to a rather large poly tunnel
> 
> Dave


Dave, we did work a while back at The St Albans Butterfly Project. Their whole tropical butterfly display is in a poly tunnel which is the focal point of a huge site. Not viable in winter but spring to autumn, yes it is perfectly feasible. Plant a stack of passiflora (oops I just remembered the plant thingy, I will send this week!) in your tunnel (the poly one that is) let it grow for a year (they overwinter fine) and then buy 30 Heliconius charitonius (Passiflora caerulia, that's the standard one sold) and you will get 500-1000 eggs, success rate around 90% to pupate, £2.00 each pupa online, your rich!!!


----------



## my_shed

acromyrmexbob said:


> Dave, we did work a while back at The St Albans Butterfly Project. Their whole tropical butterfly display is in a poly tunnel which is the focal point of a huge site. Not viable in winter but spring to autumn, yes it is perfectly feasible. Plant a stack of passiflora (oops I just remembered the plant thingy, I will send this week!) in your tunnel (the poly one that is) let it grow for a year (they overwinter fine) and then buy 30 Heliconius charitonius (Passiflora caerulia, that's the standard one sold) and you will get 500-1000 eggs, success rate around 90% to pupate, £2.00 each pupa online, your rich!!!


Hmmm, sounds like a plan  So, overwintering them? Would it be possible to overwinter them in a heated shed with a selection of potted plants? Or will I have to put them into my greenhouse and ramp up my electric bill to keep it warm for them? Or am I missing something?

Plant thingy would be great  thought you had more than enough on your mind so I figured I'd remind you next year!! :lol2:

Dave


----------



## tomcannon

I'll keep it brief... This never stops to amaze me! :2thumb:


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## acromyrmexbob

*There's someone in my pond and its not me!*

Last couple of days quite busy in the greenhouse. So liner in place, the best way to fit a liner is to fill it as you're fitting it. That way the water forces it against the side and you can work out the creases. So we started to add water Saturday morning with the liner draped over the top.










We glued the liner around the window, an obvious point for leaks in the future.










and wedged it temporarily with wood.

Then we continued to fill throughout the day, working the creases out as the water rose.










Today, Sunday the water was about 3feet deep and very very cold. We needed to lift the liner at the deep part and also seal some joins. First rule of cold water, send someone else in. So the short straw was drawn by my guy Brian.....










The window is completely covered by water, Brian was working knowing he only had minutes to live! :gasp:










Meanwhile the water continues to fill










until up to the top










At the same time, I was remarkably warm and dry so I decided to start placing the wooden strips around the outside on the wall as a base for the rock work


----------



## JoeJ

looking good,

good to see the rivers nearly finished. how long should it be until its finished and the fish in their?


----------



## acromyrmexbob

JoeJ said:


> looking good,
> 
> good to see the rivers nearly finished. how long should it be until its finished and the fish in their?


I will leave it around a month with gravel and waterfall running. I am going on holiday next week for 9 days so fish in probably end july. Water levels are perfect now, really happy with things. Water temperature is up to 20C so it is getting warm! I will put the filtration stuff in next. The big swim is due for this weekend (finally) still some stuff to do before then though.


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## skilzo

Its just amazing I don't think there's much else that can be said about it 

I always look forward to the updates 

Sent from my HTC One X+ using Tapatalk 2


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## BornSlippy

Looking fantastic mate.

You still wanting the hoplos? Sadly they are now a trio I lost one, it got wedged in a hole of a strawberry pot


----------



## benjaybo

some amazing things your doing here mate good stuff, its looking great :no1:


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## Maidenhair

This is AWESOME :notworthy::no1: i cant wait to see it finished with all the fish and everything in there :flrt:

Have just spent ages going through the thread and its too awesome for words and so inspiring too. you've given me an idea for my snake vivs of using wire mesh to sculpt a fake rock face and then grouting it, painting and sealing it. Also of using a heat cable through/behind the wall instead of mat to heat it.

am just wondering weather grout will be as effective as cement at covering the wire and with standing the test of time, as its unlikely i'll use a whole bag of cement and it would be an expensive waste so was thinking about good old grout.......any thoughts anyone


