# Making a "Live Wall": Planted



## sumer (Feb 6, 2010)

Hello guys,

I am planning a live wall. 
Well, I should start from here: I am making a planted tank. Above the rear glass, I am wanting to make a live wall. I have bought Matala and Spyra from folius.

My question is that how do I make it?
I was thinking of pasting Matala to a piece of plywood and then I will attach some 2x4 wood from that plywood to my aquarium cabinet.
Like this photo here.









But the problem is that the plywood on the back of the cabinet is very thin like 0.5mm. It won't hold the weight of the whole live wall.

I am planning to use expanded PVC sheet as the base layer of the wall.
But again, how would I attach that to the cabinet?
Doing something on the wall isn't an option because we rent this apt. Doing anything to the tank is also not an option. I can only attach it to the cabinet.

I am wanting to have a lot of moss, some micro orchids and some air plants etc. I will have a humidifier run constantly so humidity should not be a big problem.

As you can see, it is a very difficult thing to explain. But I would really really appreciate any comments or suggestions. I really am not able to think what can I do here.
Here are some photos for you guys to get a better perspective of my cabinet and tank:
That's my 6 months old shiba, "Cheeni" for size reference. The tank is 36"x18"x18"


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## leemacnyc (Dec 28, 2005)

I want your puppy!


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## CannaBrain (Oct 3, 2008)

HAHA! Love the doggy. If it works out, it would look really awesome!


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## All4Fish (Jun 23, 2014)

What if you used a heavy support on the floor behind the tank and mount the vertical wall supports to this? Random wild thoughts; concrete blocks, landscape ties with hole drilled in for supports, tall narrow planter filled with gravel to hold supports. Or reinforce the back of the stand with 2x4's and mount vertical support to that, certainly have to play around to ensure it is stable. Looks like fun and love the puppy!


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## theatermusic87 (Jun 22, 2014)

Have a look through this thread http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=669265&page=9 While not a living _wall_ it does give the look on a slightly shorted height. And they've got some decent pictures of how it's put together

edit: If you're putting the tank in a corner you could always do a second wall at right angles to the one you have planned, and it would give it a bit more stability.


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## kman (Dec 11, 2013)

Perhaps give the live wall legs that extend forward for stability, and a diagonal support beam? Make the wall just wide enough for the legs to extend forward on each side of the stand.


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## Diana (Jan 14, 2010)

However you decide to stand it up, be very cautious about how you run the water. These things tend to divert the water where you don't want it (out the sides, creep under and out the back... 
Make sure the 'container' for the water has plenty of overlap into the tank, and wraps well around the sides.


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## sumer (Feb 6, 2010)

All4Fish said:


> What if you used a heavy support on the floor behind the tank and mount the vertical wall supports to this? Random wild thoughts; concrete blocks, landscape ties with hole drilled in for supports, tall narrow planter filled with gravel to hold supports. Or reinforce the back of the stand with 2x4's and mount vertical support to that, certainly have to play around to ensure it is stable. Looks like fun and love the puppy!


There's not much space behind the tank. Hardly 5". And I would like to keep it that way. So putting anything big down there is not an option. I either attach this structure to the cabinet or I have a frame which has a small footprint.




theatermusic87 said:


> Have a look through this thread http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=669265&page=9 While not a living _wall_ it does give the look on a slightly shorted height. And they've got some decent pictures of how it's put together
> 
> edit: If you're putting the tank in a corner you could always do a second wall at right angles to the one you have planned, and it would give it a bit more stability.


Having another wall at right angle is very tempting. It willgive me a million more ideas to plant better and have much more creative independence. But I cannot do that. That will take away the look from the main tank. Also, there would be a lot of things coming out of the cabinet and going in the tank from both the sides.



kman said:


> Perhaps give the live wall legs that extend forward for stability, and a diagonal support beam? Make the wall just wide enough for the legs to extend forward on each side of the stand.


This is a good idea. But then if the legs of the wall would be on the sides of the cabinet, wouldn't it look kinda awkward? My aim is to keep it as clean and simple as I can. I am trying my best to keep the equipment inside the cabinet. These legs on the sides of the cabinet will definitely take away the beauty of the cabinet and the tank.


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## BruceF (Aug 5, 2011)

Plexiglas maybe? You could sandwich the rear glass. How much weight? Definitely not plywood it won't hold up to the moisture, especially the edges.


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## sumer (Feb 6, 2010)

Diana said:


> However you decide to stand it up, be very cautious about how you run the water. These things tend to divert the water where you don't want it (out the sides, creep under and out the back...
> Make sure the 'container' for the water has plenty of overlap into the tank, and wraps well around the sides.


Thanks so much for the diagram. I did think of something like this. I was thinking a similar structure but with PVC pipes. Won't that be lighter and easier to assemble? 
The problem is that I have only 5" space behind the cabinet. If I pull it out further, it will block the path between hall and the bedroom. 
What if I make a structure of PVC pipes (or Conduit maybe?) and then mount the expandable PVC sheet on the frame! 
I am not sure how wobbly PVC would be. But after mounting the expandable PVC sheet, it should be pretty sturdy I would imagine. I will give it "T" legs. Won't be very stable but should be able to stand on it's own at least. Then if need be, I will attach some sort of support from the cabinet.

