After allowing the silicone seals holding the shelf installation to cure overnight, the final step in this project was to finish the landscaping. I began with the back wall above the land area, which I wanted to cover with cork. This required cutting three pieces, including a notched middle piece to sit over the divider between land and beach areas.
By doing some fine tuning with a jig saw, I was able to get these three pieces to fit flush and tight enough that adhesive was not required. The plastic rim of the aquarium was helpful with this process. This also means that I could remove and redo the land area without having to cut off the back panel, should future renovations be necessary.
With the cork in place, I filled the beach area with an inch of coconut fiber soil, then topped it with three inches of aquarium gravel. I added some mondo grass, Ophiopogon japonicus, a plant that is mistakenly sold as purely aquatic but actually does quite well partly submerged, as I will be using it. This species did particularly well in the early iteration of this tank. For the land area, I added a bottom layer of large gravel for drainage, and then filled it to the top with coconut fiber.
The final step was a layer of terrarium moss and a few more terrestrial plants for the land area. This looks good now, but previously I have had trouble with moss growing under the bright UV lights I use for the turtle. Additionally, he tends to claw a lot of it into the water when climbing around. I was willing to try it once more just because of how good it looks, but I expect that in the future I may be going back to regular lawn grass which roots better.
One thing I failed to account for when moving to wood for the construction of this shelf was the added thickness. As such the land area ended up being a few inches higher than I wanted, leaving little room for plant growth under the light fixture and glass lid. It is also harder to view. I'm looking into a few options, the most appealing being some sort of screen riser for the tank that will provide additional vertical height and ventilation. There are a number of pre-made options for smaller tanks, but I have yet to find one in the size I need.
I will add a final post about this project with finished photos and an analysis of what went right and wrong with the project.
By doing some fine tuning with a jig saw, I was able to get these three pieces to fit flush and tight enough that adhesive was not required. The plastic rim of the aquarium was helpful with this process. This also means that I could remove and redo the land area without having to cut off the back panel, should future renovations be necessary.
With the cork in place, I filled the beach area with an inch of coconut fiber soil, then topped it with three inches of aquarium gravel. I added some mondo grass, Ophiopogon japonicus, a plant that is mistakenly sold as purely aquatic but actually does quite well partly submerged, as I will be using it. This species did particularly well in the early iteration of this tank. For the land area, I added a bottom layer of large gravel for drainage, and then filled it to the top with coconut fiber.
The final step was a layer of terrarium moss and a few more terrestrial plants for the land area. This looks good now, but previously I have had trouble with moss growing under the bright UV lights I use for the turtle. Additionally, he tends to claw a lot of it into the water when climbing around. I was willing to try it once more just because of how good it looks, but I expect that in the future I may be going back to regular lawn grass which roots better.
One thing I failed to account for when moving to wood for the construction of this shelf was the added thickness. As such the land area ended up being a few inches higher than I wanted, leaving little room for plant growth under the light fixture and glass lid. It is also harder to view. I'm looking into a few options, the most appealing being some sort of screen riser for the tank that will provide additional vertical height and ventilation. There are a number of pre-made options for smaller tanks, but I have yet to find one in the size I need.
I will add a final post about this project with finished photos and an analysis of what went right and wrong with the project.
Labels: Aquascape, Design, Turtle, Turtle Aquarium
