MEGA Self-standing Free-range build 3'x3'x8' with build-log

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evillost .. your free range cage is so awesome. I just had someone build me one like a piece of furniture but not anyway near as yours.. are you selling instructions for yours?
 
rodielin said:
evillost .. your free range cage is so awesome. I just had someone build me one like a piece of furniture but not anyway near as yours.. are you selling instructions for yours?
Click to expand...

Thanks :D I just sent you a PM about that....


I can gladly offer consultation services for anyone who would like to build there own but needs help with design (structural/electrical/etc) or needs full units built. As for drawings, if someone was interested I would have to formally draw them up...


As for THIS build, there are no drawings.....all schematics are in my head.... :)
 
doooooooooooooooooooone!!!!!!

I don't have any pictures just yet and there is a tiny bit of final touchups to do, but I am effectively DONE!

pictures tomorrow :D



still need to modify the feeding cups, fix a leak in the waterfall, and swap out a few power plugs....a few hours of touch up work tops
 
Got some prelim photos up, will get a video of the waterfall, misting system, and DIY LED lights soon too

Will have a friend come over to take better pics with his professional stuff soon


criticism appreciated :)



'upload of image failed' with no reason given...really annoys me....

click here for pics: https://plus.google.com/photos/1101...s/5647652851478928897?authkey=CJ-1sdnW0KCejAE



If anyone knows of a good "leafy" foliage plant that would grow very fast to fill out my back wall, I'm looking for suggestions. Currently using pothos, but I am trying to find something that has a tighter leaf formation with preferably smaller leaves



Current plant "short" list:

Bromeliads (mostly neoreglia and tillandsia)
About 8 different Nepenthes (my first try with these...done a lot of research but I'm apprehensive...)
Dracaena (fragranc?)
various pillow / tree moss; little bit of selaginella (lookin to get more)
Fern (believe its a peacock ? not sure)
Few random orchids (I really dont know my orchids....I'll throw up the species when I get legit pics)
bunch of pothos for vining
some random terrestial philodendron to fill out the ground area

and a staghorn fern hanging off the side cause i couldnt fit in...don't know where else to put it for now :p
 
Last edited:
EvilLost said:
Got some prelim photos up, will get a video of the waterfall, misting system, and DIY LED lights soon too

Will have a friend come over to take better pics with his professional stuff soon


criticism appreciated :)



'upload of image failed' with no reason given...really annoys me....

click here for pics: https://plus.google.com/photos/1101...s/5647652851478928897?authkey=CJ-1sdnW0KCejAE



If anyone knows of a good "leafy" foliage plant that would grow very fast to fill out my back wall, I'm looking for suggestions. Currently using pothos, but I am trying to find something that has a tighter leaf formation with preferably smaller leaves



Current plant "short" list:

Bromeliads (mostly neoreglia and tillandsia)
About 8 different Nepenthes (my first try with these...done a lot of research but I'm apprehensive...)
Dracaena (fragranc?)
various pillow / tree moss; little bit of selaginella (lookin to get more)
Fern (believe its a peacock ? not sure)
Few random orchids (I really dont know my orchids....I'll throw up the species when I get legit pics)
bunch of pothos for vining
some random terrestial philodendron to fill out the ground area

and a staghorn fern hanging off the side cause i couldnt fit in...don't know where else to put it for now :p
Click to expand...
First off, Wow!!! incredible job and extremely incredible looking cage :)

Second, you can't go wrong with Schefflera arboricola or Schefflera arboicola/trinette or variegata. If you mean tighter leaf formations in the sense that there are more leaves in a general area, then I would say that they can, at times, have more leaves in the same amount of area as a pothos, but it can also be vice versa.

Overall Schefflera of either three species is a great choice and you can't grow wrong with them.
 
EvilLost said:
Got some prelim photos up, will get a video of the waterfall, misting system, and DIY LED lights soon too

Will have a friend come over to take better pics with his professional stuff soon


criticism appreciated :)



'upload of image failed' with no reason given...really annoys me....

click here for pics: https://plus.google.com/photos/1101...s/5647652851478928897?authkey=CJ-1sdnW0KCejAE



If anyone knows of a good "leafy" foliage plant that would grow very fast to fill out my back wall, I'm looking for suggestions. Currently using pothos, but I am trying to find something that has a tighter leaf formation with preferably smaller leaves



Current plant "short" list:

Bromeliads (mostly neoreglia and tillandsia)
About 8 different Nepenthes (my first try with these...done a lot of research but I'm apprehensive...)
Dracaena (fragranc?)
various pillow / tree moss; little bit of selaginella (lookin to get more)
Fern (believe its a peacock ? not sure)
Few random orchids (I really dont know my orchids....I'll throw up the species when I get legit pics)
bunch of pothos for vining
some random terrestial philodendron to fill out the ground area

and a staghorn fern hanging off the side cause i couldnt fit in...don't know where else to put it for now :p
Click to expand...