----------



## acromyrmexbob

Maidenhair said:


> This is AWESOME :notworthy::no1: i cant wait to see it finished with all the fish and everything in there :flrt:
> 
> Have just spent ages going through the thread and its too awesome for words and so inspiring too. you've given me an idea for my snake vivs of using wire mesh to sculpt a fake rock face and then grouting it, painting and sealing it. Also of using a heat cable through/behind the wall instead of mat to heat it.
> 
> am just wondering weather grout will be as effective as cement at covering the wire and with standing the test of time, as its unlikely i'll use a whole bag of cement and it would be an expensive waste so was thinking about good old grout.......any thoughts anyone



I would not use grout myself. Cement is very tough in the correct mix, you can buy very small bags of cement, its very cheap.

Some bits and pieces.

Got the river flowing, bypassed the waterfall which still needs played about with.
The pump is sitting in place and is taking water directly from the pond, 30 feet away.










The flow rate is very impressive, this will make an excellent waterfall once it is fitted to the top of the rockwork.










The substrate for the river / pond is sand, the fine stuff found in rainforest rivers. I bought play sand, always the safest product to buy, from B&Q, quite expensive but it looks good.



















There is a noticeable current flowing down the river now. Other news, the butterflies have been laying a prodigious number of eggs, they hatched a week ago and already they are 3cm's!!:mf_dribble:










They are eating the Passiflora, I reckon there are around 500 caterpillars and I have mountains of Passion flower for them. This is from 20 adults so they are very productive!










Population control is in the form of the Preying Mantis population. They are hitting the butterflies hard, there are wings everywhere. 










The fiendish plan is that when these populations are in balance there will be the correct numbers of caterpillars and mantis that neither will boom in numbers and neither will become extinct. Its my first population dynamics experiment, there will be lots of these with frogs, spiders cockroaches etc. Should be very interesting.

Finally thought you might like this, the jaggiest plant I have ever seen. 










Its the Naranjilla, or Fruit of the Inca. I brought it back from Trinidad where it grows everywhere. It produces an orange, gooseberry type fruit which is edible and was the main crop grown by the Incas. It is also extremely sharp and great fun when you have to pass by it either in Trinidad or my greenhouse. I wanted to recreate some of the pain of the Jungle as well as the pleasure!


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## my_shed

Looks ace mate, fingers crossed your population control works out well.........if not i'd guess you'll have some huge mantises!! Not sure i'm looking forward to meeting that plant when we go........that's evolution gone mad! The fruit would have to be the best on the planet to make it worth the risk 

In other news, plants all arrived safely, been soaking for a couple of days and most are looking good  Many thanks.

Dave


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## Atticus22

I'm very interested to see the population dynamics of this and how they all balance out. Are you supplementing the food of any of the inhabitants of this with say, some fruit placed in feeding stations etc, or is it fully self sustained? I'd love to try something like this with chameleons, mantids, butterflies and day geckos etc, however I'd be worried i'd end up with some fat chameleons and not much else!

Are you letting loose any other feeder insects for feeding the frogs and geckos? Or are you just counting on the spider/cockroach numbers to be enough?

Such an amazing project, really well done.


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## jimmydale

I have just found this thread today. Absoultely amazing, I am blown away. This is one of the best build threads I have ever seen. Awesome work.


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## Phantasmagoria

Any updates?


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## acromyrmexbob

Phantasmagoria said:


> Any updates?


Sorry for lack of updates, I've been in Tenerife for past couple of weeks. Just got back, will post some stuff tomorrow.


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## Phantasmagoria

acromyrmexbob said:


> Sorry for lack of updates, I've been in Tenerife for past couple of weeks. Just got back, will post some stuff tomorrow.


Tomorrow was 4 days ago :whistling2:

Patience is not my virtue :devil:

Edit: 3 days ago..


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## vukic

Phantasmagoria said:


> Tomorrow was 4 days ago :whistling2:
> 
> Patience is not my virtue :devil:
> 
> Edit: 3 days ago..


Yep.. Can see that.. Lol.. 