You are absolutely right about the leaking. These things seep and drip and leak from every place where you did not think it would. I am planning to have some thing plexiglass sheets at the edges which will bring the dripping water back to the tank and save the floor from getting wet. 
If and only if everything would work out well, this should look pretty good with some micro orchids, micro ferns and mosses. I have always wanted to do this. The idea of riparium is great but it breaks the light coming in the tank. I want something which will be on or attached with the tank but would be a separate unit in itself. This way I will not be compromising with either the tank or the wall.


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## sumer (Feb 6, 2010)

Here's what I have in mind in regards to the layers of the wall:


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## sumer (Feb 6, 2010)

Something like this:


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## lochaber (Jan 23, 2012)

The sloppy but easy way, would be to just get a big sheet of plywood, cut it to the width of your stand, and cut it as high as you like, and just stick it behind the stand.

The wall will keep it from falling back, and the stand/aquarium will keep it from falling forward.

Or, pretty much what everyone else said about building a frame if you don't want to be all slovenly about it. 

You might be able to heat and bend the pvc foam - I'm not sure, but it's worth checking out...


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## burr740 (Feb 19, 2014)

Not sure if this would be helpful or not, but Home Depot/Lowes has this stuff called patio base (or something like that), can find it in the outdoor section.
I think it works best on a rimmed tank because it wants to aggressively float, and the rim + substrate helps keep it in place.


Just something to think about...


















I wound up going in a different direction with this tank, but it woulodve worked out well had I decided to keep it.


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## sumer (Feb 6, 2010)

lochaber said:


> The sloppy but easy way, would be to just get a big sheet of plywood, cut it to the width of your stand, and cut it as high as you like, and just stick it behind the stand.
> 
> The wall will keep it from falling back, and the stand/aquarium will keep it from falling forward.


That's a great idea. I should do this.
Someone on another forum suggested me to use square Aluminum tubing to make the frame. I liked that idea as well.
So if I will put a sheet of plywood on the back of the cabinet, then I should be able to attach these square aluminum pipes to the plywood and that should be pretty sturdy. 
I think it's getting clear in my head now.


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## kman (Dec 11, 2013)

sumer said:


> That's a great idea. I should do this.
> Someone on another forum suggested me to use square Aluminum tubing to make the frame. I liked that idea as well.
> So if I will put a sheet of plywood on the back of the cabinet, then I should be able to attach these square aluminum pipes to the plywood and that should be pretty sturdy.
> I think it's getting clear in my head now.


That should work. Angle iron might give you the added vertical stability, as well.

For that matter, if you're willing to screw the plywood INTO the back of your cabinet (perhaps add some L-brackets for real strength?) that would help considerably. Just be careful it doesn't overbalance and fall forward, taking your tank with it! Not sure how top-heavy the whole thing is going to end up.


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## sumer (Feb 6, 2010)

kman said:


> That should work. Angle iron might give you the added vertical stability, as well.
> 
> For that matter, if you're willing to screw the plywood INTO the back of your cabinet (perhaps add some L-brackets for real strength?) that would help considerably. Just be careful it doesn't overbalance and fall forward, taking your tank with it! Not sure how top-heavy the whole thing is going to end up.


Yeah, I am planning to screw the plywood on the back of my cabinet. I was thinking of using these to attach the plywood. Do you think these'd be good?
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Unbranded-1-1-2-in-Zinc-Plated-Corner-Braces-4-Pack-15304/202033892

And I will not cover the whole back side of the cabinet. The height of the cabinet is around 36" so I will cover the middle 18" of it with the plywood. I think that should be enough to hold the square aluminum pipes. 

Thanks for the heads up about the weight. I haven't tried filling the whole tank yet but I don't think it'd be a problem. This extra weight of live wall isn't significant in comparison to the weight of tank and the water. I will make sure that it is stable enough before starting the planting etc.


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## kman (Dec 11, 2013)

A sheet of plywood is fairly heavy, and you're planning to attach a lot of weight to the top. I think I'd want to use a beefier L-brace to attach it, personally, but that may just be me.


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## sumer (Feb 6, 2010)

kman said:


> A sheet of plywood is fairly heavy, and you're planning to attach a lot of weight to the top. I think I'd want to use a beefier L-brace to attach it, personally, but that may just be me.


Can you point me to any link or any image. Just want to know how they look!


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## kman (Dec 11, 2013)

sumer said:


> Can you point me to any link or any image. Just want to know how they look!


Exactly the same as yours, just bigger! Any Home Depot/Lowes/home improvement store should have some basic L brackets. I'm thinking at least 4" long and 1" thick, not 2" long and .5" thick.


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## lochaber (Jan 23, 2012)

Sorry, I should have been more clear, I was thinking of the sheet standing off of the floor, slipping in between the wall and the stand. I'd be hesitant about propping it on the stand and leaning it against the tank, I'd be concerned it might put weird stresses on the tank, or creep the tank towards the front of the stand.

If you didn't mind how it looks, iron pipe is pretty easy to make a frame out of, and it's really damned strong too, I used 1" pipe to make a frame to suspend a ~400lb motorcycle.

I was actually planning on building a paludarium really similar to what you are planning, but it got indefinitely back-burnered. I built the stand for a 40B, and put a ~6" shelf on the back that I was intending to support most of the 'canopy'. I didn't really get much further then building the stand...


