# Rainforest Canopy - Epiphyte Laden Branch Viv



## hydrophyte (Jun 22, 2012)

*Rainforest Canopy - Epiphyte Laden Branch Viv*

I have been meaning to start this project for a while. I have seen a few other similar ones around. I plan to do this one in a 30 X High, which isn't a lot of room. I want to take some time to find real small epiphytes that will scale well with the branch that I am making and the enclosure.

Earlier this morning I started making the branch feature. I might have selected a thick piece of manzanita for it, but decided to use GS foam. All that I did to start the shape was to place a piece of waxed paper over my bench top with a few scraps of wood underneath to make a more dimensional surface, then I just sprayed out a twisted branch shape about 24" long. After it cures I will flip it over and apply more GS to the other side to get a more or less cylindrical branch form. I would shoot a picture of it now, but it's pretty ugly and not much to see. After the whole thing is cured I can start shaping with this fine coping saw that I have and coarse sandpaper 

I don't see very many very memorable pictures of this kind of thing on the Internet, which is surprising because trees loaded with epiphytes can be so visually striking. Back in the day I climbed a few tall trees down in Costa Rica and it was really amazing. If anybody might know about any real good albums on flickr or Pinterest or wherever I'd be interested to get the link as more visual reference. Here is a Wikimedia Commons image that shows a tree with some larger bromeliads and aroid climbers and stuff like that. 






(Wikimedia Commons image: FileirkvdM epiphytes.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

I'm going to do this as a Forest Floor setup with false bottom. It might also be engaging to pick out terrestrials for the planter pots. Terrestrial plants will need to be very short to fit with this idea. It would be great to find some more unusual mini terrestrial orchids, aroids and gesneriads. The bottom area might need some extra illumination because the epiphyte branch above will be well-lit but throw a lot of shade. 







I don't know about livestock yet. This kind of setup could potentially work for a pygmy cham, but I can imagine there are better ways to build a habitat for them. I understand that there are some dart frog species (_Ranitomeya_ spp.??) that are almost entirely arboreal. I might just make this a plant display. Some sort of insect might also work. There might or might not be connection between the branch and the bottom planted area with some fake vine features.


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## hydrophyte (Jun 23, 2012)

Here's the GS branch feature all expanded. 







Now I need to start carving away at it.


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## grayzone (Jun 23, 2012)

Nice .. ive seen your OTHER enclosure, so im sure this one will look EVEN BETTER. I like the false bottom idea for roots and such too.
I will check in on this thread now and then to watch it progress.


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## hydrophyte (Jun 24, 2012)

grayzone said:


> Nice .. ive seen your OTHER enclosure, so im sure this one will look EVEN BETTER. I like the false bottom idea for roots and such too.
> I will check in on this thread now and then to watch it progress.


I'll try to post more pictures tomorrow. I need to finish carving it and I also have to go back to the store for more Great Stuff because the foam has some marble-sized air bubble voids in it that I need to fill. I hope to start applying the coats of Drylock tomorrow.

---------- Post added 06-24-2012 at 12:06 AM ----------

I just remembered this older picture that shows scale in that 30 X High tank pretty well. I took it apart some time after getting this shot. This new setup will just have the single artificial branch in it, but the pictures shows pretty well how much space there is in there. I want to use mainly very small epiphytes and also use very short terrestrials underneath. I want to do some research and try to incorporate some more unusual terrestrials that I haven't tried before.


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## SamuraiSid (Jun 24, 2012)

its great to see your using drylok. Im very curious to see how that product will look on the finished product.


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## hydrophyte (Jun 24, 2012)

SamuraiSid said:


> its great to see your using drylok. Im very curious to see how that product will look on the finished product.


I've used it before and it's actually pretty disappointing. It looks like plastic. However, if you use a few coats it does seal really well and supposedly it is low vapor and thus safe for use with livestock. I will see how it looks after applying the Drylok and if I don't like the look of the finish I can glue a layer of coco moss or shredded tree fern on top of it.


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## josh_r (Jun 24, 2012)

Hey Hydrophyte

Good to see you made it to arachnoboards! Im used to seeing you on dendroboard  So what do you plan on putting in this setup?


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## hydrophyte (Jun 25, 2012)

josh_r said:


> Hey Hydrophyte
> 
> Good to see you made it to arachnoboards! Im used to seeing you on dendroboard  So what do you plan on putting in this setup?


Hi Josh. I didn't know you were over here too. What kinds of inverts do you keep?

I don't know if I will put any livestock in this setup. I mainly just want to do it as a planting and use it to try to figure out visual design for this idea of a displaying emulating a tree limb with epiphytes. If I can resolve this pretty well I'll start to plan out something bigger and more ambitious.


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## hydrophyte (Jun 27, 2012)

I carved away at the branch feature to get the general shape. Now I am going to coat it with the Drylok. I'm also going to have to stiffen it with some kind of reinforcement; I might use some of this thick anodized aluminum bonsai wire that I have. The Great Stuff foam is really flimsy and the branch shape just bends with any weight at all.  

The expanded GS foam has a lot of air pockets in it and I bet that epiphytes would like the surface a lot. I'd like to get a can of the black GS for ponds and try some of it unfinished for growing orchids and ferns.