Tiger

Sent from my LT18i using Tapatalk 2


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## arcticfox

Just read your full thread mate and seriously hats of to you mate


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## acromyrmexbob

oops, sorry guys! I have been driving for 13 hours and have arrived at the south coast of England to start this huge job tomorrow. If you check my other Zoo Exhibits thread in a few minutes you will see the start of a daily update over the next 6 weeks. Unfortunately the preparation for this job has meant that I was unable to get to my greenhouse. Hopefully the posts I will upload from here will be enough just now. This job is going to be a real stunner.


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## acromyrmexbob

Just some things to tell you about. 
The hot weather has really exposed how underprepared I have been with regards to cooling. The greenhouse is very hot, I am having to open the windows and doors and fit extra fans just to keep the temperature down below 40C, even with my cooling system. Going to have to rethink this whole automatic ventillation now, glad I havent put any frogs in yet, I don;t think they would have done well. 
The pond is full of midge larva. Its very impressive. There are thousands of them even although the pump is running. When the fish go in there will be loads of food for them. 
The caterpillars have all pupated and I am waiting for the explosion of butterflies soon. All of the original adults have been eaten by the Mantids. 
I chopped the huge Colocasia (see my first ever picture in this thread) and threw it out, it got far too big. However within two weeks the roots have thrown up 5 huge new plants. I am going to dig these up and put them in pots to establish them and then I'll sell them. 
When we get back from this job I am going to get the guys who work for me to theme the walls in the greenhouse so they look really good. My www.tropicalhouse.co.uk website is a disgrace. I have not updated it for about 8 months and I have all of the years jobs to put on it. I am also going to photograph the greenhouse and use that as an advert for the services we offer. 
Looking forward to getting my feet clear of work so I can spend some quality time on my greenhouse and start to enjoy the setup.


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## acromyrmexbob

*Pictures of me swimming in the Pond!*

OK, don't say I didn't warn you. I can't imagine why I am about to expose my seminaked body to the scrutiny of a critical public. Any children or young ladies of a nervous disposition should turn away now. In an act of unrivalled bravery, here are my pictures of me in the water, doing some much needed pruning of plants that can only be reached from the water.























































and cleaning the inside of the underwater window....










You can see here that the wood has been attached to the cement and is waiting for the rockwork to be attached. I honestly can't be bothered doing this just now with the rockwork we are doing for customers so I might get one of my guys to do it. 










Hope you are not too distressed. Any complaints or reports of indecent exposure should be addressed to any of the moderators. I await your verdict on my little rainforest, unfinished as it is......:blush:


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## PhillyDee

acromyrmexbob said:


> OK, don't say I didn't warn you. I can't imagine why I am about to expose my seminaked body to the scrutiny of a critical public. Any children or young ladies of a nervous disposition should turn away now. In an act of unrivalled bravery, here are my pictures of me in the water, doing some much needed pruning of plants that can only be reached from the
> http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/a557/edudisplays/AndrewAsha-PC/DSCN1526_zps5965ac41.jpg
> http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/a557/edudisplays/AndrewAsha-PC/DSCN1518_zps031f1409.jpg
> http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/a557/edudisplays/AndrewAsha-PC/DSCN1516_zps24873da1.jpg
> http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/a557/edudisplays/AndrewAsha-PC/DSCN1472_zpsd45ae3cd.jpg
> http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/a557/edudisplays/AndrewAsha-PC/DSCN1468_zpsd2cd1d19.jpg
> http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/a557/edudisplays/AndrewAsha-PC/DSCN1444_zpsb05baf89.jpg
> You can see here that the wood has been attached to the cement and is waiting for the rockwork to be attached. I honestly can't be bothered doing this just now with the rockwork we are doing for customers so I might get one of my guys to do it.
> 
> http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/a557/edudisplays/AndrewAsha-PC/DSCN1469_zpsb055ffad.jpg
> 
> Hope you are not too distressed. Any complaints or reports of indecent exposure should be addressed to any of the moderators. I await your verdict on my little rainforest, unfinished as it is......:blush:


our verdict? Inf***ingcredible m8.