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## theatermusic87 (Jun 22, 2014)

sumer said:


> Yeah, I am planning to screw the plywood on the back of my cabinet. I was thinking of using these to attach the plywood. Do you think these'd be good?
> http://www.homedepot.com/p/Unbranded-1-1-2-in-Zinc-Plated-Corner-Braces-4-Pack-15304/202033892
> 
> And I will not cover the whole back side of the cabinet. The height of the cabinet is around 36" so I will cover the middle 18" of it with the plywood. I think that should be enough to hold the square aluminum pipes.
> ...


If you're going the plywood route definitely make it go from floor to top of your living wall as one continuous piece, that way the plywood supports most of the weight, and the screws into the stand only give it stability. The way it sounds like you're describing it, all the weight will be carried by screws and that isn't a good idea.

If you're concerned about the plywood sitting against the tank, you can use some 1x4 as a spacer between the stand and the plywood. Screw 1x to the stand, plywood to the 1x.

Also if you'd like a background you can just paint the plywood instead of the back of the tank, should be quite a bit easier that way


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## Dawagner (Jan 20, 2015)

What a good idea! I have thought about that same type of thing like growing some of my plants on top of the aquarium to take advantage of the humidity. I grow micro orchids that would be great for that live wall. These two love low light, high humidity.


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## sumer (Feb 6, 2010)

theatermusic87 said:


> If you're going the plywood route definitely make it go from floor to top of your living wall as one continuous piece, that way the plywood supports most of the weight, and the screws into the stand only give it stability. The way it sounds like you're describing it, all the weight will be carried by screws and that isn't a good idea.
> 
> If you're concerned about the plywood sitting against the tank, you can use some 1x4 as a spacer between the stand and the plywood. Screw 1x to the stand, plywood to the 1x.
> 
> Also if you'd like a background you can just paint the plywood instead of the back of the tank, should be quite a bit easier that way


Thanks. You explained your idea very clearly. I don't know if I want to raise the plywood all the way up to the live wall though. I can definitely cover the whole back of the cabinet but not over that. 
What I am thinking is, I will put the plywood on the back of the cabinet and then will use the aluminum square pipes to make the support system for the live wall. Then I will use PVC sheet to make the base for wall. Matala on PVC sheet and then finally spyra on matala with some driftwood. 

Does it make sense? What is the main difference between your suggestion and what I am thinking?

Bump:


Dawagner said:


> What a good idea! I have thought about that same type of thing like growing some of my plants on top of the aquarium to take advantage of the humidity. I grow micro orchids that would be great for that live wall. These two love low light, high humidity.


Holy cow! Those orchids look amazing! Now I know which person I need to bug when I will need micro orchids 
Can you please share your experience with these? I have never kept such orchids and this would be my first time. How did you mount them there? How do you maintain the humidity? Mist or fog?
Thanks so much for sharing the photos. Can you show your full setup?


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## yikesjason (Jul 2, 2008)

I did a couple different living walls. Here is the journal to the one more similar to what you are trying to do. It might give you a few ideas. 
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=110729


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## sumer (Feb 6, 2010)

yikesjason said:


> I did a couple different living walls. Here is the journal to the one more similar to what you are trying to do. It might give you a few ideas.
> http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=110729


Wonderful live walls there.
What material did you use to make the base to plant the plants? Seems like your walls are integrated in the real walls!


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## sumer (Feb 6, 2010)

I made some much needed progress.
I bought a piece of plywood; put some flooring vinyl on it and attached it to the back of the cabinet using L brackets. Those L brackets look so ugly though.
I will have to cover them with something. Maybe I will take a photo of the pattern on the cabinet, take a print out of it on a laminated sheet and put the cutting of it on the L bracket. 

Anyway, here's what I did:









Then me and my girlfriend were debating on the hight of the live wall. She wanted it to be 18" or more and I was saying 12". My main aquarium light will hang in front of it so I have t think about that as well.
Finally we settled at 15".
Just to see how it *feels*, I cut a 15"x36" piece of plywood and tried putting it where the live wall will be:









I also cut matala with this scissor like thing:









Now I am going to order the PVC sheet.

But before I do that, you all will have to help me pick the pillar support which will hold the live wall.
I saw these three things at the home depot. They are all aluminum.

*1. Which one should I choose?
2. My cabinet is 30" high, tank is another 15" high and then the live wall would be another 15". This height is 60" in total. How long should these support pipes be? And at what points should I put screws through these pipes into the plywood behind the cabinet?*


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## sumer (Feb 6, 2010)

Ordered 10mm thick sheet of extended PVC (EPVC) of size 36"x15".
I also ordered strips (1"x36"; 1"x15") to put on the sides of the main big sheet to keep the water from falling around.

Any suggestions on the aluminum support?


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

I once saw a thread where someone used the filter mesh for florescent lights to make a wall. He sprayed great stuff on it, painted it with Kryon black and siliconed it in the tank. Then pushed the plants, ferns, into it. Perhaps that could be used for your live wall. For it would weigh little and thus easy to support with brackets.