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## joshb (Jun 27, 2012)

I'm curious as to how that foam will work out for you. I was always under the impression that those foams were toxic and no good for pets. That stuff sure is messy though! I've used it for home repairs before!


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## hydrophyte (Jun 27, 2012)

joshb said:


> I'm curious as to how that foam will work out for you. I was always under the impression that those foams were toxic and no good for pets. That stuff sure is messy though! I've used it for home repairs before!


Great Stuff foam has been used for years with dart frogs by hundreds of hobbyists. It's pretty well tested as being very low fume and safe for sensitive livestock. It is important to let it fully cure before use int he enclosure.

Reactions: Like 1


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## hydrophyte (Jun 27, 2012)

Well I was able to skewer the branch end-to-end with three pieces of thick bonsai wire and I only poked one little hole through the side. It's rigid enough now.


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## josh_r (Jun 29, 2012)

Well, I got rid of ALL my animals and moved to australia for a year. I've been here for a month and so far, I've found many inverts. I have a hadronyche funnel web, misgolas and arbanitis trapdoor spiders, euoplos trapdoors, and as of yesterday, one of my favorites, seqocrypta jakara (brisbane brush footed trapdoor spider) The stuff here is not very diverse, but it sure is unique. I have been on an australian arachnid board getting everyone there interested in naturalistic vivaria. A few are very interested. I look forward to seeing the results of your hard work with this project. All your projects on dendroboard were fantastic!

Josh


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## hydrophyte (Jun 29, 2012)

josh_r said:


> Well, I got rid of ALL my animals and moved to australia for a year. I've been here for a month and so far, I've found many inverts. I have a hadronyche funnel web, misgolas and arbanitis trapdoor spiders, euoplos trapdoors, and as of yesterday, one of my favorites, seqocrypta jakara (brisbane brush footed trapdoor spider) The stuff here is not very diverse, but it sure is unique. I have been on an australian arachnid board getting everyone there interested in naturalistic vivaria. A few are very interested. I look forward to seeing the results of your hard work with this project. All your projects on dendroboard were fantastic!
> 
> Josh


Are you getting any pictures? That sounds like cool stuff that you are finding. When we were little kids we found trapdoor spiders once on a trip to California. 

I'd love to go on a botany trip to Australia someday. There is some really cool and unique Southern Hemisphere stuff down there.


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## zonbonzovi (Jun 29, 2012)

Check out andysorchids.com, et al for mini orchid ideas.  I would think low light, cooler temps would be ideal for a viv like this.  A lot of the same orchid sites sell appropriate ground cover/mosses that would work well with your choice of epiphytes.  Can't wait to see what you come up with!


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## hydrophyte (Jun 29, 2012)

Yep I've ordered from andysorchids a few times before. Their catalog is nice because the plants are all true species rather than the hybrids that are a lot more common from most sellers.


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## josh_r (Jun 30, 2012)

hydrophyte said:


> Are you getting any pictures? That sounds like cool stuff that you are finding. When we were little kids we found trapdoor spiders once on a trip to California.
> 
> I'd love to go on a botany trip to Australia someday. There is some really cool and unique Southern Hemisphere stuff down there.


Oh yeah, I've been taking LOTS of pictures. There are all sorts of cool plants here. I have been finding a few orchid species here. Some dendrobiums, bulbophyllums and sarcochilus falcatus in great numbers. I found my first terrestrial species today. There are MANY small to large epiphytic and lithophytic creeping ferns (pyrrosia, lycopodium, lecanopteris, etc) Many aroids and passiflora. I have yet to see any of the carnies though.. well, i lied. I have seen an aquatic utricularia species so far.


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## hydrophyte (Jul 1, 2012)

Here's the foam branch with Drylok and a steel eye bolt. There is another eye bolt on the other side too. 

I left the foam surface rough and with the Drylok it made a more or less convincing bark-like finish. After getting this shot I covered the log with sphagnum moss. I'll post a picture of that in a bit. 


1-VII-12-epiphyte-branch-I-m by hidrofit, on Flickr


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## hydrophyte (Jul 2, 2012)

I got this thing planted up tonight. Here is a quick shot showing the branch with sphagnum moss. I used the sheet sphagnum, which is a lot easier to attach than regular long-fibre, held in place with monofilament fishing line wrapped around and around. I mounted the plants with cotton sewing thread. I'll get a picture  the whole planted feature tomorrow. 


1-VII-12-epiphyte-branch-II-m


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## hydrophyte (Jul 2, 2012)

Here it is planted up. I could have selected better plants for this; these are just some random epiphytes that I had around. I mainly just want to use this planting to observe how the plants grow and also as growout. Now I need to set it up in the enclosure.

Reactions: Like 1


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## SamuraiSid (Sep 9, 2012)

Happy I stopped back in here, its looking pretty good. How much do you figure it will fill out?


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## hydrophyte (Nov 27, 2012)

I didn't go too much further with this thing; I didn't really like how the foam branch turned.

However, I have another project in mind using the same general concept. I will just use a nice manzanita branch for it. I might have pictures on the way pretty soon.


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## Jquack530 (Nov 29, 2012)

I personally think the foam branch turned out kinda cool.


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