So jealous, when i win the lottery, i want you to build me one!


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## Meefloaf

how did you get Pete Townshend as a gardener ? :lol2:

*no offence meant*

i love this thread


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## vukic

Awesome mate!!! Congratulations on finally getting your swim... Even if it is for pruning.. Lol.. Great work.. :-D

Tiger

Sent from my LT18i using Tapatalk 2


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## Rauri

Every time i check in to this thread it amazes me this is in scotland (even if it is the poofy warm bit near england :lol2: )

Looks amazing id love to see it one day


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## acromyrmexbob

Started to work on the bare walls. Figured we would do some rockwork so I got one of the guys to do the prep work.










The polythene is stretched over wooden battons that have been silicone to the wall. Then plasterers mesh is stapled to this. 










The window will be framed with rock which should look great once we get some vines growing over it. The top of the wall will be formed into a trench where other plants will be planted to break up the edge and form a natural bank here also.










In general everything is growing really well.....










I am off to Trinidad on the 3rd September and may bring back some Physallaemus pustulosus to start the amphibian population. The path side ditches are set up well and I plan to flood them permanently prior to these foam nest building frogs coming.


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## GeckoHome

*Subbed!*

Just spent the past few hours this morning browsing through what can only be described as a mammoth build, the dedication you have to this project is inspiring. Yesterday I build a corner rock piece (roughly 20x20cm tall x wide) for my terrarium and was pretty proud of that. This thread has put me to shame but I can imagine how you feel knowing this is nearly finished after everything!

Gutted for you about your Christmas Day swim but on the plus side, the picture everyone's been waiting for of you through the glass finally arrived!

That Was Totally Wicked - YouTube

CANNOT WAIT to see this finished with all your critters running amok in there!

:2thumb:


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## acromyrmexbob

Thanks for everyones comments. I love working in the greenhouse, even if its like work, its for me so its different.

Here's an open offer for everyone in travelling distance. I will be cutting back and digging up loads and loads of plants from the greenhouse to detangle the borders and make space for new stuff. I am always bringing new plants back from the tropics, many previously not seen before, so I am always trying to create space. When I am doing this anyone who wants to come along on the day can help themselves to rooted plants and cuttings of just about everything. I will probably do this around end October so PM me if you want to come to Central Scotland and fill some bags with climbers, ground cover plants, some bromeliads and some unidentified plants. There will be enough to go round if a few want to come. All of them are either rooted already or really easy to root. If you don't want them they will be in the compost heap! :biteme:


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## jamlew

Just thought I'd say dude you have the best job ever that pond and river absoloutly awesome would like to do that but it would take up my entire garden I'm so very jealous. Top work
Jam


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## BretJordan

Actually love this well done man! 

Bret.


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## DONTLOOKATME

Argh, yet again I curse the fact I live in Ireland! :bash:
I'd be up collecting bin bags of plants if I could :whistling2:
One day...:whistling2:
This is a work of art, really something to be proud of


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## mickmorelia

Really enjoyed reading this thread . What an achievement , something I've only dreamed of !!


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## rexob

Fantastic looks great now its filled with water, glad you finally got youre swim :no1:


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## herpboy

*awsome*

awsome


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## Sid crock

Home so soon. I got to Tobago at about 2oc missing you all. Can't post till I get home but it was amazing! Thankyou and the gang for a time I'll never forget.


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## acromyrmexbob

Just back from Trinidad, took 5 members of this forum for an adventure in the jungle. We got up close and personal to many amazing animals including Fer De Lance, spiders, Scarlet Macaws, Bats and hundreds of other animals. I've come back to start work on several projects which I will post in the other Zoo Projects post while the rest have stayed on their own in Trinidad to explore some more for another week. I think they will post about their adventure when they get back with pictures etc. Planning another trip early next year so will post when ready.


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## Wolflore

But did you find me any Dipsas trinitatis? 

Hope it went well!


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## acromyrmexbob

Wolflore said:


> But did you find me any Dipsas trinitatis?
> 
> Hope it went well!