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## sumer (Feb 6, 2010)

Hilde said:


> I once saw a thread where someone used the filter mesh for florescent lights to make a wall. He sprayed great stuff on it, painted it with Kryon black and siliconed it in the tank. Then pushed the plants, ferns, into it. Perhaps that could be used for your live wall. For it would weigh little and thus easy to support with brackets.


Thanks. That thing is usually called egg crate in the hobby. Yeah, I know that doesn't sound right. It actually work as a honeycomb diffuser on the room lights.
You spray the insulation foam on it and you can even carve it later.
I will do something similar but at a later stage. 
RIght now, I am just trying to put this wall above the tank.


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## saiko (Mar 30, 2007)

I'd go with the"L" beam, easier to drill, fit a nut and bolt from other end.


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

sumer said:


> Thanks. That thing is usually called egg crate in the hobby. Yeah, I know that doesn't sound right. It actually work as a honeycomb diffuser on the room lights.
> You spray the insulation foam on it and you can even carve it later.
> I will do something similar but at a later stage.
> RIght now, I am just trying to put this wall above the tank.


I was thinking that you could use it as the living wall above the tank.


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## sumer (Feb 6, 2010)

I got the EPVC sheet 
I did not expect it to be this heavy though. It is not as heavy as plywood but it still is pretty heavy.
I went with 13mm thickness sheet. Now I need to find what kind of material would work as adhesive on it. I have read that Weldon 16 or silicon, both will work well. Maybe I will go with silicon. 



















Now before I fix this thing to the cabinet, I need to plan this thing all the way to the end. I need to figure out how would I plant the plants, what species etc. Any suggestions from you guys' sides?


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## sumer (Feb 6, 2010)

I made some progress 

So, repti fogger does blow out fog at the height of 5'-6'. But it's not enough to keep my wall well humid. So I am going to keep it as a backup.
I have a drip system that will keep the florafelt and spyra wet.
To mist the plants, I've ordered mistking ultimate system. 3 nozzles would be placed at 0", 16" and 36". 
I got some small containers made to keep my ferts and they turned out pretty well. So I am gonna get 2 bigger reservoirs made. 1 for the water for drip wall, and 2 for the water for mistking. Two different because the dripper would be a loop. The water which will come out of the wall will come back in this reservoir. And if in future I'd put some ferts or something on the wall, I don't want it to mix with mistkind container because that will also work as the supply for my Auto Top Off system for the tank.









I also got a J shaped "drain". I don't have any photos to share yet but it's gonna collect all the water that will come out of the wall and send it back to the container through a pipe. 

Light: I haven't talked about it yet. I wasn't very sure about the spectrum but I think now I have done enough homework. I wanted to make it a full spectrum light but then it won't look very good color wise. So I am going to keep it like normal horticulture lights. High at 450-495 nm and then high again at 620-750nm. 
I am using Cree XM-L2 warm white, and Royal blues. My girlfriend wants that warm look of sunlight on the wall. I am not very sure though. I wanted some neutral whites just to keep it looking "cool" but hey, she's letting me do this and that is enough for a favor. Haha..

So, here's the heatsink that I have selected. It is from RapidLED and came pre-drilled to attach LEDs. Not possible to put a fan on it but I don't think that'd be a problem because I am not gonna fill every slot of the heatsink with LED. XML2 at 1000mA will produce very high light. I might have more light than needed


















I also made a container to keep the powersupply:









And it fits in there just perfect:









So these LEDs will be either on a StormX controller or maybe a Makers Controller. I have both sitting here. I have a coralux LDD board and a Makers 5up pro. I need to check which one would be better suited.
They both will do sunrise, sunset, thunderstorm and what not. Well, maybe orchids would like that 

To attach the light to the wall, I making some "Acrylic arms". These would get tighten on the back of the wall, and in the front they will hold the heatsink:









I have installed the wall on the cabinet. Here are some photos:

I used some 2x3s to create some gap between the cabinet and the aluminum pipes. This will give me some space between the bottom of the wall and tank.










Halfway there..


















Almost there:









Then I worked on the EPVC sheet and put it on the aluminum pipes. I have used 1/4" bolts and nuts to do everything. So they are portable. If we are changing apartments, it is as easy as opening some nuts.









After this, worked on the light and made the heatsink ready. I had one 12" piece and one 18" piece. I joined them together and have this 30" long heatsink now.
I also got the MistKing ultimate system:









The acrylic arms which will hold nozzles and heatsink are being made. I should have them today. 
The drip irrigation system is also here and is working fantastic. I have tested it. 
Then I have to put the felt and spyra on the EPVC sheet. Once that is done, I will put drip irrigation system. After that, light and misting system will have to go. 
Then the drainage duct will be installed. Acrylic containers are being made to be used as reservoirs.
And then FINALLY I will be able to put some plants on this thing


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## Mikeygmzmg (Mar 19, 2015)

This is an awesome idea, can't wait to see how this project works out.


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

sumer said:


> My girlfriend wants that warm look of sunlight on the wall. I am not very sure though. I wanted some neutral whites just to keep it looking "cool" but hey, she's letting me do this and that is enough for a favor. Haha.
> 
> So these LEDs will be either on a StormX controller or maybe a Makers Controller.
> They both will do sunrise, sunset, thunderstorm and what not.


Wow!! You can have your way at times her way at times. Can't wait to see the final project.:thumbsup::thumbsup:

OH, About how much is this project costing?