Both creeping fig and kangaroo vine would climb nicely and it grows densely when mature and trimmed properly if ya want to wait until I get some starts I'll happily send you some or go to seedman.com they have an outstanding amount of safe plant seeds !!
 
@Whatcamo: Creeping fig! DUH!!! I have a bunch of this stuff for my frog tanks and it didn't even cross my mind >.< DERP Will be adding this real soon



@Brandon: I wasn't aware schefflera were vining plants; I thought most rooted and stemmed out pretty big so I don't think they would work for what I'm aiming to use them for (or am I mistaking the plants you mentioned?)



My camera used to take really nice pictures, but now they are all coming out looking awful (not sure if settings got messed up or what, I'll have to poke around) but the videos are barely visible and extremely pixellated....gonna get some "professional" shots done this week
 
@Brandon: I wasn't aware schefflera were vining plants; I thought most rooted and stemmed out pretty big so I don't think they would work for what I'm aiming to use them for (or am I mistaking the plants you mentioned?)
Oh, I just seen where you said a "plant with leafy foliage", so I thought you meant any plant. Sorry I haven't been following the thread too much, just looking every now and then, so I don't know if you have mentioned about needing a subsitute vining plant for the pothos. But you are right, Schefflera are what you described them as.
 
For how much I thought this project was finished, it certainly isn't...

many plants have been moved around and I added several walkway/vines on the lower half to up the usable area.


My pitcher plants (except 1) are all failing miserably, but everything else is doing "okay".

I still haven't received my replacement LED driver; I believe a lack of light might have something to do with the plant growth


I added several more pothos vines but I'm still on the lookout for something similar to cover up all the "brown" in the background
 
EvilLost said:
For how much I thought this project was finished, it certainly isn't...

many plants have been moved around and I added several walkway/vines on the lower half to up the usable area.


My pitcher plants (except 1) are all failing miserably, but everything else is doing "okay".

I still haven't received my replacement LED driver; I believe a lack of light might have something to do with the plant growth


I added several more pothos vines but I'm still on the lookout for something similar to cover up all the "brown" in the background
Click to expand...

My pitcher plants weren't doing to well either then I said what could it hurt and I loaded up their moss soil sand mixture with silkworm, cricket and dubia poop and I'm starting to see new growth on all 3 of mine but the old pitchers have shriveled up, but now I see new ones starting to form so once there is new fully formed ones there are going to be enclosed with clear plastic cups full of fruit flies until the pitchers get big enough again to accept larger prey that's my plan anyways (?)
 
Whatcamo said:
My pitcher plants weren't doing to well either then I said what could it hurt and I loaded up their moss soil sand mixture with silkworm, cricket and dubia poop and I'm starting to see new growth on all 3 of mine but the old pitchers have shriveled up, but now I see new ones starting to form so once there is new fully formed ones there are going to be enclosed with clear plastic cups full of fruit flies until the pitchers get big enough again to accept larger prey that's my plan anyways (?)
Click to expand...


According to my research, CP's, and Nepenthes in particular, are used to growing in bog conditions and actually require a substrate with very low nutritional content to grow well. The only nepenthes specific fertilizer which I have seen suggested is one very high in acidity and low in other nutritional content.

I wonder if the poop is somehow increasing the acidity of the moss? I have mine mounted epiphytically which I know is somewhat of a risk, but I have secured an "extra large" ball of moss to the roots with floral wire before mounting them so I feel pretty good about how much room they have to grow; I'm just wondering if the pure moss mixture is TOO moist (although it does dry a little between waterings)...

I also tried using coco mix with planters and even putting them in humidity domes ofr a few weeks before I planted them, but that didn't help at all....
 
Yeah as poop or anything breaks down it creates an acidic environment as nitrogen builds up I notice that also that since I moved mine to where they get good and soaked every misting I think that that has helped we'll see (?) I guess you are the only other person that I've heard of on here trying them out so it'll be interesting to bounce things back and forth with each other to see what works best
 
mine get really nicely soaked too, and drain out (they don't sit in water, but if i squeeze the ball of moss water will drip out).

my one healthy one is still growing, but at a REALLY slow rate


my other ones are slowly withering away....my biggest one is directly under the misting system and gets thoroughly soaked and I added a huge ball chunk of moss to it (sufficient to fill a 3-4" pot) but it is still browning out....

really at a loss on these things :(
 
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