:gasp:


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## Meefloaf

hope Dave is enjoying himself


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## acromyrmexbob

Meefloaf said:


> hope Dave is enjoying himself


He is like a domesticated hog in excreta


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## JustJack

Just spent the evening reading through the whole thread.

I have no words it's literally breathtaking!


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## acromyrmexbob

OK, spent some time today planning the next phase to be worked on over the winter for the greenhouse. The existing setup has some draw backs. The most difficult to work with is the height for the plants to grow. I am constantly having to prune the plants before they are tall enough to flower because within a few weeks they are hitting the ceiling of the glass house. 
The existing set up is as follows.









The big greenhouse on the left is the one with the river and pond. The rear greenhouse to the right is where I grow all my plants and the front one has a big grape vine and some cuttings in it. I also had a pair of amazon parrots in the aviary at the end. 










so you can see the shape of the roof. I have decided to change this to the following.......









by adding a triangular section to the roof. This will effectively increase the growing area from 6 feet in height to around 12 feet. I can then grow trees as well a ground cover plants at the bottom. I estimate that this will take 2 days to change. 

In addition my partner is looking into keeping some venomous species of snake from Central America and she has started discussions with some anti venom manufacturers regarding supplying them with venom. So the building will be extended as follows.....









The higher greenhouse is on the left. The old aviary building will become the place I keep my leaf cutting ant colonies prior to selling them. Then the new building at the end will become the venomous snake room. I am looking to complete this work over the winter. Obviously the roof on the greenhouse will need to be temporarily covered with sheeting to keep the heat in. 
Any suggestions or observations at this stage would be greatly appreciated.


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## vukic

Looks awesome.. Way more spectacular then the humble shed I was gonna convert for some of my exotics.. Lol.

Tiger

Sent from my LT18i using Tapatalk 2


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## jamlew

My only thoughts are that youre greenhouse may possibly be bigger than my entire house. Other than that it looks absoloutly awesome would love to see something like this in the flesh.

Jam


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## targonne

It looks awesome, simply awesome 

"My first question, would be. can i move in?"

second, i would like to ask your opinion, on this, 
we see a lot of the users in the forum building wooden outdoor enclosures to keep their animals. 

Would the cost of making them instead of a wood construction a glass based one (Green House) be much different? 

Cause looks wise, i believe it would look so much better to have a green-house.


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## Jb1432

acromyrmexbob said:


> OK, spent some time today planning the next phase to be worked on over the winter for the greenhouse. The existing setup has some draw backs. The most difficult to work with is the height for the plants to grow. I am constantly having to prune the plants before they are tall enough to flower because within a few weeks they are hitting the ceiling of the glass house.
> The existing set up is as follows.
> 
> image
> The big greenhouse on the left is the one with the river and pond. The rear greenhouse to the right is where I grow all my plants and the front one has a big grape vine and some cuttings in it. I also had a pair of amazon parrots in the aviary at the end.
> 
> image
> 
> so you can see the shape of the roof. I have decided to change this to the following.......
> 
> image
> by adding a triangular section to the roof. This will effectively increase the growing area from 6 feet in height to around 12 feet. I can then grow trees as well a ground cover plants at the bottom. I estimate that this will take 2 days to change.
> 
> In addition my partner is looking into keeping some venomous species of snake from Central America and she has started discussions with some anti venom manufacturers regarding supplying them with venom. So the building will be extended as follows.....
> 
> image
> The higher greenhouse is on the left. The old aviary building will become the place I keep my leaf cutting ant colonies prior to selling them. Then the new building at the end will become the venomous snake room. I am looking to complete this work over the winter. Obviously the roof on the greenhouse will need to be temporarily covered with sheeting to keep the heat in.
> Any suggestions or observations at this stage would be greatly appreciated.


Alright mate, it's been a while since i last checked in. Good to see things are going well.

In regards to keeping your own supply of anti-venin, it is extremely expensive and has a short shelf life. Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine is your best place to contact for this, Paul Rowley who is PDR on here works there and carries out the venom extractions so he'll be the best person to discuss it with : victory:


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## samurai

Wow what an amazing project :no1:


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## HABU

:lol2::lol2:: victory::notworthy:

just messing with ya'!:no1:


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## Ross150

*Any updates from the winter*

Hiya, been watching this thread since the beginning. Love all of it really like the detail in the building parts.
Hows progress coming on the building?