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## sumer (Feb 6, 2010)

Thanks. I don't have enough LED holders to put both the combinations. That's a great idea BTW. Won't be too difficult to execute.
Costing.. If you ask just about the wall part, not much. $90 for EPVC sheet, Felt AND spyra. $50 in acrylic stuff, $40 for drip system and a few extra $s if you can get away with hand misting and normal lights that you get at home depot.
Since I went with mistking, it costed me $180. I don't want to calculate the lighting cost. The same power supply will be powering the wall and the tank so it's complicated there.

But if someone want's to do it cost effectively, one can do everything in $100-$150. You can just hang it on the wall instead of using these pipes that I am using. Use flora felt, spyra and a drip system. Just put an ultrasonic humidifier that you can get under $20 online and you are done.

Bump: Alright! Some more progress:
I made an outline sort of around the sheet to keep the water contained within the sheet. It's just an inch so it's functionality is questionable at the moment but we'll see.









I then covered the corners with some silicon. I am trying my best to save it from leaking:









Remember I told y'all about the drainage gully? Here's it:


















And then I picked up the acrylic arms this afternoon. They will hold my LED unit and mistking nozzles:


















I could have made some more progress today if this dumb fella had not done this. You can very well imagine what would have followed.
And BTW, she bought these shoes this past Sunday so that she can wear them on coming Friday at a party and...


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## sumer (Feb 6, 2010)

Thanks Sean 


I am finally done with all the talks at the fishclubs and now would like to take no other projects in hand before I finish this darn project.
I made a little progress yesterday.
I capped the drainage gully from both the ends:

Acrylic pieces to cap the ends









The curve I made was perfect:


















And then I have started hoarding plants for the tank and the wall. Like this Bucephalandra 'pink lady' is doing great with just a couple sprays a day. I am sure with a msiting every two three hours, it will love it.








Some more buce for the tank:









And then some Anubias petite:









Tonight I will add the drainage to the gully. I will also test the gully for any leakages. I used WeldOn 16 to attach the caps but I have a feeling that it might have some leaks. 
And then, I am going to work on the LED unit.


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## sumer (Feb 6, 2010)

Some more progress 
The drainage pipe is at place. I have attached the drainage gully to the main wall.
IT works great. Tested it for leaks and there are none.









And how it looks on the wall:









Now I am working on the light and have created this plan. Do you think I should add a UV to this?









I am hoping to make more progress over the weekend.


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## sumer (Feb 6, 2010)

sjb1987 said:


> Shipra looks like Wilson on the tv show Home improvement
> 
> Ok it's Sunday! Lets see it haha
> 
> Did you use the uv on your last one? I can't remember the specs on it


Hahaha.. That's what I told her. She said she would never market such a heavy thing.
Yes, I made a LOT of prgress. This thiong is 90% complete. Only the light remains.
I didn't use UV on my last build. I think it's not used much by the plants. Saltwater people do use it though. It's in the far left corner on the spectrum.


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## sumer (Feb 6, 2010)

Update 05-11-2015
It's been a long time I have started this project and I was not seeing an end to it. So I worked two days on this thing and now I do see an end. I think it will take me two more weekends to finish this thing. I will have everything ready by the Memorial day weekend. Wall + Tank, both.

In the last update I had the drainage fixed to the wall. Next task was to fix the acrylic arms that will hold the light and the misting nozzles. 

Arms attached to the wall.









Then I reinforced the arms by adding some support. Those are acrylic tubes that I had lying around. Used sand paper to sand them down to the required shape. Took a long time to do that. Everything that sounds or seems easy is actually not. It takes a LOT more time than you think.


















There is a little sag on the arms when I attach the light and nozzles but I think that is OK. It should be able to take that load. If it will start to sag or anything, I will have to get thicker arms. Or maybe aluminum arms then? This is a a thing that I will have to see as time goes by. It is working well for now. Or maybe I will just attach other acrylic sheet on these arms?

Then, finally the ballheads that I had bought came from China. I think they sent it on a bullock cart. Took it one freaking month.









So they went on the arm:


















Then I tried putting the light on the ballheads. Worked just as I expected it to work.




































Then, I made some holes and put the mistking nozzles at place. Theoretically, everything will work. I did many calculations, used trigonometry to find the sweetest spot etc. Hopefully, it will work the same way in real life.









The next task was to fix the drip system at place. I used some cable holders (?) to attach the drip line to the wall. Those screws are stainless steel so they won't rust.









Then the only thing remaining was felt and spyra. 
I again used stainless steel 3/8" screws to attach it to the expanded PVC sheet.
This is the only thing I am worried about. I don't want this whole spyra and felt to slide down in my tank. I know that this spyra will become much more heavier after it'll soak the water. 
How do I make sure that it doesn't? I will test it before starting the tank to ensure that it stays there. Or maybe a few more screws?
I hid the screws using small paches of spyra that I put there using some gorilla glue.









I did a test before I got started on all of this just to see if the drainage was not touching the tank and it was. I had to put some washers to increase the gap between the cabinet and the aluminum pipes. Then it fit perfect:









Here's a *before* shot 









A peek inside the cabinet. Another big reservoir for the wall is going to get shipped today.









*What remains:*
1. Light: I am planning to make both: tank's and wall's light at the same time. I am gone all this week on an official tour so cannot work on it this week. 
Then this coming weekend I am doing a pregnancy shoot on Sat and hiking Mt Massive on Sunday. So the time is going to be limited. It'll take me a week to recover from Mt massive's massive hike. Haha.. So I think I will have it ready by the Memorial day weekend. That will give me 3 days to work on it non stop.
Everything is ready to be worked on. Specially these LEDs. They are so tempting:









2. Reservoir containers: This reservoir will have two parts. The first one will have DI water for the mistking. The second one will have water mixed with fertilizers for the drip system. It is going to be shipped today and I will have it in two-three days.

3. Plants: Once the light and reservoir is done, it'll be about the plants. I am in talks with a few people about the plants. I want small orchids, ferns, mosses and other creeping plants. Begonias would work well too.



Thoughts? Suggestions? Comments?


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## kman (Dec 11, 2013)

Very impressive work! I look forward to seeing it all come together.

That's a slick collection of auto-dosers in the cabinet underneath. What are you dosing with them?


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## sumer (Feb 6, 2010)

kman said:


> Very impressive work! I look forward to seeing it all come together.
> 
> That's a slick collection of auto-dosers in the cabinet underneath. What are you dosing with them?


Thanks. Yeah, I am sick of looking at that empty tank.
I haven't started using that pacific sun doser but it will dose N, P, K, Fe and micros. It also have an automatic water changer and an auto top off built in. So it is gonna go quite a lot of work


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## HunterX (May 19, 2012)

Love this project. I can't wait to see what it turns in to!


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## sumer (Feb 6, 2010)

sjb1987 said:


> If only the wife could understand. ......
> 
> Sumer, forgive me if I missed this. Are you going to run a small pump for your dripper from the tank itself? On a timer of course.


Sean, yes. But it's actually a pretty powerful pump. MAx head height is almost 7 feet for that pump. I don't know how reliable it is though.


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## sumer (Feb 6, 2010)

**Updates** 05/19/2015

The wall is up and RUNNING.

Here's step by step description of what I did this past weekend and last night.

I started with the LED unit. I had already planned the color spectrum.
I put the LEDs on the heatsink, put optics on them (80 Degrees) and then wired them all. It was really easy to work with solderless LEDs. It took much less time.




















Makers 2UP Pro Driver. It can take upto 2 LDD drivers. I used one 1000D and one 700D Driver.









Here's the Driver with the Makers Controller. It can do some crazy fancy things like storm, peak noon hour etc. I am just using it so that I won't have to have a timer to switch on and off the lights. it will do that automatically.









The project box that will hold both : 2up Pro and Makers controller:









For the first time my project box doesn't look shabby.









I used inexpensive 1/4" Mono Phone plugs for the power connection:


















In the meanwhile I also made some *pockets* in the wall.









And then after attaching the splash guard, the light unit was ready



















This was my iPhone's camera that made it look this weird. In person I didn't see any color separation or disco:

















Only whites:









Only Royal Blue:









Then my reservoir also showed up.
I attached the bulkhead for mistking and tested it for leaks. No leaks 









Unfortunately there was a misunderstanding and the person who built this made a bigger hole by mistake. It was easy to take care though. I just pasted another piece of acrylic on the bigger hole and drilled a smaller hole then.









That was what I did over the weekend. Then last night I worked on the mistking unit. I installed the pump and connected all the nozzles to the acrylic arm. There was a glitch. The mist coming out of the nozzles was touching the splash gurad. I had to take out the ballheads. That pushed the heatsink closer to the acrylic arm and then mist wasn't touching the splash guard.
Here's a little video of mistking in action:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyWf2N02pH8

I will be setting up the drip system today and then I am ready for the plants


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## sumer (Feb 6, 2010)

Thanks, Sean 


Here is a small video of my drip system working:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLnouwQggCA

I have been thinking about the frequency of misting system coming on. The timer it came with, can power it on and off 8 times a day.
I bought another one that does it 20 times a day. I programmed it to come on every 72nd minute but that is not enough I guess. My plants would need it every 15-20 minutes. That means I need a timer that can switch it on and off around 70 times a day.
The only option to do this is get some solid state relays, an arduino nano and write my own code. Put everything ina small box and run the mister through that.
Parts have been ordered and the build shall start (and finish) this weekend.


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## theatermusic87 (Jun 22, 2014)

sumer said:


> The only option to do this is get some solid state relays, an arduino nano and write my own code. Put everything ina small box and run the mister through that.
> Parts have been ordered and the build shall start (and finish) this weekend.


You might be able to find something designed to work around a 60 minute duty cycle... I'm sure they can't be that hard to find, in this case it shouldn't make any difference what time the mist come on just that it is on for 5-10 minutes every half hour to hour... and if you want it to only run during the day just use a regular time in series with it... 