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## MontyPython

Ross150 said:


> Hiya, been watching this thread since the beginning. Love all of it really like the detail in the building parts.
> Hows progress coming on the building?


I keep looking back over it wishing it was mine!! Lol


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## dbrack

Reading this thread has been 2 hours of my life I do not want back. :lol2:


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## paulstung

Wow, I remember when you first started this, and I've just come back, after a relationship breakdown, 2 years later to find it finished. It looks awesome dude...


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## Nick the evil one

*Update?*

I've enjoyed all the updates on this build project, hope everything's ok?


----------



## Spikebrit

I just realised I haven't posted on here since the beginning. 

Omg this is looking fantastic now absolutely well done mate. Whats the chances of a video of you waling through it all? 

There are a lot of plants in the pictures that i dont recognize and have been trying to work out. You have a few small leaf climbers in there any idea what they are? 

I also need to appologise as well, we spoke via email a long while ago about doing an article and i have just realised in my haste to finish my PhD i have not replied to your email to organise anything. When i am less busy i will honestly sort something out if you are still interested. 

Jay


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## wezza309

BUMP
Due to the quality of this project
and hopefully andy will do an update:whistling2::whistling2:


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## WinnieeMvP

Amazing read. Simply amazing


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## creepycrawlies

Any more updates on the project? Have you any pictures of it and it's inhabitants now? 

I see you make documentaries, could you perhaps do a walkthrough/ tour of your greenhouse and inhabitants for youtube? A mini documentary for those of us who wont be able to come visit. Be amazing!! 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## creepycrawlies

I presume he doesn't come on here any more? Can anyone else offer an update? I see a few of you went on an expedition with him, perhaps you could shed some light on the project?

This has really captured my imagination


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## acromyrmexbob

Hi everyone, long time, no see. Just took a quick film of a small part of the greenhouse, just a quick update for everyone who showed interest in the greenhouse. Its still very much developing. The plants are fantastic and I swim in the river every week. 
The film, at You Tube is:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeGbl2uS4UA

I've also got a couple of quick films of the river, feeding the fish and an underwater tour of the pond as well as a walk through the jungle area of the greenhouse. 
Its nice to post again here, I have been very busy with my zoo design work. Don't know if you caught the September issue of Practical Reptile Keeping magazine, I had an article in that about my business.
Anyway, hope you enjoy the film and the others I will post over the next day or so. 
Andrew


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## ItsExiled

Unbelievable read!
Going through this thread is so inspiring, just makes me want to shake that soft hand of yours:lol2:


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## creepycrawlies

thank you for the video. It would be great to see a walk through with some narration. Id love you to show us some of the plants and animals that live there and tell us about them. I'd also love to see how the ehole thing works, like the technology side of things.

You could have a weekly show dedicated to updates in there and it would be hugely popular!!

For those of us who are unlikely to get the chance for a real guided tour, it would be fabulous to see the whole thing, the animals, the plants and the mechanics.

What animals live here now?


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## eeji

I've just read every post in all 45 pages and have to say this is the best thread ever! I'll save watching the youtube videos for tomorrow night :no1:


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## acromyrmexbob

Thanks very much for that, it means a lot. I used to have a lot of time to post here but my time now is fairly pushed. I have started a forum at my web site, Home where I am posting all of the builds I do for zoo style setups. It would be great if you came along and joined us there. But I am very glad you liked my thread. You would be very welcome any time you are in the area to come and see it in person. Thanks for taking the time to read it, Andrew


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## Central Scotland Reptiles

I have my trunks at the ready!!


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## David VB

Found this amazing thread yesterday evening and read every bit of it until just now, when i reached page 30 or 31 and then... The fantastic pictures turned into little blue question marks, si i can NOT see the rest of the finishing of the piece of art      ....


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## acromyrmexbob

Its all working fine for me. Maybe leave it a while and then try again. The problem does not seem to be the forum or the thread?