Something like this (I'm sure there's cheaper I just did a quick search for cycle timers) http://www.amazon.com/ART-DNE-Hydroponic-Adjustable-Interval-Controller/dp/B00286QNDM/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1432167247&sr=8-10&keywords=cycle+timer


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## sumer (Feb 6, 2010)

theatermusic87 said:


> You might be able to find something designed to work around a 60 minute duty cycle... I'm sure they can't be that hard to find, in this case it shouldn't make any difference what time the mist come on just that it is on for 5-10 minutes every half hour to hour... and if you want it to only run during the day just use a regular time in series with it...
> 
> Something like this (I'm sure there's cheaper I just did a quick search for cycle timers) http://www.amazon.com/ART-DNE-Hydroponic-Adjustable-Interval-Controller/dp/B00286QNDM/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1432167247&sr=8-10&keywords=cycle+timer


I hear you. I did look at these garden timers. 1. they are bulky. 2. I can make the same thing in 1/4th of the cost.

Actually this timer will go in the cabinet where there is already very crowded. An arduino nano and a relay module can be fit in a 3"x2"x2" project box.


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## AquaAurora (Jul 10, 2013)

If I didn't have such calcium rich water I'd love to try something like this, but not a huge fan of messing with ro/di to get around the calcium issue.

Can't wait to see your wall planted!!


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## sumer (Feb 6, 2010)

A'ight, time for some more action.
I ordered some nice plants for the wall. They would be here by Friday or Sat. 

I recently discovered that mistking timer has only 8 on and off settings. Then I bought another minute timer that has 20 on and off settings but even that would make the mister come on every 1 hour 12 minutes in 24 hours. That was too long of a gap between two mistings. I was looking for something that will do this every 10 minutes for 20 seconds. 
So I decided to make my own. I bought a relay unit and an arduino nano. Some 6-7 lines of code and it was ready. Tested it with a 2Amp lamp and it worked great. Mistking pump takes about 1.5A current. I would be fine. The relay is solid state, so it should serve a long time. I ordered another one to keep as a backup. These things can go bad any time.
It costed me around $28. That includes a small project box, Arduino nano, solid state relay board, two power adapters and some wire. Almost the same cost as a mistking seconds times. I don't know much coding so I will have to connect it to computer everytime I want to change the time settings. But I am planing to learn some more coding to make it somewhat self sufficient. I am thinking of using a rotary switch to help with this. This is a future project through 

Testing the Arduino nano and the relay board:









Two types of power adapters that I used:









A small project box:









And there you have it. My dumb code works only with one channel of the replay board. If I knew better ways to program it, I could have used it to control my drip system as well. Oh well!
The iPhone charger powers the Arduino nano which eventually powers the relay board. That three prong cable goes to the wall outlet and then my misting system power cord will go in the socket on the project box. Pretty simple and easy.









I was playing with Hoppy's new PAR meter. I was taking readings from the LED unit that I made for the wall. I will have to be specific while talking about the lights because I have two LED units next to each other. I am yet to take readings for the LED unit for the main planted tank. Here are the readings:

Around 5 inches from the light:









Around 9-10 inches:









Around 14 inches from the light:









At 17-18 inches:









Very right corner. Around 20-22 inches from the light:









I would call this DIY LED unit a success based on the PAR readings. The practical test for it would be to grow some plants 

My main tank's light is also complete. So 92% work has been completed.
What remains is:

1. Setting up the Pacific Sun Kore 5th for fertilizers, and water changes. Then calibrating it and testing with water.

2. Making the fertilizers stock solution for the tank. 

3. Attach some driftwood to the wall. I am using some N50 grade Neodymium magnets to attach the wood to the wall. I don't want to drill any more holes in the wall.

4. Fill the tank with water to do a leak test.

5. Scape mock up. I have a 30G tank filled with manzanita wood.

6. Setup the filter and CO2 rig.

7. Work through the lighting schedule. 

8. Plant the wall.

9. Ask some dear friends to send me plants for the tank  I have been asking them to hoard the plants since a LONG time. Some of them have actually been hoarding some plants for me. 

10. Be ready of unexpected issues that WILL come up during the whole process.

Most probably, my tank will be planted before the May ends 

I will be back soon with more updates.


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

sumer said:


> I recently discovered that mistking timer has only 8 on and off settings. Then I bought another minute timer that has 20 on and off settings but even that would make the mister come on every 1 hour 12 minutes in 24 hours. That was too long of a gap between two mistings. I was looking for something that will do this every 10 minutes for 20 seconds.


Why not just make a moisture control system for the wall? You could probably patent it.


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## sumer (Feb 6, 2010)

Hilde said:


> Why not just make a moisture control system for the wall? You could probably patent it.


Food for thought


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## sumer (Feb 6, 2010)

Update time:

I started things from making some ADA amazonia balls by filling it in pantyhose.









I was skeptical about some plants not getting enough nutrients; like my Bucephalandra. 









Then I started putting sphagnum moss on the wall.









Your truly putting up the plants on the wall, sleepyheaded-ly 









And there you have it:



























Followed by a leak test on the tank which was a success









And then the tank was getting ready to be scaped:









A lot of Manzanita wood to select the hardscape from:









And here's the scape. Very easy going, not very complicated.. I seem to like it.


















And the loved ones could not resist taking a few moments to appreciate the work  I'd do this all over again just to see this joy on her face.









After planting some Bucephalandra and some nice Pilo moss that a friend sent:









That was all I had for you today 
I will keep taking photos to show the updates on the wall. I won't post aquarium updates here because this thread was mainly for the wall.
I'll share a link to the planted tank journal in the near future.

It has been a great journey so far. Yesterday, when I looked at the first post, I giggled. The progress has been very transformational  Thanks to all of you who helped me get here. This is an what forums do- help you carve your vague idea to a live wall


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## AquaAurora (Jul 10, 2013)

Is the white serpentine thing in the tank a heater?


>


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## sumer (Feb 6, 2010)

AquaAurora said:


> Is the white serpentine thing in the tank a heater?


Yes, sir!


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## helgi125 (Jan 16, 2014)

King of DIY projects, damn this is impressive, will 100% fallow this thread for some future ideas once i move out of this small apartment


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

Wow!!

This project must have cost at least a $1000. The wife seems to love it too, fortunately for you. 

Where does the water drain to and is it pumped back up?


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## sumer (Feb 6, 2010)

Hilde said:


> Wow!!
> 
> This project must have cost at least a $1000. The wife seems to love it too, fortunately for you.
> 
> Where does the water drain to and is it pumped back up?


Thanks. I stopped counting the $ spent a long time ago. LOL. It's up and running and I like it. Don't wanna let the $$ thing ruin the fun now.

Water that drains from the wall come to a drainage gully that I have made of acrylic. Then a pipe takes this water to a reservoir in the cabinet. From there it gets pumped back to the wall through drip system, again. But the misting system only uses fresh RO water. Its reservoir is separate and it's only one way.


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## The Big Buddha (Jul 30, 2012)

Videos! Please !!!!
Great work!


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## sumer (Feb 6, 2010)

Videos will come out in a few days 
Here are a few photos:

Lepanthes clareae. I hope this orchid will bloom soon.


















Syngonium Rayii









Vanilla planifolia









Cryptanthus sp.



























Bucephalandra sp. 'Cascade King'









Buce. sp. 'Mini Catherine' on the right hand side of Buce. sp. Cascade King









A beautiful fern. I don't know it's name.










Here's the bigger picture:


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## hazenight (Apr 12, 2013)

looks great


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## andrewss (Oct 17, 2012)

looks great! post a video


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## AquaAurora (Jul 10, 2013)

sumer said:


> AquaAurora said:
> 
> 
> > Is the white serpentine thing in the tank a heater?
> ...




What brand? or more DIY?


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## sumer (Feb 6, 2010)

AquaAurora said:


> What brand? or more DIY?


It was Hydor brand. Here: Amazon.com : Hydor 50w Hydrokable Substrate Heater, 20' - for Aquariums 16-33 gal : Heat Cable : Pet Supplies

I haven't plugged it in yet. Just wanted to see a before and after effect.


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## AutumnSky (May 19, 2012)

This is quite amazing. Do you have any updates for the project? Any blooming Orchids yet?

You have a separate water and fert system for the plant wall and the tank, and are not using fish poo water to fertilize... How are you liking the system set up that way? All other similar, and when I mean similar, I mean only kinda similar but not as complex of a system as you have, use the tank water so this is new for me to see. Just wow. You should be proud of your excellent abilities.

How is the light system - was there much of a learning curve to get the lighting times dialed in for the plants.


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## jcmv4792 (Jul 15, 2015)

Impressive! Just wondering, but what kind of driftwood are you using for the hardscape inside the tank? Are there any sellers with that type of wood?


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## Nooob (Oct 25, 2009)

Update?


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## theatermusic87 (Jun 22, 2014)

Nooob said:


> Update?


Please?


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## saiko (Mar 30, 2007)

theatermusic87 said:


> Please?


please ++ ;


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## sumer (Feb 6, 2010)

Update time!

The wall has been doing really good.
I think it was about finding the correct plants that would do good in Colorado's dry weather.
Many plants that I started with withered away. I think I have added plants three times now. Plants that have survived are doing great. 

I am making a vivarium in the tank now. I think the vivarium would better compliment the wall. 

Here are some phone photos to keep this thread going 




























I will post some more photos as the vivarium would progress.


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## AutumnSky (May 19, 2012)

Beautiful colors and textures! Looking forward to seeing more!!! Maybe in your spare time you can add the names of the plants which are doing well?!


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## theatermusic87 (Jun 22, 2014)

Thanks for the update, looks fantastic! Any issues with your method? I.e plumbing problems, plants not staying in their place etc?


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## sumer (Feb 6, 2010)

AutumnSky said:


> Beautiful colors and textures! Looking forward to seeing more!!! Maybe in your spare time you can add the names of the plants which are doing well?!


Thanks. I sure will do that when I'd have time.



theatermusic87 said:


> Thanks for the update, looks fantastic! Any issues with your method? I.e plumbing problems, plants not staying in their place etc?


Thanks.
As I said, the only issue I faced was to find the plants that would do good in CO's dry environment. 
Other than that, not really. I think I planned it very well  Nothing leaks, plants stay where they were planted and are growing the way I want them to. The acrylic gully I made is working fantastic and collects all the dripping water in the reservoir in the cabinet.
The drip system is working well. Misting system is doing great too. I spray some organic orchid fertilizer I found at an orchid show every week or so. My orchids have flowered three times now. Vanilla orchid is growing like a maniac. Moss that I wanted to grow didn't do good though. That might be one thing that didn't work as I wanted it to.


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## sumer (Feb 6, 2010)

Here are some more photos-


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## AutumnSky (May 19, 2012)

Do you still have this tank running with the wall?


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