----------



## FishForLife2001

Are you the guy that was in practical reptile keeping recently?

Absolutely fantastic project, your one of my reptile idols


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## David VB

Oh my, got a restriction because I used the F-word... Like i was calling names at someone, lol...

No idea what exactly the problem is, but both on my phone and Imac i only see the little questionmarks.


----------



## acromyrmexbob

FishForLife2001 said:


> Are you the guy that was in practical reptile keeping recently?
> 
> Absolutely fantastic project, your one of my reptile idols


Yes that was me! 
Thanks for your comments, much appreciated.:blush:


----------



## David VB

acromyrmexbob said:


> Its all working fine for me. Maybe leave it a while and then try again. The problem does not seem to be the forum or the thread?


For some reason i suddenly could see the pictures, so i read all till the very end and so now i made a huge decision : i'm gonna quit my job, leave Belgium and come live in your greenhouse! And i'll come working for your business, even if you won't pay me :Na_Na_Na_Na:


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## acromyrmexbob

David VB said:


> For some reason i suddenly could see the pictures, so i read all till the very end and so now i made a huge decision : i'm gonna quit my job, leave Belgium and come live in your greenhouse! And i'll come working for your business, even if you won't pay me :Na_Na_Na_Na:


Just my luck! Idolised by a guy! Why couldn't you be a blonde, gorgeous woman! 
Only problem is it rains in there periodically. You'd no sooner get settled in your hammock and the blasted rain would come on. Also, I've now got sting rays in the pond. And they would hurt!


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## David VB

acromyrmexbob said:


> Just my luck! Idolised by a guy! Why couldn't you be a blonde, gorgeous woman!
> Only problem is it rains in there periodically. You'd no sooner get settled in your hammock and the blasted rain would come on. Also, I've now got sting rays in the pond. And they would hurt!


No hair, so rain can't mess it up (besides, you know Belgium? Much rain here also^^)


Oh, stingrays... good food!!! 

PS : I can bring the misses too, she's a blonde, gorgeous woman. But you have to take her in with you, greenhouse is mine and mine alone


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## bothrops

Great to see the update Andrew!

Glad to hear you are so busy (even if it means we have to wait months for the updates!) and really glad you took the time to update us. It's great to see it all grown in after all these months.

I will definitely be checking out the website!


cheers

Andy


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## acromyrmexbob

Thanks Andy. I just uploaded this quick film of the greenhouse when the rain is on. Apologies for the camera streaming up, it only goes to show how much humidity is in there.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ezq3AoBCcQ&feature=youtu.be


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## FishForLife2001

Seriously awesome as usual. What species of Geosesarma do you have?


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## acromyrmexbob

I think its Geosesarma tiomanicum and Geosesarma bicolor, not sure about the first one. Its the red one and the purple one, these are 90% of the species that are imported I think. When they are loose they are so easy to breeb. Because they are loose in the greenhouse they fend for themselves. I have not fed them ever, the stuff thats in there breeds itself. I would imagine the population stabilizes at a number that allows them to hunt enough food. I have worked on the balanced system ideal for a few years. Nothing explodes in numbers, but every now and again I see new generations. There are times I am sure they have all gone and then there are youngsters everywhere. I have had preying mantis for 4 years now, I think I am on their 12th generation or more. From hundreds of youngsters there are only ever around 8 adults. If you have the space to do it then this is definately the way to go.


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## FishForLife2001

Cool, by the way bicolour is actually G.dennerle, they were only described in January of this year along with another species G. hagen.

I wish I could do something like this, it would be great to create a proper ecosystem. Alas my parents aren't likely to let me use half of the garden!


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## chrisleigh1

Well 3hours later and it's finished , I'm lost for words , you sir are what I can only describe as a role model , weither it's your story about how you've been successful or the way you have so much enthusiasm, the amount off traveling is amazing .
One idea is an outside pic off the green house maybe with one off thos new quad helicopters air view , don't really get the scale off it although it's an epic build.
Thank you for uploading really has picked me up put me in a right good mood lol .


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